“O Magnum Mysterium” is a profound choral piece that celebrates the miracle of birth. Designed for high-performance choruses, this 5-minute composition showcases the full power of voices.
It premiered at Lawrence Memorial Chapel in Wisconsin, performed by Cantala under the direction of Dr. Phillip A. Swan in November 2017. This captivating piece has also been performed internationally, including by the Chien-Kuo High School Choir in Taiwan during 2018 and by the Elektra Women’s Choir in November 2019.
Morna Edmunson said:
“This setting of O Magnum Mysterium is both very challenging and rewarding. With huge ranges of tessitura, dynamics, and tempo, it is more like a landscape than a setting of the text. It provided a powerful high point of tension in our concert and one could tell the audience was engaged in its drama. SSAA with divisi and a soprano soloist at the beginning and end. Not recommended for children’s choirs due to the extreme vocal ranges on both ends.”
Difficulty: Medium / Hard
Instrumentation: SSAA or TTBB
Text language: Latin
Duration: 5:00 min
