As Vesta was from Latmos Hill Descending by Thomas Weelkes
To reward you for surviving into yet another week, I'm sending along (gasp!) An English Madrigal. It may be my favorite one of all: 'As Vesta Was From Latmos Hill Descending'. It's one of the 'Triumphs of Oriana'. In case you're not familiar with the 'Triumphs': They were published in 1601 by the composer and music publisher Thomas Morley. His concept was borrowed from an earlier Italian anthology entitled 'Il Trionfo di Dori'. Morley asked dozens of his contemporaries to contribute a celebratory piece to the collection, which was to honor Queen Elizabeth, one of whose honorary titles was 'Oriana'. Each piece was required to conclude with the couplet:
'Then sang the shepherds and nymphs of Diana:
Long live fair Oriana''
There are many great pieces in the collection, but perhaps none so triumphant, none so festive, none so downright rousing as Weelkes' piece. Filled with madrigalisms and spirited contrapuntal repartee, it concludes with the most exciting refrain of all: Dozens of acclamations, high, low, fast, slow, near and far, ringing out, eventually moving to a conclusion over an impossibly elongated bass iteration: Joy crystallized into music.
To reward you for surviving into yet another week, I'm sending along (gasp!) An English Madrigal. It may be my favorite one of all: 'As Vesta Was From Latmos Hill Descending'. It's one of the 'Triumphs of Oriana'. In case you're not familiar with the 'Triumphs': They were published in 1601 by the composer and music publisher Thomas Morley. His concept was borrowed from an earlier Italian anthology entitled 'Il Trionfo di Dori'. Morley asked dozens of his contemporaries to contribute a celebratory piece to the collection, which was to honor Queen Elizabeth, one of whose honorary titles was 'Oriana'. Each piece was required to conclude with the couplet:
'Then sang the shepherds and nymphs of Diana:
Long live fair Oriana''
There are many great pieces in the collection, but perhaps none so triumphant, none so festive, none so downright rousing as Weelkes' piece. Filled with madrigalisms and spirited contrapuntal repartee, it concludes with the most exciting refrain of all: Dozens of acclamations, high, low, fast, slow, near and far, ringing out, eventually moving to a conclusion over an impossibly elongated bass iteration: Joy crystallized into music.