Veni creator spiritus

Commissioned by Howick Brass Band

Premiere: 26 April 2020
Howick Brass Band, conductor Brendan Agnew
Our Lady, Star of the Sea, Howick, Auckland

Contest premiere: 16 July 2021
Howick Brass Band, conductor Brendan Agnew
James Hay Theatre, Christchurch
NZBBA National Contest 2021

Programme Note

I first heard the Latin hymn, Veni creator spiritus, sung as plainchant on an anthology cassette in my first year of university, and I have loved the melody ever since. There is something in its melodic rise and fall and rhythmic freedom which has always seemed joyous. It was also an appropriate vehicle for the exploration of tonal clusters and harmonic structuring.

The process of composing with Veni creator spiritus has been both fascinating and challenging. As plainchant is generally identified by its distinctive rhythmic freedom and absence of pulse, transferring this melody into a score notated with barlines and time signature can easily disrupt, if not destroy, the original source's character.
I have attempted to avoid forcing the melody into any sense of metrical structure beyond what is necessary for organisation.

Performance Note

This piece was composed as a sacred or reflective item suitable for brass band contest.