O Vos Omnes
Poet/Lyricist:
Lamentations 1:12 and Stabat Mater
Selected as part of VocalEssence's 'Essentially Choral' program, directed by Philip Brunelle, "O Vos Omnes" uses all of the color and range a larger choir has to offer.
Premiere:
Isthmus Vocal Ensemble
Text:
O Vos Omnes
O vos omnes,
qui transitis per viam
attendite et videte
si est dolor,
sicut dolor meus.
Stabat Mater dolorosa
Juxta crucem lacrimosa.
[translation]
O all you
who pass along the way
behold and see
if there is any sorrow
like unto my sorrow.
There stood the Mother grieving,
beside the cross weeping.
Program Notes:
Very much guided by the text of "O Vos Omnes" (from Lamentations 1:12), I pictured a great crowd passing by a scene of utter sorrow. This idea, in turn, led me to incorporate a scene from the haunting Stabat Mater text "There stood the Mother grieving, beside the cross weeping.", with the soloist portraying the lamenting mother.
To musically align with these medieval texts, I at times employ a chant-like way of singing with lulling, static harmonies, as well as hocket-like interchanges, or rhythmically alternation notes between the double choirs nearer the end.
The thematic build to highly dissonant chords is representative of the disorganized and unruly "mob" sound, as well as mentality, making use of the full presence of the choir. This is intended to be powerful and a bit frightening; the group is quite oblivious to the individual's (the soloist's) pain and suffering. At the end, the crowd finally disperses, and she is left bereft and alone.
Critical Acclaim: