I just heard, for the first time, Ave Maris Stella by James Macmillan done live at an advent service in our local church; and it was a thrilling and beautiful experience.
I'm genuinely astonished that this music is not better known - but judging by the YouTube numbers, word seems not to have spread about this modern choral gem.
It is highly accessible, consisting almost entirely of block chords in diatonic harmony against high pedal-point sustained notes from the trebles; but with periodic extraordinary dissonances - so it rewards close attention.
The Amen is a wonderful climax - my hair literally bristled when it happened.
2 comments:
this is very beautiful, thank you for sharing. usually i am a little underwhelmed by hymnal music, but was pleasantly surprised.
are you familiar with the catholic composer Olivier Messiaen? it may be a little too dissonant for your tastes, i'm not sure, but this is probably my favorite piece of music ever. it is about the ascension of Jesus, and it really feels like the soul is being carried to heaven: https://youtu.be/sXxHBSazWmE?si=EJcq4ZFaJDa-pM1l
@Laeth - I should perhaps add that the performance of AMS I heard yesterday was *better* than the recording to which I linked; better in terms of its musical phrasing and the overall shaping - i.e. it was exceptionally well conducted, which is why I provided a link to his name.
I'm afraid Messiaen's music does nothing for me.
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