for mixed voices (SATB div) & organ
Text: Latin with some English (ascribed to St Ambrose, English by J M Neale)
Duration: 6'00''
Difficulty: 4/5
Use: Evening service/concert, Trinity


O Lux Beata ('O Blessed Light') was commissioned by The Fotheringhay Singers (Marius Carney, conductor). The work, a setting of a 4th-century hymn text ascribed to St Ambrose of Milan, contrasts a plainsong style melody over the organ pedals with the rich and lyrical outpouring of larger choral sections. Although challenging in places, the subtle chromaticism and occasional lush close-harmonies create a very powerful and impressive anthem for general sacred use (the text is particularly fitting for evening use or on Trinity Sunday) but also as a striking addition to a concert programme.


Text
O lux beata Trinitas,
et principalis Unitas.
As now the fiery sun departs,
shed Thou Thy beams within our hearts.


Te mane laudum carmine,
te deprecemur vespere:
te nostra supplex gloria
per cuncta laudet sæcula.


Deo Patri sit gloria,
eiusque soli Filio,
cum Spiritu Paraclito,
et nunc, et in perpetuum.


Will Todd
Will Todd is a UK-based performer and composer whose music spans a variety of styles and genres. Best known for his choral works, his 2003 jazz mass setting Mass in Blue has been performed more than eighty times since its premiere by choirs in the UK, Europe and the USA. Other notable works for choir range from large scale oratorios such as Saint Cuthbert (recorded by the Hallé Orchestra in 2002) to the anthem Stay with Me Lord, commissioned for The Sixteen. He has worked on operas and stageworks for OperaGenesis at the Royal Opera House and the National Opera Studio, and his 2009 Jazz Concerto for Clarinet, written for Emma Johnson, has been performed in the UK, USA and Finland. As a performer, Will Todd leads his own Will Todd Trio from the piano and was recently an invited guest artist at the Lincoln Center in New York.