This edition was prepared by Andreas Stenberg — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Alma Vergin Gentile
Staff Notation • Sacred, Madrigals, Laude
Preview
0
0
Subscribed as
Want Sunday picks sent to another address too?
Free weekly email
Your choir should not be left out in what's trending
Sunday mass selections, psalms, and trending songs in your area — straight to your inbox.
Alma Vergin Gentile by Giovanni Maria Nanino — Lyrics
ALLA MADONNA SANTISSIMA DELL' ORATORIO
In Vallicela per la smisurata, & prodigiosa Inondatione
del Tevere successa puntalemente in tempo del Sacro
Natale del Signiorere. 1598.
1. Alma Vergin gentile,
Ch'alberghi in questa Vall' angust' humile,
Che fai prego, che fai?
Che del tuo sacro volto ascond' irai,
Mentre piú gonfio hor l'un hor l'altra sponda
Rotta il Tebro vernoi sgorga, et inonda?
2. Hoggi che dolce mele
Stillano i Ciel al Mondo, amorosele,
Versasi à Roma sola,
Che pace turba,
e ogni dolcezza inuola?
Gia fuor d'ogni misura oltre'l costume
Di fier' orgoglio è piè l'Trato fiume.
3. Mira felice Madre,
Come vibri del' onde armare squadre
Ver la tua Casa adorna,
Come contra le porte alzi le corna:
Read full lyrics
About Alma Vergin Gentile
Composed by Giovanni Maria Nanino and Giovanni Bernardino Nanino, Alma Vergin Gentile is a sacred work for three voices (SST) in Italian. The text was written to commemorate a devastating flood of the Tiber river in Rome during the Christmas season of 1598. The first verse addresses the Virgin Mary, resident in a humble valley, questioning why she hides her face while the river overflows its banks. The subsequent verses lament the disturbance of peace and the overflowing of the Tiber. This piece, with its madrigalistic and laude influences, would suit a choir looking for devotional music with a rich historical context, evoking both the solemnity of the occasion and the beauty of the Italian text.
