"Let Nothing Ever Grieve You" pour Choeur SATB et Orgue

English Text by Paul Fleming (1609-1640), translated from the original German by Carson P. Cooman

Dédication "for the Harvard University Chorus "

Composed: June, 2006

Première:

"Let nothing ever grieve you" for SATB Chorus and Organ was written for and is dedicated to the Harvard University Choir.

This work was composed in two days due to the clear inspiration of the text by Paul Fleming (1609-1640), as translated from the original German by Carson P. Cooman.

The text is the expression of a kind of musical energy which one could consider as the equivalent of that which faith may also produce . I therefore set out to transcribe musically the mood of the text outside of any religious considerations, without denying them. This work is a hymn to the confidence that one can have the Other, whether that be one’s fellow man or God. It is also an invitation to dignity and to rigor, in the act of rejoicing.

One can easily see that the role of the organ depasses the role of simple accompagnement. The organ give this work its pulsation and also links the various sung passages. The rythmic regularity quasi-minimalist can be seen as an evocation of the Prayer Wheels of Eastern Spiritual traditions.

I specifically tried to avoid any notion of virtuosity in this work, which may link it (in this sense) to certain choral works by Fauré, Britten, or perhaps Dominic Argento.