Vidi Aquam
(satb + pno., w/ brief solo passages)
[Commissioned by Da Camera Singers of Amherst, MA, in 2013]
This three movement work explores spirituality in relation to the natural world. The piece has been performed several times throughout the US and was recorded by The Crossing on the disc Moonstrung Air.
Some notes about the text: The Spirituali were a group of sixteenth century Catholic reformers based in Italy consisting of noted clerics and others, including (possibly?) Michelangelo. The group is best known for their heretical treatise promot- ing the idea of sola fide entitled Del Beneficio di Giesu Christo Crocifisso. The original Italian was translated into French in 1552 with an introduction by the anonymous French translator. This introduction was then translated (along with the rest of the text) into English in 1575. It is this final translated translator’s introduction that I chose to work with for this piece (see facsimile at right).
The chant Vidi aquam was a natural choice as a framing device for two reasons: firstly, the text of Vidi aquam speaks to the notion of sola fide, or, ‘by faith alone,’ which was a central conviction of the Spirituali and of the treatise; secondly, the recurring images of water within the translator’s introduction invited connections to a chant with water as its main image.