The idea for this Our Father was inspired by Andrei Tarkovski’s film The Sacrifice. In it, we can see – and hear – the main character reciting the prayer so slowly that the words seem to express much more than their usual meaning. The force of this sequence convinced me to try a piece of music requiring this tempo, with the singers having to take turns within the voices so that the breaths cannot be heard, and so that the breath never dies out between the first and last note.
CD ‘Lucis memoria’, November 2011, Label Inconnu LI 11-1001, distribution codæx. Mikrokosmos soloists conducted by Loïc Pierre.
Difficulty rating: easy to moderate
Liturgical Tradition (updated version with the new translation)
French
SATB mixed choir
Duration: approximately 4 minutes
The work should be sung very slowly, with the choristers taking turns to breathe without being overheard.