O Magnum Mysterium
Encyclopedia
O Magnum Mysterium is a responsorial chant from the Matins
of Christmas
. A number of composers have reworked the chant into a contemporary setting; the settings by Byrd
, Victoria
, Gabrieli
, Palestrina
, Poulenc
, Judith Bingham
, Harbison
, La Rocca
, Mäntyjärvi, Pierre Villette
, Morales
, Lauridsen
and David Bennett Thomas are notable.
Latin text:
English translation:
[Category:Latin texts]]
Matins
Matins is the early morning or night prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. The term is also used in some Protestant denominations to describe morning services.The name "Matins" originally referred to the morning office also...
of Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
. A number of composers have reworked the chant into a contemporary setting; the settings by Byrd
William Byrd
William Byrd was an English composer of the Renaissance. He wrote in many of the forms current in England at the time, including various types of sacred and secular polyphony, keyboard and consort music.-Provenance:Knowledge of Byrd's biography expanded in the late 20th century, thanks largely...
, Victoria
Tomás Luis de Victoria
Tomás Luis de Victoria, sometimes Italianised as da Vittoria , was the most famous composer of the 16th century in Spain, and one of the most important composers of the Counter-Reformation, along with Giovanni da Palestrina and Orlando di Lasso. Victoria was not only a composer, but also an...
, Gabrieli
Giovanni Gabrieli
Giovanni Gabrieli was an Italian composer and organist. He was one of the most influential musicians of his time, and represents the culmination of the style of the Venetian School, at the time of the shift from Renaissance to Baroque idioms.-Biography:Gabrieli was born in Venice...
, Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music and the best-known 16th-century representative of the Roman School of musical composition...
, Poulenc
Francis Poulenc
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a French composer and a member of the French group Les six. He composed solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, choral music, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music...
, Judith Bingham
Judith Bingham
Judith Bingham is a British composer and mezzo-soprano singer.Born in Nottingham in 1952 and educated at High Storrs Grammar School for Girls in Sheffield, she attended the Royal Academy of Music , where her teachers were Malcolm MacDonald, Eric Fenby, Alan Bush and John Hall , and Jean...
, Harbison
John Harbison
John Harris Harbison is an American composer, best known for his operas and large choral works.-Life:...
, La Rocca
Frank La Rocca
Frank La Rocca American Composer.-Life:Frank La Rocca was born in 1951 in New Jersey. He studied at Yale and at the University of California at Berkeley. His early musical experiences ranged from classical piano to playing electronic keyboards in various rock and blues bands. He began composing...
, Mäntyjärvi, Pierre Villette
Pierre Villette
Pierre Villette was a French composer of choral and instrumental music.Villette was born into a musical family in 1926 at Duclair, Normandy. He studied with Maurice Duruflé before attending the Paris Conservatoire. Pierre Boulez was a fellow student but their careers followed very different paths...
, Morales
Cristóbal de Morales
Cristóbal de Morales was a Spanish composer of the Renaissance. He is generally considered to be the most influential Spanish composer before Victoria.- Life :...
, Lauridsen
Morten Lauridsen
Morten Johannes Lauridsen is an American composer. He was composer-in-residence of the Los Angeles Master Chorale and has been a professor of composition at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music for more than 30 years.-Biography:Lauridsen was born February 27, 1943, in...
and David Bennett Thomas are notable.
Latin text:
- O magnum mysterium,
- et admirabile sacramentum,
- ut animalia viderent Dominum natum,
- jacentem in praesepio!
- Beata Virgo, cujus viscera
- meruerunt portare
- Dominum Christum.
- Alleluia.
English translation:
- O great mystery,
- and wonderful sacrament,
- that animals should see the new-born Lord,
- lying in a manger!
- Blessed is the Virgin whose womb
- was worthy to bear
- Christ the Lord.
- Alleluia!
External links
- Choral Public Domain Library
- O Magnum Mysterium by Grex VocalisGrex VocalisGrex Vocalis is a Norwegian chamber choir, formed in 1971 by Carl Høgset, who remains its conductor. The repertoire spans from the renaissance to music by contemporary composers...
- Magnum Mysterium by Morten LauridsenMorten LauridsenMorten Johannes Lauridsen is an American composer. He was composer-in-residence of the Los Angeles Master Chorale and has been a professor of composition at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music for more than 30 years.-Biography:Lauridsen was born February 27, 1943, in...
- O Magnum Mysterium by David Bennett Thomas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRR9qphbHzI
[Category:Latin texts]]