***Before starting essay, please insert the first CD from Canticum canitcorum (CD 140, Haverford Music Library)

Palestrina, in the preface to the Song of Songs says quite plainly,

"I have used a [compositional] style somewhat more spirited than I am wont to use in other church compostions, for so I perceive the subject itself to require." (Owens, 1996)

This simple statement has come to haunt those, such as Jessie Ann Owens, who attempt to analyze the relationship between the text and music in this set of twenty-nine motets. What, indeed, does Palestrina mean by a "more spirited style"? And why is a more spirited style more fitting for this text than any other biblical text? It is possible to gather, at the very least, from Palestrina's preface, that he did view this text as somehow different from all other church texts, else he would not have felt obligated to use a different compositional style. And, indeed, the Song of Solomon is unique among biblical texts.

Interpreting Palestrina's setting of the Song of Songs, and trying to discover what, if any, underlying architecture can be found in the motets is a difficult task. For, even ignoring the music of the motets altogether, the reader is still left with the job of interpreting the Song of Songs itself. Ann Matter, speaking about the text only, in her chapter entitled, `The Key to the Code', of her book, The Voice of My Beloved, says that,

"in eight chapters of love lyrics, the Song of Songs suggests unification by means of repeating images and phrases; these hint at the possibility of an underlying structure, but contain no clear narrative development. The Song of Songs thus has inspired a steady stream of commentary which must always begin with the problem of the sense at a basic level of the text. . . on the surface, it tells no sacred history, makes no theological nor moral points, and does not mention God." (Matter, 1990; pg.49)

Othmar Keel, in his book, The Song of Songs, also discusses the difficulty of interpreting the poetry of the Song of Songs. "Because the Song (with the exception of 3:9-10d) consists totally of direct speech, it would seem more appropriate to understand it as drama." (Keel, 1986; pg. 15) Dramatic verse usually works very well set to music- the operatic genre being the most obvious. But, Palestrina sets those texts that fall within the bounds of the exception mentioned by Keel. And also, Keel goes on to say that,

"in its traditional form, the Song itself offers no basis for a dramatic interpretation. Two or three poems are sometimes arranged in a kind of running continuity. . . but the collector or redactor apparently has no interest in anything larger than such small units." (Keel, 1986; pg.16)

The simple fact that Keel titles one of the sub-headings of his chapter, "Does a Comprehensive Plan Underlie the Song of Songs?", should forewarn those who would try to analyze Palestrina's musical interpretation of this text. Indeed, to determine the existence of some underlying architecture among these twenty-nine motets would be the subject for a lifetime of work; and here is only five pages. However, the wariness of a couple of religious historians should not scare away the enthusiastic Palestrina fan. It is logical to believe that- even if Palestrina couldn't read and simply threw this text to the music- he and/or his cohorts sat down and arranged these motets in some fashion fit for publishing. Therefore, accepting Owens' sorting of the twenty-nine motets by mode as a reliable, if not comprehensive, interpretation of Palestrina's overall plan for the motets, let us zoom in on the first group that Owens charts: motets one through ten. Within this ten motet group, there is one editorial decision made by Palestrina (or one of his co-workers) that stands out over all others. Motets 9 and 10 of the group are from chapter 4 of the Song of Songs, whereas the eight motets before are from chapters 1 and 2. The two motets from chapter four are inserted out of numerical order between chapters 2 and 3.

This insertion and rearrangement of the biblical text is Palestrina's most obvious manipulation of the text for the purpose of setting it to music. Therefore, studying motets 9 and 10, and their relationship with the eight motets before them will give, if anything can, some insight into Palestrina's structural organization of the piece. The key to finding an underlying structure of this ten motet fragment lies in finding some musical architecture that relates to or coincides with the insertion of the chapter 4 motets.

