“Cor meum est templum sacrum is one of our favorite songs to sing and to program. It has created a transcendent moment on many of our sacred programs.”
—Chanticleer
Composer, poet, and violinist Patricia Van Ness’s (b. 1951) music and lyrics are celebrated globally, and have been commissioned, recorded, and performed by world-renowned ensembles including St. Martin’s Voices, St. Martin in the Fields (UK); The Pembroke College Girls’ Choir and The Chapel Choir of Pembroke College, Cambridge (UK); The Heidelberg New Music Festival Ensemble (DE); The King’s Singers (UK); Chanticleer (San Francisco, USA); The Sebastians (NYC, USA); Tapestry (Boston, US); The Harvard University Choir (Cambridge, USA); and Manner-Quartett Schnittpunktvokal (AT). She has been Staff Composer at First Church in Cambridge, Congregational (USA) since 1996.
Van Ness’s work draws on elements of medieval and Renaissance music to create a modern, signature voice. She has been called a present-day Hildegard von Bingen, known for music and lyrics “ecstatic and ethereal,” “both ancient and new.” As in medieval aesthetics, her art explores the relationship between beauty and the Divine. Her catalog of works includes choral, vocal, and instrumental pieces in numerous genres. In addition to many works based on her own poetry (in English and Latin), she has written music for many of the Bible’s 150 psalms, using texts in English, Hebrew, and Latin.
Van Ness’s music appears on The Best of the King’s Singers (“My Heart is a Holy Place”, Signum) and 15 other commercial album releases including release on Warner Classics, Teldec, Telarc International, and streaming platforms. Van Ness’s honors include Europe’s Echo Klassik Prize (with Tapestry for “Sapphire Night”); Chamber Music America’s Album of the Year (“The Fourth River”); and both Chorus America’s Adventurous Programming and Daniel Pinkham Awards from Coro Allegro.
SHORT BIO
Composer, poet, and violinist Patricia Van Ness (b. 1951) draws upon elements of medieval and Renaissance music to create a signature voice that has been hailed by musicians, audiences, and critics. She has been called a present-day Hildegard von Bingen with her ability to compose music “ecstatic and ethereal,” “both ancient and new.” As in medieval aesthetics, her music and poetry explore the relationship between beauty and the Divine. Her catalog of works includes choral, vocal, and instrumental pieces in numerous genres. In addition to many works based on her own poetry (in English and Latin), she has written music for many of Bible’s 150 psalms, using texts in English, Hebrew, and Latin. She has been commissioned, recorded and performed internationally by many ensembles, including The King’s Singers; St. Martin’s Voices, St. Martin in the Fields; The Heidelberg New Music Festival; and Chanticleer. Since 1996, Van Ness has been Staff Composer at First Church in Cambridge, Congregational.