Adesto Dolor Meo by Giaches de Wert
You might recall that I've based several of our projects upon works by Giaches de Wert (1535-1596), Monteverdi's senior colleague in Mantova in the last years of the 16th-century. Most of these have been madrigals; but Wert wrote many motets and some masses as well, and this sacred music is by no means of lesser quality than his secular works.
A case in point is this week's Friday Motet, 'Adesto dolor meo'. Based upon two brief verses from the Book of Job, the motet is one of anguish and grief and mourning, and Wert digs deep into his expressive quiver for arrows which go straight to the heart in this brief but powerful motet.
You'll find a score and a text-translation sheet attached to this message; the recording is available at this link. You'll marvel at Wert's architecture within the six-part voicing, at his chromatic lines and dramatic harmonic shifts, at the moving lines on the words 'And my singing' and the repeated, hopeless descents on the weeping which closes the piece.
Here's something different: Try watching this music video, which features 'Adesto dolor meo' in a dramatic story seen through the eyes of a young girl. Whether you like it or not, you'll have to admit that this is a creative idea for making this magnificent piece of early music relevant to a different type of audience. And it's an excellent performance as well.
You might recall that I've based several of our projects upon works by Giaches de Wert (1535-1596), Monteverdi's senior colleague in Mantova in the last years of the 16th-century. Most of these have been madrigals; but Wert wrote many motets and some masses as well, and this sacred music is by no means of lesser quality than his secular works.
A case in point is this week's Friday Motet, 'Adesto dolor meo'. Based upon two brief verses from the Book of Job, the motet is one of anguish and grief and mourning, and Wert digs deep into his expressive quiver for arrows which go straight to the heart in this brief but powerful motet.
You'll find a score and a text-translation sheet attached to this message; the recording is available at this link. You'll marvel at Wert's architecture within the six-part voicing, at his chromatic lines and dramatic harmonic shifts, at the moving lines on the words 'And my singing' and the repeated, hopeless descents on the weeping which closes the piece.
Here's something different: Try watching this music video, which features 'Adesto dolor meo' in a dramatic story seen through the eyes of a young girl. Whether you like it or not, you'll have to admit that this is a creative idea for making this magnificent piece of early music relevant to a different type of audience. And it's an excellent performance as well.