Resonet in Laudibus by Michael Praetorius
I'm not sure what else to call this piece. It certainly could fall into the chorale category, but we've already explored the song on which this piece is based in our Wednesday Chorale series. But it most definitely qualifies as a motet as well, because it goes way beyond any possibility of congregational participation--clearly a piece which would have been performed by the choir (and instrumental ensemble), and listened to (no doubt with delight) by the people.
It's entitled 'Resonet in laudibus', one of some dozen or so settings of the venerable melody made by Michael Praetorius made to various texts. Bach Choir members may recall the 7-part setting 'Singt ihr lieben Christen g'mein', which was the encore for our 'Sing Glorious Praetorius' concerts in November, 2019. Today's motet is along those lines. It's scored in six parts, and takes every opportunity to explore and expand upon the tune in a dizzying variety of imitative passages, reveling in its various phrases and in a regular oscillation between duple and triple time.
One of the oddities of the 'Resonet' text (a text-translation sheet is attached) is the appearance of the line 'Eia! Eia!' What could this word mean? It turns out it's analogous to 'Ah!', in English an expression of surprise or delight or revelation. Praetorius has a wonderful time building a magical passage around this single little expression, evoking a choir of entranced believers voicing their wonder at the touching and miraculous birth.
And then there's the coda! In my (somewhat) humble opinion, Michael Praetorius stands with Claudio Monteverdi as the two early-music masters of this venerable art: Wrapping up a piece in style. Take a look at the attached score--from bar 107--and you'll see what I mean. (You can listen to the coda at this link.) He begins with a buoyant triple-time homophonic passage, with the arch-shaped melody in the top voice. He then switches to duple meter and given us the same melodic profile, over and over, with the top five voices participating in gleeful triumph, all over a rock-steady, slow moving bass line which anchors the elation most satisfactorily. Finally he wraps up the merriment in a most convincing manner with the clarion-like statement of 'Ga Bri El'.
What a romp this piece is! If you aren't smiling when you listen to it (the entire recording, by a wonderful group called VivaVoce, is available here), then I suggest you have your vital signs checked. Perhaps you'd even like to hear the piece live sometime? How about TONIGHT? Circa 1600 and The Whole Noyse will be performing it (along with a whole lot of other Music of the Season) in our Early Music Christmas: Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming.
By the way, when I referred to 'Resonet in laudibus' as venerable, I wasn't exaggerating. The piece first appears in the Moosburger Gradual in 1360--see attachment--but that manuscript documents an already-existing tradition which may extend back for centuries. The publication of the melody in the 1582 'Piae Cantiones', widely distributed throughout northern Europe, further cemented the popularity of the catchy tune, which accrued over the years many alternate texts (so-called contrafacta), including 'Joseph lieber, Joseph mein', 'Singt ihr lieben Christen g'mein' (noted above), 'Magnum nomen Domini' and 'Singet frisch und wohlgemut, among many others. You can check out these myriad texts in an article I am attaching by Conrad Ameln. It's in German, but non-Deutschophones can still explore the variety of lyrics which have been attached to our song.
In closing, I can't resist steering you to another of my favorite settings of this wonderful song. It's the third verse of Hugo Distler's 'Singet frisch und wohlgemut'. I hope you find it as moving as I do.
Here's the translation:
Behold the dear angels, and do as they have done.
Sing with them the beautiful song of God's grace,
And of new peace, with many sounds:
And may you take heartfelt pleasure thereby.
Eia! Eia!
Wish the little Christ happiness,
And say all together, as one, with delight:
Glory to God in the highest,
On earth let there be peace,
And may great joy befall us all through eternity.
I'm not sure what else to call this piece. It certainly could fall into the chorale category, but we've already explored the song on which this piece is based in our Wednesday Chorale series. But it most definitely qualifies as a motet as well, because it goes way beyond any possibility of congregational participation--clearly a piece which would have been performed by the choir (and instrumental ensemble), and listened to (no doubt with delight) by the people.
It's entitled 'Resonet in laudibus', one of some dozen or so settings of the venerable melody made by Michael Praetorius made to various texts. Bach Choir members may recall the 7-part setting 'Singt ihr lieben Christen g'mein', which was the encore for our 'Sing Glorious Praetorius' concerts in November, 2019. Today's motet is along those lines. It's scored in six parts, and takes every opportunity to explore and expand upon the tune in a dizzying variety of imitative passages, reveling in its various phrases and in a regular oscillation between duple and triple time.
One of the oddities of the 'Resonet' text (a text-translation sheet is attached) is the appearance of the line 'Eia! Eia!' What could this word mean? It turns out it's analogous to 'Ah!', in English an expression of surprise or delight or revelation. Praetorius has a wonderful time building a magical passage around this single little expression, evoking a choir of entranced believers voicing their wonder at the touching and miraculous birth.
And then there's the coda! In my (somewhat) humble opinion, Michael Praetorius stands with Claudio Monteverdi as the two early-music masters of this venerable art: Wrapping up a piece in style. Take a look at the attached score--from bar 107--and you'll see what I mean. (You can listen to the coda at this link.) He begins with a buoyant triple-time homophonic passage, with the arch-shaped melody in the top voice. He then switches to duple meter and given us the same melodic profile, over and over, with the top five voices participating in gleeful triumph, all over a rock-steady, slow moving bass line which anchors the elation most satisfactorily. Finally he wraps up the merriment in a most convincing manner with the clarion-like statement of 'Ga Bri El'.
What a romp this piece is! If you aren't smiling when you listen to it (the entire recording, by a wonderful group called VivaVoce, is available here), then I suggest you have your vital signs checked. Perhaps you'd even like to hear the piece live sometime? How about TONIGHT? Circa 1600 and The Whole Noyse will be performing it (along with a whole lot of other Music of the Season) in our Early Music Christmas: Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming.
By the way, when I referred to 'Resonet in laudibus' as venerable, I wasn't exaggerating. The piece first appears in the Moosburger Gradual in 1360--see attachment--but that manuscript documents an already-existing tradition which may extend back for centuries. The publication of the melody in the 1582 'Piae Cantiones', widely distributed throughout northern Europe, further cemented the popularity of the catchy tune, which accrued over the years many alternate texts (so-called contrafacta), including 'Joseph lieber, Joseph mein', 'Singt ihr lieben Christen g'mein' (noted above), 'Magnum nomen Domini' and 'Singet frisch und wohlgemut, among many others. You can check out these myriad texts in an article I am attaching by Conrad Ameln. It's in German, but non-Deutschophones can still explore the variety of lyrics which have been attached to our song.
In closing, I can't resist steering you to another of my favorite settings of this wonderful song. It's the third verse of Hugo Distler's 'Singet frisch und wohlgemut'. I hope you find it as moving as I do.
Here's the translation:
Behold the dear angels, and do as they have done.
Sing with them the beautiful song of God's grace,
And of new peace, with many sounds:
And may you take heartfelt pleasure thereby.
Eia! Eia!
Wish the little Christ happiness,
And say all together, as one, with delight:
Glory to God in the highest,
On earth let there be peace,
And may great joy befall us all through eternity.