"Ave Maria ... Virgo serena" is a motet composed by Josquin des Prez. It is regarded as Josquin's most famous motet and one of the most famous pieces of the 15th century. The piece rose to extreme popularity in the 16th century, even appearing at the head of the first volume of motets ever printed. Its revolutionary open style featuring early imitative counterpoint and two-voice parts has added to its acclaim as one of the most influential compositions of its time.
The opening line shows the lyrical use of imitative counterpoint.
The work was composed during Josquin's service at the North Italian court at Milan. It was initially thought to have been copied into the manuscript Munich 3154 by 1476.[2] Subsequent work by Joshua Rifkin established the date of publication to about 1485. It is Josquin's earliest dateable work.[1]
Several modern theorists have applied the concept of syntactic imitation to describe the lucid relationship between the text and Josquin's musical setting. Each phrase corresponds to a line of text, cleverly exposed through points of imitation. Structural articulations often resolve on cadences, where voices arrive on perfect intervals.
The opening section summarizes the first four lines of text in a simple structure. Clear imitation of each phrase, in the style of litany, dramatically echoes from the highest to lowest voice, almost resembling Gregorian chant. While the phrases are identical in length, the counterpoint's turbidity increases, climaxing where all four voices sing together. This climax turns to an imperfect, deceptive cadence, symbolizing the permeative difficulty of Mother Mary's influence.
The theme of syntactic imitation is exemplified by each strophe in the poem, comparable and balanced in length with the others. Local details in texture and counterpoint often directly relate to the syntactic effect of the text, like the sudden expanse of homophonic harmonies during "solemni plena gaudio". Following this moment comes "coelestia, terrestria...," while the vocalists join in climbing melodic lines and dense syncopation of rhythms in an attempt to evoke Mary's filling of heaven and earth.
Sesquialtera transition at "Ave vera virginitas" in tenor and bass parts, clarifying the 3:2 proportion indicated by the overlapping placement of circle-3. (as printed in Petrucci's Motetti A, 1502)
While the regularity of imitation initially articulates the phrases, the middle verses exemplify the articulation from contrasts in texture. Duets alternate between voices and often break off into trios. The lines are punctuated by structural cadences, presenting the text in a temporary repose. Josquin locates each of these structural cadences in progressions of increasing power, placing the strongest, most perfect cadence for the very end of each line. The unity of musical sound, representing the spiritual unity of prayer, completes the act of worship which has been the rhetorical goal of the text. The final lines are sung in homophony, as if the four, once separate voices have aligned under the grace of God.
Lyrics
Latin
English
Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum, virgo serena.
Ave, cujus nativitas, Nostra fuit solemnitas, Ut lucifer lux oriens, Verum solem praeveniens.
Ave, pia humilitas, Sine viro fecunditas, Cuius annunciatio, Nostra fuit salvatio.
Ave, vera virginitas, Immaculata castitas, Cuius purificatio Nostra fuit purgatio.
Ave praeclara omnibus, Angelicis virtutibus, Cujus fuit assumptio Nostra glorificatio.
O Mater Dei, memento mei.
Amen.
Hail Mary, full of grace, The Lord is with you, gentil Virgin.
Hail, whose conception, Full of solemn joy Fills the heaven, the earth, with new rejoicing.
Hail, thou whose birth Was our festival As our luminous rising light, Coming before the true sun.
Hail, pious humility, Fertility without a man, Whose annunciation, Was our salvation.
Hail, true virginity, Unspotted chastity, Whose purification Was our cleansing.
Hail, famous with all, Angelic virtues, Whose assumption Was our glorification.
O Mother of God, Remember me.
Amen.
References
^ abRifkin, Joshua (Summer 2003). "Munich, Milan, and a Marian Motet: Dating Josquin's Ave Maria … virgo serena". Journal of the American Musicological Society. 56 (2): 239–350. doi:10.1525/jams.2003.56.2.239. JSTOR 10.1525/jams.2003.56.2.239.
^Noblitt, Thomas (1974). "Die Datierung der Handschrift Mus. ms. 3154 der Staatbibliothek München". Die Musikforschung. 27 (1): 36–56. JSTOR 41117573.
