SKU: CA.965500

ISBN 9790007164409. Language: Latin.

For faithful Catholics it is the great mystery, and for those who are not Christian believers it is incomprehensible, possibly even off-putting - the mystery of the Eucharist. As far back as the late medieval period, the verse prayer Ave verum inimitably captures the special atmosphere of the contradiction between a terrible death and the redemption of mankind. Matsushita sets an early version of this prayer for the Eucharist in motet-like ABA form. A floating melody, alternating precisely between major and minor and first sung solo by all four voices in transposition, introduces the piece in a contemplative style. The scale is then altered in the counterpoint to a pure Dorian mode, contrasting in the middle section at the text vere passum, where Matsushita accompanies the increasingly wide-ranging melody and its chromatic, augmented intervals, by increasingly dissonant chordal shifts like a fauxbourdon. From this the tonal high point develops into an almost perfect F major, which then finally picks up on the opening motif for the added lines of text O Jesu dulcis, o Jesu pie... before ebbing away in F major. Voice range: S: des' - fis'' / A:gdeg - d'' / T: cdeg - as' / B: F - c'.

SKU: SU.80300116

Choral phrases end on sustained sixth chords, forming a background for soprano and alto solos in octaves. Subtle rhythmic groupings of quarter and eighth notes declaim the text beautifully. Chosen for the 1997 ACDA National Convention women's chorus reading session. SSAA, soprano and alto solo a cappella. Latin. Medium. SSAA, a cappella Published by: Treble Clef Music Minimum order quantity: 8 copies.