Cor Jesu Trinitatis
Allen Brings
About this work:
The motet Cor Jesu Trinitatis is one of my earliest attempts to contribute to an improvement of the repertory of liturgical music in the Catholic Church. If the prinicpal melodic line is clearly influenced by Gregorian chant, the harmony, though both diatonic and predominantly triadic, is very much of the 20th century. While the preference for a Latin text may be explained by the motet's pre-Vatican II origin, there would be ample reason even today for such a preference. The excellent "practical" English translation by Joseph Machlis, my colleague at Queens College and one of the most distinguished translators of opera libretti of his time, was prompted rather by the wishes of the motet's publisher. If I was pleased by the musical results in 1954, the year of its composition, it seems to me now, almost a half-century later, to be even a little better than I thought it was then! I conducted the first performance of the piece in a liturgical setting during mass at Holy Family church in Flushing, New York, where I was then living with my family while attending Queens College as an undergraduate. The motet is published by Mira Music Associates. For further information contact miramusic@aol.com. A recording is on Capstone Records CPS-8731
Review: "The CD [Music for Voices by Allen Brings] is a very good anthology of the vocal compositons of Allen Brings. The Three Holy Sonnets (1988) for chorus and orchestra, The Lament of Rachel (1994) for chamber choir and piano, four-hands, and From Psalterium Davidicum (1994) for chorus and orchestra all manifest a polyphonic texture for the voices and the instruments. These compositions are dramatic in their use of dynamics, contrasting textures, and dissonant harmonic language.
"The other recordings, A Herrick Suite (1977) for chorus & piano, Three Songs of Blake & Donne for soprano & piano contain beautiful melodies that fit the content of the words eloquently. These works manifest a more consonant harmonic language. The piano accompaniments are rich in counterpoint and create a thematic unity through variation.
"The quality and the performance of the recording are excellent."
Helmut Christoferus Calabrese
New Music Connoisseur, 2004
Version: Chorus of mixed voices, a cappella
Year composed: 1954
Duration: 00:02:30
Ensemble type: Chorus, with or without Solo Voices:Unknown
Instrumentation: 3 S, 3 SS, 3 A, 3 AA, 2 T, 2 TT, 2 B, 2 BB
Instrumentation notes: For unaccompanied chorus of mixed voices with occasionally divided parts.