Averte oculos meos

Alexander Utendal sets a plea for spiritual protection in this motet for SAATB. The composer opens by focusing on the music itself, drawing the listener into the five-part texture. The voices interweave, creating moments of intense reflection that mirror the text's prayer to be shielded from vanity and to be kept safe. The Latin lyrics express a deep longing for divine presence and steadfastness, asking that the singer's feet may stand firm in the courts of Jerusalem.