[New Rendition] Josquin des Prez: In te Domine speravi (c.1497)
The three most famous Italian frottole by Josquin des Prez "Scaramella," "In te Domine, speravi," and "El grillo" were probably all composed during his tenure at the Milanese court of Cardinal Ascanio Sforza. "In te Domine" may have been an homage to Josquin's spiritual idol Savonarola, a controversial Dominican priest who promulgated a fundamentalist view of Christianity amidst the hedonism and materialistic excesses of Florentine society in the late 15th century. Savonarola was imprisoned, tortured, hanged and burned at the stake by the Florentine citizens after he had risen to power and enforced a draconian theocratic rule over the otherwise worldly city state. While awaiting his death sentence in a prison cell, Savonarola wrote a commentary on Psalm 31 (Clementine Bible) titled "In te Domine, speravi" (In thee Lord, I hoped...). Josquin's song is preserved in two important early Renaissance sources: El Cancionero Musical de Palacio, the enormous Spanish collection associated with the court of Ferdinand and Isabella and the Frottole Libro Primo from the prolific printing presses of the Venetian publisher Ottaviano Petrucci. The song is often described as macaronic - with its alternating Latin with Italian text. The MIDI file was originally created by James Gibb and uploaded to CPDL.org. I entered the text using Vocaloid 4 and added a bit of reverb using Audacity. In this latest version, I converted all the voices to the MAIKA Spanish language Vocaloid. I corrected some of the text underlay, added some dynamic range and reformatted the lines to be more legato. I did not include the lesser known second set of lyrics in the interest of avoiding repetitiveness. ++++++++++ Text (in Italian and Latin) IN TE DOMINE SPERAVI Per trovar pietà in eterno. Ma in un tristo e obscuro inferno FUI IN FRUSTRA LABORAVI. Rotto e al vento ogni speranza Veggio il ciel voltarmi in pianto. Suspir lacrime m'avanza Del mio tristo sperar tanto. Fui ferito, se non quanto TRIBULANDO AD TE CLAMAVI. IN TE DOMINE SPERAVI. English Translation (adapted from CPDL.org) In Thee O Lord, I hoped To find pity for ever. But in a sad and dark hell I was, and suffered in vain. Broken and thrown to the wind is all hope. I have seen heaven turn me to weeping. Only sighs and tears remain To me of my sad, strong hope. I was wounded, but in my sorrow I called upon Thee. In Thee O Lord, I hoped. Illustrations: 1. "In te Domine," cantus and tenor parts, Josquin des Prez (aka d'Ascanio), Frottole Libro I, Petrucci, Venice, 1504 2. Castello Sforzesco (Sforza Castle), Josquin's likely stomping grounds in the late 1490s. 3. Courtyard of the Castello Sforzesco 4. Portrait of Savonarola (aka Fra Bartolomeo), the author of the treatise on the 31st Psalm "In te Domine speravi," c1500 5. Savonarola's cell where he may have written his last will and testament 6. Woodcut of Savonarola writing his last testament in his cell, reprinted in 1524. This volume contains his commentary about the Psalm "In te Domine."
The three most famous Italian frottole by Josquin des Prez "Scaramella," "In te Domine, speravi," and "El grillo" were probably all composed during his tenure at the Milanese court of Cardinal Ascanio Sforza. "In te Domine" may have been an homage to Josquin's spiritual idol Savonarola, a controversial Dominican priest who promulgated a fundamentalist view of Christianity amidst the hedonism and materialistic excesses of Florentine society in the late 15th century. Savonarola was imprisoned, tortured, hanged and burned at the stake by the Florentine citizens after he had risen to power and enforced a draconian theocratic rule over the otherwise worldly city state. While awaiting his death sentence in a prison cell, Savonarola wrote a commentary on Psalm 31 (Clementine Bible) titled "In te Domine, speravi" (In thee Lord, I hoped...). Josquin's song is preserved in two important early Renaissance sources: El Cancionero Musical de Palacio, the enormous Spanish collection associated with the court of Ferdinand and Isabella and the Frottole Libro Primo from the prolific printing presses of the Venetian publisher Ottaviano Petrucci. The song is often described as macaronic - with its alternating Latin with Italian text. The MIDI file was originally created by James Gibb and uploaded to CPDL.org. I entered the text using Vocaloid 4 and added a bit of reverb using Audacity. In this latest version, I converted all the voices to the MAIKA Spanish language Vocaloid. I corrected some of the text underlay, added some dynamic range and reformatted the lines to be more legato. I did not include the lesser known second set of lyrics in the interest of avoiding repetitiveness. ++++++++++ Text (in Italian and Latin) IN TE DOMINE SPERAVI Per trovar pietà in eterno. Ma in un tristo e obscuro inferno FUI IN FRUSTRA LABORAVI. Rotto e al vento ogni speranza Veggio il ciel voltarmi in pianto. Suspir lacrime m'avanza Del mio tristo sperar tanto. Fui ferito, se non quanto TRIBULANDO AD TE CLAMAVI. IN TE DOMINE SPERAVI. English Translation (adapted from CPDL.org) In Thee O Lord, I hoped To find pity for ever. But in a sad and dark hell I was, and suffered in vain. Broken and thrown to the wind is all hope. I have seen heaven turn me to weeping. Only sighs and tears remain To me of my sad, strong hope. I was wounded, but in my sorrow I called upon Thee. In Thee O Lord, I hoped. Illustrations: 1. "In te Domine," cantus and tenor parts, Josquin des Prez (aka d'Ascanio), Frottole Libro I, Petrucci, Venice, 1504 2. Castello Sforzesco (Sforza Castle), Josquin's likely stomping grounds in the late 1490s. 3. Courtyard of the Castello Sforzesco 4. Portrait of Savonarola (aka Fra Bartolomeo), the author of the treatise on the 31st Psalm "In te Domine speravi," c1500 5. Savonarola's cell where he may have written his last will and testament 6. Woodcut of Savonarola writing his last testament in his cell, reprinted in 1524. This volume contains his commentary about the Psalm "In te Domine."