This is a substantial setting of the canticles of Mary and Simeon, suitable for performance in both concert and liturgical settings. The choral writing features fugal counterpoint and a chromatic soundworld rooted around the octatonic scale. The text is in English throughout, with occasional Latin interjections in the Magnificat.

Notably, the choir is accompanied by both piano and organ, a combination that reflects the tradition of the Black American church in which the composer grew up, whe...