Katherine, do you know the Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo? After he came to the United States (in 2001), he studied at Juilliard. You might try 'The Rose,' from his recent album 'Winter Songs." That 2017 album features Tenebrae, Voces8 and the Choir of Royal Holloway. If you would allow a piano, and perhaps even a string quartet? I find his choral music exceptionally beautiful. Here is one example: Ola Gjeilo - The Rose ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ph44oJ7WpGU.html
I cannot help but weep. One of the most heartbreakingly beautiful songs I have ever heard. Below excerpt from SONORO CHORAL SOCIETY, September 27, 2016: Even When He Is Silent -- a contemplative piece written in 2011 by Norwegian composer, Kim Andre Arnesen, the song is an a cappella credo to hope in the face of despair. The lyrics are taken from a poem found after World War II scratched onto a concentration camp wall. I believe in the sun even when it’s not shining. I believe in love even when I feel it not. I believe in God even when he is silent. --Unknown Prisoner The lyrics are heart-wrenching. Imagine a prisoner lonely, starving, and under daily threat of painful death-still hoping. Still believing in love when faced with tremendous hate. Still believing in God even though, day after day, his bitter longing was not answered. Mr. Arnesen’s musical setting perfectly captures the emotive content of this powerful poem. It first starts out on a stark unison pitch and then opens to a mournful but simple minor chord. The piece very quickly progresses into more complex chord clusters matching the complex emotional content. Midway through the piece the pace and urgency increases rapidly as the choir sings over and over “I believe in love” almost desperately clinging to that thought in the chaos. Finally, we arrive at a sense of peace in the final section: “I believe in God even when He is silent” with long contemplative pauses and ending on a delicate triple piano. No matter how large the darkness, it cannot overcome even the tiniest spark of hope. That’s definitely worth singing about.
