Wienhorst: Sacred Music

On this CD:

1. God Who Made the Earth and Heaven
Composed by Richard Wienhorst
Performed by American Repertory Singers, Sara Stern
Conducted by Robert Schuneman

2. Missa Brevis
Composed by Richard Wienhorst
Performed by American Repertory Singers, Sara Stern
Conducted by Robert Schuneman

3. Psalm 147
Composed by Richard Wienhorst
Performed by American Repertory Singers, Sara Stern
Conducted by Robert Schuneman

4. The Seven Words of Christ from the Cross
Composed by Richard Wienhorst
Performed by American Repertory Singers, Sara Stern
Conducted by Robert Schuneman

5. Alleluia Verses for Easter
Composed by Richard Wienhorst
Performed by American Repertory Singers, Sara Stern
Conducted by Robert Schuneman

Tracks:

God Who Made The Earth And Heaven
Missa Brevis: Kyrie
Missa Brevis: Gloria
Missa Brevis: Sanctus & Benedictus
Missa Brevis: Angus Dei
Psalm 147: 1. How Good It Is...
Psalm 147: 2. The Lord Rebuilds...
Psalm 147: 3. Great Is Our Lord...
Psalm 147: 4. The Lord Lifts Up...
Psalm 147: 5. Sing To The Lord...
The Seven Words Of Christ From The Cross: Opening Chorus
The Seven Words Of Christ From The Cross: First Word
The Seven Words Of Christ From The Cross: Second Word
The Seven Words Of Christ From The Cross: Third Word
The Seven Words Of Christ From The Cross: Fourth Word
The Seven Words Of Christ From The Cross: Fifth Word
The Seven Words Of Christ From The Cross: Sixth Word
The Seven Words Of Christ From The Cross: Seventh Word
The Seven Words Of Christ From The Cross: Conclusion
Alleluia Verses For Easter: Easter I & II
Alleluia Verses For Easter: Easter III & IV
Alleluia Verses For Easter: Easter V, VI,& VII

Customer Reviews:

very contemporary, almost scary, yet inspiring.......2003-08-29

Richard Wienhorst's sacred music has a very contemporary, almost scary, yet inspiring sound. Richard was a weekend band musican, who sobered up and decided to study music theory and composition. The "wicked" syncopations and dissonant harmonies he uses may well come in part from his early band musician years. He came to love church music and later went on to become the chief instructor of musical composition at Valparaiso University. Although he sometimes forgot to shave, he was otherwise quite well prepared for his lectures and did a great job of introducting other wierd composers (besides himself) such as Karlheinz Stochausen.

--His setting of the Seven Last Words of Christ is quite popular in colleges and universities, but it too difficult for the average church choir. Wienhorst has said that his style is drawn from harmonies used by composers of the middle ages. That may be true, but for sure, he introduces new elements, such as more elaborate syncopations and dissonances and sometimes strange endings, like, for example ending a movement on an "added 6th chord in the Elie section of the Seven Last Words. "I kept trying to find another way, another chord to cadence on," he said quietly with a strong Midwest accent, but the music just kept coming back to that chord -- the soprano line just kept coming back to the 6th melodically. There was no other way for me to end it."

Wienhorst often likes to end a tune on a perfect 5th -- in the style of a lot of ancient music. Beause of his heavy use of 4ths, 5ths, and major seconds, some critics think his music has an Asian influence.

"It's really funny," he said once, "...funny to read what musical theorists say about your music. The way they interprete it, the chord you use and so on. Often, I was not thinking in those musical terms at all when I was composing that music."

"As a composer, you've got to keep growing," he once said. "When you listen to music you wrote a year ago, you shouldn't really like it that much any more. Otherwise, that's a sign you're not growing and maturing as a composer."

-- Phil Seyer author of What Makes Music Work and webmaster.

Music Review: