JOY DECOURSEY- PORTER

by Joy DeCoursey-Porter

SATB a cappella – CP 1828 – duration 3:45
TTBB a cappella – CP 1829
“A prayerful, meditative setting of the 14th century Eucharistic chant.”
Joy has created a beautiful marriage for this text and accomplished choirs will love the poignant setting.

by Joy DeCoursey-Porter

SATB a cappella – CP 2411 – duration 2:40

This is a prayer for the children who suffered at residential schools in Canada. May the Lord God hold them in His love.

by Joy DeCoursey-Porter

SATB a cappella – CP 2409 – duration 5:50

SATB with some divisi- This piece has an early music flavor, is polyphonic and rich in texture with repetitive but varied themes throughout. Medium-difficulty. Beginning chant-like, it builds in to dense polyphony, stretching each section slightly with rubato-like pauses and multiple dynamic changes. The repitive theme that varies with each pass has a metaphor for life in mind. When one fails, or encounters difficulty, one must find hope in the strength of God to pick up and begin again; though each attempt will look different over time. The piece ends with a triumphant finish, declaring the praises of the One who gives us our hope to continue.

by Joy DeCoursey-Porter

SSAA a cappella – CP 2410 – duration 1:30

Taken from Numbers 6:24-26, this short benediction will leave audiences and singers alike in a tranquil state of encouragement. Each part gets some divisi at times, allowing rich textures to form and grow throughout.

by Joy DeCoursey-Porter

SSAATTBB a cappella – CP 1827 – duration 6:00
Challenging yet surprisingly intuitive and approachable, diatonic with long weaving lines. Gorgeous – in a nutshell!

An 8th century German monk sits alone in a candle-lit room and attempts, through the limits of quill and ink, to contemplate life before human thought. His written revelations have come to be known as The Wessobrunn Prayer, and remain one of the oldest living poetic texts written in High German.

“There Was The One” is written as a sort of journey through this text. One can feel the isolation of private thought in the opening solo passage, building slowly in form and structure as the implications of “nothing” begin to take solid and practical form. The piece continues to musically ebb and flow along with the monk’s thoughts until his recognition of God’s power dawns, and the dynamics and texture build to a climax. One can feel his heart pick up the pace, as English, German, Latin, and Spanish declare the Almighty God; as if to say that these truths are relevant for people of every tongue, tribe, and nation.

The piece ends as it began; leaving the solitary monk once again in the company of his quill and ink, his candle flickering down to its nub, and his mind and heart filled with the light of revelation.