The Lamentations of Jeremias: Art and Music

During the sacred Triduum, the Lamentations of Jeremias are sung as part of the Tenebrae ceremony, i.e., the liturgical office comprised of Matins and Laudes, and done in the dark, as its Latin name suggests. Each liturgical lesson from Jeremias ends with Jerusalem convertere ad Dominum Deum tuum (Jerusalem, return onto the Lord thy God), which is an adaptation of Osee 14:2.

Below are three musical settings of the Lamentations, the first is that of Jan Dismas Zelenka. The second is by Thomas Tallis. The third is a recording with pieces by both Tomás Luis de Victoria and Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla.

Below those is Rembrandt’s painting, “Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem.”

Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn, 1630

Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem
Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn, 1630 (credits/details: here and here)