Ascendo ad Patrem meum

Giuseppe Jannacconi’s Ascendo ad Patrem meum is a potent setting for double choir (SATB.SATB) of a Latin text drawn from the Gospel of John. The opening lines, spoken by Christ before his ascension, express his return to God. The motet develops this theme, with further scriptural interpolations that speak of the promise of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, who will be sent to the disciples. The text’s joyous pronouncements of divine presence and the subsequent arrival of the Spirit are reflected in the grand, interwoven textures of the two choirs, creating a powerful and uplifting sacred statement. The motet’s liturgical text is suitable for feasts of the Ascension and Pentecost.