Julien-François Zbinden

Lord op. 93

Motet for double mixed choir SATB

The 'Ensemble Vocal de Lausanne conducted by Michel Corboz, premiered LORD on february 10th 2000 LORD is built around three phrases. The first, 'Lord, you made the night too long,' is the title of a piece performed in the 1930s by Louis Armstrong. The words of these phrases appear only successively. The work opens with the vowel 'o', introduced in turn by the 8 voices. 'O Lord, you made the night' is the object of a fugato section of dolorous character to which a tenor solo responds, which then moves into a new fugato section that is rhythmically chanted, ending very violently. It is only then that the end of the phrase, 'too long,' is sung by the soprano and alto soloists in a sorrowful manner. The second phrase rings out gloriously from the tenor soloist: 'Yes Lord, you made the night, but, Lord, you made the sun!' is then taken up fortissimo by the two choirs. Finally, the last phrase, 'Glory to the Lord,' begins joyously, and gradually builds to a triumphant chorale, before dying away into silence. Julien-François Zbinden