Ave Verum Corpus

W. A. MozartK. 618

Key

D

Time

C

Tempo

♩=60

AO focus

AO1

Form

Motet for SATB chorus, strings, and organ. 46 bars total — Mozart's last sacred work before the Requiem. Through-composed; binary AB with a coda.

Teaching points

• Mostly homophonic — all four voices move together. Easier rehearsal than the imitative Renaissance choral repertoire
• Word-painting: 'cuius latus perforatum' (whose side was pierced) gets a chromatic harmonic shudder
• AO1: a perfect anthem for a school chorale — singable range, only 4 minutes long, transparent texture
• AO3: late-Mozart simplicity — every note serves the text