Canticum Canticorum (Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina)

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Canticum Canticorum / Song of Songs / Songs of Solomon - All entries by Editor: Sabine Cassola

• No1 - Osculetur me (osculo oris sui) - "Let him kiss me (with the kiss of his mouth)" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No2 - Trahe me post te - "Draw me after you" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No3 - Nigra sum, sed formosa - "I am black but comely" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No4 - Vineam meam non custodivi - "My vineyard I have not kept" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No5 - Si ignoras te - "If you do not know" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No6 - Pulchrae sunt genae tuae - "Thy cheeks are beautiful" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No7 - Fasciculus myrrhae (dilectus meus mihi) - "A bundle of myrrh (is my beloved to me)" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No8 - Ecce tu pulcher es - "Behold thou art fair" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No9 - Tota pulchra es - "You are altogether beautiful" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No10 - Vulnerasti cor meum - "You have ravished my heart" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No11 - Sicut lilium inter spinas - "As the lily among thorns" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No12 - Introduxit me rex (in cellam vinariam) - "He brought me (into the cellar of wine)" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No13 - Laeva eius (sub capite meo) - "His left hand (is under my head)" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No14 - Vox dilecti mei - "The voice of my beloved" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No15 - Surge, propera amica mea a 5 - "Arise, my love" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No16 - Surge, amica mea, (speciosa mea et veni) - "Arise, my love, (my fair one, and come away)" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No17 - Dilectus meus mihi, (et ego illi) - "My beloved is mine, (and I am his)" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No18 - Surgam et circuibo civitatem - "I will rise and go about the city" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No19 - Adiuro vos (filiae Jerusalem) - "I charge you, (O ye daughters of Jerusalem)" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No20 - Caput eius (aurum optimum) - "His head (is as the finest gold)" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No21 - Dilectus meus descendit (in hortum suum) - "My beloved is gone down (into his garden)" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No22 - Pulchra es, amica mea - "Thou art beautiful, O my love" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No23 - Quae est ista (quae progreditur quasi) - "Who is she (that cometh like the dawn)" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No24 - Descendi in hortum nucum - "I went down into the garden of nuts" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No25 - Quam pulchri sunt (gressus tui in calceamentis) - "How graceful are (your feet in sandals)" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No26 - Duo ubera tua (sicut duo hinnuli) - "Thy two breasts are like two young roes" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No27 - Quam pulchra es et quam decora - "How fair and pleasant you are" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No28 - Guttur tuum sicut (vinum optimum) - "Thy throat is like (the best wine)" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

• No29 - Veni, veni, dilecte mi, (egrediamur in agrum) - "Come, my beloved, (let us go forth into the fields)" -    (   Finale 2006  )  

General Information

Title: Songs of Solomon - 29 Settings by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Composer: Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

Number of voices: 5vv  Voicing: SATTB
Genre: Sacred, Motet

Language: Latin
Instruments: a cappella
Published: Palestrina Werke, vol. 4

Description: The Song of Songs (Hebrew title שיר השירים, Shir ha-Shirim), is a book of the Hebrew Bible—Tanakh or Old Testament—one of the five megillot (scrolls). It is also known as the Song of Solomon or as Canticles, the latter from the shortened and anglicized Vulgate title Canticum Canticorum, "Song of Songs" in Latin. It is known as Aisma in the Septuagint, which is short for ῏Αισμα ᾀσμάτων, Aisma aismatôn, "Song of Songs" in Greek.

The Song of Songs is thought by some to be a allegorical representation of the relationship of God and Israel as husband and wife. Literally, however, the main characters of the Song are simply a woman and a man, and the poem suggests movement from courtship to consummation. It is one of the shortest books in the Bible, consisting of only 117 verses. According to Ashkenazi tradition, it is read on the Sabbath that falls during the intermediate days of Passover. In the Sephardi Jewish community it is recited every Friday night. (Above is the brief wikipedia article - Use link below to see full article.)

External websites:

• Texts of all the "Songs of Solomon" in English.
• Wikipedia's article on the "Songs of Solomon".

Original texts and translations

See individual movements for texts and translations.