CWU Chamber Choir: Gjeilo - "Sanctus"

"Sanctus" (Ola Gjeilo) is sung by The Central Washington University Chamber Choir (Gary Weidenaar, director).
In May, 2013, composer Ola Gjeilo spent 3 days on the Central Washington University Campus, joining the choir in recording 4 of his pieces. This performance of Gjeilo's "Sanctus" is from that session.
The other pieces were "Luminous Night of the Soul", & "Across The Vast, Eternal Sky", accompanied by the composer at the piano and joined by the Kairos Quartet -- the resident faculty string quartet at CWU.
The final piece, "Ubi Caritas II: Through Infinite Ages", was recorded both in an unaccompanied rendition (how it is written and published) and in a version with Mr. Gjeilo improvising an accompaniment to the choir.
This was Ola's second time on CWU's campus. His first visit was in the spring of 2011 and yielded 5 videos, a wide-ranging interview with the composer and other bonus material. It resulted in a DVD entitled "In the Moment", available for purchase at goo.gl/Xld0o)
As of 2013, the CWU Chamber Choir also has recorded videos of the music of Byrd, Monteverdi, Muehleisen, Singh, Victoria, and Rautavaara on KZbin.
The other CWU Chamber Choir videos can be found at: / cwumusicdept
OR - -
To follow the choir on Facebook (page includes selected audio clips and URL's to all videos):
/ cwu.chamber.choir
The session was recorded with 6 hd cameras and the videos edited by Matt Woodard (www.mattwoodard.com) using Adobe Premier Pro software.
All CWU Chamber Choir videos found on KZbin are posted only after an agreement is reached or a contract is signed with the composer and/or copyright holder of the piece(s).

[@anapaulafarano3070]

My absolute favorite choir song. Even amongst the dissonance, there is hair-raising beauty. I can only imagine what it must feel like to be singing as part of this choir. This is unearthly.

[@anneremy9893]

Like you, I find this song bewitching; to the point that I regularly need to come and listen to it because it transports me spiritually

[@CeceliaDiAngeloCeceWhittaker]

I am so impressed by what seems like a fantastic relationship between the director and choir. They seem so in tune and sensitive to each other in direction and response, which really contributes to the overwhelming success of this performance. So beautiful.

[@pshhh7856]

Stunning. This music reminds me of how beautiful human beings can be. They sound like literal angels

[@elsa3312]

This choir has such a gorgeous sound.

[@beroiastudies4758]

It sounds like a taste of heaven

[@ipso-kk3ft]

This performance inspired me to have a change of heart and turn my life around. Thank you, CWU. Ad maiorem Dei gloriam!

[@joel.engelhardt]

AMDG!

[@wendylove6893]

My 5 and 3 year old Grandchildren think you are angels singing and Love this song.

[@misscubic]

after all these years i still come back to this performance. it's unmatched.

[@kathyburkwald7505]

I feel so spiritual and so deeply moved by this group of angels singing. What talent. I’m swept away into another realm. It’s almost like an out of body experience when you listen. Well composed and performed. Thank you all for this gift.

[@Alberto_and_the_Solent]

❤

[@art.aholic9091]

I'm going to CWU next year, but this year as a senior, my chamber choir is getting invited to sing with CWU's choir and I'm so excited😭

[@nnorth__]

That’s awesome welcome to the cwu family!

[@meyercombrinck]

This is one of the most beautiful pieces of music to have ever been written! It moves me every time I listen to it! This choir and conductor have reached places with this piece. Well done to all involved!

[@xrtze]

still coming back for this is the absolutely most beautifully perfect recording of this master piece!

[@kimbatteau1]

Superb, inspiring, moving, just fantastic! Thank you, Ola Gjeilo, thank you The Central Washington University Choir, and Gary Weidenaar!

[@sisilsamantha6723]

really exited.Superb.God bless you

[@lisalishman409]

So beautiful. I enjoy being able to see this director's face and the joy reflected there.

