Bob Oganovic
Composer, arranger, engraver & transcriber, choral voices "synthesizer"
Choral Music
General Anthems
Confitemini Domino
SATB choir and Organ
The Latin text “Confitemini Domino” – “Give thanks to the Lord” — appears in several Psalms and has been set to music across centuries – from early composers like Giovanni Gabrieli, Heinrich Schütz, and Jean-Baptiste Lully to modern masters like Knut Nystedt. This setting for SATB chorus (with brief soprano/bass divisi) is an all-purpose anthem written in a modern but easy-to-learn idiom.
Locus iste
SSATBB choir a cappella
This original anthem is suitable for all occasions and offers a gentle, contemporary setting of the text used by Anton Bruckner in his well-known composition of the same name composed in 1869.
“This place was made by God,
a priceless sacrament;
it is without reproach.”
Gloria from Communion Service in D
SATB chorus & organ/piano
This setting of the Gloria text in English is excerpted from a longer Anglican communion/mass service described elsewhere on this page (including settings of the Hosanna, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei). It is a simple, tuneful arrangement that can be performed as a general-purpose anthem or during the Christmas season.
Service Music
Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis
Two-Part Soprano or Soprano/Alto Choir & Organ/Piano
The Magnificat (Song of Mary) and Nunc dimittis (Song of Simeon) are biblical canticles. They part of the daily service of Evensong (Evening Prayer) in the Anglican church and have been set to music frequently in many languages. This setting can be performed by any two-part treble ensemble. The canticles can also be performed separately with the Magnificat text being appropriate for Christmas/Advent.
Communion Service in D
SATB chorus & organ/piano
This setting of the Anglican communion/mass service – Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei – is simple and direct. The writing is in the tradition of the great English composers of the 20th century.
The Gloria is available as a separate anthem through Swirly. It can be performed as a general-purpose anthem or during the Christmas season.
Christmas
Sing We the Virgin Mary
SATB chorus & organ/piano
This is a straightforward setting for choir and organ/keyboard of an Appalachian carol found by John Jacob Niles (1892-1980). Niles had considerable influence during the American folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s. The first verse can be performed by a treble soloist, semichorus, or soprano section.
Adam Carol
SATB chorus & organ/piano
The words of “The Lord at first did Adam make” are traditional in the world of English Christmas carols. This contemporary setting is based on a new, original tune. It shifts between major and minor modalities and passes through several keys while allowing each part to share the melody.
If Ye Would Hear
SATB choir a cappella with brief divisi and section or individual treble solo
This is a contemporary setting of a multi-verse carol for choir a cappella based on an original melody. The unusual time signature of 5/4 provides a lilt and propels the piece forward with each part singing the melody along the way. The final verse can be performed by treble/female solo or semi-chorus. The words were written by the English poet and essayist Dora Greenwell, a 19th century advocate for women’s education and suffrage.
The Angel Gabriel
SATB (brief divisi) choir & organ/piano
In this gentle 1991 setting of a 19th century carol many colors of choral writing appear with sections for SATB, 3-part men, 3-part women, and solos by section. There is a gentle back-and-forth between measures set in 3/2 and 4/4.
Wexford Carol
SATB chorus with organ, treble/semichorus solo & brief divisi
This carol originated in the city of Wexford in the southeastern Irish Republic and eventually appeared in the Oxford Book of Carols. It has a modal (Mixolydian) feel, constantly shifting between the parallel major/minor key and the sharped/flatted 7th. In modern times it has been recorded by artists as diverse as Julie Andrews, Tom Jones, Rosanne Cash, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.