Ave verum corpus
Category
choral
Opus
94
Catalogue no
GS 
011
Instrumentation
SATB choir
DATE
2003
Duration
 
mins
Publisher
Giles Swayne
programme note

Ave verum corpus was written in November 2003 for Tim Brown and the choir of Clare College, Cambridge; it lasts slightly under three minutes. My aim was to recreate what composers of Monteverdi's period called la prima prattica - the strict contrapuntal style reserved for sacred music, as distinct from the secular, dance-based style of la seconda prattica. The opening two-part 'point' for soprano and alto weaves its way smoothly downwards from an upward leap of a fifth, the lines closely intertwined. It is answered by two jerky phrases from tenor and bass. The smooth material reappears - this time in four parts, with the voice-entries moving downwards from soprano to bass. The jerky music is now heard in soprano and alto, and is followed by a reprise of the four-part smooth counterpoint - but inverted, with the voices entering from the bass upwards. The jerky music reappears in four-part form (soprano and alto in canon with tenor and bass), which brings the piece to a climax at the words mortis examine. After a short silence, the smooth contrapuntal music returns, and a modified version of the opening brings the piece to a close.

Giles Swayne 2010

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