A Lenten Musical Journey, Day 20

Today’s musical meditation comes from the great Thomas Tallis and is about as traditionally Lenten as one can be (at least musically): The Lamentations of Jeremiah.

I’m sharing this particular recording for two reasons. The first? While I’m usually a More-Is-More kind of guy, I really love the tightness and sparseness of this version. And second? The group (according to the YouTube description included with this video) has a great name:

Ensemble Heinavanker (The Haywain), a music vocal ensemble from Tallinn, Estonia, has performed since 1988. The ensemble is named after the famous altarpiece by Hieronymus Bosch, which depicts a huge wagonload of hay rolling through a world vexed by agony and greed. From atop the haywain, angels make beautiful music to heal the misery below.

Either as a coincidence (or as a sign that Providence recognizes that I need to take the Lamentations a bit more seriously), a friend of mine just sent me the settings by the also-legendary composers Roland de Lassus and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. So I’m including them, as well. Think of it as Bonus Lent.

Attribution(s): “The Pedlar (The Hay Wain, Closed)” by Hieronymus Bosch, licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons; “Bells” provided by Shutterstock.