This is a song by “you know who” is titled Il Magnanimo Pietro, which means The Magnanimous Peter.
Many of these songs I have been posting have just 4 parts. This song has seven lines of music that harmonize perfectly.
And here, for some reason, is the number one downloaded song from this site. It is currently heading towards 1,000 downloads. For all of you mathematicians out there, it is less than 1,000 downloads, and closer to 1,000 than it is to 200.
Today’s song is called Adoramus Te Christe, and was written by my favorite “Renaissance Man” Orlando Di Lasso.
Adoramus te (Latin, “We adore Thee”) is a stanza that is recited or sung mostly during the ritual of the Stations of the Cross.
Primarily a Catholic tradition, it is retained in some confessional Anglican and Lutheran denominations during the Good Friday liturgy, although it is recited generally in the vernacular. It is recited or sung between stations.
And he is here on this page. Orlando Di Lasso, that is. This song, like all of his songs, was written in the 1500’s. I don’t know which version I like better: organ or piano.
It is titled Susanne un jour which means Susan one day. In Spanish it would be Susanna un dia. But it isn’t.
Try as I may to find new music, I keep finding compositions done by Orlando Di Lasso. This one is called Miserere Mei Domine.
Sicut Cervus Is the name of a song written by another Renaissance composer named Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.
Sicut cervus is a motet for four voices by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. What is a motet, you ask? A motet is a polyphonic choral composition on a sacred text usually without instrumental accompaniment. It sets the beginning of Psalm 42, Psalmus XLII in the Latin version of the Psalterium Romanum rather than the Vulgate Bible. The incipit is “Sicut cervus desiderat ad fontes” (As the deer desires the fountains) followed by a second part (secunda pars) “Sitivit anima mea” (My soul thirsts). It was published in 1604 in Motecta festorum, Liber 2, and has become one of Palestrina’s most popular motets, regarded as a model of Renaissance polyphony, expressing spiritual yearning.
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, (born c. 1525, Palestrina, near Rome [Italy]—died February 2, 1594, Rome), was an Italian Renaissance composer of more than 105 masses and 250 motets, a master of contrapuntal composition.
Palestrina lived during the period of the Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation and was a primary representative of the 16th-century conservative approach to church music.
Palestrina was born in a small town where his ancestors are thought to have lived for generations, but as a child he was taken to nearby Rome. In 1537 he was one of the choirboys at the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where he also studied music between 1537 and 1539. In 1544 Palestrina was engaged as organist and singer in the cathedral of his native town. His duties included playing the organ, helping with the choir, and teaching music. His pay was that of a canon and would have been received in money and kind. His prowess at the church there attracted the attention of the bishop, Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte, who later became Pope Julius III.
That is the question. Or is it? Here are some versions of a new Orlando Di Lasso song titled “Mon Coeur se recommande a vous.” That means “My Heart Recommends You.”
Also, do you know what lies are? They are Flies that are missing their F’s. And rain is nothing more than a train that is missing its “T.”
The following version has the exact same music, but with all five lines of music being a classical guitar it sounds like an entirely different song. (Maybe because it is.)
Today’s song was written by Orlando Di Lasso. He was considered among Europe’s greatest musicians at the end of the 16th-century. It is titled “je laime bien et laimerai,” which translates to “I’ll be Fine and I’ll be Fine” according to translate.com. Really!
Orlando Di Lasso (also spelled Orlando De Lassus) was born in present-day Belgium in 1532 but traveled extensively throughout Italy as a singer and a student of composition. He composed more than 2,000 works in Latin, French, and German and in all genres of vocal music. (It is disturbing how much he looks like one of my music teachers!)
If you would like to see the sheet music:
https://musescore.com/user/17829001/scores/6992380
Also, if you would like to help out a hero dog:
Here is another song by Orlando Di Lasso, titled “Matona Mia Cara.” I have seen different spellings of his last name; I am going with this one.
And here are Bach Chorale Numbers 22 and 23:
If you would like to see the sheet music:
https://musescore.com/user/28092/scores/85314
Name That Tune. I’ll give you a hint. It’s Vivaldi! (Updated 5-18-2022)
150 years before Bach was even born, music known as Counterpoint was being written by a man named Orlando di Lasso. This song is called Illumina Oculos Meos, which translates to “Enlighten my eyes lest I sleep in Death.” It has just four lines of music, the only flat is B-Flat, and the only sharps are F#, C#,and G#. He manages to go through many different key changes using only those four accidentals.
Orlando di Lasso was a Franco-Flemish composer of the late Renaissance. Along with Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina he is today considered to be the chief representative of the mature polyphonic style of the Netherlands school, and he was the most famous and influential musician in Europe at the end of the 16th century.
Compare that to this Bach Chorale:
I love Bach’s music, but I have to admit (or do I?) that I find Counterpoint to be much more interesting than a chorale. Maybe that is because Chorales were written so that just regular people could sing them in church. What’s that? I’m preaching to the choir, you say?
If you are interested in learning more about the rules of counterpoint, check this out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterpoint#First_species
Orlando di Lasso was born in Mons in the province of Hainaut, in what is today Belgium. Information about his early years is minimal, although some uncorroborated stories have survived, the most famous of which is that he was kidnapped three times because of the singular beauty of his singing voice. At the age of 12 he left the Low Countries with Ferrante Gonzaga and went to Mantua, Sicily, and later Milan (from 1547 to 1549). While in Milan he made the acquaintance of the madrigalist Hoste da Reggio, an influence which was formative on his early musical style. According to the dates listed below, this song would be considered a Renaissance Music composition.
Musical Periods: The History of Classical Music
For more on the Renaissance Composer: https://bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Lasso-Orlando.htm
For more on the Renaissance Artist: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domenico_di_Michelino
The Write Stuff 