New Music Upload! (Te Deum Movement II)

Here comes the second movement to my choral piece Te Deum Laudámus. I hope you enjoy listening to Laudem Angeli in the video below or over on the WORKS page.

Laudem Angeli means "praise of angels." In other words, this piece is about the angels' praise of God. The lyrics are taken from the Te Deum Laudámus prayer from the Book of Common Prayer. The Latin and English translations are as follows:

Tibi omnes Angeli; tibi cæli et univérsae potestátes. Tibi Chérubim et Séraphim incessábili voce proclámant: Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dóminus Deus Sábaoth. Pleni sunt cæli et terra majestátis glóriæ tuæ.

Or, in English:

To thee all Angels cry aloud; the Heavens, and all the Powers therein. To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry, Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of Sabaoth (Hosts); Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty of thy glory.

Laudem Angeli is put together a bit differently than Laudate Hominis was. For example, there is much more divisi, and in larger groups too. During the second chorus, each group of voices is divided in two in order to expand the thickness of the texture. This makes eight note chords possible. Another difference between the two movements would be that Laudem Angeli has two solo sections; one in the beginning for a tenor and one in the end for an alto. I don't have a VST for solo voices, so it still sounds like a full section singing. However, I did try to negate this by making the solo sections quieter and by only using one voice track instead of both. I suppose we'll just have to use our imaginations to visualize what a soloist would sound like there until I get a real performance of the piece. (If you know any choirs or small singing groups that would be interested, send them to my CONTACT page, please.)

Since this is technically just another movement of the same piece, there is no new cover for you to look at, per se. I didn't want to leave you hanging though, so I made another stained glass window. I decided to go red this time. Have a look.

Well, this brings us up to two movements for Te Deum Laudámus. There is still one more at least in the making, so keep your eyes peeled for another installment in this choral music series. Two great places to look would be over on my Facebook page or on my Instagram. You can follow me there and stay up to date on all my musical musings. Alternately, there is also my emailing list. Subscribers get to hear all the new music before anyone else, plus sometimes get some bonus material! Whatever you choose, your support is greatly appreciated. Thank you all for listening!

Nathan C. Curtis

#NewMusic #NathanCurtis