Aaron Jay Kernis: Musica Celestis (1990) for string orchestra

Demi Nicks
Jun 16, 2016
2 min read

A bit of “ear candy,” I would like to share Musica Celestis composed by Aaron Jay Kernis. Kernis, born in 1960, is an American composer currently on faculty at Yale School of Music as Adjunct Professor of Composition. He attended San Francisco Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, and Yale University studying with teachers John Adams, Jacob Druckman, Morton Subotnick, and Charles Wuorinen. Accolades throughout his career include a Nemmers Prize, Grawemeyer Award for Composition, Pulitzer Prize, Guggenheim Fellowship, Rome Prize, two Grammy nominations, and more. A noted characteristic of Kernis’ music is the influence and/or juxtaposition of a variety of musical styles such as rock, salsa, jazz, hip-hop, and other popular or vernacular styles. Much of his music draws on poetic or visual imagery and utilizes bright timbres, ascending melodic lines, and high registers (Oxford Music Online), illustrated in Musica Celestis. Musica Celestis was composed in 1990, arranged for string orchestra based on the second movement of his String Quartet of the same name. In his program note, Kernis describes being inspired by an image of “angels [singing] in heaven in praise of God without end,” and the medieval music of Hildegard von Bingen. A quote by Aurelian of Rome is provided reading, “The office of singing pleases God if it is performed with an attentive mind, when in this way, we imitate the choirs of angels who are said to sing the Lord’s praises without ceasing.” Kernis says the piece “follows a simple, spacious melody and harmonic pattern through a number of variations (like a passacaglia) and modulations, and is framed by an introduction and coda.” References: Program note and score: https://issuu.com/scoresondemand/docs/musica_celestis_29505?e=8906278/4920151 http://music.yale.edu/faculty/kernis-aaron/ Mary Lou Humphrey. "Kernis, Aaron Jay." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 16 Jun. 2016. <http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/42482>.