With their bold harmonies, their counterpoint of unequalled refinement and their raw emotion, the Tenebrae Responsories are the sacred counterpart to Gesualdo’s last two books of madrigals, published the same year (1611). Paul Agnew and Les Arts Florissants here prolong their critically acclaimed exploration of those six increasingly venomous collections. Their interpretation of the Responsories for Maundry Thursday subtly shifts towards the conscious dolorism of the late works of the Prince of Venosa.
Tenebræ Responsoria Feria Quinta
· Nocturnus I Zelus domus tuæ (01'45)
· Lectio 1 Incipit Lamentatio Jeremiæ (02’10)
· Responsorium 1 In monte Oliveti (04’58)
· Lectio II Vau - Et egressus est a filia Sion (02’20)
· Responsorium II Tristis est anima mea (04’53)
· Lectio III Jod – Manum suam misit hostis (01’59)
· Responsorium III Ecce vidimus eum (07’06)
· Nocturnus II Liberavit Dominus pauperem (01’44)
· Lectio IV Exaudi, Deus, orationem meam (01’27)
· Responsorium IV Amicus meus (04’19)
· Lectio V Utinam ergo qui nos modo exercent (01’23)
· Responsorium V Judas mercator pessimus (02’29)
· Lectio VI Quoniam vidi iniquitatem (01’41)
· Responsorium VI Unus ex discipulis meis (04’43)
· Nocturnus III Dixi iniquis (01’31)
· Lectio VII Hoc autem præcipio (01’55)
· Responsorium VII Eram quasi agnus innocens (04’43)
· Lectio VIII Ego enim accepi a Domino (01’59)
· Responsorium VIII Una hora non potuistis vigilare mecum (03’30)
· Lectio IX Itaque quicumque manducaverit panem (02’11)
· Responsorium IX Seniores populi consilium fecerunt (05’42)
· Christus factus est (00’37)
· Miserere mei, Deus (09’42)
