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I wrote this for a 48 hour composition contest in Seattle. It did relatively well! The performers misinterpreted some of the markings but they had such a short time to learn it, I understand why that could have happened.

The worst thing about choral music mockups is that, unlike instrumental music, the digital rendering makes no attempt to even sound natural. That makes following the score a must. Fortunately, you did - thus making possible a detailed review by an experienced choral composer such as Pate. The experience of listening to your work - or rather, to imagine it sung as it should - is pretty cool. You strived towards simplicity, and audiences will thank you for that in a choral environment. Granted, I love polyphony very much, but sometimes I just want to understand whatever is being sung, and it's already tough enough when the lyrics are in a language I'm not fluent at, such as German, Russian or Latin. So I must say I'm really satisfied that you went out to polish your music without disregarding your audience. Thanks for your work!

LOL that might have been because I forgot "Deus Ibi Est". I’ll fix that some point this week.

Sounding good! Were you intentionally playing with word stresses? You frequently have a rhythmic stress on the second syllable of "Ubi," for instance. (If you made the word half-note, followed by quarter, instead of quarter-note followed by half, it would fit with the natural way we speak more seamlessly). Nothing wrong with playing with that to add some complexity to a piece, but I just wanted to be sure you were doing it on purpose, since your treatment of the text is generally aiming for simplicity. With a text that so many people will recognize from the chanted prayer, that's the sort of small detail that will stand out as a strong musical statement. You might consider putting an additional marking under the "u" of "ubi" to suggest the stress to help people sight-read it correctly on the first run through if you like this the way it is. An accent, a tenuto, some dynamic marking... whatever is in line with the feel you envision for the piece, but reminds readers not to give any extra weight to the second syllable of the word. I like that you are treating the text homophonically. Because it's such a lovely verse, it's a good to let the audience really hear the words, and it forces the choir to really treat the text as special and take it tenderly.

Very nice harmonies. I think the intro is too short, and it starts the "cut time" abruptly. Perhaps you can stretch that part a bit more?

Hello fellow composers, I was recently afforded the opportunity to perform a recital of my own works and decided afterwards to record a couple of them in a home setting. This is a collection of relatively brief solo piano preludes. It's a rather unusual work for me, as I generally tend towards longer, more developed chamber music. These are more like independent, fleeting ideas. This collection moves chromatically from C through B, alternating between major and minor. The musical style would be right at home in the 19th century, which is the period of music that I most appreciate. My personal musical preferences definitely lie with the conservative branch of that period, and my writing reflects that. Unfortunately, I am not comfortable sharing the score. It's not that I don't trust the established members of this community, but rather that I don't trust making my scores available to anyone in the world at a time when the work has not been performed far enough afield to prove beyond a doubt that it is my work. After having a colleague be forced to go to court to deal with a music thief, I am not willing to endure the stress and expense of doing it as well. My apologies to those who would have liked to see it. If only we lived in a world where everyone was honest.

Thanks for taking the time to listen, Mike and Austentite! To be honest, I don't consider this my finest work, but the piece has grown on me. What is most interesting to me is that people tend to like different parts of it. I've performed it either in parts or in its entirety about six times now, and most of the individual preludes have come up as the "favourite" in conversation with audience members at some point or another. My personal favourites are 3, 6&7 (as a pair), 10, and 11. 3 seems to keep coming up in conversation; it may well be the best of the set. For me, it doesn't rival the emotional intensity of the slow movement of my piano trio, but that melody has a special place in my heart, and I may well never write anything that can displace it. All the best to you.