Musica Scotica Vol VIII: Robert Johnson - Benedicam Domino [download]

Edited by Elaine Moohan and Kenneth Elliott.

Benedicam Domino (solo voice and lute) is perhaps contemporary with O eternal God (The Complete Works of Robert Johnson, No. 13). It features a mixture of chordal writing and close imitation, both features of the then developing English anthem. Each of the musical sources for the fourth stanza uses a different rhythmic pattern at the very point where the text makes reference to the monarch. It is to be expected that a new name would be inserted with each change of monarch, and these rhythmic variants may hold the legacy of previous names. Benedicam Domino evidently existed at one point as a song for four voices, and a reconstruction based on the extant sources is provided (ATTB)

From Musica Scotica Vol VIII: The Complete Works of Robert Johnson, the full volume available here.