Iesu Spes penitentibus

Jesu, hope of penitents, how merciful you are to those who ask, how good to those who seek you, but what will you find for those who find you? Jesus, sweetness of hearts, living fount of minds, exceeding all joy and all desire. This setting of a devotional Latin text for SATB voices comes from the tradition of sacred madrigals, part-music from the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. Nanino was a composer of considerable repute in Rome, and this piece reflects the expressive harmony and melodic grace characteristic of the genre.