Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Kyrie, eleison. Kyrie, eleison. Kyrie, eleison.
Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
Christe, eleison. Christe, eleison. Christe, eleison.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
LORY be to God on high. And in earth peace towards men of good will. We praise thee. We bless thee. We worship thee. We glorify thee. We give thanks to thee for thy great glory. O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father almighty. O Lord, the only-begotten Son Jesu Christ. O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father. That takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. Thou that sittest at the right of the Father, have mercy upon us. For thou only art Holy. Thou only art the Lord. Thou only, O Jesu Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art Most High in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of thy glory. Hosanna in the highest.
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis.
Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us;
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis;
Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us;
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis;
Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, grant us peace.
Written for Cantores Michaelis, the Southampton University choral scholars, who sing at St Michael’s church in the city centre. This recording of the world premiere was in fact sung as part of Sunday Eucharist in the church, which only added to the magic and meaning of the piece. I enjoyed rehearsing and conducting the choir for this piece!
The Gloria features lots of solos from many members of the choir. Each solo was specially written for those particular singers. I had the quality of their voices, as well as a little of their personality, in mind as I wrote.
The solo in the Agnus Dei was sung by Elizabeth Fullylove.
Thanks to Keith Davis, director of the choir and head of vocal studies at Southampton University, for his amazing support over the years that I sang with the choir and studied bel canto with him, and for his inspiring work with the choir.