Koninklijke Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis

Motets in Their Place: Some 'Crucial' Findings on Willaert's Book of Five-Part Motets (Venice,1539)Author(s): Katelijne Schiltz and Hilary StaplesSource: Tijdschrift van de Koninklijke Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis, D.54ste, Afl. 2de (2004), pp. 99-118Published by: Koninklijke Vereniging voor Nederlandse MuziekgeschiedenisStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20203904Accessed: 12/02/2010 04:15

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Katelijne Schiltz

MOTETS IN THEIR PLACE

Some 'Crucial' Findings on Willaert's Book of Five-Part Motets

(Venice, 1539)*

1539 was a milestone in the history of Venetian music printing. In that year the firm

Scotto published as many as seven books of motets, all of them dedicated to the oeu

vre of a single composer. Nicolas Gombert and Jacquet de Mantua both brought out

a four-part and a five-part collection,1 while as many as three collections by Adrian

Willaert were published:

two books of four-part and one book of five-part motets.2

Like the Gombert and Jacquet editions, Willaert's three books of motets were re

published some years later:3 Antonio Gardano republished the two four-part books

in 1545 and Scotto printed the five-part book for a second time in 1550.4

When comparing the reprint with the original edition, there is a great difference

between both printers. As far as Willaert's book of five-part motets is concerned, the

changes in the 1550 edition are minimal. Apart from the use of a different font (ital ic typeface instead of gothic rotunda text font), other initials, the addition of a small

number of accidentals and a more accurate text underlay, not many changes have

been made (see Plate 1 and 2). Gardano's reprint of the two four-part books is, how

ever, quite a different matter. Not only have the contents and the appearance of both

collections been altered, but the ordering of the works has also undergone a drastic

change, prompted by modal considerations.5 With two exceptions, the first and sec

ond book are dedicated to motets in modes with a major third (C, F and G) and a

minor third (D, E, G and A) respectively.6 As regards the internal organisation of

both books, Anne Smith discovered supplementary ordering principles: the modal

characteristics of the exordia (especially in the first book), as well as the combination

of clefs and the key signature (second book). No doubt these remarkable changes in the Gardano edition are responsible for the

lively interest of contemporary research in Willaert's two four-part books so far, as

they fit well in the growing tendency to order music collections according to modal

criteria.7 There has been comparatively little interest in the five-part collection. Mu

sicological literature has focussed on two issues in particular. In the first place, the

collection stands out because it contains a number of secular motets that are scattered

among a majority of liturgical texts (hymns, antiphons and psalms). Two of these, In

dite Sfortiadum princeps (No. 15) and Victor io salve - Quis curare neget (No. 18), were

written for the Milanese Duke Francesco Sforza. The latter work mentions his vic

tory over the French at the battle of Pavia in 1525.8 Haud aliterpugnans (No. 17) is a

tribute to Ferdinand of Austria for his victory over the Turks in Vienna in 1529. Si

rore Aonio - At desueta diu (No. 5) possibly sings the praises of the humanist Piero

99

Plate 1. Adrian Willaert, Prolongad sunt (Venice, 1539), Altus, fol. iv (reproduced with permission from the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek).

ADRIAN OMf*f*V?fttf* III I At TV S

|iitu,?iMUiifWi.iiHnrr"t? tUmgitf mi ofcs Ml toftm? m omm * fe.

MWA MMI MMMM# MMMM# A M)MMM# MmI ^^MMMl f mmm^ ?Ai MMf

|!ill"|?illl^rtTlTUITHl|.nl|l|rU-|

|tn..iii>LUriiiriM't,";,f'i|'l'Tii^ m, te ei mm MWJ mi ?to Jwjk m*

|itrjM..i^i':[.?jurU?iriT''Tii

f MAMO? IMM,

Plate 2. Adrian Willaert, Prolongad sunt (Venice, 1550), Altus, fol. iv (reproduced with permission from the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek).

ADRIAN Hit

er fid?Uatm

100

Valeriano, a prot?g? of Pope Leo X. Finally, Adriacos numero -

Nobis dum sacros (No.

7) appears to have been composed for Ippolito de'Medici's visit to Venice from 18 to

31 October 1532.9 In the second place, the remarkable combination of motets based

on more 'traditional' compositional techniques (canon and cantus firmus, which are

or are not conceived as a soggetto cavato and/or subjected to transformations such as

rhythmical diminution and transposition)10 with works using more 'modern' ele

ments (chromatic alterations and more attention to the declamation of the text), has

demanded considerable attention.11

However, it becomes clear from a closer examination of Willaert's five-part col

lection that much more can be said about this. In this article I will examine the in

ternal organisation of the collection more specifically, discussing it from various per

spectives. I will show that not only modal, but also compositional considerations

have to a great extent determined the organisation of this book of motets. After a dis

cussion of these two criteria a twofold question will arise concerning who made this

organisation and why. Does the ingenious ordering of this book of five-part motets

suggest supervision and close involvement by Adrian Willaert ? which would imply that the almost unanimously accepted idea that the composer had hardly or nothing at all to do with the publication of this collection, needs to be completely readjusted?

Or could the printer, Girolamo Scotto, have been responsible for the ordering? More

fundamental in my opinion is the question of the underlying reason for this twofold

structural organisation. It may be clear that in this article I do not intend to come to

a definite answer to this question; in this context the search for possible answers and

the accompanying methodological considerations, are in my opinion more impor

tant.

FIRST ORDERING PRINCIPLE: MODAL CONSIDERATIONS

In view of the research into the modal organisation of Willaert's collection of five

part motets, Table 1 gives an overview of the 23 works and their 'modal determi

nants': the key signature (cantus durus or cantus mollis), the combination of clefs (high

[with superius in g2] or low clefs [with superius in cl or lower]) and the final.12 For

easy reference an abstraction has been made of the different partes of the motets. In

my discussion of these three factors I will not only include Scotto's and Gardano's

edition of the two collections of four-part motets, but I will also regularly refer to

other collections by both printers.13 Thus it will become possible to chart certain par

allels and differences in their respective approaches.

