The Lord's Prayer for Voices

Keane Southard

The Lord’s Prayer for

Voices

(2020) (Duration: c. 2-4 min.)

Program Notes: The Lord’s Prayer for Voices was written down in a single day in January 2020 after the idea had been developing in my mind for a few weeks prior. It was written for the Schola Cantorum of Christ Church, Rochester, NY while I was a member of the ensemble and premiered by the ensemble during the same month.

The piece is a single extended melody where each phrase is sung by a leader (cantor) but then echoed by the other singers who each get to choose when to begin singing each phrase. The result is that harmonies are created by the overlapping statements of each phrase, and these are somewhat different during every performance depending on the number of singers and when they choose to sing.

Performance instructions: 1. For each phrase, first a leader (cantor) sings the phrase by themselves.

Maintaining an 8th note pulse, each other singer then begins the phrase on any pulse after the leader has reached the fermata (perhaps the 7th or 8th at the latest). Once all singers have reached the fermata, the leader sings the next phrase while all the other singers hold the fermata pitch. This process is then repeated for each phrase.

2. When other singers begin to reach the fermata at the end of each phrase, the leader may drop out and rest instead of maintaining the pitch in order to conserve their voice until they begin the next phrase.

3. When all the singers have reached the fermata at the end of each phrase and everyone is singing a unison pitch, they may all create a diminuendo so that the next phrase of the leader can be heard at the appropriate dynamic level.

4. For the “Amen”, all singers observe the quarter rest. Then the leader begins the “Amen” but the other singers do NOT wait for the leader to finish the phrase. Instead, they can begin the “Amen” on any pulse after the leader’s first note, and then diminuendo only after all singers have reached the final note.

5. In order to be most effective, this piece probably requires at least 10 singers. Any collection of voice types can be used, with any tenors or basses singing the melody an octave lower than written.

Keane Southard/Spindrift Pages Email: keane.southard@hotmail.com Website: keanesouthard.instantencore.com

The Lord's Prayer e = 92-130 p espress.

        Our

       

Fa - ther,

        

Give us this day

 our

as

we



for - give

        

10

And lead us not

from

 all



          

dai - ly bread,

and for - give

   

those

   

e - vil.

is in heav - en.

pp

     

who

 

tres - pass

us

our tres - pass - es,

mf

 



 

a - gainst

us.

      

in - to temp - ta - tion,

pp

 

on earth as it

        

dim. poco a poco

13

f

mp



thy name.

          

Thy will be done

9

     

hal - lowed be

      

Thy king - dom come;

      

       

who art in heav - en,

4

7

Keane Southard

but de - li - ver us

           

Slower molto rit.



A

©2020

-

-

-

men.