Tu es Petrus - Palestrina
It's not that I haven't been thinking of you. I've chosen a wonderful motet for you today by the redoubtable Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: the famous 'Tu es Petrus', scored for six voices, on a text from St. Matthew in which Jesus makes a pun, telling Peter: You are Peter, and upon this rock I shall build my church. (The pun lies in the fact that Peter--Petrus in Latin--also means Rock.)
Palestrina had a great time with the sextet texture, using trios, duets, quartets and quintets in addition to the full six voices. The piece is in two parts, and a refrain is fashioned from the words 'Et tibi dabo claves regni caelorum' ('And I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven') which concludes each part and thus binds the piece together most satisfactorily.
The piece has been on my mind because it's included the Green Mountain Consort's upcoming concerts, 'Très Riches Heures', our first truly deep dive into Palestrina's music. We're using the two parts of the motet to close the halves of our concert and to bind the concert together as a whole, and we've discovered that it's famous for a reason: It is so singable, so transcendently joyful, so utterly clear in structure and line!
But the piece de resistance of today's post is the recording attached, under the direction of Diego Fasolis. The piece is performed one-on-a-part, very naturally, and from this grand piece the singers fashion a more intimate experience. It's just top-notch music-making!
You also will enjoy checking out this wonderful live performance by New York Polyphony, admirable in every way (and great to watch the singers as well as listen), though unfortunately including only the First Part of the motet.
A score of the piece is also attached for your reading pleasure.
Enjoy--keep the faith--pray for peace--
It's not that I haven't been thinking of you. I've chosen a wonderful motet for you today by the redoubtable Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: the famous 'Tu es Petrus', scored for six voices, on a text from St. Matthew in which Jesus makes a pun, telling Peter: You are Peter, and upon this rock I shall build my church. (The pun lies in the fact that Peter--Petrus in Latin--also means Rock.)
Palestrina had a great time with the sextet texture, using trios, duets, quartets and quintets in addition to the full six voices. The piece is in two parts, and a refrain is fashioned from the words 'Et tibi dabo claves regni caelorum' ('And I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven') which concludes each part and thus binds the piece together most satisfactorily.
The piece has been on my mind because it's included the Green Mountain Consort's upcoming concerts, 'Très Riches Heures', our first truly deep dive into Palestrina's music. We're using the two parts of the motet to close the halves of our concert and to bind the concert together as a whole, and we've discovered that it's famous for a reason: It is so singable, so transcendently joyful, so utterly clear in structure and line!
But the piece de resistance of today's post is the recording attached, under the direction of Diego Fasolis. The piece is performed one-on-a-part, very naturally, and from this grand piece the singers fashion a more intimate experience. It's just top-notch music-making!
You also will enjoy checking out this wonderful live performance by New York Polyphony, admirable in every way (and great to watch the singers as well as listen), though unfortunately including only the First Part of the motet.
A score of the piece is also attached for your reading pleasure.
Enjoy--keep the faith--pray for peace--