Make a place for me among the sheep,
and keep me apart from the goats,
Andante, F major, 130 mm. For vocal soloists and orchestra.
The Recordare (and the later Benedictus) seem to come straight from the opera stage: the back-and-forth between soloists, in duet, in trio, in quartet, capture the very human drama of Figaro, or Giovanni, or Flute: sweet, insistent; docile, assertive; unsure, convinced… Mozart was a master at capturing the essence of human contradiction.
He brings this very human tone to the hefty text of another prayer, directed to Jesus at the beginning and shifting to God (Deus) toward the end; pie (“pious”) reminds Jesus of his duty to the speakers. In asking for personal absolution, the voices explicitly link Jesus’s sacrifice to their own salvation. The last verse refers to separating the sheep (the blessed) from the goats (the damned).
Recordare, Jesu pie,
Remember, pious Jesus,
quod sum causa tuae viae;
that I am the reason for your path;
ne me perdas illa die.
do not forsake me on that day.
Quaerens me, sedisti lassus,
In seeking me, you sat down exhausted,
redemisti crucem passus;
you redeemed me by suffering the cross;
tantus labor non sit cassus.
do not let such great labor be in vain.
Juste judex ultionis,
Just judge of retribution,
donum fac remissionis
grant the gift of remission
ante diem rationis.
before the day of reckoning.
Ingemisco tamquam reus;
I groan as a guilty man;
culpa rubet vultus meus;
guilt reddens my face;
supplicanti parce, Deus.
spare your suppliant, God.
Qui Mariam absolvisti
You who absolved Mary
et latronem exaudisti,
and listened to the thief,
mihi quoque spem dedisti.
to me also you have given hope.
Preces meae non sunt dignae,
My prayers are not worthy,
sed tu, bonus, fac benigne,
but you, who are good, be gracious,
ne perenni cremer igne.
lest I be consumed in the eternal fire.
Inter oves locum praesta,
Make a place for me among the sheep,
et ab haedis me sequestra,
and keep me apart from the goats,
statuens in parte dextra.
standing at your right hand.
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