Scored for SSAA chorus and organ and appropriate for the seasons of Advent and Christmas, Healey's musical setting of a venerable Marian text by Fortunatus (ca. 530-609) uses mixed meter to capture the word stresses of John Neale's translation. The piece hearkens back to the Middle Ages through its use of modal harmony (A Dorian), fauxbourdon, and open sonorities at cadences, while using modern rhythmic and metric means.
