SATB choir, brass, percussion & organ
2013
8 minutes
Text: Psalm 95
Commissioned for the opening service of the 2013 Three Choirs Festival, John Hardy's Venite is a celebratory setting of Psalm 95 (lines 1-7), beginning 'O come, let us sing unto the Lord'.
Written for choir, brass, percussion and organ, Venite was first performed on 27th July 2013 by the Festival Chorus, Gloucester Cathedral Choir, RWCMD Symphonic Brass ensemble and Anthony Gowing (organ), conducted by Adrian Partington, at Gloucester Cathedral.
John writes of his aim to "see what I can find in my subconscious that may help to stir participants and listeners into a fresh and visceral encounter with the words of Psalm 95, which has been repeated daily and monthly, throughout the world, starting in the mists of Temple and Synagogue ritual nearly three thousand years ago, in Hebrew, then in Greek, Latin, Coptic, Georgian, Slav and finally every written language on the globe.
"The plainchant quoted at the beginning is Tone vi [Liber Usualis, Solemnes 1961], often used for great festivals including Easter."
