Friday, March 11, 2005

O Sponsa dei electa

This is a late 13th Century (apparently anonymous) english song in latin which talks about Mary as the chosen bride of god (hense the title). All voices sing the text at the same time and there are three voices, a woman's, a tenors, and then what sounds like a second tenor. It begins with two melodic phrase groups on "ah" before it starts the text, and after all the text is spoken, it ends with a phrase grouping on "eeh." I am tempted to say there are repeats in the melody, but since it's so short, it comes across to me as though they are singing something relatively through composed that works off of a sampling melodic contours. Here is the text:

O sponsa dei electa,
Esto nobis via recta
Ad eterna gaudia,
Ubi pax et gloria.
Tu nos semper, aure pia,
Dulcis exaudi Maria.

This rendition is sung by Masters of the Rolls, Gothic voices with Christopher page as the director.

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