Frammenti da 'Chiara'

Mostly inhabiting a hushed pianissimo, the free floating melismas and luminous harmonies of this work for two antiphonal choirs of female voices explore one word: ‘chiara’ (‘clear’ in Italian) and its equivalents in a few other languages. Knussen, somewhat cryptically, writes that the piece ‘has something to do with St Clare, angels, and canons.’ The striking atmosphere – fleeting, hauntingly elusive and almost mystical – makes this, his only choral work, ripe for rediscovery.