Nunc Dimittis (Opus 89)

Nunc Dimittis (Opus 89) was written in 2011 in response to a commission from the Brisbane Chamber Choir who had already performed Andrew Schultz’s Magnificat and wanted to have Nunc Dimittis to perform with the earlier work. The setting of the text parallels the dramatic flow of the original text, The Song of Simeon. The work moves from a world of clouded uncertainty through exultation and revelation to a final passage of transcendent simplicity and tranquillity.  Marked ‘Flowing’ the Nunc Dimittis is similar to Magnificat in the tempo and meter (3/2) and in the ebb and flow between four and eight part vocal writing. The first performance of Nunc Dimittis was given by the Brisbane Chamber Choir conducted by Graeme Morton at St John’s Cathedral, Brisbane, in August 2012.

Duration: approximately 5 minutes

Magnificat (Opus 79) sold separately was composed over the summer of 2008-2009. The work is an a cappella setting of the Latin Vulgate text and was written in response to a commission from the Sydney Chamber Choir.  Marked ‘Calm and gentle – with flow’ the score carries an inscription from Emily Bronte’s poem of creativity, Last Lines, “No coward soul is mine.”