This is the most haunting composition i know. It delivers pain, beauty, sadness, hope, the beginning and the end, all at once. It sends shivers down my spine, it makes me cry for all beauty and all pain, all at once. Haunting..
Beautifully said, I have always thought that it portrays despair, hope, war, peace, love and hate all at the same time, yet leaves you in a strange calm.
This is my favorite piece of music. It is ethereal; it celebrates life, with all the joy, pain, and suffering that that entails. I first heard this as background music for Platoon, and then searched RU-vid for multiple versions of it. If you’ve not heard of Matthew Curtis, he has a version posted with him singing ALL parts-from the exceedingly high notes (some that traditional sopranos can’t do as musically as he can!), as well as the low bass. I actually listen to his post almost every day. Barber’s Adagio for Strings is quite simply the most evocative music I have ever experienced, and I mentally thank him every time I hear it.
Very wonderfully stated. You described my exact sentiments. I am a man yet the wells of my eyes always fill with tears after listening to this piece. Powerful Tranquility!
I was present for this concert. For those of you comment on pitch and applause, please consider this: This was a concert and not a worship service. Applause was sanctioned by the powers that be. This choir was also on a tour of 17 cities in 21 days. I'd like to know how perfect you would be in the same situation? Regardless, in every city in every hall, they had the audience in tears.
Hi Allison, Wow! It must have been such a beautiful concert! (I'm envious!) Do you know if there's a recording that we can buy? (I can't find it at all so far, even on the MTC's website) sigh Oh well, I'll just have to keep listening to it on youtube) Cheers!
Now then AD, I'm sorry you didn't enjoy listening. I surely enjoyed singing. It is pitch perfect - no small feat for 325 people singing a very demanding song who were crammed so closely together they could barely open their folders. Sorry you didn't like the sopranos. I was one of them. 😍🎵 Robert Bautista this was at El Escorial outside Madrid, Spain. An exquisite venue.
A man ain't suppose to cry but this song just gets to me! Everytime I hear it my eyes well up. If god granted me one wish I would wish for love, peace, and happiness for all mankind!!
Chaque fois que je l'écoute,c'est plus fort que moi,j'ai les larmes aux yeux.C'est fou comme certains morceaux de musique sont ressentis ! merci pour ces moments si délicieux.
Closing my eyes, what vision comes to my eys, is the dying Christ on the bloodied Cross, his wrenching, his tears, his sweat, the Crown of Thorns; and then the thought of Peace comes over me, when I hear Him say in a loving tone, "Father, Forgive them for they know what they are doing..." What most people don't even realize when they read those words in the Bible, is that He was really stating to the World that the Blood Atonement was to be the final Blood letting for mankind. As the Jews were sacraficing in their Temple, the Blood Sacrificies of the spotless and without blemish, was a Type of the Final Blood Sacrafice in Jesus Christ on the Cross. I love my Lord so very much, for His Eternal Gift to me; without His Atonement, none of us would even be here. So when you hear this Beautiful piece by Stanley Barber, don't think of Platoon, or any other application of this Perfect means to express what He did for all of us on Golgotha, 2000 years ago. He is the Lamb of God, given for all mankind, all those who ever lived on this earth, and for all those who will ever live into the Future. Jesus Christ IS Jehovah, the Son of the Living God. Amen
What a performance! The crescendo from 5:00 is just beautiful, and the arrangement with just the sopranos at 5:15 is magic! This is the best arrangement of this piece I've heard. Thank you.
Hasta luego Papá. Con esta música espero encontraros, a ti y a Mamá y abrazaros algún día. Ojalá ésta sea la Voluntad de Dios, porque la mía lo es y lo será siempre. Sabed que una de mis mayores alegrías fue cuando tú y la mamá os encontrasteis por primera vez. A veces pienso que no merezco el honor de haber sido vuestro único hijo. Pero vuestro eterno amor me da fuerzas para seguir adelante siempre. Os amaré siempre, eternamente.
agree, i think that music like this can make a moment so much bigger deeper more emotional and totaly of this world. imagine tripping on shrooms just having a perfect trip with revelations and religious/spiritual experience when this is playing on the background i would just burst in tears. thats when you know you live and the reason you live
Simply impressive the acoustics perceived in the record made in El Escorial´s Basillica, (Northwest Madrid/Spain), and the Choir Outstanding performance. Its a Prayer for Peace, for relief, demands pardon, written in Universal Language .I only now something like that, any baby gentle´s sleep. Helps me look deep inside my soul, take out the worst and rearm the best.
