Sanctus
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus
Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua.
Holy, Holy, Holy.
Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
“Sanctus” is part of an entire mass setting titled Recursive Mass. This movement’s meditative opening pairs a chanted ostinato with the main theme of the Sanctus, treated using isorythmic variation. Each vocal part has a different rate at which it states the theme. This creates an amoeba-like sound that blossoms into a more clear statement. After the opening, this theme fluctuates like the wings of the heavenly beings on whose words the text is based.
The next section receives contrasting music as the music launches into octave leaps. This theme is then set in imitation in Chorus I while the Basses, Tenors, and Altos of Chorus II sing a melodic line comprised of half notes. By the end of this section, after paired imitation and layers of counterpoint, the voices align to state the text one final time in near homophony.
This piece takes a spiritual journey from outward praise to quiet and internal pondering, returning to celebration and praises that have been influenced and carry with them the meditative, exuberant, and quietly reflective sections that have come before. Thus, the final section consists of all previously heard material in layer upon layer.
Soprano I: Kristin Princiotta, Melanie Harvey, Danielle Wells
Soprano II: Sara Bruton, Sarah Goodwin, Stella Yi
Alto I: Colleen Chester, April Mendiola, Kaleigh Schiro
Alto II: Vanessa Castañeda, Lupe Ojeda, Alexa Prax
Tenor I: Frederic Hallas, Brandon Harris, Andres León
Tenor II: Josh Elmore, Gabriel Stevens
Bass I: Ryan Clippinger, Will Reeder
Bass II: Rusty Blakey, Adam Braun, Patrick Bryant, Art Duran, Tanner Wilson
Jessica Cheng, Piano
Anthony Caro, Christian Guebert, Percussion
Steven Homestead, Conductor
Softly, as the Snow in Falling
A setting of original text, through which we hear that the small, the still, the quiet can contain a power greater than we at first perceive.
Soprano 1: Kristin Princiotta, Melanie Harvey, Danielle Wells
Soprano 2: Sara Bruton, Sarah Goodwin, Stella Yi
Alto 1: Colleen Chester, April Mendiola, Kaleigh Schiro
Alto 2: Vanessa Castañeda, Lupe Ojeda, Alexa Prax
Tenor 1: Frederic Hallas, Brandon Harris, Andres León
Tenor 2: Josh Elmore, Christian Guebert, Gabriel Stevens
Bass 1: Ryan Clippinger, Will Reeder
Bass 2: Rusty Blakey, Adam Braun, Patrick Bryant, Art Duran, Tanner Wilson
Jessica Cosley, Piano
Steven Homestead, Conductor