Seasons of Light: Musings on O Nata Lux

I’ve been extraordinarily busy the last few weeks with all the hoopla of holiday performances and haven’t had time to do any blogging.  But amidst the flurry, one of our concert numbers has kept running through my mind like a bright thread, Morten Lauridsen’s shimmering O Nata Lux.  And the germ of an idea, to jot down some musings concerning this lovely, light-infused work, won’t quite leave me alone.  I don’t have anything particularly profound to say about it; the piece itself seems to carry all profundity within its depths.  But it is lovely and serene, and worth pausing over.

Lauridsen’s setting of the ancient O nata lux text is the centerpiece of his larger work, Lux Aeterna.  And I consider it the centerpiece of our Seasons of Light concert, even though it isn’t a traditional Christmas text.  In liturgical churches the text is recited or sung as plainchant during the Feast of the Transfiguration of Christ, which occurs on August 6.

It is heard at one of the Hours of Divine Office, the fixed times set aside during the day and night for the recitation of prayers (see Ron Jeffers Translations and Annotations of Choral Repertoire Vol. I: Sacred Latin Texts, a great resource). These prayer hours sprang directly from a similar and even more ancient Jewish practice (shades of Eight Days of Chanukah!  See earlier blogs).  And the Office to which it is assigned couldn’t be more appropriate: Lauds, the hour of the rising of the sun, a service full of praise for the coming of light (and Light) into the world.

And thus its placement as the heart of Master Chorus Eastside’s Seasons of Light: Christmas and Chanukah.

Lauridsen’s O Nata Lux combines all the sublimity of sacred verse:

O nata lux de lumine,                          O Light born of Light,

Jesu redemptor sæculi,                        Jesus, redeemer of the world,

dignare clemens supplicum                 with loving-kindness deign to receive

laudes preces que sumere.                   the praise and prayer of your supplicants.

Qui carne quondam contegi                You who once deigned to be clothed in flesh

dignatus es pro perditis,                      for the sake of the lost,

Nos membra confer effici,                  grant us to be members

tui beati corporis                                 of your blessed body.

with simplicity of form and melody, and a rich dissonance that creates a luminous nimbus around the words in keeping with its theme.

It unfolds in four parts:

·         An unadorned presentation of the first four lines of the poem, centered on D, simple but with densely textured harmonies

·         The same four lines repeated, with a passing of the melodic baton among the choral sections and increasing contrapuntal complexity

·         The next four poetic lines, centered on A and surrounded by layers of soaring, exultant lines that blossom into vaulting  interplay and ever-thickening vocal divisi

·         A return to the first four lines and the original key center that slowly settles into peace

These sections are quite short, the piece itself takes only a few minutes to perform, and yet it carries a hint of shimmering eternity in its iridescent music and unhurried pace.

Take time out of your busy day to listen, create a small pool of peace and light, with O Nata Lux.

Dr. Linda Gingrich

Artistic Director and conductor

Master Chorus Eastside