In order to examine Palestrina's editorial insertion, it is necessary to look, firstly, at the ways in which motets 9 and 10 are similar textually and musically to the motets which precede them. The most obvious connection between the chapter four texts and those previous, as Owens points out, is the almost exact repitition of two lines in motet 1 and in motet 10. These two lines in motet 1 read, "your breasts are better than wine,/ more fragrant than finest perfumes." The similar lines in motet 10 are, "Your breasts are more beautiful than wine/ and the fragrance of your perfumes above all spices."

Not only does the recaptiulation of these lines indicate the presence of some kind of superimposed structure on the text by Palestrina, but the similar musical treatment of these two lines also implies a possible symmetric- or at least orderly- organization to this first grouping of ten motets. Throughout the ten motets, there are very few breaks at all in the music. Once a motet begins, there are virtually no distinct pauses or silences. However, in both motets 1 and 10, Palestrina does use pauses in the music coinciding with these duplets. In general, the absence of official "rests" in these motets is due to the fact that all four vocal parts are involved in complicated counterpoint. However, in both motets 1 and 10, the aforesaid duplets do not involve as much counterpoint. The voices are in rhythmic unison more during the singing of these duplets than they are in most of the other texts. Thus, the music higlights the symmetry of the placement of the duplets.

Motets 9 and 10, excluding the duplet just discussed, also employ the same techniques of overlapping of poetic and musical lines used throughout the other eight motets. It is impossible to ignore the racy nature of the language of the Song of Songs. The extremely sexual language of this text has been, for centuries, the subject of much debate and interpretation. However, Palestrina's musical lines are seamless and flow effortlessly into one another. The poetic lines, though they are all still "spoken"/ "said", are nonetheless drawn away from the specific (and controversial) language; the text flows over and onto itself. This technique of overlapping, used throughout the first ten motets, also emphasizes the duplets in motets 1 and 10 that do not "overlap".

All ten motets also are alike in the fact that they all begin with the solo voice. After the first voice enters alone, one by one- in the fashion of counterpoint- the other voices cascade into the motet, creating a figurative "flood" of sound. (ex. motet 8) The music, therefore, has the effect of washing over the listener, much the way a smell might. And the text itself is awash in "smell" imagery. The act of smelling, not only present in the duplets of the first and tenth motets, is a theme emphasized in the music throughout these first ten motets. In the first motet, in the line "Quia meliora sunt," ("your breasts are better than wine") four of the voices sing in a more rhythmic unison. Likewise, in the sixth motet, on the line "Nardus mea dedit odorem suavitatis," ("my spikenard gave a smell of sweetness"), the voices sing in noticeably unified rhythm on the word "odorem" (i.e. smell). Another example of the unification of the vocal lines around the subject of smell is in the second motet on the line, "In odorem unguehtorum tuorum," ("into the fragrance of your perfumes"). Thus it seems that the sense of smell and invocation of the sense of smell, being so dominant in the text, possibly was seen by Palestrina as a theme that complimented the "sense" that concerned him, the sense of hearing. Even if there is no other underlying structure to be found among these ten motets, the focus of this music- amidst its overlapping and enveloping lines- on the intermingling of the sense of smell with the sense of hearing can stand alone as the basis of a textual and musical architecture. Palestrina does himself and his reputation a favor by shifting the focus of his musical setting away from the scandalous nature of the text itself. Smell, and the senses in general, are most definitely erotic forces. However, they are not, in and of themselves, crude or bawdy. And Palestrina, because his interpretation is done with music and not with words (i.e. in a written commentary), is allowed to explore the idea of prayer and religious epiphany from the perspective of the physical senses and sensations of the body. Though the listener cannot literally experience the smells or physical sensations expressed in the text, it is interesting to think that Palestrina was, through the medium of music, trying to impart the extremely emotional and at heart pious devotion of the text to the listener through the physical sensation of heard music.

Rather than constructing a strictly allegorical interpretation of this text in which every written noun corresponds to some unwritten subject, such as Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit, or Mary, let us continue in thinking that this more surreal principle of smell is somehow a fixture of these ten motets. Thus, in looking for an underlying structure, the focus of the search becomes not how Palestrina expresses a specific noun or subject in music, but rather how he possibly creates an underlying structure founded on the manipulation of the listener's senses.

