Palestrina: Exsultate Deo, Tu es Petrus and Sicut Cervus

Catherine Best, of the CEFC sopranos, writes about the meanings of the words in three Palestrina sacred works…

Exsultate Deo

Rejoice in God our helper: sing aloud to the God of Jacob.
Take the psalm and bring hither the timbrel: the merry harp with the lute.
Blow the trumpet in the new moon, even on our solemn feast day.
 
Does this sound familiar (Blow up the trumpet, blow the trumpet in the new moon)? There are many settings of the words of Psalm 150, all tending to be jolly and celebratory – Walton (in Belshazzar), Britten, Byrd, Bach and many more. This one celebrates with lots of runs and tricky little cross-rhythms in all five parts. 

Tu es Petrus

You are Peter,
And upon this Rock I will build My Church:
and the gates of hell shall not overcome it.
And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

Whatever you ordain on earth, it shall be ordained in heaven,

And whatever you grant on earth, it shall be granted in heaven.

Optimistic words giving Peter the job of setting up the Christian Church. Notice the setting of ‘claves’ (keys) from bar 55 onwards. It is nearly always set off the beat for extra emphasis – Oi, you! ‘I will give you the KEYS of the KINGDOM’. The tenors and basses have the same in bar 59, then everyone together in bar 70; S, A and B1 in bar 74; everyone together again in bar 78.

Sicut cervus

As the hart desires the water brooks, so longs my soul for thee, O God.

A much gentler motet in a simple 4-part setting in G major with almost no accidentals and much more straightforward rhythms than in the other two motets. The words are allowed to speak for themselves in long phrases.

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