Human suffering, endured in all its forms by Jesus, occupies the compassionate heart of
Ave verum corpus. The late medieval text is most closely associated with the Catholic sacrament of Eucharist and the transubstantiation of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ during Mass. It has also found a place in the Protestant ordinance of Holy Communion as an expression of fidelity to Christ. Bingham’s setting, written within the span of two days in April 2002, suffuses rapt reverence with intimations of life’s pain and its part in reconciliation with God. Repeated rhythmic motifs in the organ and choral writing suggest the weary tread of Jesus on the road to the cross, casting a long shadow of penitence, briefly cleared by luminous chordal settings of ‘O clemens, o pie’.
from notes by Andrew Stewart © 2013
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