This piece for double choir (which has a companion Ave maris stella devised for separate performance) is grounded in traditional harmonic progression. An astonishing build-up of devotional intensity is achieved with near-exclusivereference to the notes of the G major diatonic scale. At the pinnacle of the piece an electrifying F natural is introduced, which, in combination with an A minor triad, replicates the climactic chord from the development sectionof the opening movement of Beethoven's 3rd...