Benno Ammann’s oeuvre reveals influences from impressionism to free tonality, yet he belongs to no stylistic school. The Swiss composer wrote Missa Defensor Pacis in 1946 for the official canonisation, at St. Peter’s in Rome, of Nicholas of Flüe, patron saint of Switzerland. This prestigious commission, with its complex polyphony, countless variations, and use of the cantus firmus technique, is one of the most important and extensive Masses by a Swiss composer for a cappella choir. © Capriccio