- Date: ca. 1190
- Composer:
Anonymous, Notre Dame School - Period: Medieval (1-1449)
Review
The four-part conductus Deus misertus hominis (God took pity on Man) is only one of three known conducti composed in four parts. It is found in the largest extant manuscript containing music from the so-called "Notre Dame School" of polyphony, held in the Medici Library in Florence under the shelfmark of Mediceo-Laurenziana Pluteo 29.1; scholars commonly refer to this source as "F1." Some scholars have adamantly suggested that Deus misertus hominis is the work of medieval composer Pérotin; musicologist Marcel Pérès is so strongly convinced of this notion that when he performs the piece with his group Ensemble Organum, Pérotin is identified as composer in the concert programs with no additional qualifications. The source, however, is anonymous and this title is not mentioned in the short list of pieces attributed to Pérotin by the medieval scribe known as Anonymous 4, whose famous treatise also originates with F1.The text is rich with sacred allusion and touches upon the nature of sin. "Without faith," it tells us at one point, "there is no profit, but loss...he who casts off faith does not make himself faithful." Pérès' has asserted that Deus misertus hominis is the oldest four-part polyphonic composition in the Notre Dame repertoire and thus the oldest in Europe.
The text begins, "God took pity on Man/and cleansed him of the charge of Eve's guilt/Through the son of a virgin/O, what a sweet solution/that sin/could be rid of through a contradiction...." ~ Uncle Dave Lewis, All Music Guide
Albums with Complete Performances of the Work
| Title | Date |
| Celestial Light: Music Of Hildegard von Bingen & Robert Kyr | 1997 |
| Hilliard Live: The Collection [Box Set] | 2008 |
| Pérotin and the Ars Antiqua | 2007 |
