Giovanni Pierluigi da PalestrinaPopulum humilem salvum facies, Domine The Offertory for the Eighth Sunday after Trinity is a text from Psalm 18: Populum humilem salvum facies, Domine,et oculos superborum humiliabis.Quoniam non est Deus praeter te, Domine. You will save the humble nation, O Lord,and bring down the eyes of the proud.For none is God other than you, Lord. Among the extensive collection of works composed by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1525–1594) are motets based on the texts of the Offertories used in our services, many of which are in our choir’s repertoire. Populum humilem salvum facies, Domine is sung here by the Schola Cantorum Gedanensis, conducted by Jan Łukaszewski.
-
-
John Goss,O taste and see Organist for many years at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, Sir John Goss (1800–1880) was one of a large body of Victorian composers who left a hefty collection of church music. For his service to the Church (and hence to English society), Goss was knighted by ueen Victoria in 1872. In his book O Sing unto the Lord: A History of English Church Music, Andrew Gant describes Goss as “a kindly fellow, intensely musical but no disciplinarian, firmly brought up in the bad old days of badly run choirs and neglected choristers.” Goss composed many settings for Anglican chant as well as hymns and anthems.…
-
Heinrich IsaacGustate et videte The Franco-Flemish composer Heinrich Isaac (c.1450–1517) was born at a time and place that boasted many opportunities for excellent music education. Isaac served as a court musician in Germany, Italy, Austria, and other parts of central Europe. The last two decades of his life were spent in service of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. Isaac’s relationship with the Hapsburg court resulted in his having a great influence on the development of music in Germany. The rich polyphonic style pioneered by Isaac and his Franco-Flemish contemporaries (including Josquin Des Prez) laid the foundations for the magnificent German music of the Baroque period and beyond. Isaac wrote dozens…
-
Johann Sebastian BachEs ist dir gesagt, Mensch, was gut ist “You have been told, mankind, what is good”(Cantata BWV 45) One of three cantatas composed by Bach for use on the Eighth Sunday after Trinity, Es ist dir gesagt, Mensch, was gut ist, is a musical homily inspired by the Gospel reading for the day (St. Matthew 7:15–21). (The entire text of the cantata is here. A description of another cantata for this week — BWV 136, Erforsche mich, Gott, und erfahre mein Herz, “Search me, God, and know my heart” — is on this page) The work opens with a chorus which takes its text from the prophet Micah:…
-
Johann Sebastian BachWas willst du dich betrüben“Why do you want to distress yourself”(Cantata BWV 107) Composed for use on the Seventh Sunday after Trinity, the text and a prominent melody used in this cantata are based on a hymn. Before it was sung as a hymn, the melody was first published in France and originally sung with a secular text about the plight of an innocent young girl. The earliest known publication of that folk song was in Lyon in 1557. As early as 1563, poet and composer Ludwig Helmbold (1532–1598) adapted it for use as a hymn. Bach employed the melody in three of his cantatas, including BWV 107,…
-
Omnes gentes plaudite manibus“O clap your hands” Both the Introit and the Alleluia for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity include the first verse of Psalm 47, which contains many references to elements of music: clapping, singing, melody, a merry noise, and the sound of a trump(et). Omnes gentes, plaudite manibus; jubilate Deo in voce exsultationis.O clap your hands together, all ye people: O sing unto God with the voice of melody. That proliferation of musical allusions may account for the large number of settings of this Psalm to music. Below are a selection of motets based on this text, illustrating a wide variety of styles. Christopher Tye, Omnes…
-
Johann Sebastian BachEs ist das Heil uns kommen her“Salvation has come to us”(Cantata BWV 9) This is one of two extant cantatas that Bach composed for use on the Sixth Sunday after Trinity. (The other work for hat Sunday, BWV 170, is discussed here.) Two of the movements in BWV 9 use a stanza from a Lutheran hymn — Es ist das Heil uns kommen her — by pastor and poet Paul Speratus (1489–1551). According to the Bach Cantatas Website, Speratus’s “preliminary studies were carried on at a German university. But his great desire for knowledge drew him on to Paris and Italy, where he studied philosophy and law. He…
-
William Byrd“How long shall mine enemiestriumph over me” Based on an anonymous translation of verses from Psalm 13, this motet by William Byrd presents an intricate interweaving of the 4 lower parts (2 tenors, a baritone, and a bass) overlaid with a simple melody sung by the higher voices. Here is the text: How long shall mine enemies triumph over me?Consider and hear me, O Lord my God;Lighten mine eyes that I sleep not in death,lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him,for if I be cast down they that trouble me will be glad and and rejoice at it.But my trust is in Thy mercy, and my heart…
-
Johann Sebastian BachVergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust“Contented peace”(Cantata BWV 170) In the summer of 1726, J. S. Bach wrote two cantatas for solo alto based on texts by Georg Christian Lehms (1684–1717). Bach had already composed eight cantatas that set to music the words of this short-lived poet and novelist. The Epistle reading for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity reminds believers of the deliverance from sin that accompanies their salvation, while the Gospel reading warns of the danger of judgment meted out as a penalty for unloving acts. The lush opening aria of BWV 170 echoes the blessings celebrated in the Epistle, while the four later movements (two arias and two…
-
Perfice gressus meos“O hold thou up my goings” The text for the Offertory on Sexagesima and the Sixth Sunday after Trinity is taken from Psalm 17. The second half of this Psalm is dominated by calls for protection from enemies. The first half begins with a claim by the psalmist of a sincere and deliberate desire to be faithful to the Lord, a faithfulness which only he can guarantee: Perfice gressus meos in semitis tuis: Ut non moveantur vestigia mea:O hold thou up my goings in thy paths: that my footsteps slip not.Inclina aurem tuam et exaudi verba mea:Incline thine ear to me, and hearken unto my words.Mirifica misericordias tuas:…