Christus Factus Est,​ by Anton Bruckner

One of Austrian composer Anton Bruckner's most famous motets, the text is drawn from St. Paul's letter to the Philippians, and is traditionally used in the Catholic liturgies of Holy Week. Bruckner set the text three times, this being the third setting. The piece's expressive dissonance represents the darkness of the crucifixion.

Sainte-Chapelle,​ by Eric Whitacre

Despite its title, the music for this piece was inspired less by the exquisite French Gothic chapel, and more by Angoni Gaudi's as-yet-unfinished Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família in Barcelona, especially its Passion Façade encircled with the text “Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus.” The Tallis Scholars commissioned Sainte-Chapelle​ in celebration of their 40th anniversary, and premiered the piece in 2013.

O Adonai,​ by Arvo Pärt

This is the second of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s Sieben Magnificat-Antiphonen (Seven Magnificat Antiphons). The text is one of the seven ‘O’ antiphons upon which the famous Advent hymn ‘O come, O come Emmanuel’ is based. O Adonai uses Pärt’s famous “tintinnabuli” (bell-like) technique, but, unusually, applies this technique for male chorus rather than mixed.

Crucifixus,​ by Claudio Monteverdi

Claudio Monteverdi’s Crucifixus uses harsh dissonances to represent the events of the crucifixion of Christ. Monteverdi also created a main theme featuring a chromatic descent, which depicts Christ’s descent into Hell upon his death. In the style of the period, this performance features countertenors singing the alto line.

​Second Eve,​ by Ola Gjeilo

Gjeilo writes, “In some of my pieces, the text is somewhat more the servant of the music than the other way around, and Second Eve is one of those works. The music is mainly inspired by a breathtaking photograph taken by one of my favorite photographers, Jake Rajs, featured in the book These United States (Rizzoli)... The Sancta Maria text seemed to kind of fit into what I was looking for in this piece, expressing something mystical, and kind of regal, which Mt. McKinley [the subject of the photograph] is in every way.”

Enjoy the Silence,​ by Eric Whitacre

Enjoy the Silence is a song originally by the English electronic band Depeche Mode, from their seventh studio album, Violator. The song was released as a single in 1990 to enormous critical and commercial success. Among its fans was the then 20-year-old Eric Whitacre. Whitacre, of course, became one of the most celebrated choral composers of his time, and set about transforming the song into an achingly beautiful choral work, turning the keyboard part into a soaring soprano solo and adapting the harmonies to fit his unmistakeable pandiatonic style.