Hodie Christus natus est

Hodie Christus natus est is the Antiphon to the Magnificat, sung at Vespers on Christmas Day. This short and energetic setting was written in 1 January 1989 and first performed by the Durham University Chamber Choir, directed by Jonathan Williams, in St Oswald’s Church, Durham on 8 December 1989. A three-note motif on Hodie is developed through an echo-like dialogue between the upper and lower voices and this motif returns in the final triumphant ‘Gloria in excelsis Deo’. The work derives much of its energy from a juxtaposition of regular and irregular rhythms.