Motet - The Motet Since Bach

The Motet Since Bach

Later 18th-century composers wrote few motets, although Mozart's well-known Ave verum corpus (K. 618) is in this genre.

In the 19th century German composers continued to write motets occasionally, notably Felix Mendelssohn and Johannes Brahms (in German) and Anton Bruckner (in Latin). French composers of motets included Camille Saint-Saëns, and César Franck. Similar compositions in the English language are called anthems, but some later English composers, such as Charles Villiers Stanford, wrote motets in Latin. The majority of these compositions are a cappella, but some are accompanied by organ, for example Edward Elgar's three motets Op. 2.

In the 20th century, composers of motets have often consciously imitated earlier styles. Examples include works by Richard Strauss, Maurice Duruflé, Francis Poulenc, Charles Villiers Stanford, Edmund Rubbra, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Lennox Berkeley, Morten Lauridsen, Edward Elgar, Hugo Distler, Ernst Krenek, and Michael Finnissy.