Sacred Canons
1- Cantate Domino (2 voices)
2- Benedicite Dominum (2 voices)
3- Laudate Dominum (2 voices)
4- Domine Exaudi (2 voices)
5- Magnificat (3 voices)
6- Miserere Mei (3 voices)
7- Cor Jesu (SATB)
Audio and video productions: Henrique Coe
Note:
These 7 sacred canons were composed in 2020 intending to serve the liturgy and to help music education. A revision was done in 2022. The idea is to have beautiful and didactic canons. It is a way in which a choir can be introduced to polyphony, but it is also a sacred repertoire that can be sung in the liturgy. Canons 1, 2, 3 and 4 have two entrances (two voices), whereas canons 5 and 6 have three. All these 6 canons may start in unison, then polyphony takes place. They may be sung by equal voices as well as by mixed voices. The vocal range gradually expands from canon 1 (a perfect fifth) to canon 6 (a perfect octave). Canon 7 is written for Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass. The texts of all seven sacred canons were taken from the Liber Usualis. Most of these texts come from psalms, except the text of canon 5, which comes from the Gospel according to Luke, and the text of canon 7, which is traditionally prayed after Mass. The seven canons were sung for the first time between 2020 and 2022 at Masses at the community Família Luz da Vida in Goiânia, Brazil. The last canon to be sung was the 7th, Cor Jesu. It was sung for the first time at Mass on June 24, 2022, Solemnity of the Sacred Heart. One idea should also be highlighted: On June 26, 2022, at Mass at St. Matthew Catholic Church (Flint, MI, USA), Joseph Dobos conducted canon 1 (Cantate Domino) with the addition of psalm verses; Cantate Domino was sung as a refrain, starting directly from the canon instead of singing the melody in unison first. This idea can also be applied to other canons.