Caligaverunt

Giovanni Contino’s Caligaverunt is a powerful setting of a deeply sorrowful text. The music opens with a palpable sense of grief, the voices weaving a lament that reflects the opening words, 'My eyes have grown dim from my weeping.' The text, drawn from the Responsories for Tenebrae, speaks of utter desolation, the singer crying out to all passers-by, 'See, all peoples, if there is any sorrow like my sorrow.' Contino’s SATB setting captures the intensity of this lament, with moments of stark simplicity and impassioned outcry, creating an emotionally charged experience for choir and listener alike. The Latin text, rich in its expression of suffering, finds a fitting musical home in this expressive Renaissance composition.