Plainchant is recalled in Gabriel Jackson’s Ecce venio cito, alternating with the rhapsodic melodies of a soprano soloist repeating the invitation ‘veni’ (‘come’). In the opening section of the work Jackson creates the effect of a multitude of voices by asking each singer to intone the text independently, and against this animated susurration the sopranos sing rapturously of the gifts that the Lord will bring when he comes. The choir then joins together in an awe-filled statement of God’s declaration ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end’.

from notes by Owen Rees © 2016