Je me complains

Josquin des Prez's Je me plains is a secular chanson for a five-part choir of two sopranos and three tenors. The text, in French, laments the absence of a lover. The singer complains that her beloved, who used to visit her in the cool morning, has not appeared by midday and the evening is now approaching. This poignant expression of longing is set with the characteristic imitative polyphony of the High Renaissance, creating a rich texture that highlights the emotional weight of the words.