An old friend of mine told me to listen to a requiem by Tomas Luis de Victoria. It was a fascinating music. I was as impressed by a motet by Alfonso Lobos as the former coupled with it. The latter is a short religious music in 6 voices a cappella. A homophony maybe transitioned from monophony in the middle age to polyphony in the later period. Absolutely transparent. Peaceful and calming. Still feeling of sadness on the background.
It was composed for the funeral of Phillip II in the end of 16th century. It was the age when the religious reformation was going on and the society transitioned from the feudalism to capitalism. The change must be so fundamental as well as drastic that people have felt anxious at own situation.
I don't know if it has influenced on the music itself. While the melody is soothing, the lyrics are quoted from the Book of Job 30:31. As well known, the Book of Job is regarding theodicy, that is, the question why God allows the absurdity in the world. When I knew what the lyrics meant in this motet, I was almost shocked by it. Is it due to the age when this music was composed or due simply to the style of the motet "Versa est in Luctum", I wonder.
In my young days, I have learned Bible for several years. It's a shame for me that I have only a trace of knowledge I learned those days. The Book of Job was, however, one of the most impressive stories in Bible to me. The problem of theodicy is often a theme in literature as well. At the same time I learned the Book of Job, I was reading The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky. The story Nikolai told Alyosha as for why he won't accept God has been overlapped with the Book of Job. This problem of theodicy seems to have been so universal over the age and region.
Have we overcome the problem of absurdity even a little?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWyG4wqU0Tw
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