Volo ergo viros orare

motet for SATB choir or quartet

I composed this motet for the twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C, as a gift to my friends and collaborators in the Oberlin Newman Catholic Community. Written in strict 19th-century style, this piece is my first in a long time to use key signatures (D Major and G Minor) and forgo any changes of meter. Embracing this simpler aesthetic was surprisingly therapeutic at the outset of my senior year at Oberlin.

“Volo ergo viros orare” features no divisi and can therefore be performed by both one-per part ensembles and larger choirs. Suited for both liturgical and concert use, it makes an ideal pairing with my earlier motet “Whoever Serves Me” (2024).

-Matthew Thomas Brown