101

Table 1. Tonal Types in Willaert's Book of Five-Part Motets.

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

Verbum iniquum Salva nos ab excidio

Christus resurgens

Prolongati sunt

Si rore Aonio

Domine Jesu Christe

Adriacos numero

Laetare sancta mater

Indite dux

Sacerdotum diadema

Regina coeli laetare

Peccavi super numerum

O crux splendidior Ecce lignum crucis

Indite Sfortiadum princeps Locuti sunt adversum me

Haud aliter pugnans

Victor io salve

Precatus est Moyses

Congratulamini mihi

Ave maris Stella

Ave Maria, ancilla

'Ne projicias nos

cl-c3

cl-c2

cl-c3

c2-c3

c2-c4

cl-c3

c2-c4

cl-c3

cl-c3

c2-c4

cl-c3

cl-c3

cl-c3

cl-c3

cl-c3

cl-c3

cl-c3

cl-c3

cl-c2

cl-c3

cl-c3

c3-c4

cl-c3

c3-c4-F4

c4-c4-F4

c3-c4-F4

c4-c4-F4

F3-F3-F4

c3-c4-F4

F3-F3-F4

c4-c4-F4

c4-c4-F4

F3-F3-F4

c3-c3-F4

c3-c4-F4

c4-F4-F4

c4-c4-F4

c3-c4-F4

c4-c4-F4

c4-c4-F4

c4-c4-F4

c3-c4-F4

c4-c4-F4

c4-c4-F4

c4-c4-F4

c3-c4-F4

G

F

G

G

G

F

F

F

F

F

F

A

G

D

E

E

C

C

G

E

D

E

E14

In addition to the exclusive grouping of modes with a minor third,15 Smith discov

ered the following ordering principles in Gardano's reprint of Willaert's second book

of four-part motets: an alternation of motets that are notated in a combination of

high (so-called chiavette) clefs and motets notated in a combination of low clefs, with

or without a flat in the key signature.16 Compared to this alternation that is used con

sequently and creates structure, the five-part collection is remarkable because of the

complete absence of combinations of high clefs: the Superius is never notated in the

g2 clef. It is always notated in cl or even in c2 (Nos. 4-5, 7 and 10) or in c3 (No.

22). Incidentally, the collection shares this remarkable characteristic with the Scotto

edition of Willaert's first book of four-part motets. As Table 2 demonstrates, combi

nations of low clefs also prevail here, with the exception of one composition (No. 4).

As a rule the Superius is notated in cl, but sometimes in c2 (Nos. 1, 13-14, 17, 19

and 21), in c3 (No. 23) or even in c4 (Nos. 18 and 22). Other resemblances between

Scotto's edition of Willaert's first book of four-part motets and the five-part collec

tion will be discussed later on. The same ordering of works with a combination of

low clefs can also be found in some other Scotto editions of 1539, in particular in

102

Jacquet de Mantua's collection of four-part motets -

although always with a single

exception -

and in his collection of five-part works and in Gombert's book of four

part motets.17

Table 2. Tonal Types in Scotto's Edition of Willaert's First Book of Four-Part

Motets.

1 Ave Maria -

c2-c2-c3-c4 D

2 Videns Dominus -

cl-c3-c4-F4 G

3 Quasi unus de paradisi ?

cl-c3-c4-F4 G

4 Antoni pastor inclyte -

g2-c3-c3-F3 G

5 Omnipotens sempiterne ^ -

cl-c2-c3-F3 G

6 ?ngelus Domini -

cl-c2-c3-F3 G

7 Ave duldssime Domine -

cl-c3-c3-c4 D

8 Natale sanctae Euphemiae ?

cl-c3-c3-c4 C

9 O gemma darissima -

cl-c3-c3-F3 C

10 O Thoma laus et gloria ?

cl-c2-c3-c4 G

11 Veni S?nete Spiritus -

cl-c3-c4-F4 D

12 Benedicta es coelorum regina -

cl-c3-c4-F4 G

13 Beata Dei genitrix -

c2-c4-c4-F4 D

14 O Domine Jesu -

c2-c3-c4-F4 E

15 Mirabile mysterium -

cl-c3-c4-F4 G

16 Magne martyr Adriane \, cl-c3-c4-F4 F

17 Ave regina coelorum (, c2-c4-F3-F4 F

18 Domine Jesu \, c4-c4-c4-F4 F

19 Armorum fortissime \> c2-c4-F3-F4 C

20 In illo tempore \> cl-c3-c4-F4 D

21 Joannes apostolus \, c2-c4-F3-F4 F

22 Ad te Domine (, c4-c4-c4-F4 G

23 Tota pulchra es \, c3-c4-c4-F4 D

24 Patefactae sunt januae \, cl-c3-c4-F4 F

25 Surgit Christus -

cl-c3-c4-F4 D18

26 Magnum haereditas \, cl-c3-c4-F4 G

As mentioned above, another important ordering criterion in the Gardano edition of

Willaert's two books of four-part motets consisted of grouping the works according

to whether their final chord contained a major or a minor third. This division is kept

up consistently, with two exceptions in the second book of motets from 1545, and as

such demonstrates a clear and, at the same time, for the future determining outlook

on the structuring of music collections according to modal determinants. However,

compared to other collections from the same period

or from a few decades later, Gar

dano's modal ordering does not yet go so far that the numeric order of the modes is

103

taken into account.19 Willaert's book of five-part motets does not show such system

atism in the subdivision based on the final. There are, however, some internal group

ings: Nos. 1-5 (exception: No. 2) share the final G, Nos. 6-11 F, Nos. 15-16 E, Nos.

