| Membra Jesu nostri | |
|---|---|
| Cantata cycle by Dieterich Buxtehude | |
 Title page | |
| English | Limbs Most Holy of Our Suffering Jesus |
| Full title | Membra Jesu nostri patientis sanctissima |
| Catalogue | BuxWV 75 |
| Text |
|
| Composed | 1680 |
| Movements | 43, in seven cantatas |
| Vocal | 2 sopranos, alto, tenor, bass |
| Instrumental | |
Membra Jesu nostri, BuxWV 75, is a cycle of seven cantatas composed in 1680 by Dieterich Buxtehude and dedicated to Gustaf Düben. More specifically and fully it is, in Buxtehude's phrase, a “devotione decantata,” or “sung devotion,” titled Membra Jesu nostri patientis sanctissima, which translates from the Latin as Limbs Most Holy of Our Suffering Jesus. Regarding genre, the cycle consists in seven concerto-aria cantatas, a form that had emerged in Germany in the 1660s.[1] The stanzas of its main text are drawn from the medieval hymn Salve mundi salutare,[2] also known as the Rhythmica oratio, formerly ascribed to Bernard of Clairvaux but now thought to be by Arnulf of Leuven. Each cantata addresses a part of Jesus' crucified body: feet, knees, hands, side, breast, heart and face; in each, Biblical words referring to the limb frame verses of the hymn's text.
- ^ Frandsen, Mary E. (1996). "Albrici, Peranda und die Ursprünge der Concerto-Aria-Kantate in Dresden". Schütz-Jahrbuch. 18: 123–139. doi:10.13141/sjb.v1996836 – via Qucosa.Journals.
- ^ Salve Mundi Salutare article at Catholic Encyclopedia