Agnus Dei: Choral Octavo SoundTrax CD

This movement stands beautifully on its own while remaining faithful to the Missa Festiva's architecture. The newly engraved octavos are clean and conductor-friendly, and the chamber orchestration transforms what might feel intimate into something genuinely grand without requiring a full orchestra.

Leavitt's modal language creates an atmosphere of reverence without sentimentality, with warm harmonic colors that shift like light through stained glass. The text settles into the voices naturally, and the orchestration adds gentle resonance that listeners feel as much as hear.

This octavo works for choirs of intermediate to advanced ability who want a substantial sacred work without the commitment of learning a full mass setting. It suits choirs seeking concert pieces with liturgical weight or those looking to add one powerful movement to a worship service.

• Encourage singers to shape the modal harmonies with attention to voice leading; the chromaticism that Leavitt uses for color should never sound accidental.
• Balance the recorded accompaniment carefully in rehearsal so your choir learns their independence first, then gradually blend with the track.
• Attend to the text underlay in this newly engraved version; cleaner notation often reveals phrasing opportunities your choir may have missed.

Program this as a closing movement in a sacred music concert, or use it as the climax of a liturgical service where a single, powerful statement carries more impact than multiple shorter pieces. Its length and substance make it an excellent anchor point when pairing with shorter contemporary works or classical favorites.

• Singing in modal harmony and understanding chromatic voice leading
• Balancing vocal independence with instrumental accompaniment
• Interpreting sacred text with musical sensitivity and phrasing
• Reading newly engraved notation with clarity and efficiency