Adoravit

The traditional Latin text Senex puerum portabat explores the mysterious paradox of the Incarnation. As befitting the text, this a cappella motet is at once both ancient and modern in its construct and harmonic language. Beginning as a single choir, the work blossoms into a double choir setting with chant-inspired voice leading and call and response in an antiphonal style. One choir sets a slow-moving half-note pulse, while the second choir responds with quarter notes that highlight the text and movement of the work. Modern harmonies and dissonances create a beautiful tension in the music, which grows in dynamics and texture with divisi, ultimately resolving with a Picardy third in the final cadence.