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Choral Music Notes - Claudio Monteverdi Motets: Adoramus te, Christe and Cantate Domino (1620)

Dr. Jimbob's Monteverdi page, with a short biography

Contents of this page:

  • The First Book of Motets of Giulio Cesare Bianchi (1620)
  • Notes, texts, and translations for the motet Adoramus te, Christe (1620)
  • Notes, texts, and translations for the motet Cantate Domino (1620)
  • Recommended recordings
  • Bibliography
  • Web sites with more information
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    The First Book of Motets of Giulio Cesare Bianchi (1620)

    Giulio Cesare Bianchi (1590 - 1661) was a colleague of Monteverdi's from Mantua. In 1620, Bianchi published his Libro primo de Motetti (First Book of Motets), and invited his friend Monteverdi to contribute to the volume. Monteverdi sent Bianchi four motets to include in his volume: a setting for six-part chorus on the text Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me, a five-part setting of Christe, Adoramus te, and six-part motets on adaptations of the texts Adoramus te, Christe and Cantate Domino. These motets give us a sense of the church music Monteverdi was writing in his first years at St. Mark's in Venice.

    The young Monteverdi established his reputation in Cremona and Mantua by publishing volumes of secular madrigals. The motets of 1620 sound like sacred madrigals, with their relatively short phrases, expressive use of suspensions and dissonance, and simple counterpoint with close echoes and contrasts achieved by alternating voicings. Musical phrases are even borrowed from other madrigals, though the musical effects obtained are distinctly different.

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    Motet Adoramus te, Christe (1620) in 6 parts

    The motet text Adoramus te, Christe is sung during Vesper services on the feast days associated with the Holy Cross. The standard text reads, "We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. For by your holy cross and passion you have redeemed the world. O Lord, have mercy on us." Monteverdi's setting for six-part choir and continuo uses a condensed version of the text, and brings out the pathos of the last two lines by repeating the entire phrase and using a melodic line which reminds me of the opening phrase of Thomas Morley's madrigal Weep O Mine Eyes (published 1599). I don't know if Monteverdi actually knew this music, but the use of such a lament-type motif for the text "with your precious blood you have redeemed the world" seems quite appropriate.

    The left column contains the Latin text, plus a word / for / word / translation / where / necessary. The right column contains a more idiomatic English translation.


    Adoramus / te, / Christe, / et / benedicimus / tibi:
    we adore / you / Christ / and / we bless / you

    Quia / per / sanguinem / tuum / pretiosum
    because / through / blood / your / precious

    redemisti / mundum, / miserere / nobis.
    you have redeemed / world / have mercy / on us

    We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
     

    because with your precious blood
     

    you have redeemed the world. Have mercy on us.
     
     
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    Motet Cantate Domino (1620) in 6 parts

    The text for this motet is liberally adapted from Psalm 98, which is an Enthronement Hymn. Psalm 98 and Psalm 96 are both songs of celebration for God's victory over the enemies of Israel. These texts were often used in services around Christmas and Easter times in celebration of the "new song" representing Christ, and their call for music and singing made them favorite subjects for musical settings. Monteverdi's abbrevation of Psalm 98 focuses on the musical imagery of songs and instruments, and compresses the text into two groups of three verses, each ending with the phrase, "for He has done wonderful things." This setting is also in six parts with continuo. It seems to borrow at least one idea from an earlier Monteverdi madrigal, Ecco mormorar l'onde (published 1590), and its playful echoing and give-and-take between the six parts make for a celebration in a distinctive madrigal style.

    The left column contains the Latin text, plus a word / for / word / translation / where / necessary. The right column contains a more idiomatic English translation.


    Cantate / Domino / canticum / novum,
    sing / to the Lord / song / new

    cantate / et / benedicite / nomine / ejus.
    sing / and / speak well / name / his

    Quia / mirabilia / fecit:
    because / wonders / he has done

    cantate / et / exultate / et / psallite,
    sing / and / exult / and / play

    psallite / in / cithara / et / voce / psalmi:
    play / on / lyre / and / voices / sing

    quia / mirabilia / fecit.
    because / wonders / he has done

    Sing ye to the Lord a new song,
     

    sing and bless His name
     

    for He has worked wonders.
     

    Sing and exult and make music,
     

    strike the lyres and let voices sing,
     

    for He has worked wonders.
     
     
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    Recommended recordings

    Recordings of these two motets of 1620 are scattered around. The Adoramus te, Christe is included in Philippe Herreweghe's Harmonia Mundi CD with the Masses of 1610 and 1650. It does not include the repeat, and omits the continuo part, but is available at an unbeatable price as of January 2003 at the Berkshire Record Outlet. There is also a Virgin Classics 5-CD set of Italian Baroque music which includes a range of music both sacred and secular, from Gabrieli to Vivaldi, featuring Andrew Parrott and the Taverner Consort and Choir. This recording of the Adoramus te, Christe includes the repeat and the continuo part, and is sung with one singer on a part. There are some other interesting performances on the set, including a fine Vivaldi Four Seasons.

    The Cantate Domino exists on two Hyperion recordings. One is Harry Christophers's recording on Hyperion with The Sixteen, also with the Masses of 1610 and 1650. This set includes the continuo parts. Another recording with the Choir of Westminster Cathedral under James O'Donnell can be obtained in a Hyperion collection of great Renaissance motets or on a budget Best of Hyperion collection.

    I have only come across one CD which has both motets in a single collection. It's an Opus 111 collection of Monteverdi sacred music conducted by Rinaldo Alessandrini, who has a good reputation for his Monteverdi recordings.

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    Recommended Reading

  • Arnold, Denis. Monteverdi Church Music (BBC Music Guides). London: British Broadcasting Corporation, 1982.
    A concise guide to Monteverdi's sacred music and the details in Monteverdi's life that influenced their creation.

  • Fabbri, Paolo (trans. Tim Carter). Monteverdi. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
    A landmark study of Monteverdi's music, providing a history of all of his most important compositions and analysis of the compositions.

  • Stevens, Denis. Monteverdi: sacred, secular, and occasional music. Rutherford, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1978.
    An expanded version of the doctoral thesis of the other great English-language Monteverdi scholar named Denis. This volume sought to catalog and describe Monteverdi's major known compositions, and provides some history and analysis.
     

  • Jeffers, Ron, ed. Translations and Annotations of Choral Repertoire, vol. 1: Sacred and Latin texts. Corvallis, OR: Earthsongs, 1988.
    A really nifty volume with all of the Latin texts commonly used in sacred music, along with a word-for-word translation which inspired the format above, annotations about the texts and their backgrounds, and a list of examples of each text. Indispensable for choral conductors and singer-nerds like me.
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    For more information:

  • A brief Monteverdi biography (BBC)
    A short biography based on the Grove Concise Dictionary, hosted at the BBC's excellent music site.

  • Claudio Monteverdi pages
    As of 2003, only a collection of links

  • List of Monteverdi's works
    A complete listing of Monteverdi's compositional output.

  • Classical Music MIDI Archive
    This is a page of MIDI files of music by early music composers whose last names start with the letter M. Page down to the Monteverdi section to find MIDI files of Adoramus te, Christe, Cantate Domino, and Ecco mormorar l'onde.
     

  • John Koopman's History of Singing
    A breathtakingly detailed, history of singing in Europe, with a principal focus on the development of opera. The section on the birth of opera discusses Monteverdi's innovations in historical context.

  • Unbound Bible
    A collection of searchable Bibles, in multiple languages and translations.
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    Last updated: January 30, 2003 by James C.S. Liu

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