Hearing many of Carissimi's other motets, one might almost expect him to be the type of artist who relies on a particular set of techniques to get by. Vocal display, striking melody, and vivid word-painting come to mind as the bones and meat of Carissimi's motets. But In coena Domini is wonderful without any of these. For alto and basso continuo, a combination with which Carissimi could still make sparks fly, he instead reduces the music to a straightforward, lightly arioso melody with simple continuo accompaniment. Slow, freighted with grief, the voice isn't used for any virtuosic display, but only to convey the story. The piece unfolds at a crawl. At times, it approaches the dryness of a recitative, yet if handled right, with deep care for vocal color and with sustained vocal strength, its overall impression is beautifully mournful and intimately moving. There are, of course, flares of melisma and some ornaments, but these are brief, and most importantly, only conspicuously rise off from the long, heavy tones. They are like the sound of pages turning in a storybook. The ornament doesn't become the main stuff of the melody as it tends to in his more flowery motets. The text is designed in an interesting way and each section of the story, describing the woes of Zion, begins with a letter of the ancient Greek alphabet spelled out in Latin: Aleph, Beth, Gimel, Deleth, He. After this, the pleading final line: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, turn again to the Lord, your God." Each of the sections of text is given only a slightly distinct musical treatment; the aim here, instead of melodic flair and structural contrast, is an elegant smoothness. The singer remains a storyteller, not taking on a character's subjective grief, but tells a woeful tale at a distant remove. Attentions hang on the grace of a melodic phrase and the singer's precious ability to maintain tension through the core of languid, thick, long notes. It's only in the "Gimel" section that the rhythm somewhat picks up, where Judah is "cast out into exile and suffering." While Carissimi often produces a music that is quick, light, and immediately entertaining, here he shows a more tender aspect of his sensibility.

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