O nata lux | |
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by Thomas Tallis | |
![]() "Qui carne quondam contegi, Dignatus es pro perditis" containing modulation and an English cadence at the end of the phrase. CCA 4.0 Complete Score by Daniel Van Gilst on IMSLP.org | |
English | "O Light born of Light" |
Genre | Renaissance Choral music |
Form | Motet |
Text | Anon. Office hymn for Lauds of the Feast of the Transfiguration, 6th August |
Language | Latin |
Composed | c. 1575 |
Scoring | 5 voices a cappella |
O nata lux is a 5-part motet by Thomas Tallis in his 1575 Cantiones quae ab argumento sacrae vocantur. It is notable, and has been quoted by Academic commentators, [1] [2] for its frequent and clear use of English cadences. [3]
The text is a Latin hymn for the Feast of the Transfiguration, a feast on the 6th of August for the Western church. However, by the 1570s, the motet would have served outside of its native Sarum use as a general communion anthem for Elizabeth's chapel, as part of injunctions allowing for the occasional use of sacred polyphony in Anglican churches. [4]
O nata lux was published in 1575 as part of a set of Latin-texted pieces that Tallis contributed to a joint-publication with his pupil, William Byrd. Some pieces in the 1575 Cantiones, such as Dum transisset sabbatum, are clearly older works from Tallis' early career, while O nata lux is more mature, Elizabethan in style and homophonic. [5] Milsom has hypothesised that the motet was purposely composed in a complex technique to "show off" English polyphony and promote its reputation on the continent. [6] Nevertheless, the Cantiones were a financial disaster, possibly due to both composers being Catholic, [7] and Tallis, being "verie aged", was granted manors as recompense in 1577. [8]
Unusually, unlike Tallis' other Latin motets in the 1575 Cantiones (such as O sacrum convivium and Salvator mundi), O nata lux never produced any English contrafacta for use in the Jacobean chapel. [n 1] O nata lux was therefore neglected until the Victorian period, when its use of English cadences was described as quintessentially "English" by commentators. [1] [6] Today, the work is well-acclaimed and frequently used by Academics as containing an example of the English cadential method. [9] [2]
The mode is Phrygian when viewing the first and ending notes of the motet modally. However, descending modulation occurs at "de Lumine" and "Dignatus es" and both phrases share a similar melodic motif; the textual passages for these two moments correspond thematically, with "O nata lux de Lumine" describing Christ's uncreated divine light that illuminates mankind and sanctifies it for salvation, [10] and "Qui carne quondam contegi Dignatus es pro perditis" describing the need of Christ's human incarnation so that the light may be revealed and witnessable through Christ ("exegetes", John 1:18). The hymn's textual subject in itself concerns the hypostatic union's role in the bridging between God and man for the single theandric action. [11] The motet's metre is ambiguous [6] but is generally transcribed today as 3/4, which is uncommon for Tudor choral music. The ending of the motet "Nos membra confer effici" repeating twice is, however, more stylistically typical of English composers. [5] The cross-relations at "redemptor" (redeemer); "perditis" (lost); "corporis" ([Christ's] body) represent pain and illustrate the suffering of Christ according to redemptive theology. [9]