Let the Choir

Christmas Sequence

In Benjamin Britten’s classic choral work A Ceremony of Carols there is the Latin phrase res miranda—or as my wondering child mind thought of it: resmiranda. It wasn’t until years after singing it that I learned the meaning: wonderful thing. Not until years after that did I begin to explore other related phrases that refer to the Christ Child and his mother Mary.

This eleventh-century sequence that begins Laetabundus exsultet fidelis chorus (Let the choir of the faithful exult in joy) was one of the oldest texts sung in Christmas liturgies. It was removed a few centuries later but remains a part of the Catholic tradition. There is no well-known modern hymn that parallels the text, mainly because some of the verses are, frankly, a bit strange and opaque to people today. This work sets a few of the more meaningful and significant phrases in both Latin and English.

In choosing a text for a Christmas banner I wanted something that would encourage a fresh sense of wonder. Many traditional Christmas hymns are so common that we often sing or read the text without thinking about the meaning. I hope that this text prods us to think about the truly miraculous and wonderful thing that is the incarnation and causes us to ‘behold the Child of whom the Scriptures speak’.

I am slightly diappointed with this work. Although I still like the design, the quality of my lettering is rough. The tools and technique I chose made it very difficult to produce long, even strokes. I may someday try to produce this design again with different tools—and more practice.

This continues a series of works based on ancient Latin hymns and liturgical sequences.