Morten Lauridsen O Magnum Mysterium for Brass Ensemble
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!
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. —Morten Lauridsen
Instrumentation 3 Trumpets in Bb 4 Horns in F 3 Trombones Tuba Duration: 5 ½ min. Transposed score 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 brass ensemble version was commissioned by the Bay Brass of San Francisco which has recorded the work, along with Mr. Lauridsen's Fanfare for Brass Sextet, on "Sound The Bells!" (Harmonia Mundi HMU 807556). H. Robert Reynolds has arranged the work for concert band, also published by Peermusic. 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 and have been recorded on over two hundred CDs, several of which have received Grammy nominations. 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 that have thrilled audiences worldwide.” In 2016 Mr. Lauridsen was the recipient at Lincoln Center of the ASCAP Foundation “Life in Music” Award. 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
for the Bay Brass
O Magnum Mysterium for Brass Ensemble
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© Copyright 2004 Songs of Peer, Ltd. International Copyright Secured. Printed in the U.S.A. All Rights Reserved.
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