Plaude Anima

Program Notes:

Plaude Anima celebrates one person’s victory over temptation and sin.

Conductor Notes:

Set for SAB with two violins and continuo, this 12-minute work was one of my favourite pieces of the 2020 Women of the Italian Baroque concert. We divided the choir into three equal parts and the bottom voices read bass clef and sang up the octave, putting them in a very comfortable and audible range. About 2/3 of this piece is solos. If you have mezzo and alto soloists you’d like to feature, this could be a great choice.

Write to me if you want to know what ficta choices we made.

Text

Plaude anima, plaude cor, vicisti triumphasti de Mundo infideli de barbaro crudeli victoriam reportasti.
Mille laqueos tetendit, mille paravit insidias hostis infestissimus.
In pompa fallaci, in auri splendore, in vano mendaci gemmarum fulgore tentavit iniquus decipere te.
Blanda finxit solatia oblectamenta non peritura perfidus insidiator.
Mille tibi spopondit delitias, sine termine amenitatis, mille gaudia, mille blanditias immutabiles felicitatis.
Tu vero Deo adiutore omnia sprevisti generose mundum vicisti delitias non curasti.
Direxisti ad Deum tuos affectus et spretis illecebris nil praeter Deum desiderasti.
Haec est vera victoria mundana spernere vana despicere aeterna quaerere fugere transitoria
Ergo merito laetare tot tropheis cor onustum hoste victo debellato in triumphis plaude cor.

Translation

Clap hands, soul! Applaud, heart! You triumphed, you brought back victory from the infidel world, from the cruel barbarian.
He stretched out a thousand snares, the most dangerous enemy prepared a thousand traps.
The unjust one tried to deceive you with a false display, with gleaming gold, with the empty, counterfeit sparkle of jewels.
The treacherous layer of traps devised alluring consolations, imperishable delights.
He promised you a thousand pleasures, with no end of attractiveness, a thousand joys, a thousand allurements of happiness..
All this you spurned with the true God as your helper. You conquered the world in noble fashion. You did not care for pleasures.
You directed your affections to God and, spurning allurements, you desired nothing but God.
This is true victory: to spurn worldly things, despise vain things, seek eternal things, flee from transitory things.
Therefore rejoice deservedly, heart, laden with so many trophies, with the enemy conquered, led in
defeat in triumphal processions, applaud, heart!

English translation by Anthony Podlecki