O Rosa Bella

O Rosa Bella is a popular 15th century chanson, originally attributed to John Dunstable, but now to John Bedingham (see say the article by David Fallows, [1]). It is based on a poem written by Leonardo Giustiniani (1388-1446)

The text of the first verse is:

O rosa bella,

O dolce anima mia

Non mi lassar morire

In cortesia, in cortesia.

Stanley Sadie in the Cambridge Music Guide gives as translation:

O lovely rose

My sweet soul

Let me not die

In courtly love

The chanson was used as a basis for several other works, including that by Ockeghem, and masses attributed to Gilles Joye; however, Johannes Ciconia's early version shares the words but not the tune (see e.g. [2])

References

See midi and nwc2 versions with text on the ChoralWiki site [3].

External links

• Enzyklopædia super O rosa bella by composer Karlheinz Essl (1995)

CD

• O rosa bella: English and Continental Music from the Late Gothic Period: Clemencic Consort / René Clemencic

(Arte Nova 59210)