Lumen ad revelationem after Hernando Franco (2021) – SATB choir, unaccompanied

Commissioned by: Ensemble Invocatio, Poland

Durata: ca. 5 minutes

Premiere:  Ensemble Invocatio, Daniel Knaggs, cond., Bydgoszcz and Warsaw, Poland, March 26-27 2022.

Hear clips of Lumen ad revelationem after Franco below, performed by Ensemble Invocatio:

Clip #1 (solo by Michal Szczepan, tenor):

Clip # 2:

Program notes:

Lumen ad revelationem (after Hernando Franco) is the seventh motet in my ongoing After Motets Project. This motet was written in response to a Lumen ad revelationem composed by the Renaissance composer Hernando Franco (1532-85) active in Mexico and Guatemala. The text Lumen ad revelationem, taken from the Canticle of Simeon or Nunc dimittis is one of the antiphons sung at Candlemas: the blessing of candles on February 2. The repeated antiphon Lumen ad revelationem emphasizes the imagery of light as a particular focus during Candlemas.

In my new motet, I draw from the same Lumen ad revelationem chant as Franco, but my approach to the imagery of light led me to stretch my approach to “motet” in relation to my previous six After Motets. In Franco’s day, candlelight would have been a significant and precious light source apart from the sun. By the time of my composing this, sources of light available to humankind have proliferated exponentially. But even across millennia, light remains something that makes vision possible.

My musical decisions in this new motet were informed by my (limited) understanding of light’s energy and essence. I wanted to musically reflect light’s dual-nature as both particles and waves. I sought to show this dual-nature in rapid syllabic passages (particles/photons) in mixed meter, and wave-like gestures and dynamics (waves/frequency). The interplay of these two procedures unfold over time, culminating in moments of colorful, almost “prismatic” harmonies that become diffracted by different types of resolutions.

Text:
A light of revelation to the Gentiles
And the glory of your people, Israel:

Now, Lord, you will let your servant go in peace
According to your word
For my eyes have seen the salvation
Which you have prepared
Before the face of all people.