Aestimatus sum

Orlando di Lasso's Aestimatus sum sets words from Psalm 87, a lament of deep despair. The text speaks of being counted among those descending into the pit, like a man left helpless among the dead. The composer’s SATB setting vividly portrays this sense of abandonment and darkness, placing the singer within the ‘lower pit, in the dark places and in the shadow of death’. This is a powerful and evocative responsory, drawing on the tradition of Tenebrae services to convey profound spiritual suffering.