"Oh My Son!": The Musical Origins and Functions of King David's Lamentation

Spilker presents the results of his research of ancient texts to survey musical settings of two biblical passages describing King David's lament upon the death of his rebellious son Absalom. Previous research had uncovered 17th-century English settings only, but Spilker finds a wide variety of 16th-century settings from all over Europe. Not all the settings are liturgical: Spilker discusses how the texts were used to express both personal and political grief.