Hyperion Records

The ‘I AM’ sayings of Jesus are pillars of the New Testament, and refer back provocatively to the sacred Name of God revealed to Moses at the burning bush of Exodus. Comforting and perplexing at the same time, they create metaphors which allow Pitts free rein in his word painting. While these eight interlinked movements possess an individuality and solidity of musical expression, there is nevertheless an undercurrent of turbulence and restlessness. The interpretation of these canonic sayings can never be straightforward, and their musical settings sound fragile and monumental at the same time: they are simultaneously simplistic and virtuosic, logical and serendipitous. For every moment where musical common sense prevails there is a passage where, Escher-like, the conventions of melody and harmony spiral into a continuum where perspective is distorted.

Each of the motets in the ‘I AM’ cycle is set for a different number of voices ranging from one to eight: ‘The Door’ is a single melodic line, ‘The Way’ is a duet, ‘Before Abraham’ a trio, ‘The Bread’ a quartet, ‘The Light’ a quintet, ‘The Vine’ for six voices, ‘The Resurrection’ for seven, and the final ‘Alpha and Omega’ for eight voices. While these dispositions clearly affect the sound of each piece, it is remarkable that all eight motets inhabit a world that is empirically choral; in short, there is nothing missing in the sparser movements and nothing overblown in the fuller ones.

from notes by Jeremy Summerly © 2008