Descendi in hortum meum

Nicolas Gombert's motet Descendi in hortum meum sets a passage from the Song of Solomon. The text describes a lover entering a garden to see if the vines and pomegranates have flowered, and then calls for the beloved to return so they may be gazed upon. This rich Latin text is sung here by a large choir in six parts (SATTTB), offering a full and resonant sound. Gombert was a leading composer of the Franco-Flemish school, known for his intricate polyphony and expressive settings of sacred and secular texts. This motet exemplifies the complex contrapuntal style characteristic of his sacred works.