Listen to “Txichochi Conetzintle,” a 17th-centurymotet in Nahuatl language that was sung this evening during the Mass Pope Francis celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica, on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Written by Gaspar Fernandes, the motet serves as an example of the influence of indigenous Nahua culture, dominant in Mesoamerica at the time, on colonial Spanish music.
Here are the English lyrics of the motet:
Sleep, sleep
Sleep, sleep
Sleep, O my child
Sleep, O my child
Indeed, the angels have come to call you (into the world)
Indeed, the angels have come to call you (into the world)
Indeed, the angels have come to call you (into the world)
Alleluia, alleluia
And today we celebrate...