Rhiannon Randle

O nata lux

This sublime setting of the well-known Latin text is by one of the UK's brightest emerging choral composers, Rhiannon Randle. Yet her O nata lux is a personal reflection on the captivating and timeless choral atmosphere evident in Thomas Tallis' famous setting of these words. Dedicated to the memory of Randle's late grandmother, the work balances a sense of intimate prayer and meditation with a spiritual declamation of 'light born of light' ('Licht geboren von Licht'). Recognizing hope and new life in despair and death - for in the darkness we have seen a great light - this fits both the expectant season of Advent and times of mourning at a personal loss.

The lilting homophony of the opening is characterized by light tenuti that evoke a sense of ebb and flow and support the natural accenting of a flowing, spoken language. The piece then expands into a polyphonic cascade that is as much a reference to Bruckner as it is a tribute to the aforementioned setting by Tallis.

O nata lux is an exciting addition to the Contemporary Choral Series and is suitable for choirs whose repertoire is intended to support and give voice to young, outstanding composers.