Agnus Dei gets just a little scary

The following video is an impressive piece in that it breathes new life and thought into a bit of liturgy that has in many ways become a sort of comforting cliché. Or at least that's how I've always thought about it. Then again, my flirtation with Catholicism ended, at the latest, in my early 20s.

For the most part, though, this piece speaks for itself, though composer Tim Silva's notes do highlight some of the more striking aspects of this vocal composition, which sets the Agnus Dei at odds with the Gloria and asks some serious questions of the Creator.

'Agnus Dei' by Tim Silva from Tim Silva on Vimeo.

'Agnus Dei' (2008) turns a prayer for peace into a plea for help; a frantic crying out in a time of darkness and war. After three traditional stanzas, the singers quote another prayer ('Gloria') in an almost sarcastic manner as if to say, "Where is the peace on earth for people of good will?" Finally the pleas are left, seemingly unanswered.

-Tim Silva

Singers (L-R):
Sarah Harrell, Gemma Levine, Kelci Hahn,
Elyse Marchant, Katharine Liu, Leslie Cook,
Tracy Cox, Dory Schultz, Sergey Khalikulov,
Christopher Remmel

Scary Noises:
Jack Randall & Elizabeth Chang

Producer/director:
Christian Pulido (cinemautomatica@gmail.com)

Tim Silva is a composer to watch closely. Very closely.