The greater range of voices brings out the full potential of this piece:Īre you intrigued by Gjeilo’s motet but not sure if your choir is ready to learn it? The modern harmonies may sound challenging to a choir that’s just beginning to explore SATB repertoire. But don’t deprive yourself of the original SATB setting. Kings Return does a wonderful job with Gjeilo’s motet. The SATB version of Ubi Caritas is spectacular. Perhaps the time is right for a mainstream revival. Take away the profanity, the racial slurs, and the oppressive rhythm, and it would cease to exist ( Deo volente). Judging by what I hear blasting from car stereos on my way to and from Mass, today’s “music” is devoid of harmonic complexity. Would people still love it? I’m thinking back to that Benedictine Chant album that topped the charts in the mid-1990s and wondering whether a broad audience would embrace Gregorian chant today. It’s also syllabic, meaning there’s generally only one note per syllable of text.Īnyway, if Kings Return made an all-Gregorian chant album, it would probably sound great but it wouldn’t sound like this. So, what makes Gjeilo’s composition chant-like? That’s a bit subjective, isn’t it? I’d say it’s because the piece has a simple melody with a limited range. While reflective of the chant style, this composition is entirely original and is not based on any existing chants. As he writes on the inside cover of the motet published by Walton Music:Īs with Maurice Durufle’s beautiful Ubi Caritas from 1960, this setting also draws inspiration from the Gregorian chant tradition. Nor did Ola Gjeilo simply harmonize an existing chant melody to compose this Ubi Caritas. Various composers have written motets by harmonizing chant melodies, but that’s not the norm for how chant is performed. It consists of a single melodic line, which traditionally has been adorned with only the simplest harmonies. But here’s the thing: as Corpus Christi Watershed readers already know, chant generally isn’t sung in four-part harmony. Some are urging Kings Return to make an all-chant album. Online commenters are marveling at how beautiful Gregorian chant can be. Listeners are amazed to find themselves enjoying chant….only this isn’t really chant.
What a clever way to gain a massive online following in a matter of days-even if that wasn’t their intention. From what I can hear, they deserve every bit of the viral fame they’ve gained. I had never heard of this group, and after doing a bit of online research, I get the impression they’re still making a name for themselves. A few thoughts: Kings Return can really sing. But I couldn’t just stop there I had to analyze the whole phenomenon. Just in case you missed it or would like to see it again: In fact, you’ve probably had several people forward it to you because they know you’re involved in church music. By now, you’ve probably seen the video of four men singing Ola Gjeilo’s Ubi Caritas in a stairwell.
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