David James • Gordon Jones • John Potter • Rogers Covey-Crump

Countertenor Gloria, Alleluia, In Paradisum, Agnus Dei: David Gould
Soprano Ave Verum Corpus: Kenan Burrows
Cello: Kirk Worthington • Trumpet: Robert Grim

In writing the score for Lilies (winner of the Best Picture prize at the 1996 Genie Awards), composer Mychael Danna turned to the music of the Catholic church, a central institution in Quebec history, and the source of most intellectual and artistic life dating from the Middle Ages through the Dark Ages to hundreds of years later. In order to standardize religious services and to enforce the central authority of the church, the Popes established a body of official music. Consisting originally of unaccompanied, monophonic material for voices without a fixed rhythm, this music became known as Gregorian Chant (named after Pope Gregory I, circa 540-607). For the rest of the Lilies score, Danna turned to the traditional "Ordinary of the Mass," the "Mass for the Dead," and the "Lamentations" from the Sarum Rite of Tenebrae.

The "Ordinary" is the most important service of the Roman Catholic church and consists of five invariable sections, several of which are included here: Kyrie, Gloria, and Sanctus and Benedictus; also included is an Alleluia, one of the six chants in the "Proper of the Mass." The more flexible "Proper" allows for texts to vary according to a particular time of the church year. An example of later, non-Gregorian plainchant in the score is "Dies Irae" ("The Day of Wrath"), the most famous of fifteenth century tropes. The composer also incorporates several segments of the traditional "Requiem Mass," including Libera Me (used for the main and end titles), Lux Aeterna, In Paradisum and Pie Jesu, in addition to the traditional hymn Ave Verum Corpus. The music itself is all original, composed by Danna within medieval modalities. For his vocal lines he employs the Gregorian technique of melisma, in which groups of notes are used for a single syllable of Latin text. Performed by the world renowned, English-based Hilliard Ensemble, the score is written in both a cappella style and for solo cello and trumpet (Kirk Heatherington and Robert Grim, respectively). Supplementing the textures are the haunting vocal stylings of boy soprano Kenan Burrows. While reflective of the religious spectre that informs much of Quebec's past, Danna's music becomes even more affecting when contrasted with the mores and music of the secular age that Lilies foreshadows.

About The Composer
Mychael Danna is the leading composer of music for Canadian films. Educated at the University of Toronto, Danna was the recipient of the 1985 Glenn Gould Composition Award. Much of his early film success stemmed from his association with Atom Egoyan, the most critically acclaimed Canadian director of his generation. Their work together includes Family Viewing (1987), Speaking Parts (1989), The Adjuster (1991, selected as one of the ten best Canadian films ever made at the 1994 Toronto Film Festival), Exotica (1994, which won the International Critics' Prize at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival and eight Genies including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Score) and The Sweet Hereafter (1997, winner of the Grand Prix and two other top jury prizes at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival). Other recent works include Mira Nair's Kama Sutra, Ang Lee's The Ice Storm and the upcoming film adaptation of John Grisham's The Gingerbread Man.
-Kevin Mulhall

Canadian composer Mychael Danna - first and foremost known for his collaboration with director Atom Egoyan (The Adjuster, Family Viewing, Exotica and The Sweet Hereafter) - has composed a truly fascinating score for LILIES. Inspired by the music of the Catholic church, and the traditional "Ordinary of the Mass" and "Requiem Mass", Danna's score is orchestrated mainly for four male voices, the 'The Hilliard Ensemble', and with additional solo performances by countertenor David Gould and boy soprano Kenan Burrows. A cello and a trumpet occasionally add more temper to the music, as in the beginning of the superb "Kyrie I". Indeed, this score is one of the most hauntingly beautiful I have come across in recent years, and Danna's stylistic approach is obviously ingenious, effectively contrasting the secular elements of the film. The CD features many memorable compositions, all of them with a stunning overall quality of timelessness. Mychael Danna has been around for about ten years, and he is probably one of the most original composers in the business right now. Lilies is definitely his most impressive score so far.
Mikael Carlsson