Libera nos II (Sheppard)

Libera nos II Music by John Sheppard Performed by the Youth Choir and Choral Scholars of St Wulfram’s Church Choir, Grantham, with The Gesualdo Six - - Libera nos, salva nos, justifica nos, O beata Trinitas. Free us, save us, defend us, O blessed Trinity. - - John Sheppard’s two settings of ‘Libera nos, salva nos’ were both likely written during his tenure as Informator Choristarum at Madgalen College, Oxford, where the statues decreed that this text be recited twice a day. Sheppard’s second setting of this text, and its heartfelt prayer for salvation from the blessed Trinity, contains short melismas which give the text clarity and urgency, reminding us that this is an intercession whose pleas have not yet been answered. ‘O beata Trinitas’ stands apart for its lovely, descending contour, and a doubling of note values here stretches each of the yearning phrases to their limit, both delaying and intensifying the music’s inexorable conclusion. – from notes © Owain Park 2018. - - www.thegesualdosix.co.uk