Taedet anima mea is the first movement of Tomás Luis de Victoria's Requiem Mass, published in 1605. Written for the burial observance of the Dowager Empress María, sister of King Philip II of Spain, the the mass has become known to many as perfectly representative of what Renaissance polyphony is, what it sounds and feels like, and how expressive it can be.> (Lyrics below the video)
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LYRICS in Latin: Taedet animam meam vitae meae, dimittam adversum me eloquium meum, loquar in amaritudine animae meae. Dicam Deo: Noli me condemnare: indica mihi, cur me ita iudices. Numquid bonum tibi videtur, si calumnieris, el opprimas me, opus manuum tuarum, et consilium impiorum adiuves? Numquid oculi carnei tibi sunt: aut sicut videt homo, et tu vides? Numquid sicut dies hominis dies tui, et anni tui sicut humana sunt tempora, ut quaeras iniquitatem meam, et peccatum meum scruteris? Et scias, quia nihil impium fecerim, cum sit nemo, qui de manu tua possit eruere.
Translation of Lyrics to English: My soul is weary of my life; I will let go my speech against myself, and express the bitterness in my soul. I shall say to God: Do not condemn me, but show me why Thou judgest me in this manner. Shall it seem a good thing to Thee to cheapen me and oppress me, the work of Thine own hands, and to support the schemes of the wicked? Are Thine eyes of flesh? Dost Thou even see only as men do? Is Thy life like the life of men, and do Thy years pass like the days of men, that Thou shouldst enquire after my iniquity, and investigate my sins? Surely Thou knowest that I have done no wrong and there is no man that can deliver me from Thy hand.
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Recorded in St Augustine, Kilburn by kind permission of the Vicar & Churchwardens.
Produced by Jonathan Coates. ___
Sopranos: Grace Davidson, Victoria Meteyard, Josephine Stephenson, Emma Walshe Altos: Hannah Cooke, Martha McLorinan, Elisabeth Paul Tenors: Jeremy Budd, Nicholas Madden, Toby Ward Basses: Joseph Edwards, William Gaunt, Owain Park Director: Nigel Short
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