| Sicut cervus | |
|---|---|
| Motet by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina | |
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Giovanni_Pierluigi_da_Palestrina.jpg) The composer | |
| Text | Psalm 42:1-3 |
| Language | Latin |
| Published | 1608: Rome |
| Scoring | SATB choir |
Sicut cervus is a motet for four voices by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. It sets the beginning of Psalm 42, Psalmus XLI in the Latin version of the Psalterium Romanum rather than the Vulgate Bible. The incipit is "Sicut cervus desiderat ad fontes" (As the deer desires the fountains) followed by a second part (secunda pars) "Sitivit anima mea" (My soul thirsts). It was published in 1604 in Motecta festorum, Liber 2, and has become one of Palestrina's most popular motets, regarded as a model of Renaissance polyphony, expressing spiritual yearning.