As we approach the in-person premiere of Astronautica: Voices of Women in Space we share selections from our Astronautica composers and as well as other composers from whom we’ve commissioned choral works over the years.

Today's selection comes from composer James Bassi.

I wrote this work in 1998; it was my first work commissioned by Voices of Ascension, and was premiered in February 1999. The melodic material in this piece is meant to be a bit reminiscent of ancient chant. I set the melodic lines into multi-layered harmonic and contrapuntal textures. Through all these interweaving vocal lines, I strive to keep the music transparent. The “lux” (light) is a crucial image in this music, and many of the colors and color shifts are meant to evoke refractions of light, and the spiritual presence embodied in that light. At times, the singers in the chorus are divided into three groups, echoing and overlapping each other antiphonally; this is an oblique reference to the holy Trinity.

— James Bassi

JAMES BASSI O Lux Beata Trinitas

Voices of Ascension
Dennis Keene, Artistic Director

Recorded live in concert, February 10, 1999, at Church of the Ascension
The singers in this performance are represented by the American Guild of Musical Artists, AFL-CIO.