Purcell: O dive custos - Elegy on the death of Queen Mary

Emma Kirkby, soprano
Evelyn Tubb, soprano
New London Consort, Martin Neary

Text by Henry Parker (1695)


O dive custos auriacae domus
Et spes labantis certior imperi;
O rebus adversis vocande,
O superum decus in secundis!

Seu te fluentem pronus ad Isida
In vota fervens Oxonidum chorus,
Seu te precantur, quos remoti
Unda lavat properata Cami,

Discende caelo non ita creditas
Visurus aedes praesidiis tuis,
Descende visurus penates
Caesaris, et penetrale sacrum.

Maria musis flebilis occidit,
Maria, gentis deliciae brevis;
O flete Mariam! flete Camoenae!
O flete, Divae, dea moriente.


O sacred guardian of the House of Orange,
And certain hope of faltering sovereignty,
O thou on whom we call in our misfortunes,
Our chiefest glory in prosperity!

Whether to thee, prostrate by Isis' stream,
Th'Oxonian chorus pays its ardent vows,
Or whether they entreat thee, who are laved
By hastening waters of the distant Cam,

Come down from heaven to visit these thy temples,
Bestowed - not thus - upon thy votaries;
Come down, to see the sacred hearth and home
Of Caesar, and to pass into the shrine.

Mary is dead: lament now, O ye Muses!
Mary, the brief delight of all our nation;
O weep for Mary! weep, O soul of poesy!
Weep, goddesses: divinity is dead. (translated by Bruce Wood)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Purcell
• dive
• custos
• Kirkby
• Tubb
• Queen
• Mary

[coayesha]

Wonderful voices and divine performance, but the pronunciation is hilarious.

[sjuli17]

@coayesha

They use a special pronunciation which scholars believe was the way Latin was pronounced in Purcell's England.

[coayesha]

@sjuli17

Actually shortly after posting my comment I had that doubt and I apologize, but you have to understand how this pronunciation can sound absurd to me :)

[sjuli17]

@coayesha

Don't worry, I also find it a bit funny :)

When I sung this piece, we used "standard" Latin.

[buttaflystar91]

Beautiful!

[pondeflouers]

Thank you from Russia

[duklop]

Великолепно. Музыка божественная и исполнение потрясающее.

[voxhunden]

Divine.

[pianomags]

wonderful sound together. Much prefer both these sops in duet /ensemble setting like this, voices blend wonderfully. Kirkby with Bowman duets are other-worldly. Just brings that extra something I don't get from their solo work.

[SrdjanAsanovic8]

Evelyn Tubb and Emma Kirkby are absolutely FANTASTIC!!! Deeply touching music and performance...Love to Evelyn and Emma!