O nata lux
O nata lux is a 5-part motet by Thomas Tallis in his 1575 Cantiones quae ab argumento sacrae vocantur. It is notable, and has been quoted by Academic commentators, for its frequent and clear use of English cadences.
Text
The text is a Latin hymn for the Feast of the Transfiguration, a feast on the 6th of August for the Western church. However, by the 1570s, the motet would have served outside of its native Sarum use as a general communion anthem for Elizabeth's chapel, as part of injunctions allowing for the occasional use of sacred polyphony in Anglican churches.History
O nata lux was published in 1575 as part of a set of Latin-texted pieces that Tallis contributed to a joint-publication with his pupil, William Byrd. Some pieces in the 1575 Cantiones, such as Dum transisset sabbatum, are clearly older works from Tallis' early career, while O nata lux is more mature, Elizabethan in style and homophonic. Milsom has hypothesised that the motet was purposely composed in a complex technique to "show off" English polyphony and promote its reputation on the continent. Nevertheless, the Cantiones were a financial disaster, possibly due to both composers being Catholic, and Tallis, being "verie aged", was granted manors as recompense in 1577.Unusually, unlike Tallis' other Latin motets in the 1575 Cantiones, O nata lux never produced any English contrafacta for use in the Jacobean chapel. However the motet later came to known for it English cadences described as quintessentially "English" by commentators. Today, the work is well-acclaimed and frequently used by Academics as containing an example of the English cadential method.