Pater, Si Non Potest (2017)

For SSAATTBB Choir, with additional divisi and 4 soloists | 4'

As a child, I attended a choir school in which Gregorian chant was a central part of our repertoire, and a major current in my work has been inspired by this experience. What makes the particular chant I have chosen for this work important to me is its emotional directness and simplicity; the text is from the agony of Jesus in the garden, speaking about his coming ordeal and death, and the musical content of the chant has a similar sense of urgency to me. As a composer, I am interested in placing this source into my own contemporary sound-world, ultimately making a personal interpretation.

Text: Pater, si non potest hic calix transire nisi bibam illum, fiat voluntas tua.

Translation (by the composer): Father, if this cup cannot pass unless I drink it, may your will be done.

RECORDING

The Crossing, cond. Donald Nally