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SELECTED CHORAL WORKS
BACK TO MUSIC CATALOG
Be Joyful in God (1995)
for SATB and organ
4 min.
Based on Psalm 66.
Music for sale.
MORE
The Dream's Okay (2001)
for children's chorus with elementary band
and/or professional woodwind quintet
and/or piano
5 min.
An arrangement of "Scene 1: The Tavern" from American Journal for baritone voice and string quartet. Text by Robert Hayden.
Music for sale.
The Lord Has Done Great Things For Us (1992)
for SATB and organ
3 min.
Based on Psalm 126.
Music for sale.
MORE
Lux Aeterna (2006)
for SATB a capella (optional piano/organ)
4 min.
Composed for the Harvard-Radcliffe Class of 1980 Reunion Choir.
Music for sale.
MORE
Music for the Eucharist (1992)
for SATB a cappella
3 min.
Composed for and premiered by the Choir of the Church of the Ascension in New York City, Dennis Keene, director.
Music for sale.
Three Mystical Choruses (2006)
The Open Door / The Song of Uvavnuk / A Vein of Sapphires
for SATB with piano
5 min. (each)
Based on texts by Rumi, Uvavnuk, and Mahavediyakka. Composed for the Young People's Chorus of New York, and also performed by the Phoenix Quartet (four professional singers). Each piece can be performed separately.
Music for sale.
"The Open Door" available for purchase from G. Schirmer Inc.
MORE
Three Scenes from Chicken Sunday (2000)
for children's chorus (SA) and saxophone quartet or piano
8 min.
Based on the children's book by Patricia Polacco.
Music for sale.
MORE
BACK TO MUSIC CATALOG
Be Joyful In God (1995)
for SATB and organ
4 min.
PROGRAM NOTE
I composed this anthem to celebrate the birth of our second child, Marlon. A setting of selected verses from Psalm 66, it was first performed by the choir of the Church of the Ascension in New York City.
—Theodore Wiprud
BACK TO SELECTED CHORAL WORKS
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The Lord Has Done Great Things For Us (1992)
for SATB and organ
3 min.
PROGRAM NOTE
I composed this anthem to celebrate the birth of our first child, Allegra. A setting of selected verses from Psalm 126, it was first performed by the choir of the Church of the Ascension in New York City.
—Theodore Wiprud
BACK TO SELECTED CHORAL WORKS
BACK TO PREVIOUS PAGE
Lux Aeterna (2006)
for SATB a capella (optional piano/organ)
4 min.
PROGRAM NOTE
When classmates from Harvard asked me to compose music for the memorial service at our 25th reunion, to honor classmates no longer with us, I was deeply touched and wanted to provide something truly appropriate—music that would provide space for reflection and that sense of a greater, encompassing reality that provides comfort in the face of tragic loss. I considered many texts, including secular ones, before settling on what might have seemed the obvious choice from the start, the Lux Aeterna verses of the Requiem Mass, which provide the greatest source of light and solace in that solemn sequence. I knew that volunteers from the class would sing it on a single rehearsal, so it needed to be quickly learned. And because I expected many of the singers to be alumni of the various student choral ensembles, I decided on a neo-Renaissance style of writing—open and flowing and full of imitative counterpoint. The memorial service proved to be very moving and significant, with many classmates contributing very handsomely. I was proud to be able to contribute this music, grateful to the classmates who diligently learned it, and even more moved to be joined by my wife Kim and daughter Allegra, then 13 years old, in the chorus.
—Theodore Wiprud
Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine,
cum sanctis tuis in aeternum,
quia pius es.
Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis,
quia pius es.
Let everlasting light shine upon them, Lord,
with Thy saints for ever,
for Thou art merciful.
Grant them eternal rest, Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them,
for Thou art merciful.
BACK TO SELECTED CHORAL WORKS
BACK TO PREVIOUS PAGE
Three Mystical Choruses (2006)
The Open Door / The Song of Uvavnuk / A Vein of Sapphires
for SATB with piano
5 min. (each)
"The Open Door" is available for purchase from G. Schirmer Inc.
Watch "The Open Door" performed by the Georgia All-State Chorus on YouTube
PROGRAM NOTE
Three Mystical Choruses began with a commission from Francisco Nunez for the Young People's Chorus of New York, for a short piece for young mixed chorus. I turned to Rumi for a text that might say something arresting to teens. "The Open Door" indeed struck a chord with the singers as with adults, and Mr. Nunez requested more pieces. So I completed a set of three drawing on texts from other mystics from non-Western traditions.
Born Jala-e-Din Mohammad, the poet known simply as Rumi was a Sufi mystic of disarming simplicity and sophistication. He wrote during the 13th century, in the town of Qonya, in what was then Persia (today, Turkey). His poetry, in both Farsi and Arabic, defines Sufism for most Westerners—that branch of Islam that emphasizes the individual's meditative search for truth and divinity. (The ecstasy of the "whirling Dervish" is another essential face of Sufism.) I have used a translation by Coleman Barks—himself a renowned poet and regarded as Rumi's most insightful translator—found in his compilation The Essential Rumi (Harper San Francisco, 1995).
