Lyrics of Gesualdo's "Tenebrae"?

October 27, 2010 9:40 AM

I have been enjoying Gesualdo's Tenebrae Responsoria a great deal. I'd like to know what texts or lyrics are being sung, and my Google skills are letting me down.

Wikipedia says that texts from the Passion are used, and I can suss out very general themes from the song titles: Benedicte, Miserere, In Coena Domini, and so forth. I'd still love to know exactly what is being sung.

posted by everichon to Media & Arts (3 answers total)

Best answer: Here is a track listing that gives the first words of each text: "Sicut ovis ad occisionem," "Jerusalem, surge," etc. If you google each of those phrases (in quotes, and maybe add "-Gesualdo" to eliminate the hits for the record), you should get hits like this, which gives a full text:

V. Sicut ovis ad occisionem ductus est.
R. Et quasi agnus coram tondente se obmutuit.
V. Tradidit in mortem animam suam.
R. Ut vivificaret populum suum.
V. Domine, exaudi orationem meam.
R. Et clamor meus ad te veniat.

posted by languagehat at 10:40 AM on October 27, 2010 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I believe that these programme notes contain what you are after.
posted by MisterMo at 10:57 AM on October 27, 2010

Try the Choral Public Domain Library here and here. It looks like they only have the text of the Sabatto Sancto Responsories though.
posted by Wemmick at 12:14 PM on October 27, 2010