Sadie Harrison

Aurea Luce

Aurea Luce was written at the request of Madeleine Mitchell and Geoff Poole by way ofcelebrating my 50th birthday at a concert in my home town of Shaftesbury, Dorset. The work is based on a plainsong melody sung as a hymn for the Feast of St. Peter's Chair in Rome, reflecting the dedication of the church in which the premiere took place. I started writing the work on International Women's Day 2015 and it was serendipitous that thehymn's text is ascribed very unusually to a 5th century female author, Elpis (reputedly the first wife of the philosopher Boethius). The title translates as >>.. with golden light.. << and in context within the verse it reads as: Aurea luce et decore roseo, lux lucis, omne perfudisti seculum, decoran caelos inclito martyrio hac sacra die, quae dat reis veniam (The Poissy Antiphonal, fol. 412v) (The beauteous light of Eternity hath ïooded with blissful ïres this golden day which crowns the Prince of the Apostles, and gives unto the guilty a free way to heaven). Duration: c. 9 minutes