[@nlbbgnc5287]

So powerful, stunning and gripping

[@jonathanlhosey1111]

Omg,blown away. Beautiful everything. Killer dynamics and voices. The tenors/basses though, icing on the cake

[@kruzrken]

In addition to the fabulous vocal talent, the uniformity, simplicity, and sharpness in the attire is striking. i like the fact that each woman is wearing the same pearl necklace. And that no one in the coir stands out in particular. Very few choirs aver achieve this appearance of "oneness". Congrats! p.s The overtones are chilling (in a good way).

[@quickfoxxes]

Wonderful balance between parts, fine diction, intonation, and an uncommon arrangement very well performed! I just found this splendid choir. It is not easy to locate an above average choir director who can form such a sound year after year. Congratulations and God Bless.

[@marklee7864]

I can feel a true mind which can lead me to the Heaven when they sing this piece. Thank you so much.

[@66gardener]

The musical blend and dynamics is heavenly.The sopranos certainly take center stage in this particular arrangement.

[@user-tn4fi7bo9u]

Rick H &

[@CediBeMe]

I've heard several recordings of this song--some more recent, some recorded with the latest recording equipment, some in grand performance spaces--and THIS is still my favorite performance, by far. Just exquisite.

[@anneremy9893]

Splendide; une prouesse vocale et artistique. Bravo et merci !

[@cyrenepaparottigounin3616]

Pure beauty!

[@weeperman6659]

They really nailed this one. Very nice! Wonderful control on those difficult chords!

[@faceface27]

This is, as miisuhx said, flawless. But I can't stop listening from 4:17 to the end. The sheer (even!) power is remarkable.

[@justicefonfara17]

Wow angels 😍😍😍

[@polobede9054]

J'adore Ola Gjeilo ! ! ! Mais , alors , le " Sanctus " par le C.W.U. ,waouuuuuuuuuuuu ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

[@lethiapage4767]

Beautiful!

[@YooLookMarvelous]

A brilliant performance of this work. The dissonances are not easy to sustain, and they did it beautifully. This is a piece I like to listen to with the sound cranked up, because of the sheer wall of sound that it delivers. Thank you, CWU Chamber Choir!

[@Soor101]

Richard Leslie I thought I was the only one who cranked this up

[@miriamkerns9321]

Richard Leslie agreed!!

[@stemonick]

Magnificent sound!!!!

[@pepesanchez1243]

Sublime, simplemente sublime.

[@TenorMichaelK]

agree that Maestro Weidenaar has a gift to get this good of a performance from students. Video production is first rate. But, ultimately, the compositions are well constructed, very musical, accessible for the singers, and very exceptional. Thanks for these videos.

[@yordankaacosta2849]

Excellent!!

[@reynaldorudykristianmontol6166]

Love your performance from Indonesia.

[@Choral69]

Bravo, Gary - this is a really lovely performance!

[@sawdoctor0]

This is really beautifully done. Bet you enjoyed doing it. So many USA choirs think that vibrato is compulsory - clearly you don't. In fact thi sis perfection.

[@expatmartin]

another superb composition and performed beautifully. Just love these uploads from CWU Chamber Choir very uplifting and inspiring. Thank you.

[@RichardOliverWY]

FANTASTIC job y'all! :) Sublime.

[@gilldotelliott]

Gorgeous music - superb singing!

[@nlbbgnc5287]

stunning and gripping !!!

[@joancc]

Totally blown away!

[@miisuhx]

Absolutely flawless.

[@Mllelaurel]

Gorgeous!

[@annelee6876]

so beautiful

[@feanando]

Well done, everybody! Thanks, hughs from Brazil.

[@daniel_robertson]

Magnificent!

[@Marthinusjacobus]

Excellent excellent excellent!

[@papillonnoir3747]

😢😢😢 so beautiful!

[@victoriadomiciano6247]

this is incredible!

[@thomasoring]

Perfect

[@philippequesnel]

just superb !!! wow

[@832colleen]

I love 3:17 to the end!! Basses Basses Basses....I just love y'alls!

[@mzmusicful]

Wonderful!

[@lesbehonest14]

Perfect !

[@bertaga41]

Ecstasy - beyond words.

[@user-fo8ed7zq4q]

❤️

[@NathanielByers]

Serene, flawless...

