Membra Jesu nostri (II. Ad genua) – The Crossing / Quicksilver Baroque

The Crossing
Donald Nally, conductor

Membra Jesu nostri
II. Ad genua

music by Dieterich Buxtehude
text from Isaiah and the Rhythmica Oratio of Arnulf of Louvain
recorded live in concert June 24, 2016 at the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral
with Quicksilver Baroque
audio by Paul Vazquez of Digital Mission Audio Services

#ComeHearNow
www.crossingchoir.org

1. Sonata

2. Concerto

Ad ubera portabimini,
et super genua blandicentur vobis

To the knees
You will be brought to nurse
and dandled on the knees
[of Jerusalem, portrayed as a mother]
(Isaiah 66:12)

3. Aria: tenor

Salve Jesu, rex sanctorum,
spes votiva peccatorum,
crucis ligno tanquam reus,
pendens homo verus Deus,
caducis nutans genibus

Hail Jesus, King of Saints
Hope of sinners' prayers,
like an offender on the wood of the cross,
a man hanging, true God,
Bending on failing knees!

4. Aria: alto

Quid sum tibi responsurus,
actu vilis corde durus?
Quid rependam amatori,
qui elegit pro me mori,
ne dupla morte morerer

What answer shall I give You,
Vile as I am in deed, hard in my heart?
How shall I repay Your love,
Who chose to die for me,
Unless I die a second death?

5. Aria: two sopranos and bass

Ut te quaeram mente pura,
sit haec mea prima cura,
non est labor et gravabor,
sed sanabor et mundabor,
cum te complexus fuero

That I may seek You with pure heart,
Be my first care,
It is no labour nor shall I be loaded down:
But I shall be cleansed,
When I embrace You

6. Concerto (da capo: Ad ubera portabimini)

Rhythmica Oratio,
att. Arnulf of Louvain (early 13th c.)