Richard Allain: Salve Regina (SSAATTBB)

Richard Allain presents a beautifully sombre and gentle setting of the Salve Regina for SSAATTBB chorus. Allain's close harmonies are set across a staggered texture, creating a seamless continuous halo of sound with each syllable melding into the next. The effect is developed as the density of the music builds, allowing each singer a level of metric freedom that allows a series of repeating phrases to blur into an undulating layer of sound against which the lower voices sing. A captivating and hugely atmospheric devout setting.