Composer

Richard Rice

Program Notes

One of my great joys composing for the traditional Latin Mass has been the opportunity to set various liturgical texts, especially the Mass Propers. Despite notable examples, such as Palestrina’s complete set of Offertories, full Proper cycles from both Lassus and Isaac, and Byrd’s monumental Gradualia, most of these texts have few choral settings. This is understandable, considering their practical use is usually limited to a single liturgical occasion of the Church year. But if one is not looking to get published, and has a choir willing to put in the work for such a one-off piece, these liturgical texts present a rich source for new, relatively short, but stylistically diverse choral works. Far from incidental music, such works become an integral part of liturgical prayer.

Though not technically Propers, the Responsories of Holy Week have been favorites for centuries, inspiring composers as diverse as Victoria, Gesualdo, and even moderns such as Robert Evett and Russell Woollen. This setting of Pater In Manus Tuas, the verse for the fifth Responsory for Good Friday, is the closest I’ve come, and though too fragmentary for use at Tenebræ, it would be appropriate as a meditation during the Good Friday liturgy. The declamatory opening captures Christ’s heartrending prayer from the cross, followed by the low voices, who narrate the giving up of his spirit. A modal baritone recitative provides the preceding narrative for the repeated choral opening. The broadly spaced chromatic harmonies paint a vivid tableau for this central moment of the Passion.