Duration: 3'00" Ensemble: SSAA soprano solo or semichorus unaccompanied Grading: |
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Ecce Concipies, Behold thou shalt conceive, depicts the seminal moment of the Annunciation to Mary. The opening evokes the agitation and surprise that might have overcome the Blessed Virgin on being greeted by an angel. The message is announced with a fanfare figure, whist the list of what and who the holy child will become builds in momentum, with the texture becoming busy and almost too much to absorb. The ending comes to a standstill, setting John 1:14 as Mary accepts God's will, and the word becomes flesh.