UPPOSE you were a Gregorian composer, and you had a text which said: “I know my sheep, and my sheep know me.” How would you approach setting such a text? Taking into consideration “musical form and analysis,” let us consider that: I know my sheep — My sheep know me. … It certainly seems about knowing—a mirror image of those who know and recognize each other. The Gregorian composer for yesterday’s Alleluia decided to use the exact same melody four times, to emphasize this familiarity and this mirror image of recognition:
I am a little hesitant to post the following recording, because it’s quite literally sight-reading (we never ran through it beforehand, not even once). But maybe it will help some people get a “basic feel” for this piece:
I have already spoken about the current situation in Los Angeles, where we are not allowed to have rehearsals because of Covid-19. Hopefully we will be allowed to have rehearsals before too long. There is a lot more than could have been done with that melody if we’d had an opportunity to work on it.
