Infelix ego ("Alas, wretch that I am") is a Latin meditation on the opening section of the Expositio upon Psalm 51, Miserere mei Deus, written by the Italian Christian preacher, reformer and martyr, Girolamo Savonarola. He was renowned for his conflict with tyrannical rulers and a corrupt clergy. After the overthrow of the Medici in 1494, Savonarola was the sole leader of Florence, successfully setting up a democratic republic.
Savonarola's triumph was too great and too sudden not to give rise to jealousy and suspicion. He wrote this text once he eventually found himself in prison, after being tortured on the rack. The victim's ankles were fastened to one roller and the wrists to another. As the interrogation from the corrupt authorities progressed, a handle gradually increased the tension on the chains, inducing excruciating pain. This rack would strain the ropes until the sufferer's joints were dislocated and eventually separated. The prison authorities spared only Savonarola's right arm, so that he would be able to sign his confession.
After doing so, in state of utter despair at not being strong enough to resist the pain of his prolonged torture, he wrote Infelix ego:
Unhappy am I, bereft of
all help, who have offended against heaven and earth. Whither shall I go? Where
shall I turn? To whom shall I fly? Who will take pity on me? To heaven I dare
not lift my eyes, for against her I have sinned grievously. On earth I find no
refuge, for to her I have become an outrage.
What therefore shall I
do? Shall I despair? Let it not be. God is merciful, my saviour is loving.
Therefore God alone will be my refuge. He will not despise his own work nor
reject his own image.
To thee therefore, most
loving God, sad and sorrowful I come. For thou alone art my hope, thou alone
art my refuge. What however should I say to thee since I dare not lift my eyes?
I shall pour out words of sorrow, I shall beg thy mercy, and I shall say: “Have
mercy upon me, O God, according to thy great compassion.”
Like Savonarola, Byrd's life coincided with a time of great religious change. Byrd was born into a staunchly Catholic family and by the time of Elizabeth I's reign (1558 - 1603), Catholics were obliged to attend Anglican services. Many Catholics were tortured and executed for their beliefs. Byrd managed to hold onto his faith, but remarkably his openly held Catholicism seems not to have affected his career. Byrd's music therefore falls into two categories: the works in English that he wrote for the newly established Anglican rite, and the secretly composed settings of the old Latin texts for private Catholic services.
Byrd wrote the following in the first volume of his Catholic masses:
"I have found that there is such a power hidden away and stored up in those words that...all the most fitting melodies come as it were of themselves, and freely present themselves when the mind is alert and eager."
Such was the power of the scriptural texts upon his imagination.
Although Savonarola was a reformer, who was critical of the corrupt clergy, he was still a burning Catholic, like William Byrd. Byrd was evidently inspired by the fervent text of Savonarola and you can hear this in his setting of Infelix Ego:
This blog is intended to be educational and to share knowledge about music. Daily Hit of Music does not claim to own anything contained in this post and declares its sources openly.
The following sources were used for this blog post: Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, The Great Composers by Jeremy Nicholas.
Image sources can be found in the image captions.
Recordings can be found on YouTube by clicking the 'DHM YouTube Playlist' links.
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