Remember not, Lord, our offences
"Remember not, Lord, our offences" | |
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Anthem by Henry Purcell | |
Key | A minor |
Catalogue | Z.50 |
Genre | Sacred choral music |
Text | Excerpt from the Litany from Book of Common Prayer |
Composed | c. 1679–82 |
Scoring | SSATB choir |
"Remember not, Lord, our offences",
Composition
"Remember not, Lord, our offences" is an anthem for an a cappella choir consisting of five voice parts: two soprano parts, alto, tenor and bass (SSATB). Purcell originally composed the 44-measure work in the key of A minor. Some arrangements of the anthem include a continuo instrumental accompaniment. Musicologist and historian Franklin B. Zimmerman (born 1923) designated the anthem as "Z.50" in his catalogue of Purcell's works.[1] The duration of performances and recordings of this work is approximately three minutes.[2]
The lyrics of Purcell's anthem are drawn from a passage in the beginning of the
Remember not, Lord, our offences,
Nor th' offences of our forefathers;
Neither take thou vengeance of our sins,
But spare us, good Lord.
Spare thy people, whom thou has redeem'd
With thy most precious blood,
And be not angry with us for ever.
Spare us, good Lord.
Scholars date the composition of "Remember not, Lord, our offences" to the period generally between 1679 and 1682.
During the 1680s and tenure at Westminster Abbey and the Chapel Royal, Purcell compiled earlier and contemporary sacred music (including several of his own compositions) into one collection for the use of the choirs of both churches. Two extant manuscripts compiled by Purcell are currently held in the collections of the University of Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum. Both manuscripts include "Remember not, Lord, our offences".[12][13][14]
The choral anthems, including "Remember not, Lord, our offences", that Purcell composed after his appointment to Westminster and before his appointment at the Chapel Royal are described as his "last concentrated involvement with the verse anthem without strings."
See also
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d Zimmerman, Franklin B. Henry Purcell 1659–1695: An Analytical Catalogue of his Music. (London: MacMillan & Co., 1963).
- ^ cf. 3:09 for Collegium Vocale, dir. Philippe Herreweghe, "Remember not, Lord, our offences" (track 2) on Henry Purcell Funeral Sentences Musique Funèbre Pour la Reine Mary. harmonia mundi 901462 (1995); and 2:55 on Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, dir. Timothy Brown. "Remember not, Lord, our offences" (track 6) on Purcell Choral Works, Te Deum, Jubilate Deo & more. Regis Records (2006). Retrieved 7 February 2014.
- ^ Society of Archbishop Justus. Resources: Exhortations and Litany (1544). Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ^ MacCulloch, Diarmaid. Thomas Cranmer, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996) , 326–328.
- ^ Cummings, Brian (editor). The Book of Common Prayer: The Texts of 1549, 1559, and 1662 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), 41, 117, 260.
- ^ The Church of England. The Litany from The Book of Common Prayer. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
- ^ a b Shay, Robert and Thompson, Robert. Purcell Manuscripts: The Principal Musical Sources (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), 44, 179.
- ^ Cummings, William Hayman. Henry Purcell, 1658–1695. (New York: Haskell House Publishers, 1881), 41–42.
- ^ a b Runciman, John F. Purcell. (London: George Bell & Sons, 1909), passim.
- ^ Hutchings, Arthur. Purcell. (London: British Broadcasting Corporation, 1982), 85.
- ^ Westrup, J. A. Purcell. (London: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd., 1975), 41.
- ^ University of Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum MS 88, item 25, folio 99r, and MS 117, item 79, folio 124, page 213 as "Vers of ye litany" (Remember not, O Lord)
- ^ Thompson, Robert “Purcell's great autographs” in Price, Curtis (editor) Purcell Studies (Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press, 1995), 6–34, at 31.
- ^ Shay, Robert. "Purcell as collector of 'ancient' music: Fitzwilliam MS 88" in Price, Curtis (editor) Purcell Studies (Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press, 1995), 35–50, at 50.
- ^ a b c d e Adams, Martin. Henry Purcell: The Origins and Development of His Musical Style. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995).