Angelus
for soprano and piano
(1988)
duration: 7’
text by Ross Baglin
GRT • 004
audio sample
score available from
Australian Music Centre
program note
Angelus was written in 1988 to text by Australian
poet, Ross Baglin, with whom the composer frequently
collaborates. The text refers back in time to the story of
a woman's illicit pregnancy and ambiguous implications of
this within the society of her time. This story is framed
by three prayers (sung in Latin) appealing to the mother of
God. The musical interpretation of this text is at turns
gentle or disturbing, with frequent modal modulations and
rhythmic changes but culminating in a steady mantra–like
ostinato.
text
Angelus
Domini The angel of
the Lord
Nuntiavit Mariae Announced to
Mary
E fa la lingua And give my
tongue
Mea tanto possente Such power
Incensed with
shaking hands
Thin wicks erode the tallow
Strict wood is sudden woken
And whispers “flesh is hollow”
Bent double in the bulbous shroud
Brother Michael fears his sin
The windows frame a leaden Christ
Allowing the sunlight in
Angelus Domini
Nuntiavit Mariae
E fa la lingua
Mea tanto possente
Spread fingers in
the dew
Reach out for Michael’s thought
A girl that Michael knew
One Summer in Connaught
Cries whispers in a shed
One morning white and raw
A rosary on a child’s soul
Too soon beneath the straw
Mater dei The
mother of God
Ora pro nobis Pray for us
E fa la lingua And give my
tongue
Mea summa possente Such great
power