Terra tremuit
2014 | SATB chorus and trumpet in C | Op. 18
duration: 4:30
to Schola Cantorum, Simon Berry, director, St. Dominic's Catholic Church, San Francisco
Program Note
Terra tremuit, et quievit, dum resurgeret in iudicio, alleluia.
The earth trembled, and was still, when God arose in judgment, alleluia.
This motet is based on the offertory chant for Easter Sunday. The music begins in quiet contemplation, builds in intensity through the word tremuit, and then returns to stillness (et quievit). The choir is interrupted by a trumpet cadenza the ending of which will provide the entrance notes of the following choral passage. The choir’s second entrance should be slightly warmer and slightly faster than before, again reflecting the Latin text. A second trumpet cadenza follows, with greater majesty than before, and again the ending of the phrase provides the notes for the choir. The choral entrance that follows (m. 22) should begin with restrained joy, becoming ever more excited and exuberant through m. 42, before ending in contemplative stillness.
to Schola Cantorum, Simon Berry, director, St. Dominic's Catholic Church, San Francisco
Program Note
Terra tremuit, et quievit, dum resurgeret in iudicio, alleluia.
The earth trembled, and was still, when God arose in judgment, alleluia.
This motet is based on the offertory chant for Easter Sunday. The music begins in quiet contemplation, builds in intensity through the word tremuit, and then returns to stillness (et quievit). The choir is interrupted by a trumpet cadenza the ending of which will provide the entrance notes of the following choral passage. The choir’s second entrance should be slightly warmer and slightly faster than before, again reflecting the Latin text. A second trumpet cadenza follows, with greater majesty than before, and again the ending of the phrase provides the notes for the choir. The choral entrance that follows (m. 22) should begin with restrained joy, becoming ever more excited and exuberant through m. 42, before ending in contemplative stillness.
