a woman, and it has little (or nothing) to say about the relationship of God and man; in order to find such a meaning it was necessary to resort to allegory, treating the love that the Song celebrates as an analogy for the love between God and Church. The Christian church's interpretation of the Song as evidence of God's love for his people, both collectively and individually, began with Origen. Over the centuries the emphases of interpretation shifted, first reading the Song as a depiction of the love between Christ and Church, the 11th century adding a moral element, and the 12th century understanding of the Bride as the Virgin Mary, with each new reading absorbing rather than simply replacing earlier ones, so that the commentary became ever more complex. These theological themes are not in the poem, but derive from a theological reading; nevertheless, what is notable about this approach is the way it leads to conclusions not found in the overtly theological books of the Bible. Those books reveal an abiding imbalance in the relationship between God and man, ranging from slight to enormous; but reading Songs as a theological metaphor produces quite a different outcome, one in which the two partners are equals, bound in a committed relationship. In modern times the poem has attracted the attention of feminist biblical critics, with Phyllis Trible's foundational "Depatriarchalizing in Biblical Interpretation" treating it as an exemplary text, and the Feminist Companion to the Bible series edited by Athalya Brenner and Carole Fontaine devoting two volumes to it. Musical settings Excerpts from the book have inspired composers to write vocal and instrumental compositions, including: by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: 29 five-part a cappella pieces in fourth volume of motets. (1584) , a setting of Song of Songs 6:10 in (1618) by Francesca Caccini (1629) by Heinrich Schütz Dieterich Buxtehude's (1680) J. S. Bach's , while mainly based on the Parable of the Ten Virgins, also uses words and imagery from the Song of Songs. Flos Campi by Ralph Vaughan Williams, a suite for solo viola, small chorus and small orchestra (1925), each movement headed by a verse from the book Lyudov Streicher (1888–1958) composed a musical setting for the Song of Songs. (1952) by Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur for solo viola (1976) by Tristan Murail Nightstone (1979) for voice and piano by Arnold Rosner Asma Asmaton from the album Rapsodies by Vangelis