The Seven Seals is a work written for three antiphonal a cappella choirs. The Seven Seals is based on the text from Revelations chapter 6 – 8:2. This portion of the Bible describes the opening of the seven seals of the apocalypse. The Seven Seals was constructed harmonically by using common chords to represent certain words. For example, the word “God” always has the same harmonic structure. This process is used for other key words of the piece. Additionally, from a formal standpoint the choirs play different roles. Choirs I and II are like the text of the Bible. Choir III acts as the “voice.” Whenever there is quoted speech from the Bible verse, choir III takes on this role.
The Bradley University Chorale made the following recording of “The Sixth Seal” portion of the work.
