Heu mihi, Domine makes expressive use of the rising minor sixth, and then reverts to the trusted formula of the semitone upper auxiliary note at ‘quia peccavi nimis’ (‘for I have sinned greatly’), before bringing the rising fourth and downward scale into play (‘Quid faciam miser?’—‘What shall I do, miserable?’). With homophony and expressive suspensions at ‘Ubi fugiam?’ (‘Where should I flee?’), the first section of this piece offers a catalogue of the devices used by Clemens and his contemporaries to bring out sorrowful feelings in their motet texts.
from notes by Stephen Rice © 2010
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