Asperges me, K204

Johann Joseph Fux, a leading composer of the late Baroque, created this setting of the Asperges me. The text, a prayer for purification and mercy, is drawn from Psalm 50, traditionally sung before Mass on Sundays. Fux crafts this into a solemn antiphon for SATTB choir. The Latin lyrics begin with a plea for God to cleanse the singer with hyssop, to be washed whiter than snow, followed by a petition for mercy according to God's great compassion. The traditional Gloria Patri concludes the text, bringing the prayer to a close.