ad puram annihilationem meam

Matthew Whittall's ad puram annihilationem meam ("to the purest annihilation of myself", 2008) for mixed choir juxtaposes facets of Christian liturgy, like plainchant, with a more spacious ritual atmosphere influenced by gagaku music. The plainchant opens and closes the work, framing the central rite, which is more responsory in character.

The percussion part, written to be performed by the vocalists, plays a minimal but central role, with tuned glasses providing a halo for the chant passages, and a bass drum punctuating the starker middle section,
marking time and shaping the silences, and providing the rhythmic impulse for the dancer. A large gong adds its weight to the penultimate section, in which the long-desired illumination is glimpsed.