Lux Aeterna
Morten Lauridsen's Lux Aeterna for Remembrance Sunday
Sunday, November 8, 2026, 10:00 am
This Requiem Eucharist offers a sacred space to remember those who have died and affirm the Christian hope of resurrection. Woven through the liturgy is music from Morten Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna, composed in 1997 during his mother’s final illness. Lauridsen found consolation in setting ancient words of rest, mercy, and everlasting light. The resulting work holds sorrow and hope together without forcing either into easy resolution.
Rather than setting the complete Requiem Mass, Lauridsen gathers Latin texts from liturgical sources, all united by the recurring image of light. The movements heard here trace a clear and coherent spiritual journey. The opening Introitus offers the prayer for eternal rest and perpetual light. The unaccompanied O nata lux contemplates Christ as divine light, while Veni, Sancte Spiritus invokes the comfort of the Holy Spirit. In the final movement, the Agnus Dei leads into the Requiem’s communion text, and music from the opening returns to bring the work gently to rest.
Lauridsen’s musical language is contemporary yet rooted in the sacred choral tradition. Chant-shaped melodies, luminous harmonies, and suspended dissonances create a spacious, contemplative sound. The music grows from quiet beginnings, gathering warmth and intensity before returning to stillness. The unaccompanied singing provides particular intimacy, while the surrounding movements place the choir within a field of sustained color and resonance.
Heard within the Eucharist, Lux Aeterna becomes part of the Church’s shared act of remembrance. It deepens the prayers, readings, and Communion, giving voice to experiences that ordinary speech cannot fully express. The work neither explains death nor diminishes grief. Instead, it holds both within a vision of divine mercy and the hope proclaimed by the burial liturgy: life is changed, not ended.
About the Artist
The Choir of St. James by-the-Sea is the principal adult choir of St. James by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in La Jolla, California. Rooted in the Anglican choral tradition, the ensemble sings each week for Holy Eucharist and leads the parish’s major services throughout the church year. Its repertoire extends from Renaissance polyphony and the great works of the English cathedral tradition to contemporary sacred music, spirituals, and newly composed works.
The Choir has presented major works within the liturgy, including Morten Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna, and regularly sings Choral Evensong, Lessons and Carols, and other special observances. In July 2026, the ensemble served as choir-in-residence at Wells Cathedral and concluded its English pilgrimage with Choral Evensong at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
Under the direction of Alex Benestelli, the Choir seeks to unite musical excellence with the central purpose of sacred music: illuminating scripture, enriching worship, and giving voice to the prayer of the gathered community.