Sero Te Amavi
A striking setting of St. Augustine's famous passage from the Confessions "Late have I loved thee beauty ever ancient, ever new..." Each word of the text is given musical expression. Careful listeners will notice a canon that dominates the entire second half of the piece.
SATB a capella
Sero Te Amavi performed by the UNL Chamber Singers
Therese Hibbard, conductor
Michelangelo's On Beauty
With text by Michelangelo, the music reflects deep spiritual appreciation for beauty and the desire it evokes. An easy and inspiring piece for high school concerts. In English.
SATB a cappella
On Beauty performed by the University of Miami Chorale
James K. Bass, conductor
Manly MenThis piece has been featured on four All-State concerts. A light-hearted choice for men's choirs, it makes great, good fun of male chorus traditions. Echoing themes well known to men's choirs, a hilarious must for glee club singers!
TTBB a capella
Manly Men performed by the 2002 New York All State Chorus
Jo-Micheal Scheibe, conductor
Shalom Aleikhem
This singable setting of a traditional Friday night Hebrew prayer is enhanced with an optional clarinet part. It is a prayer that asks for peace for households and the world.
SSA chorus, piano, optional clarinet
Shalom Aleikhem performed by the Tampa Bay Children's Chorus
Averill Summer, conductor
Brian Moorehead, clarinet
Sarah Mingle, piano
Deus Noster Refugium
Deus Noster Refugium is a seting of portions of Psalm 46 for treble choir and piano. It was comissioned by Blake High School in Tampa, Florida for the 2004 Florida ACDA conference.
SSAA chorus and piano
Deus Noster Refugium performed by the Blake High School of the Performing Arts Advanced Women's Chorus
Melinda Doyle, Conductor
Go Tell It
The arrangement of this much loved Christmas spiritual may be sung either a cappella or be performed with the optional conga part. The composer calls it a 'cross-inspiration' between traditional choral writing and influences of swing and Latin jazz. Well suited for a high school choir or community chorus.
SATB chorus a capella, optional conga
Go Tell It performed by the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay
Jo-Micheal Scheibe, conductor
Cradle Song
Commissioned by David Matthews and the Tampa Bay Children's Chorus, this lovely three part setting of William Blake's poem can serve for general concerts or for Christmas.
SSA chorus and piano
Cradle Song performed by the Tampa Bay Children's Chorus
Averill Summer, conductor
David Matthews, accompanist
Rocka My Soul
A fun concert selection with traditional text and a driving beat, enhanced by optional conga and percussion. For the trained high school mixed choir and beyond.
SATB w/ opt. conga drum and percussion
Rocka My Soul performed by the University of Tampa Collegiate Chorale
Kurt Knecht, conductor
Three Poems by Gerald Manley Hopkins
"Inversnaid" is a poem that describes a waterfall in Scotland. "Spring and Fall" contemplates the changing of the seasons as an analogy for lost innocence. "Thou Art, Indeed, Just, Lord" is a paraphrase of a passage from the prophet Jeremiah where the fruitfulness of the wicked is set against the barren trees of the righteous. Hopkins complains of God's seeming injustice and concludes with a mournful cry for rain.
Soprano and piano
Three Poems by Gerald Manley Hopkins
Eugenia Garrity, soprano
Kurt Knecht, piano
College Music Society
Southeast Convention 2004
Five Poems by Carl Sandburg
"The Hangman at Home" is Sandburg's playful and poignant contemplation of the domestic life of the hangman. "Monotone" finds an analogy in the consistency of the rain for the beauty of the lover. "Personality" is the musings of a police beat reporter on the strange uniqueness of thumbprints. "Grieg being dead" is a poem that makes me laugh and cry. I attempted to set it to reflect that. The accompaniment is constructed from Grieg melodies. "black horizons" is a bleak commentary on the de-humanizing forces of modern society.
Soprano and piano
Five Poems by Carl Sandburg
Holly Heffelbower, soprano
Kurt Knecht, piano
Nocturne
This piano piece was commissioned by Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church in Tampa. While I was writing it, I was thinking fondly of my now departed composition teacher Robert Helps. Though it doesn't rely on his techniques or quote any of his material, it does bear some resemblance to his Hommage á Fauré.
Piano solo
Nocturne
David Matthews, piano
The Ten Plagues
The Ten Plagues are little color pieces for woodwind octet. The work is set up with four divisions according to a rabbinic tradition.
1. Blood
2. Frogs
3. Flies
4. Noxious Creatures
5. Pestilence
6. Boils Breaking Out into Blisters
7. Hail and Fire
8. Locusts
9. Darkness
10. The Slaying of the Firstborn
1. Blood, 2. Frogs, 3. Flies
Toccata, Passacaglia, and Fugue
The Toccata, Passacaglia, and Fugue for organ was commissioned by Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church in Tampa, Florida as part of the dedication of their new Cassavant organ. I played the premiere on January 27th.
Toccata, Passacaglia, and Fugue
Kurt Knecht, organ
Meditation and Ecstasy
His is a beautiful little mini-sonata for clarinet and piano. The opening "Meditation" is a contemplative work that begins with a simple repeated note. The work progresses by exploring modal harmonies with poignant climaxes. The subsequent "Ecstasy" is a rhythmically playful work where contrasting poly-rhythms are the basis for a dialogue between the instruments. Despite rhythmic motivation, the work still maintains the over-arching lyric character that unifies the whole work.
Clarinet and piano
Meditation and Ecstasy
Amanda Morrison, clarinet
Kurt Knecht, piano