Circumdederunt me

0:06 Original motet for 5 voices
1:53 Processional for tenor cornetto and 4 sackbuts

This brief motet was likely intended for the funeral of an important dignitary although no specific occasion was named in the 1549 Toledo manuscript which contains the sole remaining copy of "Circumdederunt me." It may have been originally used in 1545 for the funeral of the wife of King Philip II of Spain, Maria of Portugal, but that evidence is very circumstantial. It was definitely re-purposed and used for a memorial service in Mexico for the former Holy Roman Emperor Charles V of the Hapsburg dynasty who died a year earlier in 1558. For that grand occasion, the motet may have served as an Introit for a more formal ritual like a Requiem Mass (MIssa pro defuntorum) or perhaps even used as a processional piece in a royal entourage.

Text:
Circumdederunt me gemitus mortis dolores inferni circumdederunt me.

Translation:
The sighs of death have surrounded me: the pains of Hell have wrapped around me.

Description of photos:
1. Funeral procession for Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (Carlos I of Spain)
2. Cristóbal de Morales presenting a Mass to the Pope, Liber secundus Missarum
3. Sketch of an old man in thought with studies of water, Leonardo da Vinci, c1513
4. Office for the Dead (Requiem mass), Willem Vrelant, c1470
5. Concert of gentlemen (with details of cornetto and sackbut players), Girolamo Romanino, c1530
6. Memorial epitaph for the Emperor Charles V, Real Sitio de San Lorenzo, El Escorial.

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