One of Austrian composer Anton Bruckner's most famous motets, the text is drawn from St. Paul's letter to the Philippians, and is traditionally used in the Catholic liturgies of Holy Week. Bruckner set the text three times, this being the third setting. The piece's expressive dissonance represents the darkness of the crucifixion.

Now Ye Heavenly Powers

Christus Factus Est

Dieu! Qu'il la fait bon regarder is the first of a set of three Debussy pieces entitled 'Trois chansons'. In this piece, Debussy sets a stunning poem which describes a beautiful girl through the eyes of an infatuated admirer.

Dieu! Qu'il la fait bon regarder

Thomas Tallis is one of the most prolific composers of his era, and is often credited with beginning the long and rich history of choral music in the United Kingdom, alongside his contemporary William Byrd. Aside from Byrd, he was the only composer in England in his lifetime granted the privilege of publishing his music. In 'O Nata Lux, Tallis sets a prayer to Jesus, the "light born of light", a reference to the Transfiguration, in which Jesus appeared with Moses and Elijah, all cloaked in light, in front of three of his disciples.

My Lord Has Come

O Nata Lux

This beloved hymn portrays the birth of Jesus. Christina Rossetti's text, with its "bleak" midwinter and frozen landscape, is not representative of mild Palestinian winters, but its vivid imagery was relatable for the English parishioners for whom it was composed. Gustav Holst set the poem to music in 1906, and it quickly became a classic across denominations. The irregular meter requires the occasional melismatic setting, like on the word "snow" in the first verse, but Holst was able to keep all four verses almost entirely strophic, like a traditional hymn.

In The Bleak Midwinter

Maria durch ein Dornwald ging is a German Christmas carol of murky origins, published no later than 1850. Stefan Claas’s setting of his home country’s carol sets three verses, featuring just the tenors and basses, then only the sopranos and altos, and finally the full choir in the last verse. This final verse begins on the same note, and gradually peels off into a robust major chord on the Greek liturgical phrase “Kyrie Eleison”—“Lord, have mercy.”

Maria durch ein Dornwald ging

Lux Choir sings Gabrieli's Quem Vidistis Pastores a 8. Recorded at St. Jerome's Church in Hyattsville, MD, January 2020.

Quem Vidistis Pastores

Lux Choir sing's Tallis's ever-famous Third Mode Melody to a familiar Christmas text. Recorded at St. Jerome's Church in Hyattsville, MD, January 2020.

O Little Town (Third Mode Melody)

Garnering praise from such composers as Eric Whitacre and Paul Mealor, Lux is a semi-professional chamber choir that specializes in contemporary choral music. Founded in 2014 by member Robby Napoli, this exciting ensemble performs with a burning dedication to excellence, innovation, and accessibility in choral performance, bringing their youth to light through their undying excitement for vocal art music.

Lux Choir

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