Absolument magnifique. Il est l'amour de Dieu décrit d'une manière qui est navrant. Merci Samuel Barber pour le tuning dans la station de radio de Dieu. (Sorry bout the french. I just think it says it better than English)
Que maravillosa pieza musical. Y es particularmente significativo que la cante un coro mormon en la Basilca del Escorial, habla de cierta apertura y contacto entre las diferentes confesiones cristianas. Saludos desde Buenos Aires
Tavga Hawrame thank for your kind comment. I am singing here with my dearest musical friends, all volunteers singing for the glory of the Lord. I have long blonde hair and can be found about 5 1/2 minutes in on the bottom right. Being a musical missionary in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for 20 years was an exquisite gift. Singing the best music with the best people in the best places was divine. 🎵💖🎵
Reading some of these hateful comments, I am wondering if some of you are actually listening to this absolutely beautiful music. If all religion did was bring us the many masterpieces of music that it has, it has a purpose.
O my gosh I miss choir sooo much. I live this song as well, my amazing choir teacher 1950-2009 found it and showed it so us and it sounded so beautiful.
Oh... my.. .god.. .this.. .makes... me cry... oh my god... oh my god... this is most impressive thing I ever heard... absolutely amazing... and... Im crying...
As most people who know thiw work realize, it is from the slow movement of Barber's String Quartet. Since then it has become Barber's most famous work. It has been performed in almost every possible configuration. When done well, it is deeply moving. sanjosemike
This is the very location where Philippe Rogier worked as a composer in the court of Phillip II of Spain in the 1500s. Last year, I was priveliged enough to stand with my choir where this video has been recorded and perform some of his music for the first time in his very basillica since his death. Almost all of us started to cry. It was one of the most amazing experiences I could ever imagine. What a GLORIOUS place to sing. I swear the reverb lasted 10 seconds or so.
the mormon tabernacle choir ....without orchestra ....make this song a extraordinary performance ......TVE and people who speak castellano with latin roots know this is simple!! ...perfect!!.....even they sung here there or everywhere
At the beginning, this piece was composed for Chamber String Quartet (op.11 2nd mov.), then Arturo Toscanini sugested Barber to arrange it for orchestra. It was in 1967 that it was set for choir and piano or organ optional, under the name "Lamb of God" in english and "Agnus Dei" in latin.
Religião organizada sempre sai muito cara... Para cada coisa bonita desta, vem junto muita barbárie... Quem sabe a história do Escorial talvez concorde comigo.
I've been a fan of this since I first heard it (interestingly, it was in a video game "Homeworld")...it still makes the hair on the back of my neck crawl at the start of it.
Esta música -tan bella- la asociaré por siempre al triste momento para la Nación Argentina en que nuestra Jefa Espiritual, Santa Evita, pasó a la inmortalidad
Lovely music its on my favourites. I would like to see the whole Christian community get along and share their common belief that Jesus is our Saviour and not argue and find fault in each other.
Well, the best way to learn about any church is to sit and talk with their missionaries. They are there to simply educate, answer questions, and not necessarily there to push you into becoming a member, but they may make the suggestion for you to attend at least one service just to see what it's all about.
Matzenino: This is a landmark composition from an American composer. It was originally a movement of a string quartet that Barber penned. Barber then arranged it for string orchestra (Adiagio for Strings). Along the way, he arranged it for mixed voices using the text of "Agnus Dei," which translates to "Lamb of God," a text used in some forms of the Christian faith. If you want a definitive performance of it, listen to Robert Shaw's version with his Festival Singers. Enjoy!
It is a religious song, hence why Barber not only arranged the piece for the Latin mass, "Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi," but also in English, "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." That is what makes this music so appealing to the modern man, to think that a 20th century American cries to God because of what his eyes have seen, with the same words the church has been using for 20 centuries.
AT 2:11 thats the best choird of the whole masterpiece ...i realy did not see that one coming....but at the same time it makes the artwork even more complex. since today i very very love this kind of music....any sugestions??. melancholics are good for the heart...this could easy be one of the best piece of music on the planet!!
A magnificent rendition. The conductor did a great job enforcing the dynamics, and in varying tempo just enough where it made sense to make such variations. I detected no noticeable pitch issues, either. As a timpanist, I'm very well trained to be able to change my drum pitches by ear, almost silently, while the orchestra still plays. I am almost anal about pitch, so I would have noticed pitch issues if they existed.
Bill Glidden all 325+ of us were lifting our eyebrows singing ever mindful of the pitch, believe me, but also trying so hard to sing with our Heavenly Father's Spirit to do justice to this exquisite piece. At 5 1/2 minutes in I am in the long hair on the bottom right concentrating my entire being on our beloved conductor, Dr. Craig Jessop. I sang as a volunteer musical missionary for 20+ years and it was always divine AND on pitch!
English Agnus Dei lyrics Alleluia, alleluia for our Lord god Almighty reigns Alleluia, alleluia for our Lord God Almighty reigns holy, holy are you Lord God Almighty worthy is the lamb worthy is the lamb you are holy holy are you Lord god Almighty worthy is the lamb worthy is the lamb amen
The Trinity College of Cambridge came out with a CD called Voce, and you can find this song perfected by their performance. The whole CD is amazing!!! It's very hard to get because it is out of print but you might have some luck looking on Ebay or Amazon.
