These two responsories draw upon texts from the Liturgy of the Hours for the first Sunday of Advent and the Nativity Vigil. Because the sopranos soar to high A-flat and the basses never drop below the mid-line D-flat, the Matins portion of the piece has a bright, ringing quality to it. The metered choral sections are mostly in common time; they alternate with sections of unmetered unison chant. The Vespers portion is a bit more straightforward and not as rangy. Both portions have some divisi in their SATB choral parts.
