The scoring of O bone Jesu for double choir recalls, at least superficially, the Venetian cori spezzati works of the period c. 1575-1610. Although it was not published in Palestrina's day, a six-part reworking was included in a printed set of motets which appeared in 1575. Like other double-choir works by Palestrina and his contemporaries working in Rome, it demonstrates little of the characteristic Venetian flamboyance while yet displaying remarkable fluidity, rhythmic flexibility, harmonic beauty and textural variety, ranging from tender four-part writing to impressive eight-part utterances.
