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cindy mctee

AGNUS DEI
for pipe organ

1998
10 minutes

score & audio examples

Agnus Dei
for pipe organ
bars 66-89


purchase

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program notes

My Agnus Dei gradually exposes a hauntingly beautiful melody (Ab, G, F, C, Db, Eb, Db, C) from Krzysztof Penderecki's Polish Requiem which appears in its entirety at about three-quarters of the way through my work. Most of the material in my piece consists of two or three-note fragments taken from this melody, especially a falling half-step and subsequent whole-step emphasizing the interval of the minor third. Reflecting my interest in using both atonal and tonal materials within the same piece of music, the work begins with some tension and anguish, then moves through several sections which are introspective and peaceful. Optimism and joy finally give way at the end to a sense of uncertainty and a reference to the opening.

Composed in the wake of events following the horror of September 11, 2001, the piece was later adapted for strings and given the title Adagio.