SKU: HL.4008566
ISBN 9798350110678. UPC: 196288180036.
Otto M. Schwarz was asked by a friend to compose a chorale for the funeral of his child. Lux Aeterna (The Eternal Light) is actuallypart of the requiem mass, but in this composition, there is no reference to the original Latin text. People who recount near-death experiences often report a bright light. The music moves back and forth between passages that are sad, optimistic, and imploring in nature, posing questions that cannot be answered. The end of the piece comes, however, with a conciliatory major chord that reflectsthe calm and warmth of this light that promises redemption.
SKU: BT.EMBZ14941
Latin.
The composer Péter Andorka (born 1987) studied under Miklós Kocsár and Miklós Csemiczky at the Bartók Secondary School of Music and under János Vajda at the Liszt Academy of Music, both in Budapest. Apart from solo, chamber and orchestral works, several vocal compositions of his (oratorios and choral works) have been performed, and he has also composed for the stage.The Three Liturgical Chants to Latin texts were composed for six-part female choir in 2009. The text of the first piece (Lux aeterna) comes from the mass for the dead, that of the second (Laudate Dominum) from Psalm 116 (117 in many English translations), and that of the third (Adoro te devote) from a hymn by StThomas Aquinas, whose Gregorian chant is also incorporated into the work. The euphony and elaborate part-writing of the Three Liturgical Chants place a serious task before choirs, particularly in terms of intonation. Especially the wide compass of Lux aeterna requires a professional choir. The pieces in the cycle can be purchased separately (Z. 14941, 14942 and 14943).
SKU: CA.751700
ISBN 9790007166885. Text language: Latin.
Dona nobis pacem and Lux aeterna were both written for concert programs devoted to specific themes. They share the use of the techniques of minimalism in their organ parts, enabling the broad vocal lines in the choral voices to stretch out above this instrument, thus imparting a special aspect to the concerns addressed by the texts: the longing for freedom in the here and now, as expressed in the Dona nobis pacem, as well as the desire for peace and tranquillity in the Lux aeterna.
SKU: CA.751650
ISBN 9790007241988. Language: Latin.
Dona nobis pacem and Lux aeterna were both written for concert programs devoted to specific themes. They share the use of the techniques of minimalism in their organ parts, enabling the broad vocal lines in the choral voices to stretch out above this instrument, thus imparting a special aspect to the concerns addressed by the texts: the longing for freedom in the here and now, as expressed in the Dona nobis pacem, as well as the desire for peace and tranquillity in the Lux aeterna. Score available separately - see item CA.751600.
SKU: PE.EP5934
ISBN 9790014042295. UPC: 9790014042295. 9x12 inches. English.
One of the great classics of 20th century choral modernism. Ligeti's thrilling 'Lux Aeterna' achieved global fame following its use on the soundtrack to Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film '2001: A Space Odyssey'. For 16-part Choir SATB, the work deploys Ligeti's technique of micropolyphony and uses cluster chords to create a densely buzzing haze of sound. Vocal Score.
SKU: CA.991000
ISBN 9790007093051. Language: Latin.
SKU: KU.GM-1939
ISBN 9790206206429. 9 x 12 inches.
Daniel Schnyder wrote this piece in memory of the cellist Daniel Pezzotti, who died at the age of 55 fighting a vicious illness. The music is loosely based on the first line of J.S. Bach’s cantata “Komm susser Tod” and reflects on the ever changing tune of life, a tune that can suddenly deviate from what we expect it to be.
SKU: OU.9780193361683
ISBN 9780193361683. 12 x 8 inches.
For SATB (with divisions) unaccompanied This dramatic setting of a 5th-century Ambrosian hymn perfectly epitomises the jubilation of the text. Rhythmically complex and involving some tricky melismatic passages, it is particularly suited to cathedral choirs and concert performance.
About Oxford New Horizons
New Horizons showcases the wealth of exciting, innovative, and occasionally challenging choral music being written today. It encompasses the whole gamut of small-scale choral genres, both secular and sacred, and includes pieces for upper-voice and mixed choirs. With titles by some of the most accomplished choral composers active in Great Britain and abroad, the series introduces new repertoire and fresh talent to a broad spectrum of choirs. New Horizons features composers with growing reputations for quality composition reflecting a strong individual voice. The series is continually expanding and should be the first place to look for attractive and performable contemporary choral music.
