Choral Music
The following titles are representative works from a substantial catalog of choral music by Frederick Frahm. For a list of additional works, please contact the composer. Click on a link below to see sample pages or to hear an MP3 clip. To order your own copy of any title, click on the order music link. You will be directed to the composer by e-mail, or to a retailer website for published editions.
Two Celan Motets (SSATBB, a cappella)
Paul Celan (1920-1970) was a poet and translator who becomame one of the major German-language poets of the post-World War II era. The poems for the two motets are selected from Die Niemandsrose (1963). Both motets are set in the original German, here translated by Michael Hamburger:
Die Niemandsrose
No one moulds us again out of earth and clay,
no one conjures our dust.
No one...
Sie Gruben
There was earth inside them, and
They dug...
Remember, O Sword (SSATBB)
A setting of a poem by H. D. found in the collection 'The Walls Do Not Fall' (1912). This choral work was originally included in the composer's requiem for chorus and chamber orchestra "Grant Us Untoubled Rest'. A version of the score exists in which the choral parts are doubled by instruments. The text as adapted by the composer is as follows:
In principio erat verbum (In the beginning was the Word.)
Remember, O Sword
We fight for life,
we fight for breath...
Art Thou Weary? (SAB & piano)
A setting for SAB chorus and piano of a text by John Mason Neale (1818-1866) after St. Stephen of Mar Saba. While the text has been associated with a Joseph Barnby tune in many 19th and 20th century Christian hymnals, a new tune was created for this setting. The music has a 19th century period character reminiscent of Beethoven or Schumann. A version for chamber orchestra with oboe solo is available upon request.
Art thou weary, art thou languid,
Art thou sore distrest?
“Come to me”—saith One—“and coming,
Be at rest!”...
Down He Came From Up (SATB, flute & organ)
A charming and rhythmic setting of a text by American Poet Luci Shaw. Composed in 2003, the music was premiered at St. Paul Episcopal Church in Bellingham, WA. The music, suitable for a Nativity-tide performance, is scored for Flute solo, SATB chorus, and Organ (mostly manuals).
Down he came from up
and in from out,
and here from there...
Epistle Motets (SAB, a cappella)
Three motets for SAB chorus, a cappella, based on texts from the writings of St. Paul. These are challenging but rewarding pieces for the advanced choir. Ensembles familiar with the choral writing of Hugo Distler will find a kindred spirit in these motets. Quartal harmony, mixed meter, ostinati, and a breadth of dynamic expression abound.
Christus Factus Est
Phil. 2:5-11
Reformation Motet
Rom. 3:11-14, 23, 24
In Adam We Are All Made One
Rom. 5:12, 6:23
A Babe Is Born in Bethlehem (SATB & Chamber Orchestra)
A large anthem for choir and chamber orchestra (strings, trumpet & organ) which features a text by English poet Alice Meynell. The music has an ABCBA form overall and makes use of a variety of instrumental textures. This music was adapted into one piece from an earlier cantata in several movements. The first performance of this music was an Christmas Eve 2011 at St. Luke Lutheran Church in Albuquerque, NM.
A General Communion (SATB & organ)
A second anthem based on a text by English poet Alice Meynell which is intended for a eucharistic celebration. The choral writing is very much in the English 'cathdral' style, and the organ part is distinctive and beyond a mere accompaniment.