Tomas Luis de Victoria: O magnum mysterium

I'm a huge fan of the O magnum mysterium text. It seems like a whole lot of composers are too, because it gets set a lot. It's rare for me to meet a setting of this text I don't like; it seems to inspire a lot of people.

Here's the text and translation, taken from the first volume of the absolutely fantastic Translations and Annotations of Choral Repertoire, as edited by Ron Jeffers (earthsongs, (c) 1998. Side promotion: if you are in charge of choirs, you should absolutely invest in these books. And no, I haven't been paid to say that):

O magnum mysterium O great mystery

et admirabile sacramentum, and wondrous sacrament,

ut animalia viderent Dominum natum, that animals should see the new-born Lord

jacentem in praesepio! lying in their manger!

Beata Virgo, cujus viscera meruerunt Blessed is the Virgin whose womb was worthy

portare Dominum Christum. Alleluia! to bear the Lord Jesus Christ. Aleluia!

I'm also a huge fan of Spanish composer Tomas Luis de Victoria, who lived from 1548--1611 during the Renaissance. Lots of people are fans of his, though it's worth noting that he didn't just get famous after he died. He was quite well-known during his lifetime, probably at least in part because he took over Palestrina's job as choirmaster at the Roman Seminary, and even if you agree with my grad school professor who famously stated in class one day---to the gasps of all---that "Palestrina was a hack," you have to admit he's very well-known.

But back to Victoria. He was (and is) also appreciated because he's great. He is most well-known for writing motets, which are essentially unaccompanied sacred choral pieces, and he is absolutely a master of using his forces for mass dramatic and emotional effect. He knows when to use polyphony and when homophony. He knows when to change meters. He understands his text and knows how to set it. I gush, but he's really a wonderful composer.

So of course, one of my all-time favorite settings of this text I like so much is Victoria's. Here it is:

See how he starts with one note, one voice, and then echoes that in the other voices, who each build on it and shift it and play with it. See how the music slowly unfurls, blooming into a four full-voice polyphonic texture, pulling your ear along as each voice explores and emotes the text "O great mystery!" Notice how the voices suddenly come together to bring out the idea of the "wondrous sacrament." Then the music slowly unfolds into polyphony again, coming together in a beautiful trio of the three upper voices before---

Silence.

Two beats of silence, followed by music that evokes a feeling of reverence and awe with the text "Blessed Virgin." Victoria masterfully plays with texture throughout---voices in emerging solo lines, duets, trios---to keep the music fresh and interesting, and ends with a glorious "Alleluia" section in triple meter. (Until it's not. Which is also great.)

So much more could be written about this piece. So much more has been, and much more eloquently than my thoughts here. But no matter how in-depth the analysis, one thing never changes: the feeling it invokes when I listen to it (or sing it). It's the kind of music that transports me, that soothes my soul, that makes me feel. There's a reason it's still popular after 450 years.

Get our bundle of the score, practice tracks, and a full recording here.