Angelus
Program note
Angelus is only the third primarily vocal work in my catalogue. It draws its inspiration chiefly from the music of Arvo Pärt, whose compositional techniques—especially his tintinnabuli style—are explored here in a more personal and extended way.
The piece is centred around the tonal relationship between E minor and E major. The Ave Maria passages are consistently set in the major mode, providing moments of clarity and light, while the remaining sections unfold primarily in E minor. An exception occurs at Et habitavit in nobis, where the tonal language briefly shifts, creating a subtle contrast within the overall structure.
The interaction between the choir and the string orchestra is deliberately restrained. For most of the piece, they remain separate: the choir sings unaccompanied, supported only by sustained drone tones that establish a stable harmonic foundation. The strings enter more independently, creating a sense of spatial and textural contrast. It is only at Et verbum caro factum est that both forces fully converge, marking a structural and expressive climax.
The cantus firmus does not remain fixed in a single voice, but instead moves fluidly between different sections of the choir, allowing the text to emerge from varying timbral perspectives. Around it, the remaining voices form harmonies derived from the tintinnabuli technique, closely following the contour of the principal line while maintaining a sense of stillness and resonance.
The piano serves a distinct structural role within the work. Rather than participating continuously, it acts as a kind of “reset” between sections, articulating transitions and reinforcing the formal divisions of the piece.
Overall, Angelus is conceived as a meditation on contrast—between major and minor, light and darkness, movement and stillness—while remaining grounded in a deliberately limited musical language.
Text:
Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae.
Et concepit de Spiritu Sancto.
Ave Maria, gratia plena,
Dominus tecum.
Benedicta tu in mulieribus,
et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus.
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei,
ora pro nobis peccatoribus,
nunc et in hora mortis nostrae.
Amen.
Ecce ancilla Domini.
Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum.
Ave Maria…
Et Verbum caro factum est.
Et habitavit in nobis.
Ave Maria…