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Quam Pulchra Es Rovetta
Quam Pulchra Es Rovetta
Possibly born in Venice, Giovanni Rovetta was an Italian composer, instrumentalist and singer,
working ‘in the shadow of Monteverdi’, of whom he was likely a pupil. Like his violinist father,
Giacomo, Giovanni’s career from the end of 1614 involved working in St. Mark’s Church.
During his time at St. Mark’s, succeeded Alessandro Grandi as assistant maestro and, on Claudio
Monteverdi’s death, he was appointed maestro until his own death in 1668. His musical output
mainly consists of: four volumes of motets for small forces such as the one presented here,
settings of the Mass and psalms for larger forces with instruments, and three books for madrigals
‘Quam pulchra es’ is a duet-motet, first published in 1635 and the last in a book of motets for
two voices. The text is adapted from the fourth chapter of the Song of Solomon, found in the
How fair you are, my love, how fair you are. Your eyes are like those of doves, with no deceit lying hidden within;
your hair is as a flock of goats; your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep; your lips are like a thread of scarlet, and
your voice is sweet. You have wounded my heart, my sister, my bride; you have wounded my heart; honeycomb drips
Alleluia.
The piece is in overall ABA + coda form, each section being defined by its metre, either simple
duple (A) or simple triple (B) time. The ‘Alleluia’ coda, also in triple time, features hemiolas where
two bars of triple time are articulated as three bars of duple time, such as at b. 96. The A sections
are entirely homophonic, contrasting to the antecedent/consequent and canonic devices in the B
section, which create the effect of a conversation. On several occasions, the voices come together
in rhythmic unison in thirds, which may be perceived as a moment of agreement and importance,
for example at vulnerasti cor meum in bb. 31-33, meaning ‘you have wounded my heart’. The basso
continuo part may be realised by any combination of instruments capable of playing chords, but
Editorial Method
Source
The supplied source for this edition is a book of songs for two voices, published in Venice in
Prefatory Staves
The source C-clefs and F-clef are given in the prefatory staves, though printed in modern type,
together with the source stave names. The original time signature, first notes in each part, and an
notated in the source basso continuo part, and these have been included in the edition as
standalone double bar lines. Throughout, stems have been rendered according to modern
convention. The standardised editorial beaming of quavers has been rendered to show melismas
when the source shows slurs placed intermittently. Where the text is syllabic, the quavers have
been left, as in the source, without beams. Note-values in the triple-time sections are quartered so
that they are more congruous to the duple-time middle section. The longa (or maxima) used at the
Accidentals
Accidentals in the source are reproduced faithfully in the text, although the source is unclear over
their cancellation. Editorial suggestions are provided above staves in square brackets, and apply
for the duration of the bar unless cancelled. These include suggestions made according to the
The Latin texts have been modernised; abbreviations and itera symbols are realised in full.
Figures applied to the basso continuo part are entirely editorial with a solitary 5 used to indicate
an open fifth. Corner brackets are used to indicate coloration in the source.
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