The ninth and tenth motets, as discussed earlier, reflect many of the musical techniques used throughout the previous eight motets, such as the overlapping of lines, the continuation of the "smell" theme, and the introduction of each motet by a single voice. However, the ninth and tenth motets seem to incorporate all of these techniques to a much higher, more impassioned level. If the stimulation of the senses of the listener who is enveloped in prayer is the underlying current of this group of ten motets, then motets 9 and 10 are the height of this stimulation. Just as a smell "washes" over a person until it is all pervading, so does Palestrina's music slowly wash over the listener until the ninth and tenth motets overflow the senses. The two motets are like the grand finale of the Fourth of July fireworks.

In the ninth and tenth motets, Palestrina uses the same musical techniques he has used throughout the other motets, except in exagerated forms. Palestrina is extremely subtle in his handling of text, and one might argue that even in motets 9 and 10 his handling of the musical line is more subtle than the argument here implies. However, in contrast to the other motets, the exaggeration, no matter how small, of the techniques of overlapping, of "breaking up" the text and the use of the solo voice, is present.

With motets 9 and 10, Palestrina creates a dramatic shift by disrupting the biblical flow of the text, inserting the chapter four texts. Secondly, motets 9 and 10 are set apart from the previous motets by the 3 measure long solo that begins, "Tota pulchra es," ("You are all beauty"). Though all ten motets begin with the solo voice, the solos rarely last more than one measure. Here, the solo voice actually completes an entire poetic thought. Having not heard, so far in the piece, musical lines in which there is no harmony and no counterpoint, this phrase is quite striking. This solo line stands out in the ear of the listener as a shift in the drama of the text- more so than any other introductory solo.

Palestrina also, in motets 9 and 10 makes a greater use of unison rhythm and of silent pauses in the musical lines. In the first motet, Palestrina does, through the use of unison rhythm, emphasize the duplet, "Quia meliora sunt ubera tua vino,/ Fragrantia unguentis optimis." (translated earlier in English) The voices are not involved in tremendously difficult counterpoint here. However in motet 9, Palestrina takes this absence of counterpoint to the extreme. On the line, "Et macula non est in te" ("and there is no blemish in you"), all four voices have the same rhythm. Thus, the line- especially in contrast to the contrapuntal style which surrounds it- really does stand out in the music. And in motet 10, Palestrina exagerates the highlighting of the "twin" duplet even more than he did in the first motet. In the first motet, the duplet is made distinct within the context of the poetry because the voices join together in singing a unified rhythm. However, in the tenth motet, Palestrina, at the start of the line "Quiam pulchra sunt mammae tuae soror mea, sponsa," (How beautiful are your breasts, my sister, my bride"), actually switches time signatures, in addition to having the four voices in rhythmic unison. Moreover, Palestrina changes time signatures again for the next line, "Pulchriora sunt ubera tua vino," ("Your breasts are more beautiful than wine"). And again there is a distinct rhythmic unison to this line. Also, in between these two lines and before the "Quam" line, `rests' are actually written into the score in all four parts for the same beat. It is this measured, calculated silence that Palestrina seems to avoid in the first eight motets. Palestrina takes the opportunity in the ninth and tenth motets to bring out his previously subdued musical techniques.

Not only is the use of breaks in the texts exagerated in these two motets, but so also is the technique of overlapping poetic lines. In both motets 9 and 10 there are poetic duplets within which each poetic line begins with the same three words. In motet 9, this duplet is "Veni de Libano", ("Come from Lebanon"). In motet 10, the three words are "Vulnerasti cor meum", ("You have wounded my heart"). Due to the repitition of the three word sets in each motet- but especially in the case of "Vulnerasti cor meum"- it becomes nearly impossible for the listener to distinguish when the first poetic line ends and when the second begins. For the counterpoint creates a situation in which different vocal lines are always saying "Vulnerasti cor meum", and yet the listener is not able to tell when the second line of the duplet is said until the voices come to the end of the second line. Thus, not only does the repitition of these three words in the text allow Palestrina to use them twice as many times in his setting as he would if they appeared only once, but he is also allowed to overlap the two lines of the duplet to such a degree that the two lines are basically indistinguishable to the listener.

