Music For The Third Day Of Christmas

The Descent of Peace                     William Blake, ca 1815

The American composer, Morton Lauridsen, captured the awe and mystery of Jesus's birth so perfectly in his setting for O Magnum Mysterium, an ancient chant from the Christmas Matins.

O magnum mysterium/O great mystery,

et admirabile sacramentum/and wonderful sacrament,

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

jacentum in praesepio/ lying in a manger!

Beata Virgo, cujus viscera/Blessed is the Virgin whose womb,

meruerunt potare/was worthy to bear,

Dominum Christum/Christ the Lord.

Alleluia/Alleluia!

Careful observers may notice that The Descent of Peace is a somewhat unusual Nativity image. For the curious, here is an interpretation of the painting and a window into the mind of William Blake