(Each week we look at one or two of the best choral works posted in the Composition Showcase here on ChoralNet. This is where we store a treasure trove of works that your choirs will love to sing and your audiences will love to hear.)
Agnus Dei by william copper for SAB a cappella (Click here for PDF and here for AUDIO) Organ accompaniment edition available.
Level: High School or Intermediate Church Choir
Uses: General Concert Use, Communion Rite, Easter
Program Themes: Masterworks, Languages
This Piece Would Program Well With: Gloria (from “Paukenmesse”) by F. Joseph Haydn arr. Robinson available from JWPepper and Sheet Music Plus.
Willliam Copper has presented us with an Agnus Dei that includes a couple of unusual twists. It is for SAB but invites the congregation to join in, doubling various parts in the imitative polyphony. It also includes a guide to singing in “just” instead of the “well tempered” tuning. For the conductor or teacher that doesn’t have a degree in early music, this is an excellent piece to start you and your singers on the road to a greater understanding. The virtual recording of the piece is done in just intonation. The ranges are very approachable and the rhythm is bright and energetic. I could see using this in concert or during the Easter Season.
Agnus Dei is available from the composer https://choralnet.org/view/user/105576
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