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Ave Formosissima (A Secular Motet) (1985, rev. 1987)

Soprano (who preferably also plays claves and tambourine, though a separate percussionist may be used), Clarinet, and Violoncello
Text: From Carmina Burana (Latin)
Duration: ca. 10 minutes
Publisher: C. F. Peters Corporation, Edition Peters 67529

Reviews

The New York Times
June 24, 1995
By Anthony Tommasini

Interestingly, the work that tried to please the least was the most compelling. Hayes Biggs’ Ave Formosissima, a secular motet for soprano, clarinet and cello, harkens back to the dance-mad, melismatic and slightly raucous music of the Middle Ages. But the score, with its zig-zagging lines and pungent dissonances, is genuinely contemporary.

The Music Connoisseur
Vol. 3, No. 3, Summer 1995
By Leo Kraft

Mr. Biggs came to grips with the practice and manners of medieval music without literally quoting anything, rather offering a present-day view of the subject that was, by turns, exuberant and reflective, and remarkably persuasive.

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