Kyrie
Timothy J. Brown
About this work:
Kyrie is a work for unaccompanied SATB choir which uses indeterminacy. Musically, the construction of the piece is that each of the four parts of the choir have their own chant (use of chant being a connection with time past), but this chant is broken up into phrases. Each phrase is repeated three times, representing the trinity, and each singer uses an entire breath per phrase. In this way the fragmentation also symbolizes that each individual Communicant - a breath - is a part of the larger whole, but that our duration (a breath of time for God) on the planet is shorter than the duration of the whole, of Christ the Chant. Each person is a fragment of the greater body. The blend of the various vowels and phrases of the text is reminiscent of Pentecost, with many languages spoken at once.
Year composed: 1999
Duration: 00:04:00
Ensemble type: Chorus, with or without Solo Voices:Chorus, Unaccompanied
Instrumentation: 1 S, 1 A, 1 T, 1 B
Instrumentation notes: Uses indeterminacy. Requires singers with the ability to sing independently of others in their sections.