Throughout these ten motets, though it is difficult to point out a specific infrastructure, it is possible to hear a general progression of emotions which can then be likened to an underlying structure. Even on the basic level of word choice, the Song of Songs begins in the first motet using the fairly passive verb, "to pour". And by the tenth motet, the main verb is, "to wound". This is a drastic and dynamic shift in sentiment. Palestrina is able then to reflect this dramatic shift in verbal sentiment using a dramatic heightening of musical techniques such as overlapping, solo passages and the placement of breaks in the music. It should be duly noted that Palestrina's Song of Songs is undeniably subtle, and none of the techniques mentioned here are glaringly obvious. However, an underlying current is just that: under the surface (the listener must decide whether or not to get into the submarine or simply to don the snorkeling gear). And there is a method to Palestrina's "madness". Palestrina (or one of his helpers) deliberately inserted the chapter four text after the chapter two text. His editorial decision, by its nature alone, is an interpretation of the text. Moreover, in choosing the Song of Songs- a text no one seems to completely understand- Palestrina allows himself great freedom to interpret. (Of course, the problem for the listener is figuring what his interpretation is.)

The first ten motets of the Song of Songs seem to be a gradual and possibly subconcious progression and heightening of the senses. The gradual and general increase in the intensity of the text and music of the motets through the techniques discussed above, create a new category of allegory: musical allegory. Palestrina, similar to Keel, doesn't try to fit the characters of this confusing text into a narrative. Rather, he reflects the emotions of the poetry in his music, thus creating a narrative of emotional development, not character development.

One of the most fascinating effects Palestrina's musical setting has on the text is to make this archaic text accessible to modern listeners. The language of the Song of Solomon, even in today's sex-fixated world, is strange and seemingly random. But Palestrina's counterpoint is, indeed, a pinnacle of order and control. His music is appreciated to this day, and carries texts such as the Song of Solomon into the "modern" world. These first ten motets, for me, embody the same controlled passion that a sculpture such as The Ecstasy of St. Theresa, by Bernini, does. Listen once more to the tenth motet. Is it not possible to hear Palestrina's ability to integrate the sensual and chaste, and the sacred and secular. Just like the sculpture by Bernini, the first ten motets of the Song of Songs demonstrate Palestrina's ability to manipulate the human senses. He is, as a composer of music, a controller of audible stimulii; and I can't imagine that he took this position lightly.

Matter, discussing the different interpretations of the text of the Song of Songs, quotes Augustine. In this quote, Augustine discusses the actions of the biblical authors in writing texts such as the Song of Solomon. However, judging from the complexity and subtlty of Palestrina's musical setting of the text (which puts him in the position of "author"), Augustine's quote in many ways could be describing Palestrina himself.

"[the authors of biblical books] `have spoken with a useful and healthful obscurity for the purpose of exercising and sharpening, as it were, the minds of the readers and of destroying fastidiousness and stimulating the desire to learn, concealing their intention in such a way that the minds of the impious are either converted to piety or excluded from the mysteries of the faith.' "

The listener should then rest assured that, though finding a definite underlying structure amidst Palestrina's "healthful obscurtiy" is difficult, the mind is "sharpened" and stimulated in the search.

Bibliography

Keel, Othmar. The Song of Songs. Augsburg Fortress, Publishers, Minneapolis; 1994.

Matter, Ann. The Voice of My Beloved. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1990.

Owens, Jessie Ann. Palestrin as Reader: Motets From the Song of Songs, from Hearing the Motet, ed. Delores Pesce (Oxford, 1996) 307-28.

*translations of texts from Canticum canticorum, CD140, Haverford Music Library