Thomas Morley

Laboravi In Gemitu Meo

Laboravi In Gemitu Meo by the Renaissance English composer and one of the principle members of the Madrigal School. This work, expertly edited by Lionel Pike, is arranged for unaccompanied SSAATB Chorus and lasts around 5 minutes. The text for Laboravi In Gemitu Meo comes from Psalm vi, 6: 'I am weary of my groaning, every night wash I my bed: and water my couch with my tears. ' Composer Thomas Morley was the most famous composer of Secular music in Elizabethan England, and was a contemporary of William Shakespeare. His use of the tritone interval in this work results in a sense of unease, something that resonates with the context of the piece: it was composed in retribution for informing on his fellow Catholics.