SKU: BT.EMBZ14942
SKU: BT.EMBZ14943
The composer Péter Andorka (born 1987) studied under Miklós Kocsár and Miklós Csemiczky at the Bartók Secondary School of Music and under János Vajda at the Liszt Academy of Music, both in Budapest. Apart from solo, chamber and orchestral works, several vocal compositions of his (oratorios and choral works) have been performed, and he has also composed for the stage.The Three Liturgical Chants to Latin texts were composed for six-part female choir in 2009. The text of the first piece (Lux aeterna) comes from the mass for the dead, that of the second (Laudate Dominum) from Psalm 116 (117 in many English translations), and that of the third (Adoro te devote) from a hymn by StThomas Aquinas, whose Gregorian chant is also incorporated into the work. The euphony and elaborate part-writing of the Three Liturgical Chants place a serious task before choirs, particularly in terms of intonation. Especially the wide compass of Lux aeterna requires a professional choir The pieces in the cycle can be purchased separately (Z. 14941, 14942 and 14943).
SKU: GI.G-8070INST
Arabic, English, Greek, Hebrew, Latin. Text Source: Allah uh Akbar, Kyrie eleison, Adon olam (Jewish hymn), Lux aeterna, Yuriduna anyuttufiu (Qur'an—Sura 9:32), Agnus Dei, Isaiah 2:4. Scripture: Isaiah 2:4.
SKU: BP.HB763
8.5 inches.
Utilizing optional chimes, organ, and string quintet, this original tune by Matthew Compton and William A. Payn evokes the sound of eternal light. The full and cinematic sound of this piece is sure to move performers and audience members alike.
SKU: CA.751600
ISBN 9790007166878. Text language: Latin.
SKU: HL.49018099
ISBN 9790001158428. UPC: 884088567347. 8.25x11.75x0.457 inches. Latin - German.
On letting go(Concerning the selection of the texts) In the selection of the texts, I have allowed myself to be motivated and inspired by the concept of 'letting go'. This appears to me to be one of the essential aspects of dying, but also of life itself. We humans cling far too strongly to successful achievements, whether they have to do with material or ideal values, or relationships of all kinds. We cannot and do not want to let go, almost as if our life depended on it. As we will have to practise the art of letting go at the latest during our hour of death, perhaps we could already make a start on this while we are still alive. Tagore describes this farewell with very simple but strikingly vivid imagery: 'I will return the key of my door'. I have set this text for tenor solo. Here I imagine, and have correspondingly noted in a certain passage of the score, that the protagonist finds himself as though 'in an ocean' of voices in which he is however not drowning, but immersing himself in complete relaxation. The phenomenon of letting go is described even more simply and tersely in Psalm 90, verse 12: 'So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom'. This cannot be expressed more plainly.I have begun the requiem with a solo boy's voice singing the beginning of this psalm on a single note, the note A. This in effect says it all. The work comes full circle at the culmination with a repeat of the psalm which subsequently leads into a resplendent 'lux aeterna'. The intermediate texts of the Requiem which highlight the phenomenon of letting go in the widest spectrum of colours originate on the one hand from the Latin liturgy of the Messa da Requiem (In Paradisum, Libera me, Requiem aeternam, Mors stupebit) and on the other hand from poems by Joseph von Eichendorff, Hermann Hesse, Rabindranath Tagore and Rainer Maria Rilke.All texts have a distinctive positive element in common and view death as being an organic process within the great system of the universe, for example when Hermann Hesse writes: 'Entreiss dich, Seele, nun der Zeit, entreiss dich deinen Sorgen und mache dich zum Flug bereit in den ersehnten Morgen' ['Tear yourself way , o soul, from time, tear yourself away from your sorrows and prepare yourself to fly away into the long-awaited morning'] and later: 'Und die Seele unbewacht will in freien Flugen schweben, um im Zauberkreis der Nacht tief und tausendfach zu leben' ['And the unfettered soul strives to soar in free flight to live in the magic sphere of the night, deep and thousandfold']. Or Joseph von Eichendorff whose text evokes a distant song in his lines: 'Und meine Seele spannte weit ihre Flugel aus. Flog durch die stillen Lande, als floge sie nach Haus' ['And my soul spread its wings wide. Flew through the still country as if homeward bound.']Here a strong romantically tinged occidental resonance can be detected which is however also accompanied by a universal spirit going far beyond all cultures and religions. In the beginning was the sound Long before any sort of word or meaningful phrase was uttered by vocal chords, sounds, vibrations and tones already existed. This brings us back to the music. Both during my years of study and at subsequent periods, I had been an active participant in the world of contemporary music, both as percussionist and also as conductor and composer. My early scores had a somewhat adventurous appearance, filled with an abundance of small black dots: no rhythm could be too complicated, no register too extreme and no harmony too dissonant. I devoted myself intensely to the handling of different parameters which in serial music coexist in total equality: I also studied aleatory principles and so-called minimal music.I subsequently emigrated and took up residence in Spain from where I embarked on numerous travels over the years to India, Africa and South America. I spent repeated periods during this time as a resident in non-European countries. This meant that the currents of contemporary music swept past me vaguely and at a great distance. What I instead absorbed during this period were other completely new cultures in which I attempted to immerse myself as intensively as possible.I learned foreign languages and came into contact with musicians of all classes and styles who had a different cultural heritage than my own: I was intoxicated with the diversity of artistic potential.Nevertheless, the further I distanced myself from my own Western musical heritage, the more this returned insistently in my consciousness.The scene can be imagined of sitting somewhere in the middle of the Brazilian jungle surrounded by the wailing of Indians and out of the blue being provided with the opportunity to hear Beethoven's late string quartets: this can be a heart-wrenching experience, akin to an identity crisis. This type of experience can also be described as cathartic. Whatever the circumstances, my 'renewed' occupation with the 'old' country would not permit me to return to the point at which I as an audacious young student had maltreated the musical parameters of so-called contemporary music. A completely different approach would be necessary: an extremely careful approach, inching my way gradually back into the Western world: an approach which would welcome tradition back into the fold, attempt to unfurl the petals and gently infuse this tradition with a breath of contemporary life.Although I am aware that I will not unleash a revolution or scandal with this approach, I am nevertheless confident as, with the musical vocabulary of this Requiem, I am travelling in an orbit in which no ballast or complex structures will be transported or intimated: on the contrary, I have attempted to form the message of the texts in music with the naivety of a 'homecomer'. Harald WeissColonia de San PedroMarch 2009.
