En contemplant vostre divinité

Jacques Du Buisson's En contemplant vostre divinité is a French secular chanson for SATB choir. The music opens with a delicate texture, soon unfolding into rich four-part harmony. The composer responds to the text with sensitivity, the voices weaving together to express the lover's awe and apprehension. The words speak of contemplating the beloved's divine nature, their sweetness, and extreme beauty. Such perfection, the singer fears, might attract the attention of Love itself, for the beloved is too wonderful for this world. Du Buisson's setting captures this tender, slightly anxious devotion with elegant counterpoint and expressive melodic lines.