Thomas Tallis: Te Lucis Ante Terminum
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Alan Titchmarsh's Great British Discovery
47. Thomas Tallis: Te Lucis Ante Terminum
This old Latin hymn has frequently been set to music. The earliest is a plainsong version - used as the opening of Benjamin Britten's Curlew River. Tallis composed two memorable settings - one for festive occasions, and the other for ordinary days . Its words translate as "To thee before the close of day/Creator of the world, we pray/That, with thy wonted favour, thou/Wouldst be our guard and keeper now.