17-18 C and Nos. 20-23 (exception: No. 21) E.20

The key to the ordering of the five-part motets seems to lie in a third modal de

terminant: the key signature. The most striking structural principle is the division be

tween the first half of the collection (Nos. 1-13) and the second half (Nos. 14-23) by the use of cantus mollis and cantus durus respectively. In itself this criterion is in no way

unique for sixteenth-century Venetian printing in general and for this period in par

ticular. In Scotto's edition of Jacquet de Mantua's first book of five-part motets

(Venice, 1539) and Gardano's reprint of Gombert's first book of four-part motets

(Venice, 1541), for example, the same system is used, as the first group of works has

no key signature, yet the second group does.21 Especially important in this context is

Willaert's first book of motets of 1539 that, with one exception (No. 25), is also

structured according to this division: cantus durus in Nos. 1-15 and cantus mollis in

Nos. 16-26. In addition to the exclusive use of combinations of low clefs, this modal

determinant forms a second remarkable resemblance between both Willaert's collec

tions of 1539 that also univocally contradicts Smith's statement that Scotto suppos

edly followed 'no perceptible ordering' herein.22

The ordering criterion in itself is not very exceptional, but the exact place where

the division between cantus mollis and cantus durus occurs in Willaert's book of five

part motets certainly is. The transition takes place between two motets that focus on

the theme of the Cross: O crux splendidior? Duke lignum (No. 13) and Ecce lignum cru

cis ? Crux fidelis (No. 14) are both antiphons for the feast of the Exaltation of the

Cross. The 'crossroads' of the collection, the place where the 'confrontation' of the

two different key signatures takes place thus bears a remarkable symbolism.23 The

theme of the Cross, however, goes even further: it is not restricted to the macrostruc

ture of the collection alone, but is continued on microlevel, on the level of the com

positions themselves.

Prima pars Secunda pars

Ecce lignum crucis, Crux fidelis inter omnes,

In quo salus mundi perpendit. Arbor una nobilis:

Venite adoremus. Nulla silva talem profer?,

Fronde, flore, germine;

Dulce lignum, dulces clavos,

Dulce pondus sustinet.24

A brief analysis of the motet Ecce lignum crucis ? Crux fidelis will illustrate this. Firstly, it is remarkable that the two bottom voices (Quintus and Bassus) cross only once, in

m. 14-16 on the text 'ecce lignum crucis'. This is undeniably intended as an expres

104

sion of the text: the music 'depicts', 'visualises' as it were the lines of the Cross (see

Example 1). At the beginning of the secunda pars the idea of the Cross is underlined

by musical means too; on the words 'crux fidelis' two kinds of hexachords are com

bined simultaneously on the tones of the corresponding chant tune. The Cantus (m.

60-62) and the Quintus (m. 68-70) on the one hand, and the Tenor (m. 62-64) and

the Bassus (m. 70-71) on the other hand, move in the hexachordum naturale (c[-d]-e[

j\-g-a) and in the hexachordum molle (J[-g]-a[-b ?>]-c-d) respectively (see Example 2).25

Finally, there is also the zigzag motive on 'dulce lignum, dulces clavos', that is very

often associated in polyphony with the theme of the Cross (see Example 3).26

Example 1. Adrian Willaert, Ecce lignum crucis, m. 11-17.

Cantus

Tenor

Altus

Quintus

Bassus

-0-~-'--* ' O

ec - ce li - gnum cru

JIM fj [?=h? ^

m s=

PPP ce li - gnum

m -??*

Ec gnum cru

m

- gnum

Example 2. Adrian Willaert, Ecce lignum crucis, m. 60-65 (Cantus and Tenor).

Cantus

Tenor

Crux de lis

P^ Crux fi - de lis

Example 3. Adrian Willaert, Ecce lignum crucis, m. 121-126 (Bassus).

m l ? J k Bassus

dul - ce li - gnum, dul

105

SECOND ORDERING PRINCIPLE: A KALEIDOSCOPE OF COMPOSITIONAL TECHNIQUES

Besides modal considerations, the collection appears to be ordered according to yet

another principle, which compels us to examine

- besides the more 'external', ob

jectively quantifiable criteria of the modal determinants discussed above -

the char

acteristics of the works themselves. This is an ordering based on the various compo

sitional techniques and which therefore introduces a certain qualitative element into

the research. Despite the fact that such a basis for the organisation of a sixteenth-cen

tury collection is not well-known in contemporary research, and although the struc

ture that will crystallise from this examination does not coincide exactly with the

arrangement discussed above (i.e. the division into two halves), this criterion proves

to be equally important for the exact ordering of the motets in this book. The juxta

position of 'traditional' and 'modern' compositional techniques that characterises this

book, has already been mentioned above. The 'traditional' way of writing included,

among others, the use of canon and cantus firmus (with or without soggetto cavato),27

while a 'modern' concept of composition was mainly characterised by the appearance

of chromatic alterations and a syllabic declamation that follows the accents of the text.

Table 3 shows the technique(s) used in each motet.

Motets 12 (Peccavi super numerum - Quoniam iniquitatem), 15 (Indite Sfortiadum prin

ceps) and 18 (Victor io salve ?

Quis curare neget) offer a good starting-point for describ

ing the manner in which these different ways of writing play a structural role in the

overall concept of the edition. A cantus firmus conceived as a soggetto cavato dalle vo

cali, lies at the basis of all three works.28 In Peccavi super numerum the cantus firmus text

is derived from psalm 50 (sung by the Quintus) and reads 'Tibi soli peccavi et malum

coram te feci', which is musically translated into mi-mi-sol-mi-re fa-mi-re-fa-ut-sol-fa-re

re-mi.29 The cantus firmus texts of the two Sforza motets are 'Vivat dux Franciscus

Sfortia felix' (in the Quintus) and 'Salve Sfortiarum maxime dux et imperator' (in the

Tenor) respectively, which are also translated into music by using the corresponding

solmization syllables.30 In the three works this soggetto cavato undergoes similar trans

formations. The original theme is transposed several times (although maintaining the

solmization syllables), and in addition a rhythmical diminution takes place at the end

of each motet, in Victor io salve ?

