HYMNUS ANTE SOMNUM
In January of 2013, I traveled to Washington D.C with the UW-Eau Claire Concert Choir to perform at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to recognize and remember the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. During the performance, a piece by Herbert Howells (Take Him, Earth, For Cherishing) was performed. He set the text of Prudentius, a poet who who lived from 348AD-413(?)AD. He wrote many poems on controversial subjects. However, one of the collections of poems dealt with the various hours of the day and rituals associated. This piece is from the poem entitled "Hymnus ante Somnum" or "Hymn before Sleep". The poem addresses the vulnerability of sleep and the powers that work and try to influence on us as we are asleep. In my own belief, singing is about making oneself vulnerable to experiences in which we are singing about. I thought that many could identify and connect with the dreams that we each have while in such a vulnerable state.
Voicing: SSAATTBB, a cappella
Status: Unpublished