Fides, Spes, Amor, Amicitia

Composer：John August Pamintuan

Words from composer:

I wrote the piece upon the invitation of my very good friend, Ko Matsushita. I was assigned to write for male voices and I thought about the sound and capability of
the singers, Voces Veritas, Orpheus Singers, etc.
Then there was also a quality that I have to consider: Japanese people love emotional music and this piece must be full of heart strings to pull and affect the singers and listeners.
Finally, I wrote a sketch after one day and sent a video of me playing on the piano, to which Matsushita san exclaimed, “I cannot stop my tears.” So I suppose my mission has been accomplished.
The piece is made up of four sections: an exposition of main theme “A,” a second short movement where the minor becomes major, a chorus, and recapitulation into an “A prime,” where the main theme is played by the piano and the choir sings an accompanying ad libitum section until the end. Many of the themes are recurring, and while the melodies remain constant, the chords modulate into small surprises therefore avoiding monotony.
After some small changes and translating the text to Latin, I submitted the music, and realized I gave it 8 months too early for the deadline. It is full of small stories which make up my friendship with Matsushita san, and friendship with Japanese singers and Japan.
I hope the audience will enjoy the piece, as I enjoyed writing it.