Performed by the Baylor Faculty String Quartet
Roxy Grove Hall, Baylor University
September 21, 2021

In This Valley Of Tears

Performed by the Baylor Concert Choir
Directed by Dr. Lynne Gackle

"Benediction"

2019 marked the one-hundredth anniversary of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Oklahoma City, where I had the pleasure to serve as a cantor and choir member. To mark this anniversary, the Cathedral underwent a substantial renovation and was reopened to the public at the Rededication Mass on November 16, 2019. I thought that it would be great to have a new work commemorate this rededication and was very pleased when the director of music, Michael Scott, agreed to let me write music for this event. The text, “locus iste” (this place),  comes from the Latin gradual for the anniversary of the dedication of a church (Missa in anniversario dedicationis ecclesiae), and has been used by many composers - most famously in the setting by Anton Bruckner for the dedication of a votive chapel in the New Cathedral of Linz in 1869. Unlike, Bruckner’s setting, which is a lovely chorale, I wanted to harken back musically to the “golden age” of polyphony and create something that would sound a bit like Palestrina in the 21st century.

 

Locus iste a Deo factus est,

This place was made by God,

 

inaestimabile sacramentum,

a priceless sacrament,

 

irreprehensibilis est.

it is without reproach.

Locus Iste

Music by Breck McGough
Poetry by Terry W. York

Jamie Van Eyck, mezzo-soprano
Scott McAllister, clarinet
Becky Ward, Organist
First Presbyterian Chancel Choir

V. Chorus

V. The Crucifixion

IV. Chorus

IV. The Carrying Of The Cross

III. Chorus

III. The Crowning With Thorns

II. Chorus

II. The Scourging

I. Chorus

I. The Agony In The Garden

Text by Wilfred Owen (1893–1918)

Medium High Voice and Piano

Performed by Damian Raggio, tenor, and Cezary Karwowski, piano.

Score available at breckmcgough.com

"Dulce et Decorum Est"

The American premiere of "Night Song" for Trombone and Piano. Dedicated to my friend, Adam Hanna. Jeff Kidwell, Trombone. Breck McGough, Piano. 28 September 2017. Radke Fine Arts Theater, University of Central Oklahoma.

Night Song

To Awaken the Sun was inspired by a short children’s story of the same name written by Angela Morris. It is centered around a character named Mr. Violin who begins a journey with his friend, Mr. Viola, to sail the open seas. The two encounter many other modern instruments on their ship and eventually discover a new world inhabited by instruments of the Baroque era. Although very different, the modern instruments and the Baroque instruments become united through their love of music. 

Angela Morris gave nearly every instrument a personality in her story and my goal was to bring out these characters through recognizable motives. I also wanted these motives to change as the characters changed. Mr. Violin, for instance, begins the work with a very lyric and romantic solo. The next time he plays it, however, it has taken on the chanty-like characteristics of the music played aboard the ship. Near the end of the story, Mr. Violin’s music is played by the modern ensemble as they join the Baroque instruments, who offer lovely 18th-century counterpoint to the original theme. 

To Awaken the Sun is dedicated to Dr. Tess Remy-Schumacher and the University of Central Oklahoma’s Brisch Center for Historical Performance.

Zachary Anderson, Horn and Natural Horn
KaDee Bramlett, Oboe and Baroque Oboe
Margaret Brisch, Harpsichord
Emily Butterfield, Flute
Colin Deibert, Lute
Meryl Geib, Baroque Cello
Michael Geib, Bass and Baroque Bass
Dawn Lindblade-Evans, Clarinet
Theodora Morris, Recorders and Baroque Violin
Ralph Morris, Viola and Baroque Viola
Tess Remy-Schumacher, Cello
Natalie Syring, Baroque Flute
Hong Zhu, Violin

To Awaken The Sun - Combined Baroque and Modern Ensembles (Excerpts)(2019)

Commissioned by violinist, Maria Marcos, who performed it live at the UCO Jazz Lab on March 20, 2020 as part of the Electric Pizza Commission Project concert.

Recuerdos De Una Noche

The first movement of the song cycle, Amma, based on the sayings of the Desert Mothers. 
Amy Petrongelli, soprano.

"Our work is nothing less than the renunciation of life, the rehearsal of death. There are many battles and much suffering. But in the end, ineffable joy." - St. Syncletica of Alexandria (4th Century)

Amma I. "Syncletica"

Breck McGough’s award-winning scores have premiered at national and international film festivals. He studied both humanities and music at the University of Central Oklahoma, where he began scoring films for his classmates and writing music for dance. He has received commissions from Harding Fine Arts Academy, Race Dance Company, the Oklahoma Contemporary Dance Festival, and Opera On Tap - OKC. He received his master's degree in music from the University of Central Oklahoma, where he had the pleasure of studying composition with Samuel Magrill and L. Keith White. He is currently a doctoral candidate at Baylor University, studying composition with Scott McAllister. 

Breck McGough

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