Page 13 - Demo

PrograMMe Notes%u2018Cruz: a Triptych-Motet to the Holy Cross%u2019 was composed for Continuum Choir%u2019s Lent on the Iberian Peninsula programme. It responds to spiritual themes oft en found in sacred music%u2014and indeed broader religious expression%u2014in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Spain: interiority and vivid, primary-colour emotion; the individual soul%u2019s yearning for God; and the redemptive power of human suff ering, made meaningful through the mystery of Christ%u2019s Passion and Resurrection.The hymn Vexilla Regis, heard here in its distinctive Spanish (more hispano) melody, forms a connective thread through the three contrasting sections of the motet. It is at various points quoted literally, paraphrased melodically, embedded in the texture, or subtly alluded to%u2014always accompanied by its original Latin text, off ering a parallel layer of contemplation alongside the Spanish texts. These cantus fi rmus techniques are common to Spanish sacred music of the period.While the piece features some stylistic nods%u2014frequent use of thirds, a melodic focus, and strong harmonic gestures%u2014it is not intended as a pastiche, but rather as a homage to the intense spirituality and mystical character of early modern Spanish Catholicism.Christ, allegorically portrayed as a nightingale on a tree (symbol of the Cross), mourns unceasingly for the chicks cruelly snatched away. Out of this lament, the question %u201cWho will separate us from the love of Christ?%u201d emerges boldly and insistently. An individual solo voice%u2014a lost human soul%u2014cries out for his God, who understands all suff ering. In the fi nal section, the Cross off ers sweet repose, and Christ%u2019s Passion overcomes separation from the divine. Suff ering is not erased, but the soul fi nds peace in its closeness to God.The motet closes with the fi nal verse of Vexilla Regis in austere unison, its last words off ering praise to the Holy Cross%u2014the tree of suff ering transformed, through Christ and the fons salutis of the Trinity, into the source of peace and eternal life.The more hispano tune to Vexilla Regis as found in the Intonarium Toletanum of 1515, f. 4v