Uvavnuk was a woman of the Iglulik Eskimos who lived during the 19th century. Her transformation into a shaman was recounted decades after her death by a Norwegian explorer who heard the tale. Uvavnuk left her hut one night to relieve herself. A ball of fire plummeted to earth and entered her body. Her consciousness was filled with light and she fainted. When she came to, she went back into the hut singing the song here set to music, and she was regarded as a great shaman, or mystic, from that moment on. I find in "The Song of Uvavnuk" an uncanny parallel to the Magnificat, the song of Mary accepting the Holy Spirit into her body to impregnate her with the Christ. I first encountered the text in John Luther Adams' pathbreaking music theatre work, Earth and the Great Weather. I have not been able to trace or attribute the translation, which is based on Knud Rasmussen's account in Account of the Fifth Thule Expedition, 1921-1924, Volume VII.
Mahadevi was a Hindu mystic of the 12th century, a woman devoted to the cult of Shiva, the destroyer and renewer. Something of a nuisance to her fellow adepts, she took to traveling with no clothes other than her long hair as she proclaimed the unity of the divine with her own soul and with creation itself. Legend has it that when she died she was consumed in a burst of light. Although she was still young, in her twenties at her death, her name often appears with the suffix meaning grandmother, as Mahadeviyakka. The translation used in "A Vein of Sapphires" is by Jane Hirshfield from her collection Women In Praise Of The Sacred (Harper Perennial 1995).
—Theodore Wiprud
BACK TO SELECTED CHORAL WORKS
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Three Scenes From Chicken Sunday (2000)
for children's chorus (SA) and saxophone quartet or piano
8 min.
PROGRAM NOTE
For three years I served as composer-in-residence at PS 321 in Brooklyn’s Park Slope, thanks to support from The Commission Project. Each year I composed for the wonderful chorus, led by Alison Gbaje. Each year that school would read a selected book in all grades, kindergarten to fifth—a book that could be appreciated on different levels by different age groups. That year it was Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco, and I loved it as much as anyone. It’s a compelling story of Jewish and African-American friends, of those who are victimized whether for their race or for their age, and of how deep wounds can be healed by kindness. I took three passages from the book, knowing they would speak strongly to the whole school, and set them as the most demanding music I would create for those kids. They did splendidly, accompanied by the wonderful American Saxophone Quartet (the baritone player was a father at the school). That performance remains my warmest memory of all those years at PS 321.
—Theodore Wiprud
BACK TO SELECTED CHORAL WORKS
BACK TO PREVIOUS PAGE
BACK TO MUSIC CATALOG
Be Joyful in God (1995)
for SATB and organ
4 min.
Based on Psalm 66.
Music for sale.
MORE
The Dream's Okay (2001)
for children's chorus with elementary band
and/or professional woodwind quintet
and/or piano
5 min.
An arrangement of "Scene 1: The Tavern" from American Journal for baritone voice and string quartet. Text by Robert Hayden.
Music for sale.
The Lord Has Done Great Things For Us (1992)
for SATB and organ
3 min.
Based on Psalm 126.
Music for sale.
MORE
Lux Aeterna (2006)
for SATB a capella (optional piano/organ)
4 min.
Composed for the Harvard-Radcliffe Class of 1980 Reunion Choir.
Music for sale.
MORE
Music for the Eucharist (1992)
for SATB a cappella
3 min.
Composed for and premiered by the Choir of the Church of the Ascension in New York City, Dennis Keene, director.
Music for sale.
Three Mystical Choruses (2006)
The Open Door / The Song of Uvavnuk / A Vein of Sapphires
for SATB with piano
5 min. (each)
Based on texts by Rumi, Uvavnuk, and Mahavediyakka. Composed for the Young People's Chorus of New York, and also performed by the Phoenix Quartet (four professional singers). Each piece can be performed separately.
Music for sale.
"The Open Door" available for purchase from G. Schirmer Inc.
MORE
Three Scenes from Chicken Sunday (2000)
for children's chorus (SA) and saxophone quartet or piano
8 min.
Based on the children's book by Patricia Polacco.
Music for sale.
MORE
BACK TO MUSIC CATALOG
Be Joyful In God (1995)
for SATB and organ
4 min.
PROGRAM NOTE
I composed this anthem to celebrate the birth of our second child, Marlon. A setting of selected verses from Psalm 66, it was first performed by the choir of the Church of the Ascension in New York City.
—Theodore Wiprud
BACK TO SELECTED CHORAL WORKS
BACK TO PREVIOUS PAGE
The Lord Has Done Great Things For Us (1992)
for SATB and organ
3 min.
PROGRAM NOTE
I composed this anthem to celebrate the birth of our first child, Allegra. A setting of selected verses from Psalm 126, it was first performed by the choir of the Church of the Ascension in New York City.
—Theodore Wiprud
BACK TO SELECTED CHORAL WORKS
BACK TO PREVIOUS PAGE
Lux Aeterna (2006)
for SATB a capella (optional piano/organ)
4 min.
