Chorus: SATB with occasional divisi, flute, and piano
Difficulty: High School, University, Community, Church
Duration: 3’45”
Text: Traditional mass ordinary
Language: Latin
Kyrie (2006) is not an original composition per se, but instead an adaptive arrangement of the prelude to Arcangelo Corelli’s Sonata VII (first published in 1700) that I did during my days as a student. The trio sonata, originally for violin and continuo, made a fantastic framework for the Latin Kyrie. As an exercise, I decided to treat the sonata as if it were the accompaniment for a Schubert-era choir, adding an interlude of the A section in the dominant key to function as the “Christe” portion of the Kyrie.
Lest we ever think that our exercises as students are not true artistic efforts… after showing this to Dr. Angela Batey (my choir director at the time) for feedback and constructive criticism, she decided to include it as part of her program directing the Georgia Intermediate All-State chorus in 2007! It was this event that really inspired me to focus so much on sacred choral music.