Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Concerto Palatino conducted by Bruce Dickey.
I - 0:00
Gabrieli's "Deus, Deus meus, ad te de luce vigilo" was published in Volume I of "Concerti di Andrea et di Giovanni Gabrieli" in Venice on 1587, a volume mostly dedicated to the works of his uncle Andrea Gabrieli, but also includes Giovanni's first motets. These early works show much influence of his uncle's style in the use of dialogue and echo effects. In its original form, it is scored for ten voices separated in two groups of five. The first with a cantus, septimus, altus, octavus and sextus. The second for a decimus, nonus, tenor and a bassus. The text is a selection of the Psalm 63, attributed to King David, set when he was in the wilderness of Judah, and its theme concerns being stranded in the wilderness away from one's family.
Just as many European composers beat a trail to Venice to study with the renowned musicians there, the Venetian Giovanni Gabrieli’s earliest studies were with his uncle Andrea, at St Mark’s, before he travelled north to Munich to learn from the esteemed and influential Orlando de Lassus. Returning to Venice, he was appointed to St Mark’s as organist and subsequently, following his uncle’s death, as principal composer. Gabrieli's career rose further when he took the additional post of organist at the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, another post he retained for his entire life. San Rocco was the most prestigious and wealthy of all the Venetian confraternities, and second only to San Marco itself in the splendour of its musical establishment.
The popular historical imagination has long nourished a fascination with the cori spezzati (split choir) traditions of Venice's San Marco Cathedral. Well-known complexities of this church's architecture provide numerous locations for the placement of musical ensembles: multiple choir lofts around the altar, elevated galleries, and even oversized, raised pulpits. Though more sober historical analysis has tempered earlier concepts of a nearly Berliozian disposition of performing forces in San Marco, several generations of Venetian musicians cultivated music that exploits the contrasts between antiphonal groups. The trend culminates in the splendid polychoral motets of Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli.
Although the score does not specify instrumentation, in practice it was common to reinforce or replace some voices with instruments such as cornettos, sackbuts or dulcians, in addition to the organ. This arrangement allowed for contrasting timbres and dynamics, alternating responsive passages between choirs and tutti sections that filled the space with a full and majestic sound. Structurally, the piece combines imitative sections with homophonic ones, always adapting the music to the meaning of the text. The opening invocation, "Deus, Deus meus," is presented in a solemn and compact manner, while phrases such as "Ad te de luce vigilo" take on a more agile character, evoking the idea of vigilance and movement toward God. In "Sitivit in te anima mea," the melodic lines ascend, symbolizing spiritual desire, and in "Quam multipliciter tibi caro mea," the texture thickens to underline the intensity of devotion.
The harmonic language remains within a modal framework, with a predominance of modes such as Mixolydian and Dorian, and both authentic and plagal cadences articulate the sections. Gabrieli achieves a remarkable balance between textual clarity and sonorous richness, so that even in the densest passages, the words remain comprehensible. This motet is not only an example of Venetian sacred theatricality, but also a work that would influence later generations, such as Heinrich Schütz, who studied with Gabrieli and brought this style to Germanic lands.
[Activate subtitles to see the lyrics in Latin/English].
Picture: The three temptations of Christ in a 12th-century mosaic in St Mark's Cathedral in Venice.
Source: tinyurl.com/2chnmus3 and Copilot GPT-5.
To check the score: tinyurl.com/2cg8oxkn
Concerto Palatino conducted by Bruce Dickey.
I - 0:00
Gabrieli's "Deus, Deus meus, ad te de luce vigilo" was published in Volume I of "Concerti di Andrea et di Giovanni Gabrieli" in Venice on 1587, a volume mostly dedicated to the works of his uncle Andrea Gabrieli, but also includes Giovanni's first motets. These early works show much influence of his uncle's style in the use of dialogue and echo effects. In its original form, it is scored for ten voices separated in two groups of five. The first with a cantus, septimus, altus, octavus and sextus. The second for a decimus, nonus, tenor and a bassus. The text is a selection of the Psalm 63, attributed to King David, set when he was in the wilderness of Judah, and its theme concerns being stranded in the wilderness away from one's family.
Just as many European composers beat a trail to Venice to study with the renowned musicians there, the Venetian Giovanni Gabrieli’s earliest studies were with his uncle Andrea, at St Mark’s, before he travelled north to Munich to learn from the esteemed and influential Orlando de Lassus. Returning to Venice, he was appointed to St Mark’s as organist and subsequently, following his uncle’s death, as principal composer. Gabrieli's career rose further when he took the additional post of organist at the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, another post he retained for his entire life. San Rocco was the most prestigious and wealthy of all the Venetian confraternities, and second only to San Marco itself in the splendour of its musical establishment.
The popular historical imagination has long nourished a fascination with the cori spezzati (split choir) traditions of Venice's San Marco Cathedral. Well-known complexities of this church's architecture provide numerous locations for the placement of musical ensembles: multiple choir lofts around the altar, elevated galleries, and even oversized, raised pulpits. Though more sober historical analysis has tempered earlier concepts of a nearly Berliozian disposition of performing forces in San Marco, several generations of Venetian musicians cultivated music that exploits the contrasts between antiphonal groups. The trend culminates in the splendid polychoral motets of Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli.
Although the score does not specify instrumentation, in practice it was common to reinforce or replace some voices with instruments such as cornettos, sackbuts or dulcians, in addition to the organ. This arrangement allowed for contrasting timbres and dynamics, alternating responsive passages between choirs and tutti sections that filled the space with a full and majestic sound. Structurally, the piece combines imitative sections with homophonic ones, always adapting the music to the meaning of the text. The opening invocation, "Deus, Deus meus," is presented in a solemn and compact manner, while phrases such as "Ad te de luce vigilo" take on a more agile character, evoking the idea of vigilance and movement toward God. In "Sitivit in te anima mea," the melodic lines ascend, symbolizing spiritual desire, and in "Quam multipliciter tibi caro mea," the texture thickens to underline the intensity of devotion.
The harmonic language remains within a modal framework, with a predominance of modes such as Mixolydian and Dorian, and both authentic and plagal cadences articulate the sections. Gabrieli achieves a remarkable balance between textual clarity and sonorous richness, so that even in the densest passages, the words remain comprehensible. This motet is not only an example of Venetian sacred theatricality, but also a work that would influence later generations, such as Heinrich Schütz, who studied with Gabrieli and brought this style to Germanic lands.
[Activate subtitles to see the lyrics in Latin/English].
Picture: The three temptations of Christ in a 12th-century mosaic in St Mark's Cathedral in Venice.
Source: tinyurl.com/2chnmus3 and Copilot GPT-5.
To check the score: tinyurl.com/2cg8oxkn