SKU: BR.BG-767-02
ISBN 9790004120705. 9 x 12 inches.
Consolation II fur 16 Stimmen stellt einen Teil beziehungsweise eine Schicht eines ursprunglich vierteilig geplanten Zyklus fur Chor und Schlagzeug dar. Jeder der darin vereinigten Texte reprasentiert unter anderem Blickwinkel eine Erkenntnis, die uber die eigenen existentiellen Grenzen hinweghelfen mochte. Der hier zugrunde liegende Text - eine neuhochdeutsche Fassung des ,,Wessobrunner Gebets - lautet:Mir gestand der Sterblichen Staunen als HochstesDass Erde nicht war noch oben HimmelNoch Baum, noch irgend ein Berg nicht waryNoch die Sonne, nicht Licht warNoch der Mond nicht leuchtete noch das gewaltige MeerDa noch nirgends nichts war an Enden und WendenDa war der eine allmachtige Gott.In Consolation II ist der Text nicht mehr verstehbar. Solche ,,Unverstandlichkeit scheint mir legitim und dort kaum vermeidlich, wo Musik und musikalische Form ihre alten sprach-analogen Gesetzmassigkeiten mit anderen vertauscht haben, mit Gesetzmassigkeiten namlich, welche sich gegen die oberflachliche Koppelung mit einem semantisch orientierten und grammatikalisch gerichteten Sprachverlauf sperren. Einen Text ubers Vertonen hinaus ,,komponieren - das muss heissen: in die durch ihn gesetzte Ordnung eingreifen und auf sie reagieren. Dabei geht Consolation II - wie fruher auch Consolation I - von einer Textbehandlung aus, in welcher dank der charakteristischen Okonomie des phonetischen Materials auch trotz volliger Isolierung, Verfremdung und Umstellung der Textpartikel die semantische Bedeutung doch noch quasi ,,von fern signalisiert bleibt. Indem die phonetischen Elemente innerhalb der damit gebildeten Strukturen nicht bloss Mittel, sondern selbst Objekt des musikalischen Ausdrucks werden, stellen sich Text und Werk selbst als ein Teil jener Materie dar, von deren Zeitlichkeit hier die Rede ist.Ein geistliches Werk? Vielleicht, aber nicht von Schuld und Erlosung ist die Rede, sondern von jener Erfahrung, die jeglichem Denken zugrunde liegt: der Sterblichen Staunen(Helmut Lachenmann, 1969)CDs:Schola Cantorum Stuttgart, Ltg. Clytus Gottwald CD Cadenza 800 893 Schola Heidelberg, Ltg. Walter Nussbaum CD KAIROS 0012202KAIBibliografie:Hermanutz, Tobias: Avantgardistische Chormusik als komponierte Negative Theologie. Gyorgy Ligeti: Lux aeterna - Dieter Schnebel: AMN - Helmut Lachenmann: Consolation II - Heinz Holliger:Psalm, Diss. Karlsruhe 2014, Marburg: tectum 2015.Luck, Hartmut: Philosophie und Literatur im Werk von Helmut Lachenmann, in: Der Atem des Wanderers. Der Komponist Helmut Lachenmann, hrsg. von Hans-Klaus Jungheinrich, Mainz: Schott 2006, S. 41-55.World premiere: Basel, June 15, 1969Dedicated to Clytus Gottwald and the Stuttgarter Schola Cantorium.
