G-7592 Velum templi.mus - GIA Publications

2
to Evelyn Wagner
VELUM TEMPLI
Liber usualis, Good Friday matins, Resp. 2 Paul Nicholson (b. 1963)
S, A
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scis - sum,
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From the Composer
The text of “Velum templi” is taken from the Good Friday matins, as found in the Liber usualis. In addition to this
specific, liturgical moment in the church year, the piece can certainly be used in a choral concert setting to great
effect. Any performance of this composition will be enhanced by underscoring the text painting. The initial
phrase, with its repetition of “velum,” should evoke the image of a smooth, flowing and loosely hanging fabric;
rhythmic freedom will help in achieving this. When the curtain is torn, the piece becomes strictly measured and
clearly defined, thus destroying the feeling of freedom. When the rocks are broken apart and the tombs are
opened, there is a sense of upheaval, angularity, shock and unevenness. Finally, the plea of the dying thief is soft,
barely audible, and fading away, as it would be when succumbing to asphixiation on a cross.
—Paul Nicholson
Translation
The veil of the temple was ripped in two and all the earth trembled. The thief cried our from the cross, saying:
Remember me, Lord, when you come into your kingdom.
Rocks were split and tombs were opened, and the bodies of many holy ones, who had died, were raised to life.
G-7592
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3
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