Ibo mihi ad montem

Gaspar van Weerbeke was a composer of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries whose output includes much sacred music. This motet for four-part choir (SATB) sets a Latin text that draws on the Song of Songs. The words speak of a journey to a mountain of myrrh and the hills of Lebanon, describing the beloved as beautiful and without blemish. The text then invites the beloved to come from Lebanon, passing over the mountains of the lion and leopard. Van Weerbeke's setting reflects the text's imagery with a rich contrapuntal texture, appropriate for liturgical use or devotional performance.