Alleluia, KV 553

This is a setting of the word Alleluia, presented as a canon for four equal voices. The work is brief, its texture built on the canonic imitation of a single melodic idea. The composer's masterful handling of the voices creates a sonorous and unified whole, despite the simplicity of the material. It’s a concise and elegant sacred work, well-suited to the intimate sound of equal voices singing in unison and in imitation. The text, a single word of praise, is treated with the focus and clarity that a canon demands.