For this week’s Song Spam Saturday, I’m taking a break from sharing personal stories about songs that have been deeply meaningful to me, and instead I’m sharing with you something fun. ‘El Grillo’ is a lively tune by one of the most famous composers of the 15th century, Josquin de Prez. Even though it’s written for a choir during the Renaissance, it sounds nothing like the soaring church music typically associated with that period. Instead, it’s fast-paced and catchy. So catchy, in fact, after my freshman class learned about this piece in Music, some of the sophomores started singing it while running around the kitchen, even though a full year had passed since they’d listened to it for their own music class. Here it is: https://youtu.be/OI-bQ0RkArA The lyrics are in Italian, and you probably don’t speak Italian, so you may be wondering… what is this song about? Well, ‘grillo’ means ‘cricket’, and the song compares the song of a cricket to the song of a bird. Although birds are typically thought of as more beautiful musicians, Josquin points out that they stop singing during the heat of the day, whereas the cricket endures. He ends with the line “the cricket sings alone for love.” The song has been the subject of much analysis in the 500 or so years since its publication. As I found out in music class last fall, many music historians interpret it as a metaphor for romantic love: perseverance and fidelity (i.e song of the cricket) are more valuable than sweet but quickly fading promises (i.e song of the birds). In short: it’s a catchy love song. Kind of like if Taylor Swift had lived during the Renaissance. I hope you enjoy it. -Zachary Holbrook
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