Transfige dulcissime Jesu [H.251]
Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s motet Transfige dulcissime Jesu is one of the few musical settings of the prayer by 13th-century Franciscan theologian St Bonaventure. The work lasts around 10 minutes, with a succession of 5-voice tutti sections and more intimate passages in 1, 2 or 3 voices. Charpentier masterfully transcribes the expressiveness and sensuality of the text into his music, using dense, varied counterpoint. The work is written for 5 voices (2 dessus, haute-contre, taille, basse) and basso continuo. It can be performed with 5 solo singers, or with a vocal ensemble, entrusting the 1, 2 or 3-voice sections to soloists.