External links
Full score in IMSLP
January 07, 2023
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This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations May 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message Ave Maria Virgo serena is a motet composed by Josquin des Prez It is regarded as Josquin s most famous motet and one of the most famous pieces of the 15th century The piece rose to extreme popularity in the 16th century even appearing at the head of the first volume of motets ever printed Its revolutionary open style featuring early imitative counterpoint and two voice parts has added to its acclaim as one of the most influential compositions of its time Ave Maria virgo serena SongLanguageLatinPublishedca 1485 1 GenreMotetLength4 50 approx Composer s Josquin des Prez Contents 1 Composition 2 Lyrics 3 References 4 External linksComposition Edit The opening line shows the lyrical use of imitative counterpoint The work was composed during Josquin s service at the North Italian court at Milan It was initially thought to have been copied into the manuscript Munich 3154 by 1476 2 Subsequent work by Joshua Rifkin established the date of publication to about 1485 It is Josquin s earliest dateable work 1 Several modern theorists have applied the concept of syntactic imitation to describe the lucid relationship between the text and Josquin s musical setting Each phrase corresponds to a line of text cleverly exposed through points of imitation Structural articulations often resolve on cadences where voices arrive on perfect intervals The opening section summarizes the first four lines of text in a simple structure Clear imitation of each phrase in the style of litany dramatically echoes from the highest to lowest voice almost resembling Gregorian chant While the phrases are identical in length the counterpoint s turbidity increases climaxing where all four voices sing together This climax turns to an imperfect deceptive cadence symbolizing the permeative difficulty of Mother Mary s influence The theme of syntactic imitation is exemplified by each strophe in the poem comparable and balanced in length with the others Local details in texture and counterpoint often directly relate to the syntactic effect of the text like the sudden expanse of homophonic harmonies during solemni plena gaudio Following this moment comes coelestia terrestria while the vocalists join in climbing melodic lines and dense syncopation of rhythms in an attempt to evoke Mary s filling of heaven and earth Sesquialtera transition at Ave vera virginitas in tenor and bass parts clarifying the 3 2 proportion indicated by the overlapping placement of circle 3 as printed in Petrucci s Motetti A 1502 While the regularity of imitation initially articulates the phrases the middle verses exemplify the articulation from contrasts in texture Duets alternate between voices and often break off into trios The lines are punctuated by structural cadences presenting the text in a temporary repose Josquin locates each of these structural cadences in progressions of increasing power placing the strongest most perfect cadence for the very end of each line The unity of musical sound representing the spiritual unity of prayer completes the act of worship which has been the rhetorical goal of the text The final lines are sung in homophony as if the four once separate voices have aligned under the grace of God Lyrics EditLatin EnglishAve Maria gratia plena Dominus tecum virgo serena Ave cujus conceptio Solemni plena gaudio Coelestia terrestria Nova replete laetitia Ave cujus nativitas Nostra fuit solemnitas Ut lucifer lux oriens Verum solem praeveniens Ave pia humilitas Sine viro fecunditas Cuius annunciatio Nostra fuit salvatio Ave vera virginitas Immaculata castitas Cuius purificatio Nostra fuit purgatio Ave praeclara omnibus Angelicis virtutibus Cujus fuit assumptio Nostra glorificatio O Mater Dei memento mei Amen Hail Mary full of grace The Lord is with you gentil Virgin Hail whose conception Full of solemn joy Fills the heaven the earth with new rejoicing Hail thou whose birth Was our festival As our luminous rising light Coming before the true sun Hail pious humility Fertility without a man Whose annunciation Was our salvation Hail true virginity Unspotted chastity Whose purification Was our cleansing Hail famous with all Angelic virtues Whose assumption Was our glorification O Mother of God Remember me Amen References Edit a b Rifkin Joshua Summer 2003 Munich Milan and a Marian Motet Dating Josquin s Ave Maria virgo serena Journal of the American Musicological Society 56 2 239 350 doi 10 1525 jams 2003 56 2 239 JSTOR 10 1525 jams 2003 56 2 239 Noblitt Thomas 1974 Die Datierung der Handschrift Mus ms 3154 der Staatbibliothek Munchen Die Musikforschung 27 1 36 56 JSTOR 41117573 External links EditFull score in IMSLP Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ave Maria Virgo serena amp oldid 1109228849, 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