Quis curare neget even at the end of both partes?1 The

alternation of the number of rests and notes is always regulated by a strict mathemat

ical pattern.

Between these three motets that are closely related in their compositional tech

nique, there are two pairs that also share important characteristics. Nos. 13 (O crux

splendidior- Dulce lignum) and 14 (Ecce lignum crucis - Crux fidelis), that we have char

acterised above as the 'centre' of the modal ordering of the collection, both employ

a free elaboration of their respective chant tunes,32 while Nos. 16 (Locuti sunt adver

sum me ? Et posuerunt) and 17 (Haud aliter pugnans) stand out through their modern

way of writing that follows the accents of the text.33 Directly around the soggetto ca

vato framework (Nos. 12 and 18) there are two canonic motets that are based on their

106

respective plainsong tunes: in No. 11 (Regina coeli laetare - Resurrexit sicut dixit) a

canon at the fifth between the Quintus and the Tenor and in No. 19 (Precatus est

Moyses ?

Memento Abraham)34 also a canon at the fifth, but between the Quintus and

the Altus.

Finally, a remarkable connection can be made between the group of motets Nos.

9-10-11 on the one hand and Nos. 21-22-23 on the other hand, as they have the

same succession of compositional techniques. Nos. 9 (Indite dux ?

Sanguine tarn mul

to) and 21 (Ave maris Stella -

Monstra te esse matrem) both start with a cantus firmus

melody sung by the Quintus ('In Verona, Agrippina' and 'Ave maris Stella', respec

tively). This cantus firmus is not transposed in the course of the work ?

unlike the

three soggetto cavato works -

but in the secunda pars it is subjected to two diminutions;

in the former motet this ends in a ternary final passage.35 In compositions No. 10

(Sacerdotum diadema ? O Gratiane) and No. 22 (Ave Maria, ancilla ? Ave Maria, fons) the

cantus firmus ('S?nete Gratiane' and 'Ave Maria, gratia plena', respectively) -

which

is again in both cases in the Quintus -

is based on a chant tune which is transposed

various times (at the fifth). In No. 22, where the alternation of the number of rests

and notes is subjected to a strict mathematical pattern, this element is accompanied

by a rhythmical diminution at the end of the secunda pars, but in No. 10 this is not the case. Motets No. 11 (Regina coeli laetare - Resurrexit sicut dixit) and No. 23 (Ne proji cias nos) are constructed around a canon between the Quintus and ther Tenor (at the

fifth) and between the Cantus and the Quintus (at the fourth) respectively. The canon

melody in the former work can be traced back to the eponymous Marian an

tiphon. The canon in Neprojicias nos appears to be a theme invented by Willaert him

self.

Table 3. Compositional Techniques in Willaert's Book of Five-Part Motets.

1 Verbum iniquum free elaboration of chant

Duo rogavi

2 Salva nos ab excidio canon at fifth (T-V), on chant

3 Christus resurgens free elaboration of chant

Dicant nuncjudaei

4 Prolongati sunt 'modern', syllabic way of writing following

Inveterata sunt ossa mea accents of the text

Sit fas ergo dicere

5 Si rore Aonio 'modern', syllabic way of writing following At desueta diu accents of the text

6 Domine Jesu Christe 'modern', syllabic way of writing following accents of the text

7 Adriacos numero 'modern', syllabic way of writing following

Nobis dum sacros accents of the text

107

8 Laetare sancta mater

Augustine, lux doctorum

9 Indite dux

Sanguine tarn multo

10 Sacerdotum diadema

O Gratiane

11 Regina coeli laetare

Resurrexit sicut dixit

12 Peccavi super numerum

Quoniam iniquitatem

13 O crux splendidior Dulce lignum

14 Ecce lignum crucis

Crux fidelis 15 Indite Sfortiadum princeps

16 Locud sunt adversum me

Et posuerunt

17 Haud aliter pugnans

18 Victor io salve

Quis curare neget

19 Precatus est Moyses

Memento Abraham

20 Congratulamini mihi

Et dumfierem 21 Ave maris Stella

Monstra te esse matrem

22 Ave Maria, ancilla

Ave Maria, fions

23 Ne projicias nos

cantus firmus ('Augustine, lux doctorum') in

T; diminution in secunda pars; no transposition of

cf.

cantus firmus ('In Verona, Agrippina') in V; two diminutions in secunda pars; no transposition

cantus firmus ('S?nete Gratiane') in V;

no diminution; transposition: fi-c / c-fi canon at fifth (V-T), on chant

soggetto cavato ('Tibi soli peccavi') in V;

diminution at end of secunda pars; transposition:

a-e-a / e-a

free elaboration of chant

free elaboration of chant

soggetto cavato ('Vivat dux Franciscus') in V;

diminution at end; transposition: b-e-b-e

'modern', syllabic way of writing following

accents of the text

'modern', syllabic way of writing following

accents of the text

soggetto cavato ['Salve Sfortiarum'] in T; diminution at end of both partes; transposition:

c-f-c /f-c-f

canon at fifth (V-A), on chant

free elaboration of chant

cantus firmus ('Ave maris Stella') in V;

two diminutions in secunda pars; no transposition

cantus firmus ('Ave Maria, gratia plena') in V;

diminution at end of secunda pars; transposition:

c-g-c-g-c / g-c-g-c-g-c

canon at fourth (C-V)

At first sight the first eight motets of this collection are not part of the controlled al

ternation of compositional techniques which can be found from Indite dux - Sanguine tarn multo (No. 9) onwards. Here there seems to be an 'arbitrary' succession of motets

with a free elaboration of chant tunes and motets with a predominantly 'modern',

syllabic way of writing following the accents of the text. However, I believe these

works can be included in the total plan in three ways. Firstly, motets Nos. 4-7 can be

108

connected with Nos. 16-17 because of their modern facture: the even Nos. 4 (Pro

longad sunt- Inveterata sunt ossa mea - Sit fas ergo dicere), 6 (Domine Jesu Christe) and 16

(Locuti sunt adversum me ?

