Ego Flos Campi

2011 – for SATB Chorus (14:00)

PERUSAL SCORE

NOTE

Ego Flos Campi derives its text from the Song of Songs, perhaps the bawdiest part of the Old Testament. I have always loved this text, both because it seamlessly mixes the sacred and the profane, and also because it is just beautiful poetry in seemingly any language it appears.

This piece was written as an exploration of the Franco-Flemish style of the mid- to late-Renaissance, evoking the sound-world of such masters as Josquin des Prez, Johannes Ockeghem, Guillaume du Fay, and Orlando de Lassus.

TEXT AND TRANSLATION

Ego flos campi
et lilium convallium.

Sicut lilium inter spinas,
sic amica mea inter filias.

Sicut malus inter ligna silvarum,
sic dilectus meus inter filios.

Sub umbra illius quem desideraveram sedi,
et fructus ejus dulcis gutturi meo.

(from the Song of Songs)

I am the flower of the field
and the lily between the valleys.

Like the lily between the thorns,
so is my love among the daughters.

Like the apple tree among the forest
so is my beloved among the sons.

I sat under his shadow with great delight,
his fruit was sweet to my taste.

(translation by the composer)

PREMIERE

April 2011
Britton Recital Hall, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Michael Schachter, conductor