PROGRAM NOTE
When classmates from Harvard asked me to compose music for the memorial service at our 25th reunion, to honor classmates no longer with us, I was deeply touched and wanted to provide something truly appropriate—music that would provide space for reflection and that sense of a greater, encompassing reality that provides comfort in the face of tragic loss. I considered many texts, including secular ones, before settling on what might have seemed the obvious choice from the start, the Lux Aeterna verses of the Requiem Mass, which provide the greatest source of light and solace in that solemn sequence. I knew that volunteers from the class would sing it on a single rehearsal, so it needed to be quickly learned. And because I expected many of the singers to be alumni of the various student choral ensembles, I decided on a neo-Renaissance style of writing—open and flowing and full of imitative counterpoint. The memorial service proved to be very moving and significant, with many classmates contributing very handsomely. I was proud to be able to contribute this music, grateful to the classmates who diligently learned it, and even more moved to be joined by my wife Kim and daughter Allegra, then 13 years old, in the chorus.
—Theodore Wiprud
Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine,
cum sanctis tuis in aeternum,
quia pius es.
Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis,
quia pius es.
Let everlasting light shine upon them, Lord,
with Thy saints for ever,
for Thou art merciful.
Grant them eternal rest, Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them,
for Thou art merciful.
BACK TO SELECTED CHORAL WORKS
BACK TO PREVIOUS PAGE
Three Mystical Choruses (2006)
The Open Door / The Song of Uvavnuk / A Vein of Sapphires
for SATB with piano
5 min. (each)
"The Open Door" is available for purchase from G. Schirmer Inc.
Watch "The Open Door" performed by the Georgia All-State Chorus on YouTube
PROGRAM NOTE
Three Mystical Choruses began with a commission from Francisco Nunez for the Young People's Chorus of New York, for a short piece for young mixed chorus. I turned to Rumi for a text that might say something arresting to teens. "The Open Door" indeed struck a chord with the singers as with adults, and Mr. Nunez requested more pieces. So I completed a set of three drawing on texts from other mystics from non-Western traditions.
Born Jala-e-Din Mohammad, the poet known simply as Rumi was a Sufi mystic of disarming simplicity and sophistication. He wrote during the 13th century, in the town of Qonya, in what was then Persia (today, Turkey). His poetry, in both Farsi and Arabic, defines Sufism for most Westerners—that branch of Islam that emphasizes the individual's meditative search for truth and divinity. (The ecstasy of the "whirling Dervish" is another essential face of Sufism.) I have used a translation by Coleman Barks—himself a renowned poet and regarded as Rumi's most insightful translator—found in his compilation The Essential Rumi (Harper San Francisco, 1995).
Uvavnuk was a woman of the Iglulik Eskimos who lived during the 19th century. Her transformation into a shaman was recounted decades after her death by a Norwegian explorer who heard the tale. Uvavnuk left her hut one night to relieve herself. A ball of fire plummeted to earth and entered her body. Her consciousness was filled with light and she fainted. When she came to, she went back into the hut singing the song here set to music, and she was regarded as a great shaman, or mystic, from that moment on. I find in "The Song of Uvavnuk" an uncanny parallel to the Magnificat, the song of Mary accepting the Holy Spirit into her body to impregnate her with the Christ. I first encountered the text in John Luther Adams' pathbreaking music theatre work, Earth and the Great Weather. I have not been able to trace or attribute the translation, which is based on Knud Rasmussen's account in Account of the Fifth Thule Expedition, 1921-1924, Volume VII.
Mahadevi was a Hindu mystic of the 12th century, a woman devoted to the cult of Shiva, the destroyer and renewer. Something of a nuisance to her fellow adepts, she took to traveling with no clothes other than her long hair as she proclaimed the unity of the divine with her own soul and with creation itself. Legend has it that when she died she was consumed in a burst of light. Although she was still young, in her twenties at her death, her name often appears with the suffix meaning grandmother, as Mahadeviyakka. The translation used in "A Vein of Sapphires" is by Jane Hirshfield from her collection Women In Praise Of The Sacred (Harper Perennial 1995).
—Theodore Wiprud
BACK TO SELECTED CHORAL WORKS
BACK TO PREVIOUS PAGE
Three Scenes From Chicken Sunday (2000)
for children's chorus (SA) and saxophone quartet or piano
8 min.
PROGRAM NOTE
For three years I served as composer-in-residence at PS 321 in Brooklyn’s Park Slope, thanks to support from The Commission Project. Each year I composed for the wonderful chorus, led by Alison Gbaje. Each year that school would read a selected book in all grades, kindergarten to fifth—a book that could be appreciated on different levels by different age groups. That year it was Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco, and I loved it as much as anyone. It’s a compelling story of Jewish and African-American friends, of those who are victimized whether for their race or for their age, and of how deep wounds can be healed by kindness. I took three passages from the book, knowing they would speak strongly to the whole school, and set them as the most demanding music I would create for those kids. They did splendidly, accompanied by the wonderful American Saxophone Quartet (the baritone player was a father at the school). That performance remains my warmest memory of all those years at PS 321.
—Theodore Wiprud
BACK TO SELECTED CHORAL WORKS
BACK TO PREVIOUS PAGE