Et posuerunt) share a religious theme, while the uneven

Nos. 5 (Si rore Aonio - At desueta diu), 7 (Adriacos numero - Nobis dum sacros) and 17

(Haud aliter pugnans) are all secular occasional works.36 Secondly, both groups of

'modern' works (Nos. 4-7 and 16-17) are followed by a

polytextual motet: in Laetare

sancta mater -

Augustine, lux doctorum (No. 8) the cantus firmus is derived from the

chant tune, in Victor io salve ?

Quis curare neget (No. 18) the cantus firmus is a soggetto

cavato dalle vocali. In both cases the pre-existent melody is in the Tenor, and is sub

jected to a process of rhythmical diminution. Finally, the first and third motet (Ver bum iniquum

- Duo rogavi and Christus resurgens

- Dicant nuncjudaei)

can be connect

ed to a pair later on in the collection as well: there is a free elaboration of a chant tune

in Nos. 13 and 14 too. The analogy between Nos. 1-8 and the rest of the collection

can further be seen in the fact that motets with a plainsong cantus firmus (Nos. 1 and

3 and Nos. 13-14 respectively) precede the works with a modern facture (Nos. 4-7

and Nos. 16-17 respectively).

I will now compare these findings with some statements by contemporary researchers

as regards the difference between Girolamo Scotto's and Antonio Gardano's order

ing within music collections around the end of the 1530s and the beginning of the

1540s. In her book on the firm Scotto Jane Bernstein writes: 'It may be speculated

that, in the case of Gardano, by rearranging the contents according to cleffing, signa

ture, and tonal type, he sought to improve the haphazard arrangement of earlier edi

tions to conform to higher theoretical principles of modal order' (emphasis by the au

thor).37 Gardano's re-ordering of Willaert's two collections of four-part motets may

follow clearer ordering principles than Scotto's edition, but in the Scotto prints of

1539 there is not a purely 'haphazard arrangement' anymore. A close examination of

the collection of five-part works in which there are altogether two structural princi

ples, clearly shows this. On a modal level we have discussed the division between

works in cantus mollis and cantus durus, with the pair O crux ? Duke lignum (No. 13)

and Ecce lignum ?

Cruxfidelis (No. 14) acting as a central orientation point and a de

marcation full of symbolism. A similar division can be found in other collections

from this period, often printed by Girolamo Scotto as well. However, the specific

symbolic dimension that goes with this division in Willaert's book of five-part motets, is fairly unique.

On the level of the various compositional techniques that are employed, another

structure comes to light that was maintained almost just as consequently. Here it is

mainly the motets from No. 9 onwards that adhere to a rigid symmetrical construc

tion, although the first eight works are included in the over-all organisation as well,

though a little more latently. This kind of ordering of a collection according to com

positional principles is no doubt not as evident: in any case I do not know any col

lections from this period that employ such a criterion so consequently. However, this

109

attention of the compiler for the compositional details of the music may not come as

a complete surprise, especially in the light of the music theory in those days. Espe

cially in and around Venice and the V?neto there was a lively music theoretical dis

course which focussed on all kinds of compositional techniques. Automatically Gio

seffo Zarlino's Le isdtudoni harmoniche (Venice, 1558) comes to mind: book III gives a

compendium of the compositional techniques of those days.38 But also before this

monumental treatise came out, and in particular before 1539 -

the year in which

Willaert's book of motets was published

- music theorists such as Pietro Aaron, Gio

vanni Del Lago, Giovanni Maria Lanfranco and Giovanni Spataro discussed themes

such as canon, cantus firmus, soggetto cavato, chromatic alterations and text underlay in

their treatises and letters, frequently by referring to existing compositions.39

CONCLUSIONS

While the above discoveries throw light on an aspect of sixteenth-century music col

lections which has not been much researched, at the same time these observations

raise a number of important questions. Naturally the first issue is who could have

been responsible for this ordering. Maybe the most logical hypothesis would be to in

terpret it as a sign of Willaert's close involvement. However, external evidence seems

to contradict this. Bernstein, for example, believes that 'in light of his activities as

head of one of the most famous sacred musical establishments in Europe, Willaert ap

parently had neither the time nor the proclivity to get involved in the financing and

publication of his music'.40

A second option would be to see Scotto as the mastermind behind the ordering.

In other words, this would suggest that he was concerned not only with the modal

structuring of the collection (which was common practice in the sixteenth century),

but also with an - at first sight less apparent

? ordering according to compositional

techniques. I believe this scenario is very likely. From a contemporary point of view

it is very tempting to see Scotto and his staff merely as 'craftsmen' who only produced

music prints and further had no thorough knowledge of music itself. However, there

are numerous examples of music prints (mainly anthologies) in which the printer was

also responsible for the selection, editing and proofreading of the compositions:41

why should not this imply that the printer made a particular ordering in the collec

tion during this process, according to whatever criteria? Scotto, like Antonio Gar

dano for that matter, was also a fairly productive composer of motets, madrigals, can

zoni alia napolitana and instrumental works himself, so he must have been well

acquainted with the compositional styles and techniques of those days.42 A second ar

gument is provided by the information on the title pages of Willaert's three books of

motets of 1539. It seems extremely significant that the five-part collection is the on

ly one in which Scotto is explicitly mentioned as printer: in the first book of four

part motets no name is given, while the second book is the result of a collaboration

110

between Girolamo Scotto's nephews (Brandino and Ottaviano di Amadio Scotto)

and Andrea Antico (cf. the addition ad instantiam Andr?e Antiqui).43 The fact that

Scotto's name is only mentioned in the book of five-part works could therefore sug

gest that he was closely involved in the realisation and ordering of this collection.