[@noelazcona5340]

Bravo!

[@2Howl]

Magnificent

[@calebdavies526]

y'all are so bright

[@zibi171]

Pięknie :) !!!

[@Joggelschorsch]

really nice!

[@bertaga41]

Ecstasy. Beyond words.

[@JackconReecetV]

Nice work

[@user-sf5cq7uj7v]

great!

[@willfish2]

My cantor shared this with me, It will be my Lenten song!

fantástico muito lindo. Queria as partituras. hahaha

[@raciemay197]

This makes me believe in God

[@janabrazeal9898]

Sacred music is the only true apologetic.

[@quickfoxxes]

Hello Rachel, from some years later. I agree with Jana's reply to you, however it is the death of Jesus for each of our sins that belief is required. An account is waiting for each person since the creation, and it is against that belief in the atonement for sin that we will be accepted or rejected. Bless you bunches and those you love.

[@cheesebag6565]

@@quickfoxxes it was a joke dude

[@varmelith8941]

Waw !

[@lizbebo]

The keyboard may have been lousy, but the composer wasn't, neither was this rendition by CWU Chamber Choir! I've enjoyed both singing and being sung Ola's work and own a number of his albums. Some are wearing out from use...

[@GoGeonil]

est gloria!

[@blvdws]

Common error in most acapella vocal groups, putting the basses in the back and letting the sopranos sing too loudly. The whole harmony needs to be inverted in order to balance properly. Higher frequency sounds are more audible than lower frequency sounds. Therefore more power needs to be put forth by the low register and less power by the upper register. Enhancing the bass foundation and minimizing the volume of the sopranos will send chills down your spine when you get the balance right. Anybody can sing the right notes, but balancing the harmony will put you in a class above the rest.

[@jrthiker9908]

However, Gary doesn't have the basses behind everyone else. This choir emulates a more lean/straight tone early period style well suited to the tight voicings in the writing. It's also a group of university students with younger voices, still developing, which in my mind lends a pureness and angelic quality in the harmonics. And too much lower frequency volume can make the blend muddy and one-note. Remember, bass and baritone voices don't fully develop until at they are at least 27-30 years old. You can hear Gjeilo's music done by older adult choirs such as in the Vilnius videos which give you the lower bass frequency ring you like....equally beautiful, just different (they also use much more vibrato.) We have the same issue in orchestras...for example, in the US, some favor the thick dark driven sound of most American orchestras like the Chicago or NY Phil, and some (like me) favor the European transparency and delicacy of the Cleveland Orchestra. There is no one absolute correct sound for choirs or orchestras. Thank God for regional and cultural differences! Bravo to Maestro Weidenaar for what he's done with the talented young musicians in his choir.

[@baronpatron]

@@jrthiker9908 I understand your point but the music that was composed needs to served. Adjusting the sound to bring out the harmonies is paramount. This choir is more than capable to produce that fuller sound. Also mic placement is very important. Listeners on youtube are not standing where the conductor is.. Listen to this version of Ola's piece Ubi Caritas by a quartet of young men..All the best tone qualities.. no muddy sound no vibrato.....

[@baronpatron]

I totally agree see my response below

[@bertaga41]

Ecstasy - beyond words

[@1pukegl1tter_]

Oh my gosh I’m singing this for all state and I’m only in 8th gradeeee

[@IvanFlores-tq9rp]

where can I get a music piece of this song?

[@baronpatron]

Lovely....need to hear more bass but that could be mic placement

[@August-rj4kl]

That soprano in the corner sticks out so much on the high notes -_- blend a little maybe

[@brianyune2263]

Brian skux yune

[@frostythecat9811]

UWU

[@Jly132]

Who downed this, 20 ? Lol

[@alessandrabianchi9017]

Splendido....ma peccato per la pronuncia....

[@SimonSimon-rn3tm]

What a lot of rot; a load of sentimental, derivative claptrap!

[@bertaga41]

Ecstasy. Beyond words.

[@bertaga41]

Ecstasy - beyond words

[@bertaga41]

Ecstasy - beyond words