O Magnum Mysterium

The stark, evocative beauty of the text O Magnum Mysterium has captured the imaginations of composers for many hundreds of years. In expressing the mystery of the Incarnation in a way that is at once improbable and so powerful, we find ourselves drawn, like the animals it mentions, into this moment of great awe and great humility.

My own setting was written during Advent of 2003 and was guided by a desire to underscore the mysterious, bittersweet meeting of Spirit and flesh and the fateful, obedient response to God's will in the persons of Jesus and his mother. O Magnum Mysterium is published by Walton Music.

From the composer's notes to In This Place (Enharmonic Records, 2013).