After all one should not forget that the works in this collection were originally not

composed for it. This becomes apparent from an inventory of the concordances: de

spite the fact that a number of motets were published in 1539 for the first time, nu

merous other works are known from manuscripts and/or prints from before this date.

The works that were created at an earlier date include Verbum iniquum -

Duo rogavi

(No. 1), Domine Jesu Christe (No. 6), Peccavi super numerum - Quoniam iniquitatem (No.

12), O crux splendidior? Duke lignum (No. 13) and Ave maris Stella

- Monstra te esse ma

trem (No. 21): they were included in the so-called Vallicelliana manuscript which Ed

ward Lowinsky dated to around 1530-1531.44 This also applies to Locuti sunt (No. 16) that has been transmitted as an anonymous motet in the Vatican Codex CS 19.45

Other works were also written at a considerably earlier date, like Ave Maria, ancilla -

Ave Maria, fans (No. 22), published in Jacques Moderne's Secundus liber cum quinqu? vocibus (15329), and Precatus est Moyses

? Memento Abraham (No. 19) and Regina coeli

laetare ? Resurrexit sicut dixit (No. 11), published in Pierre Attaingnant's fourth (15346) and twelfth (15354) book of motets respectively.46 Of course it is possible that

Willaert arranged his old and newer works himself, and by bringing them together in

a collection in this way, put them in a new context.47 However, it may be clear that

the question whether Willaert or Scotto was responsible for the structure of the book

of five-part motets, cannot be definitely answered.48

This brings us to a second aspect, the question of intention: why were the pieces

published in the way they lie before us now? The works that were composed much

earlier include, among others, the occasional works. As mentioned above Indite Sfor

tiadum princeps (No. 15) and Victor io salve -

Quis curare neget (No. 18) were possibly

written in 1525, Hand aliterpugnans (No. 17) in 1529 and Adriacos numero - Nobis dum

sacros (No. 7) in 1532. Although these compositions had not been published before,

they were written (and performed) for specific historical-political events that had

nothing to do with the later context of the five-part collection. Moreover, as these

works were published so many years after they had been composed, one wonders

what their meaning, their 'historical relevance' is. In their new context these motets

as it were lose their status of occasional work and their tributary character -

ironical

ly enough some of the above mentioned addressees had already died by 1539 - and

they get an entirely

new function.

Precisely this makes this collection special: works which were originally written

for a particular occasion, acquire a new esthetical context, a new function and a new

audience. The well thought-out structure of the collection discussed above empha

sises this all the more. Pieces that originally belonged in a different context, were in

tegrated in the collection by the compiler as if they had never been part of another

publication. Now the emphasis univocally lies on the collection as a Gesamtkunstwerk

111

that should be understood and interpreted as a whole. Thus each motet gets its own

place and function within the context of this collection and from this derives its

meaning. In other words, the collection as such forms the background against which

the individual works should be interpreted.49 For such an

approach in which the book as a whole forms the subject of interpre

tation and in which principles such as selection and internal ordering is focussed on,

literary theory has introduced the terms 'contextural poetics' and 'contextural read

ing'.50 These designations make us aware of the fact that each individual part of a col

lection (for example of a collection of poems) influences the interpretation of the

other parts and that all together they form a greater work. This concept emphasises

the necessity to interpret individual works always in the context of the whole: 'Be

cause reading is a process of patterning, to read an individual poem in isolation [...]

is not only to lose the large retroactive sweep of the book as a whole -

with its at

tendant dynamics and significance -

but also to risk losing the meanings within the

poem itself that are foregrounded or activated by the context of the book'.51 In my

opinion this notion may be very productive for musicological research into collec

tions from this or other centuries. After all the idea of ordering a music collection ac

cording to specific criteria (both musical and textual) boasts a very long tradition with

very diverse manifestations. Collections were internally structured according to very

diverse criteria, such as modality,52 number of voices, genre, text

incipits,53 rhetori

cal principles,54 the liturgical calendar, or they

were constructed around a model that

served as a musical and/or textual basis for other works.55

However, the above considerations have not sufficiently answered the question

why Willaert's five-part collection was exactly ordered as it has been. The question

is for whom these structural subtleties were intended. Could these ordering criteria

be heard by the sixteenth-century audience? May one assume that it was common

practice to perform such collections as a whole? In my opinion it is unlikely that col

lections such as these were intended to be sung in their entirety - to start with a prac

tical objection, that of the duration, appears to support this opinion. However, one

specific element at the beginning of the collection argues in favour of an orientation

to a possible audience. Although the first three motets, Verbum iniquum

? Duo rogavi,

Salva nos ab excidio and Christus resurgens -

Dicant nuncjudaei do not share the same

tonal types (cf. supra), they do have a remarkably similar exordium, consisting of a de

scending third fi-g-a (or c-d-e) that is declaimed in long note values.56 Apparently the

compiler wanted to give a signal in this way and to create an effect that would stim

ulate the recipient to be alert to possible further relationships and connections

throughout the collection.57

We do not know how Willaert's collection was performed,

as a whole or possibly

in separate groups. Neither do we know how the audience of those days heard this

music. Nevertheless, it is a fact that a well thought-out structure is present. Therefore

I prefer to see the twofold ordering criterion of this book of five-part motets ?

the

highly symbolical division in cantus mollis and cantus durus and the symmetrical order

112

ing according to various compositional techniques -

as a kind of 'Spielerei' (in the

neutral meaning of the word). One could see it as an almost esoterically intended

game. The compiler did not in the first place aim at auditive recognition -

by the lis

teners, the performers or whoever

- but he just enjoyed the making, the inventing of

complex structures in itself.

