This edition was prepared by Brent Annable — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Amicus meus osculi, ZWV 55:04
Staff Notation • Sacred, Tenebrae responsories
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Amicus meus osculi, ZWV 55:04 by Jan Dismas Zelenka — Lyrics
Amicus meus osculi me tradidit signo:
Quem osculatus fuero, ipse est, tenete eum:
hoc malum fecit signum, qui per osculum adimplevit homicidium.
Infelix prætermisit pretium sanguinis, et in fine laqueo se suspendit.
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About Amicus meus osculi, ZWV 55:04
This setting of a Latin Tenebrae responsory opens with stark, imitative polyphony for SATB voices. The music immediately captures the drama of the text: the betrayal of Jesus by Judas' kiss. Zelenka builds intense moments through driving rhythms and dissonances, reflecting the bitterness of the words that speak of a "terrible deed" and "murder through a kiss." The setting highlights the anguish of Judas' ultimate despair and the lament that "it would have been better for him if that man had never been born."
