motet notes - Viadana

Viadana was a Franciscan monk who held a number of musical posts in churches and cathedrals throughout Italy. His musical style progressed from the polyphony of the Renaissance to concertato style with basso continuo to monodic to Venetian polychoral. He was a key figure in the transition from Renaissance to Baroque eras because of his use of the new figured bass. Viadana’s influence stretched as far as Germany to Schütz, Scheidt, and Schein.

Exsultate justi in Domino ("Rejoice in the Lord, O Ye Righteous," Psalm 33:1- 3) was part of the Concerti ecclesiastici, Op. 12, a collection of one hundred pieces finished in 1602. Double and triple meters alternate, and Viadana uses the voices to imitate the harp and lyre mentioned in the psalm text. The motet ends with a return to the homophonic first part.

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