Commissioned by Mozes en Aäronkerk/ Gemeente Sant’Egidio Amsterdam
Instrumentation:
Countertenor, Saxophone, Harp, Organ/ Continuo
This song cycle is a diptych inspired by the song Cantico del Sole written by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1225, and his famous mantra Deus meus et omnia, a prayer that in just a few words encapsulates his philosophy and spiritual awakening. The words of the Cantico, greeting the creatures and elements as brothers and sisters, was written in Umbrian dialect and is considered to be the first song written in proto modern Italian language. It radiates the warmth of love and ecstatic joy and beauty of nature and harmony between living beings who share the common experience of life and death. Written just before the end of the saint’s life, he suffered deeply from a painful eye disease that left him blind, his words are imbued with both celebration and melancholy. The push and pull between joy and sorrow encapsulates the charisma of the words and it is that quality that the composer seeks to reveal in the musical setting of the text. Witten for counter tenor, saxophone, harp and continuo, it blends ancient with modern as the words themselves are as relevant today as they were in the thirteenth century. As the words were written with so much loving kindness, so too is the music an outpouring of radiating warmth inspired by this extraordinary historical personality.
Deus meus et omnia
Cantico del Sole
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