Voices of Connection: 12/11 Quem Pastores Laudavere
Today’s selection comes as a request from Voices board member (and sometime Voices singer) Phyllis Kubey, with a reflection by the composer:
When Dennis Keene asked me to compose this Christmas anthem for Voices of Ascension back in 1999, he requested that it be a clear straightforward piece which would serve a variety of different ensembles, both professional and amateur. I believe that in some measure my efforts were successful. I am grateful for what seems to be the enduring popularity of this music. In this composition, a kind of mini theme-and-variations, the melodic material is presented in various textures, taken up by different vocal parts within the chorus.
In many ways, there is nothing quite like the first performance of a new work, and here, this stunning first rendering by Voices of Ascension, to my ears, remains definitive.
A quick and true anecdote: Some colleagues familiar with the piece noticed that, in the performance at the Vatican, Christmas Eve 2016, the last eight measures were somehow omitted. I explained the reason for this was that Pope Francis had finished incensing the altar, and so the choir was obliged to bring the music to a lovely — if slightly premature — close.
Happy holidays to all! — JAMES BASSI
JAMES BASSI Quem Pastores Laudavere
Voices of Ascension
Dennis Keene, Artistic Director
Recorded live in concert, December 1999 at Church of the Ascension
The singers in this performance are represented by the American Guild of Musical Artists, AFL-CIO.