O NATA LUX

 

Light and Latin have always been a mysterious and mystical thing to me.  I think light lends itself to be painted in music with ease and difficulty.  Latin has been a fascination because of the history it holds and because it is a dead language.  When commissioned by The Master Singers in 2011, I knew that I wanted do something with the idea of light.  I also knew that the text "O Nata Lux" was, in a way, a standard for most choral composers.  I thought that now, more than ever, would be a good time to set it.  This was another piece that essentially wrote itself.  I took inspiration from Guy Forbes' setting by addressing the piece with a sort of verse-refrain idea.  As composer Blake Henson said when I asked him to take a look at the piece, he "like[s] [his] beginnings to contain within themselves all of the possibilities of the works' becoming, but [he] also make[s] sure that [his] ending reconciles that precious journey.  Your "O Nata Lux" does that better than most of the works that are out there right now.  Some pieces have captivating openings, but by the time they get to the end it's as if the composer has forgotten where they were going and simply needed to draw a double-bar line after four minutes."

Voicing: SATB with divisi, a cappella

Premiered by The Master Singers, Dr. Gary Schwartzhoff, director (Eau Claire, WI)

Status: Published by Colla Voce Music, LLC