DESCRIPTION:
Performed by Chorgemeinschaft Freistadt & Milos Katanic (accordion)
Conductor: Wolfgang. W. Mayer

"Dominus Vobiscum" ("The Lord be with you") for accordion and choir.
The idea was that piece should be premiered together with the "Satyagraha" by Philip Glass, "Dominus Vobiscum" should flow into the Glass piece.
Regarding Wolfgang Mayer, there are three ideas of this piece.
The main idea was to work with the room of the church. The music should come from different places to the audience, from all 4 directions (from the front Accordion, Tenor and Bass, left Soprano, right Alt, backside 4 female voices).
After the piece is finished and during the performing of Glass, the choir is returning to their places.
Later on, the second idea appears that piece should be close to the pieces used in the Catholic masses. The composer found 3 sentences, that priests or the participants would say in Latin at the begin of the mass: "Pax vobis. Dominus vobiscum. Et cum spiritu tuo."
The third idea was to connect it with the piece of Glass. It should be somehow a preparation for the Philip Glass piece. So also the style of the piece should be a preparation for the audience for the following music of Glass. The melodies for the singers should be somehow like Gregorian melodies (Invented by composer himself). The accordion should stabilise and give the notes to the choir and accordion need to play very rhythmical but also meditative because of the repetitions. The choir sings the long notes and melodies, the accordion brings the rhythmic structure and the chords.
Wolfgang Mayer didn't want to write a typical "loud organ piece", at the beginning of a mass with forte and many chords. It should be more quiet and silent, more a thoughtful and silent sound arriving at the audience. That fits also to the main text "Pax vobis", what means "peace to you".

Live recording from Stadtpfarrkirche Freistadt.

video editing: Marija Katanic

Official Website: https://miloskatanic.wordpress.com/