Tribuat Tibi Essay

The motet Tribuat tibi performed by ‘Le concert Spirituel’ in 1994 was composed to Royal Psalm, thought to have been written for the enthronement of a King or the anniversary of his coronation. Though born in Florence to Italian Parents, Jean-Baptiste Lully, by the age of 21, a naturalized French man, became a composer of the King’s instrumental music, and dominated music life at the court in French theatres. Tribuat Tibi, for solo soprano and solo tenor a chorus was a sacred work based on Latin texts composed in a contrapuntal style. Conventional to early Baroque (c.1600-1680), the piece is quite short of about 3 and a half minutes and includes strings and a harpsichord as well as Isorhythms heard throughout, where the rhythmic pattern is repeated while often the melody changes.

Claudio Monteverdi; Giambattista Marino (lyricist). A quest’olmo, a quest’ombre (c. 1619). La Venexiana. Album: Concerto – Settimo Libro Dei Madrigali. 2004 Glossa.

Just as the piece, the structure of a madrigal also originated from Italy, where vocal music for ensemble gave musical expression to the highest form of poetry. Polyphony is heard throughout the piece, often creating dissonant sounds as well as a contrapuntal texture creating interwoven melodies that are less syllabically based. Furthermore, the piece uses word paintings and is through-composed and uses Italian as a vernacular language, making it more accessible to all audiences. On the other hand, the vocals (SSATTB) are accompanied by strings and a harpsichord that is very unlike the usual early baroque unaccompanied