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Alma Redemptoris Mater

from Cozzolani Concerti Sacri (1642) by Magnificat

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about

Magnificat
Warren Stewart, artistic director

Catherine Webster, soprano
Deborah Rentz-Moore, mezzo-soprano
David Tayler, theorbo
Hanneke van Proosdij, organ

Cozzolani included a setting of each of the four Marian Antiphons in her 1642 collection, Concerti sacri. "Alma redemptoris mater" is published for soprano and bass and for Magnificat's performance the bass part has been transposed up an octave

The antiphon Alma Redemptoris Mater is attributed to Herman Contractus (1013-1054), a monk who lived in Reichenau near Lake Constance. Its mention in The Prioress' Tale in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, testifies to its popularity in England before Henry VIII. Contractus used phrases taken from the writings of St. Fulgentius, St. Epiphanius, and St. Irenaeus. At one time Alma Redemptoris Mater was briefly used as an antiphon for the hour of Sext for the feast of the Assumption, but in 1350 Pope Clement established the seasonal order of singing the four Marian antiphons at Compline and it has been sung since then during the period from the first Sunday in Advent until the Feast of the Purification.

lyrics

Text & English Translation

Alma Redemptoris Mater, quae pervia caeli
Porta manes, et stella maris, succurre cadenti,
Surgere qui curat, populo: tu quae genuisti,
Natura mirante, tuum sanctum Genitorem
Virgo prius ac posterius, Gabrielis ab ore
Sumens illud Ave, peccatorum miserere.

Mother of Christ, hear thou thy people's cry
Star of the deep and Portal of the sky!
Mother of Him who thee made from nothing made.
Sinking we strive and call to thee for aid:
Oh, by what joy which Gabriel brought to thee,
Thou Virgin first and last, let us thy mercy see.

credits

from Cozzolani Concerti Sacri (1642), released June 30, 2013
Peter Watchorn, producer
Joel Gordon, engineer and mixing

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tags

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Magnificat San Francisco, California

For 20 years Magnificat has explored the emotionally charged music of the 17th Century, each season bringing together an assembly of internationally recognized musicians to present innovative programs that inspire the imagination. With dramatic flair and sensitivity to historical context, Magnificat imbues each concert with an infectious joy and a delight in musical make-believe. ... more

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