Caccini, Giulio: Ave Maria

The Ave Maria attributed to Giulio Caccini (1551–1618) emerged from obscurity in the 1990s, and then it achieved remarkable popularity. Caccini was a member of the Florentine Camerata and one of the most important personalities behind the emergence of the monodic style of singing. The lyrics of this piece consist exclusively of the two words of the title. Gwyn Arch has fashioned his choral arrangement in an equally highly sensitive manner: the haunting melody is embellished, without being overloaded, with a small number of subtly placed counterparts and slight variations in the piano or organ accompaniment.