Veni Creator Spiritus

For Choir

From Suite for Wedding

Veni Creator Spiritus was written as part of the Suite for Wedding. I wrote this suite for my own wedding to Louise on the 2nd August 2003 at St. Jude's Englefield Green. The suite, which was played at the service, includes the following:

1. Veni Creator Spiritus for Organ - to be played before the service

2. Wedding March I

3. Introit for Choir & Organ

4. Veni Creator Spiritus for Choir - to be played during the signing of the register

I began work on Veni after completing Une Autre Vie (see piano music). Veni was the last piece of the suite to be written and I had already attempted a similar setting of words from the Songs of Solomon which I eventually gave up on. I eventually set my efforts on part of the early Hymn Veni Creator Spiritus which I had encountered through my work on Mahler VIII. The words chosen for my setting were:

Veni Creátor Spiritus,
Mentes tuórum vísita;
Imple supérna grátia
Quae tu creásti péctora.

Come, creative Spirit,
Visit the minds of Your followers.
Fill with celestial grace
Those hearts which you created

The setting was completed in a day thus completing the Suite with time for rehearsals. The recording above is taken from the Wedding Service.

Analysis:
The structure of the setting is a loose ABA. The first section (bb.1-20) consists of the first line of words set to a melody that is repeated twice. Before the repeat (b.8), the Sopranos sing a low D to the word 'Spiritus' which overlaps with the repeating material. The second occurrence of the theme (bb.9-20) has an extended ending which fragments the opening material whilst the Sopranos sing their low D (Spiritus). The section ends with a phrygian cadence.

The second section (bb.21-35) sets the rest of the hymn stanza to new material. From the third line of the hymn onwards, the Sopranos sing the melodic material whilst the rest of the choir accompanies in pulsing chromatic chords.

The final section is constructed in a similar manner to the first, but with varied scoring. This time the low D 'Spiritus' is given to the Altos (b.43-44) before the material is repeated. At b.50 when the word 'Spiritus' is reached, the section begin to differ significantly from the first. Two important motifs appear in b.51 which act as an idee fixe to the whole suite (the rising scale in the tenor part and the chord on beat 3). The work closes with the phrygian cadence from earlier fading into nothing.

Selected Performances:
-(2/8/03) Englefield Green, UK. First performed at the Wedding Service of Guy and Louise Bunce.