Best Lauridsen
O Magnum Mysterium is an unaccompanied choral motet composed by Morten Lauridsen in 1994. It sets the traditional Latin Christmas responsory reflecting on the mystery of animals witnessing the newborn Christ, using sustained harmonies, carefully controlled dissonance, and predominantly homophonic te...
Why this score?
Contemporary choral classic, extremely performed, admired for luminous harmony though style is familiar.
Scoring methodology
Morten Lauridsen's Lux Aeterna is a five-movement sacred choral cycle composed in 1997 for mixed chorus and chamber orchestra, with an organ version also available. Its Latin texts are drawn from several liturgical sources concerned with eternal light, consolation, and rest, including passages from...
Why this score?
Lauridsen signature cycle, beloved by choirs, strong listener ratings, moderate critical reservations about sameness.
Scoring methodology
Les Chansons des Roses is a five-movement choral cycle composed by Morten Lauridsen and published in 1993. It sets French poems from Rainer Maria Rilke's Les Roses for an unaccompanied mixed choir, with the final movement, Dirait-on, also incorporating a piano part in its published form. The cycle i...
Why this score?
Well-regarded Lauridsen cycle, especially Dirait-on, popular but less iconic than O Magnum Mysterium.
Scoring methodology
"Nocturnes" is a choral song cycle by the American composer Morten Lauridsen, completed in 2005. It sets three poems on themes of night and contemplation: Rainer Maria Rilke's "Sa Nuit d'Été," Pablo Neruda's "Soneto de la Noche," and James Agee's "Sure on This Shining Night." The work extends Laurid...
Why this score?
Attractive later Lauridsen cycle, consistent craft, less distinctive consensus impact.
Scoring methodology
