Music for the Spirit

Previously, anyone looking for music on the theme of Pentecost and the Holy Spirit for church services and concerts usually had to do so in larger collections that cover the entire church year or parts of it. Now there is a choir book specifically for the feast of Pentecost, closing a gap for this important feast of the Catholic, Protestant, and Anglican churches.

Over 500 years of choral music from the Renaissance to the modern age are covered here with compositions from German-, English-, Italian-, and French-speaking regions. Almost all the great composers of European sacred music are represented, from Palestrina, Byrd, Bach, Mozart, Brahms, Gounod, and Bruckner to Reger, Parry, Stanford, and Distler. With the chronological order, the development of the genre of the Pentecost motet and sacred choral music in general can be traced.

All pieces can be performed by mixed choir a cappella or with organ accompaniment. In some cases, the accompaniment or voicing has been supplemented or arranged by the editor. The scoring ranges from three to eight voices, and the length and difficulty of the pieces cover a broad range for a wide variety of choirs and ensembles.