Agnus Dei

For solo bass clarinet, SATB choir (plus audience), and quadraphonic playback audio. Duration: 14:45

Of the original version: December 10, 2004. NEXUS Percussion Quintet; MacMillan Singers of the University of Toronto under the direction of Doreen Rao. Faculty Artists Concerts. Walter Hall, Faculty of Music, University of Toronto. Toronto. Ontario. Canada.

Of a subsequent version for bass clarinet, string orchestra, choir, percussion, organ and audience. September 16, 2015. Jeff Reilly, bass clarinet; Wayne Strongman, organ; Mark Duggan, solo percussion; The Rosedale Soloists and Choir and students from the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto under the direction of David Passmore. Rosedale United Church, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Of the most recent version, April 13, 2019: Jeff Reilly, bass clarinet; the Uxbridge Chamber Choir and the Monday Morning Singers under the direction of Anne Mizen; Beverley Johnston, bass drum; Aaron Tsang, electronics. St. Paul's Anglican Church, 59 Toronto St. S., Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada.

Program Note

Originally the fourth movement of a multi-percussion work called Three Rituals for Percussion Quintet, Choir and Audience commissioned by the percussion ensemble NEXUS, Agnus Dei is a composition based on a simple idea of three interlocking choral motifs perpetually repeating with an added base line. I literally dreamt the idea of this composition in its entirety one night many years ago and it took just a few hours the following morning to write on paper all its essential material. I knew from the outset that, because of its conceptual clarity, this work would have a life in a variety of orchestrations and for a variety of occasions, and it has.

The most recent version for bass clarinet, ambient soundscape and community choir(s) which was created during the summer of 2018 is the definitive one as far as I am concerned. In this latest incarnation, Agnus Dei has been transformed into a dark composition for our dark times with apocalyptic warnings but also encouragement for community-bonding through singing. The strictly repetitive, “New-Age” character of the vocal music and the audience’s involvement in the music’s unfolding, are more recognizable as elements of a ritual than a work of concert music. The music’s hypnotic ‘tuning’ effect on the audience and the various types or levels of participation that are available to the listeners (and some of the performers) suggest a spirituality that is not only inwardly but also communal—the kind of spirituality I am personally devoted to. In such a musical experience the personal and communal aspects far outweigh the compositional accomplishment of the individual creator and, like with any ritual or even folk music, this balance allows the participants to be and feel central to the activities about them, as opposed to being (and feeling) passive witnesses to a creative act external to them.

Agnus Dei is dedicated to bass clarinetist and music producer Jeff Reilly, The Uxbridge Chamber Choir and the Monday Morning Singers.

—Christos Hatzis

Notes for the performers and audio engineer

The choral entrances can take the shape of a processional with each vocal group entering from the back of the hall at their point of their singing entry, first the basses followed by the altos, sopranos and finally tenors. (If this proves impractical, starting the performance with the singers in their final positions is also fine.) It may be better if the vocal groups were not close to one another, so each choral part sounds distinct to the audience. Audience members who feel vocally confident can join one of the groups and sing with them. Everyone else can whisper the words “Agnus Dei” voicelessly and in the indicated rhythm and tempo. The conductor will instruct the audience before the performance about their cues for starting or stopping their singing and, if necessary, rehearse with them for a minute or so. The conductor will need to have access to a headphone feed of the click track so that they coordinate the live performance with the audio playback. The technical requirements for the performance include two stereo audio systems (a stereo at the front of the hall and one at the back behind the audience,) one or more subwoofer speakers for the dedicated low frequency audio track and a six-channel mixer (preferably in the middle of the hall) with an engineer adjusting levels. The soundscape can be delivered from a laptop computer with any multitrack audio sequencing software which can slave audio to a tempo / time signature track (Cubase, Logic, etc.). An audio engineer familiar with the technology is required, particularly in rehearsal.

Below is the printed music for the audience: