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Duke Chapel Ensemble Releases Album of Sacred Choral Music

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Duke University Chapel’s Schola Cantorum chamber choir will release a new album of sacred music on Friday, September 18. Titled And Night Shall Be No More: A Year at Duke University Chapel, the album’s repertoire travels from darkness to light, exploring the cyclical rhythm of the church year as well as the natural daily cadence of sunrise and sunset. It will be released on the Navona Records label.

Album cover for "& Night Shall Be No More: A Year at Duke University Chapel" by the Duke Chapel Schola Cantorum, conducted by Zebulon M. Highben. The background features an interior perspective of a stone Gothic cathedral, looking down a dimly lit nave with high vaulted ceilings, hanging pendant lights, wooden pews, and stained-glass windows illuminated in shades of blue and purple.

“This was an exciting project to prepare,” says Dr. Zebulon M. Highben, conductor of the Schola Cantorum and director of Chapel Music. “Ancient texts and melodies are placed alongside contemporary works as we journey thematically through the liturgical calendar. Some of our favorite pieces are featured on the album, and the Schola sings beautifully throughout.”

The Duke Chapel Schola Cantorum comprises students, staff singers, and volunteers auditioned from within the 100-voice Duke Chapel Choir. Though the ensemble annually comprises sixteen to twenty-four voices, forty-six singers contributed to the album, which was recorded in Duke Chapel in six sessions over two and a half years. Chapel Organist Chad Fothergill is featured on the album, which includes three original compositions by Zebulon Highben, “In Silence,” “Lord, Who Throughout These Forty Days,” and “There Is No Rose” (watch a video recording).

Chris Williams, a PhD student in composition in Duke’s Department of Music, is one of the singers who performed in the Schola Cantorum, which was also featured at last year’s American Choral Directors Association national conference. 

“Getting the chance not just to sing with Schola Cantorum but to listen from the inside of the ensemble has been an absolute highlight of my time as a graduate composition student,” Williams says. “There are worlds between a mark on manuscript paper, singing yourself, and the careful balance and dance—almost tightrope walk—of singing with a small collection of accomplished singers. It's a unique thrill, and I'm so delighted to be included on this album.”

And Night Shall Be No More begins with music for nightfall, a polyphonic setting of the Compline hymn Te lucis ante terminum by Renaissance composer Diego Ortiz. Advent and Christmas selections follow, including a contemporary rendition of the chorale Savior of the Nations, Come; Will Todd’s ethereal My Lord Has Come; and Undine Smith Moore’s exuberant Glory to God. The seasons of Lent, Easter, and Pentecost are traversed via spirituals, shape-note melodies, and a powerful rendering of the Gregorian chant Sing, My Tongue (PANGE LINGUA) featuring Chapel Organist Chad Fothergill. The album concludes with works by Gwyneth Walker, Jacob Handl, and the Chapel’s Zebulon Highben for All Saints Day and Christ the King, before returning again to Advent with the beloved E’en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come by Paul Manz.

The publication of And Night Shall Be No More resumes a tradition of Duke Chapel Music groups and musicians professionally recording albums of choral and organ music. Here is a partial list of previous recordings, with links to Spotify where available:

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