Duo Seraphim Clamabant

Performed by Chris McCall, Rowland Hazard, Daniel Pitts, Jacob Bendixen, Everardo Trujillo, and Ken Masuhiro (tenors), and Will Schlopy (baritone solo), Jonathon Arnold, Roberto Ortiz, De’John Brown, Andre Kelly, and Joe Ward (basses), conducted by Jeremy Wiggins

Instrumentation: Unaccompanied TTBB chorus

Duration: ca. 4 minutes 30 seconds

Text: Adapted from Isaiah 6:3 (Latin Vulgate)

Year composed: 2005

Place composed: Fullerton, California

Performances: Premiered by men of the California State University, Fullerton choirs, Fullerton, CA, April 2007

Program Notes: The text for this piece is taken from the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible, from Isaiah’s vision of the temple of God in Isaiah 6:3: “Two seraphim cried, one to the other: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD God Almighty! The whole earth is full of His glory.’” The piece utilizes a lot of word painting: in the beginning one can see the door to the temple opening as glimpses of the glory inside are caught; as the two seraphim call to each other there is an imitative duet between the tenors and basses; and the central “Sanctus” section (the threefold repetition of “Holy”) uses the symbolism of the number 3 in multiple ways, including threefold repetition of three chords built on thirds in 3/4 time.