Bestia curvafia pulices

A vibrant secular motet from the Renaissance, Orlando di Lasso’s Bestia curvafia pulices is written for SSATB voices in Latin. The text’s playful alliteration and repetitive structure paint a humorous, vivid picture of fleas biting and being chased away. The composer’s masterful setting captures the text’s lighthearted yet insistent energy, making it a potentially entertaining choice for a concert programme, perhaps one that explores the lighter side of Renaissance vocal music. It would fit well within a set of varied secular works, showcasing both textual wit and musical ingenuity.