The Fredösphere

Sound files from Maundy Thursday!  At last, your curiosity will be satisfied.  Remember that this was a music drama in two scenes incorporated into a Maundy Thursday service at St. Luke Lutheran Church in Ann Arbor.  These excerpts (wma files) are from a live recording of the performance.

The musicians for this performance were singers Linda Conzelmann, Michelle Armbruster, Alan Young, and moi, plus Jeff Greunke on organ and David Horn on percussion including a freaka (a tube that whistles when you whirl it around).  The drama was directed by Karen Dahmer.

Chant: Bass

Chant: TB

Chant: SATB

The chanted sections show the influence of John Tavener and his disciple Ivan Moody.  I chose chants because they narrate the action (all performed in pantomime) in an understated way, and because I hoped they would give the piece some solemn, liturgical dignity.  The complexity builds; in the first sound clip, the bass chants with minimal accompaniment; in the second, the tenor chants with a bass echo; in the third, the soprano leads with the other three singers echo.  This is a kind of non-harmonic counterpoint; the following voices work like a straightforward echo or delay.  I'm trying to avoid either Baroque or 20th century models of counterpoint.  I try to avoid noisy confusion by directing the lead voice to sing much louder than the followers, by writing mostly static melodies, and by using a long-short-short rhythm that allows for the echo to be staggered with the leader.

"Lord, Is It I?"

Following Christ's announcement that "one of you will betray me,"  we come to a section where the phrase "Lord, is it I?" is sung 11 times, while each disciple except Judas steps forward.  Here are a few phrases from this scene.  Der Drübermensch, who is six years old, heard this sound clip while I was getting it ready to be blogged, and flattered me by singing it to himself later in the day.  Better yet, he complained at bedtime that the music scared him and was keeping him from going to sleep.  Ah, it made an impression on someone -- wonderful!

2-Part Canon

Next, you can hear a 2-part canon in the men's voices.  The delay interval keeps changing, the pitch interval changes between a second and unison, and just to throw you off, there's a bit of homophonic writing in the middle.  At the end, you hear a bit of the freaka.

Hymn and Chant

The second scene of the drama begins by transitioning from two verses of a congregational hymn (to the tune Schmücke Dich) to one final verse sung by the soloists, STB, with the alto jumping in between phrases to chant the theme of the drama:  "I have finished the work."  This is one place where the organ can be heard decently well, although the noise of the recording mostly masks a low D pedal point.  During the alto's chants, the organ adds ambiance with a high tone cluster in a 4' rank plus a mixture.

Final Chorus

I chose to end the piece with some nice, tight chords moving at a slow pace because I thought the listeners would appreciate a soothing tone bath.  As each disciple has abandoned Jesus, he has taken an object from the altar while exiting.  This mirrors the ceremony at the end of a traditional Maundy Thursday service, where the altar is stripped, leaving it bare for Good Friday.  The Bible is always the last item removed, and it is lifted up and slammed shut as loudly as possible.  It's a dramatic moment.  In this music drama, Jesus himself picks up the Bible and holds it above his head.  The quartets sings "Thy will be done" in a half-whisper, then Jesus closes the Bible (but doesn't slam it; that would seem defiant) and the final note sounds in a chime.  Jesus bows his head and exits, leaving the stripped altar behind.