For unaccompanied SATB chorus with limited divisi
c. 4’10”
First Prize, University of Notre Dame Basilica Schola Composition Competition 2021
Notre Dame Basilica Schola
The Notre Dame Basilica Schola at the University of Notre Dame is a select vocal ensemble specializing in unaccompanied sacred choral music, with a special focus on Renaissance polyphony. The choir sings for Sunday Vespers in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, special Masses, and other services throughout the academic year. The choir comprises a select group of around 16 singers, including members of the faculty, staff, and student populations at the university.
Competition
The competition called for a new work for unaccompanied SATB chorus, set to specified excerpts from Job 29 (below), up to 4’30” in length. The work is to be sung during Sunday Vespers at the Basilica. The competition particularly welcomed “pieces that use techniques based in imitative polyphony but with a modern tonal idiom, including pieces evocative of vocal jazz styles.“
Text
Job 29:2-3, 12-14 (NKJV)
Oh, that I were as in months past,
As in the days when God watched over me;
When His lamp shone upon my head,
And when by His light I walked through darkness;
Because I delivered the poor who cried out,
The fatherless and the one who had no helper.
The blessing of a perishing man came upon me,
And I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
My justice was like a robe and a turban.
Known Performances
October 3, 2021 – Basilica Schola, at Sunday Vespers, Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame
October 29, 2021 – Basilica Schola, at the 27th Annual Concert for the Missions, Basilica at Notre Dame
May 9, 2022 – Basilica Schola, Basilica at Notre Dame
Score
Score sample below. Please contact the composer for the complete score
Other
Basilica Schola announcement:
Joseph Fong Music 