Ko Matsushita: Gloria (TTBB)

Ko Matsushita’s Gloria is a vibrant and rhythmically driven setting of the traditional liturgical text, written specifically for male choir. Composed in 1999 for the Meiji University Glee Club in Tokyo, the piece is built around the composer’s central theme of the “Liveliness of Life” — a celebration of being alive, expressed through energetic rhythms, powerful sonorities, and vigorous choral writing. 

Written for male choir (TTBB), the music makes striking use of irregular metres, energetic rhythmic patterns, and memorable ascending gestures. Contrasting sections bring moments of greater calm and harmonic focus before the music gathers momentum again, leading to increasingly powerful statements of the Gloria text. Matsushita emphasizes that the work should be performed with a strong sense of forward motion, rhythmic precision, stamina, and above all, the joy of singing.

The work carries a meaningful background: it was commissioned through a donation established in memory of a former Meiji University Glee Club member who died from illness. For Matsushita, the piece expresses the idea that death does not equal emptiness, and that life itself should be celebrated with gratitude and joy.

A compelling choice for male choirs looking for energetic sacred repertoire with powerful rhythmic writing, expressive contrasts, and an unmistakably life-affirming character.