Mark Vigil
Haec Dies
Duration: 2'
Choir: mixed choir
Instrumentation details:
flute
cor anglais
clarinet in Bb
1st viola
1st viola
Haec Dies
Sample pages
Audio preview
Work introduction
My composition instructor in graduate school once told me I needed to write pieces that were accessible and not stray off in an abstract tangent. He told me that this strategy could result in my pieces being performed more often. So I set these Roman Catholic texts to music only because they come from an accessible tradition of truly wonderful art music.
At the time I was writing music for gamelan, s.a.t.b. choir and flutes. I was also writing the texts myself. Undeterred by my instructor’s kind advice, I desired to be true to myself too and whole heartedly churn out beautiful art music of my own design. This piece, “Haec Dies” represents a culmination of all these influences that found there way to my psyche.
As texts go the message conveyed in “Haec Dies” is uplifting and truly wonderful. Who wouldn’t want to extoll and pay homage and thanksgiving to all the glories contained in a single day. And we all (mostly) get thousands of days to live.
This piece also represents my first attempts at writing poly metric music.