Deus qui beatam Mariam

Peter Philips was a prolific composer of sacred and secular music in the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. This motet, Deus qui beatam Mariam, is a five-part setting for SSATB voices in Latin. The text is a prayer for the feast of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, asking that through her intercession, we may be worthy to be presented in heavenly glory to Christ the temple. Philips’s masterful writing here uses imitative polyphony and rich harmonic textures to convey the solemnity and beauty of the occasion. It is a substantial and rewarding work for a capable choir, suitable for liturgical use or concert performance.