Matthew Becker

Hi, Price:

Wow. Lots of really good ideas. Where to begin?

Gloria:
One thing that I personally don't like (this could just be me), but I don't particularly like the blending of Latin text and English text. Trying to have to adapt going back and forth as a singer could really throw things off.

One thing that kind of confused me at the beginning was that you had a 2/4 bar appear a few times, but there was nothing in it: just rests. If you want a gap between vocal lines, why not use a fermatta and add a cesura? Unless there's a particular reason for it, it just looks a little baffling.

At measure 66, you have the soprano lines holding onto a D and an E-flat for six measures. I'm going to tell you right now, a professional choir attempting that a cappella is going to be messy. I'm not saying it's a bad idea, but perhaps breaking up the measures into sets of two bars at a time would be a little bit easier. Other than that, you'll drive your sopranists crazy (we all want to, believe me, but it won't be pretty when they're going to be wailing out those pitches).

Those were my only major concerns with the piece. Other than that, I really like the different textures you've applied, such as the quarter-note triplet patterns, and the general sound of the piece is great.

The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls
Stunning. My only concern is right at the end where you say "Repeat and fade to end". That could be tricky to pull off, but that's more of a performance/director concern.

That's it! I really like the work you've done. Hopefully you've found this helpful.