TEXT change ?
  • Chris Garton-Zavesky
    Posts: 6,902
    Most of us know the Palestina Sicut Cervus, and accept without blinking the fact that the Vulgate says "Quemadmodum desiderat....".

    In the second part, however, the text says "ad Deum foRtem vivum", but the editions I've seen of the music say "ad Deum foNtem vivum"

    Is this change in Palestrina, or in copy errors?
    Thanked by 1tomjaw
  • SalieriSalieri
    Posts: 3,177
    Palestrina set the text as found in the Psalterium Romanum (also called the Versio Romana), not the Vulgate. The Vulgate has fortem; but I have not found an edition of the Versio Romana on-line to compare it with.

    Of the editions on CPDL, those that include the secunda pars, the editions by Hilton and Wall use "fontem"; those by Imre, Hetland, & Alvarez use "fortem". Also at IMSLP, the Breitkopf & Haertel edition from the 1875 Omnia Opera gives "fortem". I haven't checked the original part-books, so I don't know what was actually printed in the original.

    The versions of the Tract in the 1974 Graduale Romanum (Solesmes), and the 1871 Ratisbon Graduale simply gives "ad Deum vivum".
    Thanked by 2tomjaw CHGiffen
  • a_f_hawkins
    Posts: 3,471
    There is a comprehensive collection of psalter texts here :- http://www.liberpsalmorum.info/ but it shows "Weber's critical edition" from 1953.
    XLI. 1 IN FINEM INTELLECTUS FILIIS CORE
    2 Sicut cervus desiderat ad fontes aquarum
    ita desiderat anima mea ad te Deus
    3 sitivit anima mea ad Deum vivum
    quando veniam et parebo ante faciem Dei

    There is a 1593 edition, Vatican published, which shows the same. (on p118) Here :- https://archive.org/details/ita-bnc-ald-00000576-001/page/n117
  • a_f_hawkins
    Posts: 3,471
    Aha! The Ambrosian Breviary has fortem.
  • ScottKChicago
    Posts: 349
    I would think "fontem" would be an easy transcription mistake to make, somewhere along the way. And a scribe may have thought "fontem vivum" would be "fountain of life" and make sense, although that's not what it says.
  • Chris Garton-Zavesky
    Posts: 6,902
    Ok.... so which one should we sing?
  • Incardination
    Posts: 832
    We've always used fortem.
    Thanked by 2tomjaw CHGiffen
  • tomjaw
    Posts: 2,782
    @Chris Garton-Zavesky

    We should sing the version of the text in the Graduale Romanum say 1962... But the G.R. does not always agree with the M.R. Dum Clamarem / Cum Clamarem 10th Sun. after Pentecost, the old Palm Sunday etc.

    Not that I follow my own advice... As long as the difference is minor say in the Sicut Cervus we will sing the version of the text used by the composer.
    Thanked by 2Incardination CHGiffen
  • a_f_hawkins
    Posts: 3,471
    As far as I can see -
    1. GR1962 only uses Quemadmodum ... as verse with Antiphon Sitivit anima mea ad Deum vivum ... in the Liturgia Defunctorum, as a Processional. N.B. neither foRtem nor foNtem.
    2. LU1962 uses Quemadmodum ... as Gradual Antiphon with verse Sitivit anima mea ad Deum fortem, vivum ... on June 4th (St Francis Caracciolo). N.B. foRtem
    3. Palestrina used Sicut cervus & foRtem
    So foNtem is probably an editorial error, by music publishers. And we would need to stick with Palestrina's words to get the music to fit.
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