Nunc dimittis

Nunc dimittis, an a cappella choral composition from 2001, is based on a text from the Gospel of Luke, was commissioned by the Choir of St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, and is dedicated to the choir. The world premiere took place on 15 August, 2001 at the Edinburgh Festival. It was performed in St Mary's Cathedral by the same choir, conducted by Matthew Owens.

Nunc dimittis from the Gospel of Luke alongside the Magnificat are the focus of Evening Prayers in the Anglican liturgy. These are the words from old Simeon’s blessings before his death, seeing little Jesus as the Messiah, just as the Holy Spirit had told him. Pärt’s Nunc dimittis, like many other of his works from the end of the 1990s and beginning of the 2000s…

Nunc dimittis, an a cappella choral composition from 2001, is based on a text from the Gospel of Luke, was commissioned by the Choir of St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, and is dedicated to the choir. The world premiere took place on 15 August, 2001 at the Edinburgh Festival. It was performed in St Mary's Cathedral by the same choir, conducted by Matthew Owens.

Nunc dimittis from the Gospel of Luke alongside the Magnificat are the focus of Evening Prayers in the Anglican liturgy. These are the words from old Simeon’s blessings before his death, seeing little Jesus as the Messiah, just as the Holy Spirit had told him. Pärt’s Nunc dimittis, like many other of his works from the end of the 1990s and beginning of the 2000s, is composed in a more free tintinnabuli-technique. Different musical textures alternate according the paragraphs of the text. The piece that sounds mostly in minor key has its climax on the word lumen (light) that is highlighted with major key.