Agnus Dei

Chris Artley's a cappella setting of "Agnus Dei", features a slow, hauntingly beautiful melody, sung first by sopranos and then by baritones, accompanied by lush harmony infused with jazz chords, from the rest of the choir.  At the words, "lux aeterna" (light eternal), there is a dramatic change of sound world, with the use of cluster chords and an impassioned melody built from the 'B Lydian' scale. The music reaches a climax at the golden section of the piece (bar 35), with the words "lux aeterna", sung fortissimo in eight-part harmony. The opening Agnus Dei then returns, this time featuring both soprano and baritone on the melody and comes to a close with a stunning pianis-imo ending on the words, "dona nobis pacem" (grant us peace).