Saint Lucy of Syracuse (circa 283-304) Saint Lucy of Syracuse was a virgin martyr whose feast day falls on December 13, the longest night of the year according to the ancient Julian calendar. Derived from the latin “lux”, her name means “light”. St. Lucy is the patron saint of those who are blind, in commemoration of her sacrifice of having plucked out her beautiful eyes to elude an unwanted suitor and remain chaste. Falling as it did on the winter solstice, Lucy's day remains an important feast day in several European traditions, including that of England prior to its dalliance with the reformed church in the 16th century. English Catholic recusants, including John Dowland and John Donne, continued to recognize the significance of St. Lucy's Day. In this polyphonic setting Adrian Willaert synthesized with great sensitivity both the text and melodic shape of the antiphon, In tua patientia, proper for Vespers on the Feast of St. Lucy. Our arrangement of Willaert's music captures the spirit of serenity and calm resolution one associates with St. Lucy, clearly conveying the text with a solo voice on the cantus part and gently weaving a tapestry of the accompanying lines with the angelic combination of lute and harp.TEXT:In tua patientia permanenspossedisit animam tuam, Lucia, sponsa Christi,quae in mundo erant despexistiet ideo in terrisnomen tuum colituret in caelis coronaproprii sanguinis decoraturcum reliquis Christi martyribus,coruscanti lucere fulges. TRANSLATION:By your endurance in suffering you've saved your soul, Lucy, bride of Christ.Despising all worldly things,your name is therefore honored on earthand is crowned in heaven; an honor to your own family (blood).glittering, shining brightly alongside the rest of the martyrs of Christ.(translation by Donna Stewart)