Commissioned by Father Arthur E. Bridge for Ars Musica Australis for 2007 SSO Fellows Ensemble.

Ex Deo Lux (‘From God comes Light’) was inspired by the Roman liturgy for the Easter Saturday Vigil as performed at Christ Church St Laurence in Sydney. After the utter bleakness of Good Friday when it would seem God becomes completely absent from the affairs of humankind, the
miracle of His return is commemorated in a midnight service beginning in complete darkness. The shadowy forms of the priests at the back of the church light the blessed Paschal candle, the flame from which is ritually passed from participant to participant as the priests and acolytes slowly process towards the High Altar. Gradually the church becomes suffused in flickering candle light reminding of the mystery and frailty of all life. During this procession the ancient chant of the Exsultet is sung by the cantor.

In my composition, the string quartet play ethereal harmonics throughout, representing the candle light, while the clarinet, the petitioning soul, sometimes sits among these fragile sounds uttering little calls to God and at other times drops into its lowest register suggesting the cantor’s chanting. Although all the pitch material is drawn from the Exsultet, actual phrases from the chant itself are only heard fleetingly mixed with memories of my much earlier work for solo piano Angklung (1974). The music is intended to be sacred in character and is best experienced as meditation, or joyous prayer and thanksgiving for the presence of the Living God - the existential basis for all human religious experience irrespective of credal beliefs.

Ex Deo Lux is dedicated to Father Arthur Bridge whose commitment and dedicated service to Australian music is rather equivalent to the life-force commemorated in this composition which certainly would not have existed without him.
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Anne Boyd
Pyrmont
07.07.07