Lamentations of Jeremiah the Prophet
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- For the Biblical book, see Book of Lamentations.
The Lamentations of Jeremiah the Prophet have been set by various composers.
Thomas Tallis made two famous sets of the Lamentations. Scored for five voices (either one on a part or in a choral context), they show a sophisticated use of imitation, and are noted for their expressiveness. The settings are of the first two lessons for Maundy Thursday. As many other composers do, Tallis also sets the announcements ('Incipit Lamentatio...', and 'De Lamentatione...') the Hebrew letters that headed each verse (Aleph, Beth for the first set, Gimel, Daleth, Heth for the second), and the concluding refrain 'Ierusalem, Ierusalem... (Jerusalem, Jerusalem, turn again to the Lord thy God)—thus emphasising the sombre and melancholy effect of the pieces. Tallis's two settings happen to use successive verses, but the pieces are in fact independent even though performers generally sing both settings together. Composers have been free to use whatever verses they wish, since the liturgical role of the text is somewhat loose; this accounts for the wide variety of texts that appear in these pieces.
William Byrd's setting is rarely performed despite his popularity and importance, not only because it appears very early in his output (he seems to have been about 20 when he wrote it and not very experienced as a composer), but also because the surviving copy is missing a voice part for much of its duration, requiring substantial editorial reconstruction.
Other settings include those by Robert White, Lassus, Palestrina, Ferrabosco the Elder, and de Brito. Twentieth-century versions exist by Alberto Ginastera and Leonard Bernstein (his Jeremiah Symphony, though this does not include voices and is therefore a very different type of piece).
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