During Advent, our congregation often sings the hymn, “Creator, of the stars of light,” as our Sequence Hymn. As the name of the hymn’s tune suggests, this hymn is based on the 7th-century Latin hymn Conditor alme siderum. Victoria’s setting was written for four vocal parts. It includes all six verses of the Latin original, and alternates between plainchant (in the odd-numbered verses) and polyphony (in the even-numbered verses). This alternation was a very common compositional form in the Renaissance. Here is a performance of Victoria’s motet sung by Ensemble Nobiles.
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Christus Victoriae
by Ken Myers [This article originally appeared in the March/April 2015 issue of Touchstone magazine.] The medieval city of Ávila, seventy miles northwest of Madrid, is best-known to Christians as the birthplace of St. Teresa de Jesus, the sixteenth-century Carmelite nun, mystic, and reformer. Captured by Moors in A.D. 714, the city was retaken by Christian forces in 1088, after which a network of massive stone walls and towers were constructed to protect the city and its new cathedral, construction of which began around 1091. The apse of the cathedral is one of the turrets in the city walls, possibly evoking echoes of Psalm 46 to generations of believers: “The Lord…
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Conditor alme siderum
This Advent hymn dates back at least to the 7th Century. At one time it was attributed to St. Ambrose, but his authorship is no longer considered likely. It has long been sung during Advent, especially at Vespers services.. Here is the hymn chanted by the Cistercian Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz, a monastery in the southern part of the Vienna woods: This chant has served as the basis for motets written by many composers, including Guillaume Dufay, Orlande de Lassus, Francisco Guerrero, Giovanni Luigi da Palestrina, Tomás Luis de Victoria, Ludwig Senfl, Michael Praetorius, and Jean Titelouze. Below is the Latin text and a fairly literal English translation. The translation in…
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Tomás Luis de Victoria (c.1548-1611)
In 2011, to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Victoria’s death, the BBC produced a one-hour documentary entitled “God’s Composer.” Hosted by actor (and former chorister) Simon Russell Beale, the program featured performances of Victoria’s music by The Sixteen, conducted by Harry Christophers. The program was an extension of the BBC’s earlier “Sacred Music” series. For an introduction to Victoria’s life and work, read “Christus Victoriae.” This article focuses on music written by Victoria for Holy Week. Works by Tomás Luis de Victoria in theAll Saints Choir repertoire Caligaverunt oculi mei Conditor alme siderum Eram quasi agnus Genitori genitoque Hosanna filio David Jesus, traditit impius Judas, mercator pessimus Kyrie (from Missa O…