Polyphony Is Not a Sin (cont.)

5. Dies sanctificatus (G.P. da Palestrina)

   The brilliant career in Rome of Renaissance composer, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, gained him the title "Savior of Church Music." He is credited with a spiritual reform of liturgical music, helping to purge secular influences and return church music to a holy and inspirational state. His motet, Dies sanctificatus, is a setting of the Alleluia verse text for Christmas Day. In superb contrapuntal style, the master uses points of imitation and subtle text painting: rising leaps on venite gentes ("come, nations") and corresponding descending leaps on descendit lux magna ("a great light has descended").
   
   Mark Siebert has produced a clean, minimally-edited version of this Renaissance masterpiece for our Treasure of Sacred Music collection. He has indicated clearly where performance practice requires musica ficta, the altering of some notes for proper harmonic relationships. These are done in a scholarly way that does not detract from the simplicity of the choral score.
   
   Here is the beautiful text, drawn directly from the Liturgy, in its Latin form, and in an English translation:

   Dies sanctificatus illuxit nobis;
       venite gentes et adorate Dominum,
       quia hodie descendit lux magna in terris;
       hæc dies quam fecit Dominus.
   Exultemus et lætemur in ea.

   A holy day has dawned for us;
       come, nations, and worship the Lord,
       for today a great light has descended to earth.
   This is the day the Lord has made;
       let us rejoice and be glad in it.

   This truly masterful motet is of medium difficulty and is perfect for any SATB choir to sing at Midnight Mass, on Christmas Day, or anytime during Christmastide.

6. Estote fortes (Luca Marenzio)

   The composer Luca Marenzio, best known for his madrigals, was born in Brescia, Italy, in about 1550. He lived in Rome, Florence, Ferrara and Warsaw, and his musical career put him in direct contact with royalty, high society, popes and prelates.
   
   Estote fortes is the text for the Magnificat antiphon for Second Vespers of the Common of Apostles and Evangelists. The translation reads: "Be valiant in battle, and fight the ancient serpent, and you shall receive an everlasting kingdom, alleluia."
   
   Prof. Angelini, of Rimini, Italy, has edited Marenzio's manuscript to bring out the strength and vitality of the piece.

7. Regina cœli (Gregor Aichinger)

   Regina cœli lætare is the Marian antiphon that is sung at the end of Night Prayer (Compline) during the Easter season. The other seasonal antiphons are: Alma redemptoris mater during Advent & Christmas, Ave Regina cælorum during Lent, and Salve Regina during Ordinary Time. Prof. Andrea Angelini, of Rimini, Italy, has edited our version of the famous setting by Gregor Aichinger, a 16th century German organist-composer. Aichinger's Regina cœli is a joyful rondo, with a charming refrain in 3/4 time recurring between more serene verses in 4/4 time.
   
   Our edition contains Prof. Angelini's suggestions for tempo and dynamics, and a useful "rehearsal only" reduction of the choral parts is included, as always. The music is not difficult, and the effect of this Renaissance Marian Easter motet is refreshing and delightful.
   
   The Latin text translates:

   Queen of heaven, rejoice, alleluia!
   For he whom you have borne, alleluia!
   Has risen as he said, alleluia!
   Pray to God for us, alleluia!

8. Salvator mundi (Thomas Tallis)

   Thomas Tallis (1505-1585) was influential in advancing English Renaissance music up to levels found on the Continent, exemplified there by such composers as Palestrina and di Lasso. Salvator mundi shows Tallis' ability to combine Continental techniques such as points of imitation with English techniques such as simultaneous cross relations. The latter gives this motet an appropriate "piquancy," as dissonant intervals are exploited for expressive purposes.
   
   Appropriate for Lent or Passiontide, Salvator mundi uses a traditional text that translates:

   O Savior of the world, save us, thou who hast redeemed us by thy cross and blood; help us, we beseech thee, our God.

   The editor, John Kenney, currently serves as a music librarian at Boston University, and has sung in many ensembles, including the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School.

9. Sicut cervus (G.P. da Palestrina)

   Sicut cervus is by many accounts the most outstanding example of religious choral art from the Renaissance. It was written by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, often called "The Savior of Church Music," for his role in purging secular influences which had pervaded liturgical music in his time. Prof. Andrea Angelini has taken Palestrina's exquisite music and added restrained editorial markings to promote an authentic and expressive rendition of the motet. The SATB choral lines are consolidated into a "Rehearsal Only" keyboard score (as always with CNP), to facilitate learning.
   
   The Latin text is taken from Psalm 42: "As the deer longs for flowing waters, so longs my soul for you, O God." The allusion to baptism makes this motet ideal for the Easter Vigil (Psalm 42 occurs as one of the Responsorial Psalms that night) and indeed for all of Eastertide. In a more general sense, the soul's longing for union with God can be fulfilled in the reception of the Eucharist, making Sicut cervus an excellent choice for any Communion-time meditation.

10. Tristis est anima mea (G.B. Martini)

    Padre Giovanni Battista Martini (1706-1784) was one of the pre-eminent music theorists of the second half of the 18th century. He set the prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane for three-part equal voices [see Mt 26:38]. The translation reads:

    Sorrowful is my soul even unto death.
    Stay here, and watch with me.
    Now you shall see the mob that will surround me.
    You shall take flight, and I shall go to be sacrificed.

    While the texture will sound most authentic is sung by women's or men's voices alone, it is possible to have the men of an SATB ensemble sing the lower or middle part. Either way, this piece is ideal for setting the tone for all of Lent, especially Good Friday.

See Treasury of Sacred Music series