It may be obvious that further research into other collections from this period may

reveal whether the combination of ordering criteria used in this collection is an iso

lated case, or whether it is an important

- yet still unknown

- guideline for other col

lections from this period as well. Furthermore, this kind of approach calls for research

into the ordering of music collections that is not restricted to criteria that can be de

termined and charted relatively easily, such as the tonal types: a collection such as

Willaert's book from 1539 clearly demonstrates that there can be other, more subtle

underlying'factors at work which control the ordering within a collection.

Translation Hilary Staples

An earlier version of this article was presented at the Medieval and Renaissance Music Con

ference in Jena (31 July -

3 August 2003). I am grateful to Ignace Bossuyt, Nele Gabriels,

Leofranc Holford-Strevens, Sven Lorenz, Klaus Pietschmann, Cristina Urchuegu?a,

Lorenz Welker, and the students of my seminar 'Die Motette im Venedig des 16.

Jahrhunderts' (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universit?t M?nchen) for helpful comments at

proof stage.

1 For Gombert and Jacquet de Mantua, see AJ. Lewis, (Un certo che di grandezza''. Nicolas

Gombert's First Book of Four-Part Motets (1539) (Ph.D. diss., University of California 1994)

and G.E. Nugent, The Jacquet Motets and Their Authors (Ph.D. diss., Princeton University

1973) respectively.

2 RISM W 1106, W 1108 and W 1110. J.A. Bernstein, Music Printing in Renaissance Venice.

The Scotto Press (1539-1572) (New York 1998), 238 points out that there is no dedication

in any of the three books of motets. This may suggest a collaboration between Scotto's

firm and Francesco Marcolini da Forli, who not only published Willaert's Liber quinqu?

missarum 'cum privilegio' in 1536, but who in the foreword to Francesco da Milano's lute

tablatures also announced a series of publications with masses, motets and madrigals 'fabri

cati dal celebratissimo ingegno de lo stupendo Adriano, al cui sapere cedano i piu saputi'.

Marcolini da Forli may still have had the printing privileges for Willaert's compositions in

1539, so he may have acted as a 'silent partner' in the Scotto publications of 1539.

3 For an overview of all the (re)publications of these books of motets, see Lewis, op. cit., 6.

4 RISM W 1107, W 1109 and W Uli.

5 As regards the contents Gardano on the one hand omitted certain motets, on the other

hand he added new ones. Further the reprint differs in, among others, its more frequent

use of accidentals and ligatures.

113

6 For a comparison of the Scotto and the Gardano publication of the two four-part collec

tions, see among others the foreword to Adriani Willaert, Opera Omnia, Vol. 1, ed. H.

Zenck, CMM 3 (Rome 1950), M.S. Lewis, Antonio Gardano and his Publications of Sacred

Music, 1538-1555, Vol. 1 (Ph.D. diss., Brandeis University 1979), 241-244 and in par

ticular A. Smith, 'Willaert Motets and Mode', in Basler Jahrbuch f?r historische Musikpraxis

16(1992), 117-165.

7 See in this context the pioneering articles by H.S. Powers, 'Tonal Types and Modal Cat

egories in Renaissance Polyphony', in JAMS 34 (1981), 428-470 and 'Is Mode Real?

Pietro Aaron, the Octenary System, and Polyphony', in Basler Jahrbuch f?r historische

Musikpraxis 16 (1992), 9-52. See also F. Wiering, The Language of the Modes. Studies in the

History of Polyphonic Modality (Ph.D. diss., University of Amsterdam 1995).

8 Victor io salve mentions 'Gallorum capto rege', which according to A. Dunning, Die

Staatsmotette 1480-1555 (Utrecht 1970), 273 refers to the capture of the French King

Francis I on 24 February 1525. The motet Indite Sfortiadum princeps possibly refers to

Francesco Sforza's repossession of Milan later that year.

9 Bernstein, op. cit., 242 and Dunning, op. cit., 273-275 (Victor io salve), 275-276 (Indite Sfor

tiadum princeps), 283-284 and 286-287 (Haud aliterpugnans), 284-288 (Adriacos numero).

10 R. Dammann, 'Sp?tformen der isorhythmischen Motette im 16. Jahrhundert', in AMw

10 (1953), 16-40, M.E. Columbro, Ostinato-Technique in the Franco-Flemish Motet, 1480

ca. 1562 (Ph.D. diss., Case Western Reserve University 1974) and M. Just, 'Zur Kanon

technik in Adrian Willaerts Motetten', in Gedenkschrift Hermann Beck, edd. H. Dechant &

W. Sieber (Laaber 1982), 19-31.

11 This distinction is explained in, for example, Zenck's foreword to Adriani Willaert Opera

Omnia, Vol. 3, CMM 3 (Rome 1950), iii. See for an analysis of Domine Jesu Christe (No.

6) by this author '?ber Adrian Willaerts Motetten', in Numerus und Affectus. Studien zur

Musikgeschichte, ed. W. Gerstenberg (Kassel 1959), 55-66. The following motets from the

five-part collection are mentioned and/or briefly analysed in the chapter 'Die Motette in

der ersten H?lfte des 16. Jahrhunderts' by H.E. Rubio in his Der Manierismus in der

Vokalpolyphonie des 16. Jahrhunderts. Frankfurter Beitr?ge zur Musikwissenschaft 5 (Tutzing

1982): Laetare sancta mater- Augustine, lux doctorum (No. 8), Locuti sunt adversum me - Et

posuerunt (No. 16), 5/ rore Aonio -

At desueta diu (No. 5), Ne projicias nos (No. 23) and Pro

longati sunt ? Inveterata sunt ossa mea ?

Sit fas ergo dicere (No. 4).

