oculi omnium

oculi omnium is a short setting of the Latin grace recited at Clare College, Cambridge before dinner every evening. I heard this prayer countless times as an undergraduate there, and it always reminded me of an old friend of my family, a lapsed Methodist with a broad Yorkshire accent who had his own, rather shorter version of the grace text: "Benedicto, benedicare, Amen: tuck in!" He was a great supporter of me and a lover of choral music, so when asked to write something for the Rodolfus Choral Courses in the summer of 2019, I immediately thought of him and this text. My setting is relatively simple, and taps into some lush, jazz-influenced harmonies, whilst maintaining traditional voice leading throughout.