Liszt: Ave verum corpus, S44 (I Vocalisti)

Liszt’s Ave verum corpus (Hail, true body), for mixed choir and optional organ accompaniment was composed in 1871; it is a short piece, but in a small space it explores a wide harmonic territory. Simplicity is combined with beauty and expressive power—the opening is innocuous enough, but the wounds of Christ are soon reflected in the harmony. This gives way to a passage marked “dolciss.“ in the major mode, and a reference to death produces the triad of D-sharp minor, all eventually returning to D major, rea