Vidi speciosam

Responsory at Matins for the feast of the Assumption of the BVM.

Settings by composers

• Felice Anerio SATB
• Giovanni Paolo Cima SST
• Giovanni Battista Riccio BB
• Tomás Luis de Victoria SSATTB

Original text and translations

Latin text

Vidi speciosam sicut columbam ascendentem desuper rivos aquarum:
Cuius inaestimabilis odor erat nimis in vestimentis eius.
Et sicut dies verni, flores rosarum circumdabant eam, et lilia convallium.
Quae est ista, quae ascendit per desertum sicut virgula fumi, ex aromatibus myrrhae et thuris?
Et sicut dies verni, flores rosarum circumdabant eam, et lilia convallium.

English translation

I saw the fair one rising like a dove above the streams of water:
whose priceless fragrance clung to her garments.
And as on a spring day, she was surrounded by roses and lily-of-the-valley.
Who is this who rises from the desert like a pillar of smoke from incense of myrrh and frankincense?
And as on a spring day, she was surrounded by roses and lily-of-the-valley.

Spanish translation

La vi hermosa, como una paloma,
remontado los arroyos de agua.
El aroma de sus vestidos era incomparable,
y, como los días de primavera,
las rosas y los lirios de los valles la rodeaban.
¿Quién es ésta, que sube por el desierto
como rama sahumada con perfumes de mirra e incienso?
Y, como los días de primavera,
las rosas y los lirios de los valles la rodeaban. (by Alejandro Borrego)