Messiaen's Corpus Christi Motet 'O Sacrum Convivium' (1937)

A landmark composition originally for SATB choir, exploring the edges of post-impressionistic tonal harmony, and reaching for the celestial, otherworldly harmonic palette of his later compositions. All strictly in four parts!

Written without a time signature like many of his later works, it shows some use of his signature modes of limited transposition, though mostly through a tonal lens. A lot of the ideas in the composition such as rootless voicings, colouristic uses of extensions and quartal harmony made Messiaen a popular topic among jazz musicians, and Messiaen would later end up teaching composition to a young Quincy Jones in the late fifties!

The guitar arrangement is by me and transposes the piece down a tone to E, though with a capo it can also be played in the original key of F-sharp, which was Messiaen's favourite key.

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