Ave maris stella

This setting of the famous Marian antiphon Ave maris stella is for ATB voices. William Byrd, one of England's greatest composers, wrote many sacred works for both Catholic and Anglican services. This motet, in Latin, is typical of his devotional output. The text implores Mary, star of the sea and Mother of God, to grant peace, to open the gates of heaven, to release the guilty from their bonds, to bring light to the blind, and to turn Eva's curse into a blessing. It asks her to show herself a mother and to receive our prayers, that we may rejoice in seeing Jesus. The prayer continues, asking the unique and gentle Virgin to make us chaste and pure, to grant us a clean life, and to prepare a safe journey to eternal joy. A final doxology praises God the Father, Christ, and the Holy Spirit.