Lauridsen - O Magnum Mysterium for violin and piano (sample pages)

Morten Lauridsen O Magnum Mysterium for Violin and Piano

O Magnum Mysterium O magnum mysterium, et admirabile sacramentum ut animalia viderent Dominum natum, jacentum in praesepio!

Beata Virgo, cujus viscera meruerunt portare Dominum Christum. Alleluia!

O great mystery, and wondrous sacrament, that animals should see the newborn Lord, lying in their manger!

Blessed is the Virgin whose womb was worthy to bear the Lord Jesus Christ. Alleluia!

– Translation © by earthsongs. Reprinted by permission.

For centuries, composers have been inspired by the beautiful O Magnum Mysterium text depicting the birth of the new-born King amongst the lowly animals and shepherds. This affirmation of God’s grace to the meek and the adoration of the Blessed Virgin are celebrated in my setting through a quiet song of profound inner joy.

The original choral version of O Magnum Mysterium was commissioned by Marshall Rutter in honor of his wife, Terry Knowles, and premiered December 18, 1994 by the Los Angeles Master Chorale, conducted by Paul Salamunovich, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. The version for voice and piano was premiered on November 22, 1999, by soprano Jama Laurent with the composer at the piano.

Soprano Jane Thorngren, accompanied by the composer, has recorded O Magnum Mysterium on the compact disc “Lauridsen – Northwest Journey” (RCM). Baritone Jeremy Huw Williams and pianist Paula Fan have recorded O Magnum Mysterium on “Prayer: The Songs of Morten Lauridsen.” An article written by Mr. Lauridsen for the Wall Street Journal, “Zurbaran’s Still-Life with Lemons, Oranges and a Rose: An inspiration for the choral setting of O Magnum Mysterium,” is reprinted at mortenlauridsen.net.

Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers commissioned the versions of O Magnum Mysterium for violin and either full or chamber orchestra and violin and piano. She has recorded the work with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Kristjan Järvi on the compact disc “Fantasia-Fantasy Album” on eOne recordings.

On her recording, Ms. Meyers performed the more elaborate violin version from measures 47 to the end of measure 67. Violinists are free to perform the more direct version of the melody based on the original vocal line in these measures if they prefer. Both versions are printed in this score.

—Morten Lauridsen The music of Morten Lauridsen occupies a permanent place in the standard vocal repertoire of the Twenty-First Century. His eight vocal cycles, art songs and sacred a cappella motets are featured regularly in concert by distinguished artists and ensembles throughout the world.

The book “Choral Music in the Twentieth Century” describes Lauridsen as “the only American composer in history who can be called a mystic, (whose) probing, serene work contains an elusive and indefinable ingredient which leaves the impression that all the questions have been answered. . . . From 1993 Lauridsen’s music rapidly increased in international popularity, and by century’s end he had eclipsed Randall Thompson as the most frequently performed American choral composer.” His works have been recorded on over two hundred CDs, several of which have received Grammy nominations.

Mr. Lauridsen chaired the Composition Department at the USC Thornton School of Music from 1990-2002 and founded the School’s Advanced Studies Program in Film Scoring. A native of the Pacific Northwest, he worked as a Forest Service firefighter and lookout (on an isolated tower near Mt. St. Helens) prior to studying composition at USC. He now divides his time between Los Angeles and his summer cabin on a remote island off the northern coast of Washington State.

In 2006 Morten Lauridsen was named an “American Choral Master” by the National Endowment for the Arts and in 2007 he was awarded the National Medal of Arts, the highest artistic award in the United States, by the President in a White House ceremony “for his composition of radiant choral works combining musical beauty, power, and spiritual depth.”

Mr. Lauridsen is Distinguished Professor of Composition at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music and served as Composer-in-Residence of the Los Angeles Master Chorale from 1995-2001. An award-winning documentary, “Shining Night: A Portrait of Composer Morten Lauridsen” by filmmaker Michael Stillwater, is available at songwithoutborders.net.

For more about Morten Lauridsen: www.peermusicClassical.com and www.mortenlauridsen.net

to Anne Akiko Meyers

O Magnum Mysterium for Violin and Piano Adagio, molto legato e espressivo (q = ca. 76)

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Morten Lauridsen

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© Copyright 2016 by Songs of Peer, Ltd. International Copyright Secured.

All Rights Reserved.

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