This edition was prepared by Wim Looyestijn — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Dives malus
Staff Notation • Sacred, Oratorios
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2 editions of this piece
Different typesettings and voicings of the same work. This page shows the main edition; the others are below.
SSTB.SATB · Sabine Cassola
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Dives malus by Giacomo Carissimi — Lyrics
Erat vir quiddam opulentissimus
qui purpureis utebatur vestibus
et splendide quotidie epulabatur,
cuius domus ad ostium stabat mendicus Lazarus
scabie et ulceribus plenus.
Dum ad ostium hic iacebat stipem quaerens,
saepe maerens, fame mise tabescebat,
et demicis cupiebat saturari quae de avari mensa divitis cadebant;
sed pietate non inanes stabant canes,
eius alcera lingentes, et a sordibus tergentes.
Factum est autem ut moreretur mendicus Lazarus,
et absumptus est ab Angelis in sinum Abrahae.
Dives vero, nimia gulae intemperantia
in lethalem aegritudinem incidens
et se morti iam proximum sentiens,
horridam mille daemonum turbam sibi adstantem vidit, clamantium et dicetium:
Iam satis edisti, iam satis bibisti.
Iam satis plausisti, iam satis lusisti.
Iam satis voluptatis hausisti.
Iam satis edisti, iam satis bibisti:
et nunc tibiest moriendum,
et pro flagitiis
et pro peccatis est in chaos horrendum nobiscum descendendum
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About Dives malus
Giacomo Carissimi’s Dives malus is a striking sacred oratorio movement for double choir (SSTB.SATB) setting a dramatic Latin text. The music immediately plunges the listener into the narrative of the rich man and Lazarus, a story from Luke’s Gospel. Carissimi’s setting vividly depicts the contrasting fortunes of the two men, moving from the opulent feasting of the rich man to the abject suffering of Lazarus. The double choir texture allows for powerful contrasts and dialogues, underscoring the moral weight of the parable. The text describes Lazarus’s hunger and his longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, a plea ignored in life. The mood shifts dramatically with the death of the rich man, who finds himself tormented by demons, a stark contrast to Lazarus being carried by angels to Abraham’s bosom.
