O sacrum convivium - Graham Keitch



Duration: 3'30"
Ensemble: SATB unaccompanied
Grading: Medium
ISMNPartPriceQuantity
CMP392 Full score £2.50
Checkout

Click to enlarge

Graham Keitch's O sacrum convivium ('O sacred banquet') was written in 2013.

The piece is a tableau that unfolds with the text, making use of textures ranging from plainsong-inspired monody to sumptuous chording. The richness of the writing is further heightened by a considerable dynamic range.

The text, assigned in the Roman tradition as the Magnificat antiphon at Vespers for the Feast of Corpus Christi, is thought to have originated with St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274). The words celebrate the mystery of the Eucharist where the human concept of taking bread and wine at the mortal Last Supper is transfigured into a spiritual oneness - the 'sacred banquet' - with the life, death, flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. (David Davies)

The original SSAATTBB setting was recorded by Antiphon in Exeter Cathedral for their 'O my People' CD (2016). The work remained unperformed until it was edited in 2023 to remove lower voice divisi for Chorale de l'Alma, a choir associated with the University of Louvain, Belgium. They sang this leaner and more translucent setting (as published by CMP) for the first time during Mass on Pentecost Sunday, May 2023.