for SATB voices divisi

approx. duration: 5 minutes

composed for Somerville College Choir

a setting of the Latin hymn 'O Nata Lux'

This setting takes two verses from the office hymn for the Feast of the Transfiguration, a text that juxtaposes the radiant light of Christ with the darkness of human iniquity. I was particularly drawn to the tension between illumination and darkness—a contrast that underpins the musical language of the piece. Shifting augmented harmonies and expressive dissonances aim to evoke a mood of supplication and quiet sorrow. At the centre is an extended tenor solo, which voices the hymn’s intimate petition: dignare clemens supplicum laudes precesque sumere (“kindly accept our humble praises and prayers”). ​