12 In this context Powers, op. cit., 438 talks of'three objective markers'.

13 See also the chapter 'Ordering within the Editions' in M.S. Lewis, Antonio Gardano,

Venetian Music Printer 1538-1569. A Descriptive Bibliography and Historical Study. Volume 2:

1550-1559 (New York etc. 1997), 123-149, in which similar tables have been made for

a number of Gardano editions between 1538 and 1559.

14 In the Dichiaratione to the Scherzi musicali of 1607 Giulio Cesare Monteverdi mentions Ne

projicias nos as an example of a composition that begins in the first mode, continues in the

second and ends in the fourth mode.

15 Exceptions to this rule are the motets Armorum fortissime - Te igitur (final C) and Regina

coeli laetare (final F) at the end of the collection.

114

16 See the diagram in Smith, op. cit., 139 (book 1) and 140 (book 2).

17 The exceptions here are the motets Haec dies (No. 24) and Ecce nunc tempus (No. 5) re

spectively.

18 In Gardano's reprint the motets Joannes apostolus ?

Ecclesiam (No. 21) and Surgit Christus -

Die Maria - Die Maria (No. 25) are transposed up a fifth and a fourth respectively.

19 For a discussion of such collections -

Cipriano de Rore's first five-part madrigal book

(Venice, 1542), Tielman Susato's Premier livre des chansons ? 3 parties (Antwerp, 1544), the

Penitential Psalms (Munich, 1584) and the Lagrime di San Pietro (Munich, 1595) by Or

lando di Lasso, as well as Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina's two cycles of five-part madri

gali spirituali (Rome, 1581 and 1594) - see Powers, op. cit. See also D.E. Hall, 'An Un

known Example of Modal Ordering in Cinquecento Music', in Studies in Music 21 (1987),

1-9 for a study into modal ordering in Jachet de Berchem's first five-part madrigal book

and A. Lloyd, 'Ordering and Reordering in Cipriano de Rore's 1542 and 1550 Madrigal

Books', in Muziek & Wetenschap 6 (1997), 3-25.

20 In Scotto's edition of the two books of four-part motets such groupings can also be

found: as a rule there are two motets with the same final after each other, sometimes three

(Nos. 16-18 in book 1 and Nos. 2-4 in book 2) or even five (Nos. 2-6 in book 1).

21 In Jacquet de Mantua's book of five-part motets of 1539 the division between cantus du

rus and cantus mollis occurs between Nos. 17 and 18, in Gardano's reprint of Gombert's

four-part collection of 1541 between Nos. 8 and 9: see also AJ. Lewis, op. cit., 16 foot

note 26 and the diagram on 318.

22 Smith, op. cit., 118. The double resemblance between Scotto's collection of Willaert' first

book of four-part motets and the five-part collection ?

both as regards the combination

of low clefs and the division in works with cantus mollis and cantus durus -

is already re

markable, but especially in the light of the second book of four-part motets that does not

have these ordering criteria. Possibly this has to do with the fact that - as Bernstein, op.

cit., 172 and 240 points out ? the Liber secundus was not printed by Girolamo Scotto, but

by Brandino and Ottaviano di Amadio Scotto at the request of ('ad instantiam') Andrea

Antico who prepared the woodcuts.

23 Although I cannot enter at length into this subject in this article, it is important to point

out that such attention for the Cross is a perfect illustration of the Christo centric spiritu

ality that had widely spread even before the Council of Trent and that was officially stim

ulated by the church. I would like to thank Klaus Pietschmann for this information.

24 'Behold the wood of the Cross on which the salvation of the world hung. Come let us

adore it. The Cross, faithful amongst all, the one noble tree. No forest brings forth such

a tree for leaf, flower, and bud. It holds up the sweet wood, the sweet nails, the sweet

body' (transi. Leofranc Holford-Strevens).

25 For the theory of the hexachords and their use in sixteenth-century music, see L. Pike,

Hexachords in Late-Renaissance Music (Aldershot-Brookfield 1997). On 39-45 the author

discusses Willaert's madrigal Quanto piu m'arde, in which the three basic hexachords are

combined in the opening measures in order to illustrate the contrasts that are present in

the poem by Petrarch.

115

26 Another way of applying the theme of the Cross can be found in pieces by Ludwig Senfl

and Adam Gumpelzhaimer. On a broadsheet (M?nchen, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, 2

Mus.pr. 156#4 [s.l. s.a.]) Senfl's motet Crux fidelis, conceived as a double retrograde

canon, is printed in the form of a Cross. The same applies to Gumpelzhaimer's motet Ec

ce lignum crucis, also known as Crux Christi: see W. Dekker, 'Ein Karfreitagsr?tselkanon aus

Adam Gumpelzhaimers "Compendium musicae" (1632)', in Mf 27 (1974), 323-332 and

F. G?thel, 'Gumpelzhaimers "Kreuz-Kanon" im Autograph', in Musik in Bayern 10

(1975), 22-25. Both compositions are discussed in K. Sch?tz, 'La storia di un'iscrizione

canonice tra Cinquecento e inizio Seicento. II caso di Ad te, Domine, levavi animam meam

di Philippus de Monte (1574)', in Rivista Italiana di Musicolog?a (in print). 27 See also G. Zarlino, Le istitutioni harmoniche (Venice, 1558), who briefly discusses all these

techniques in book III, chapter 66 ('Alcuni avertimenti intorno le Compositioni, che si

fanno a piu di Tre voci'). Further, book III chapter 51 is dedicated to the distinction be

tween 'fuga' and 'consequenza'. See also J. Haar, 'Zarlino's Definition of Fugue and Im

itation', in JAMS 24 (1971), 226-254 (repr. in J. Haar, The Science and Art of Renaissance

Music, ed. P. Corneilson (Princeton, New Jersey 1998), 121-148).

28 For a discussion of the cantus firmus construction in these three works, see Dammann,

op. cit., 37-38.

29 W. Elders, Studien zur Symbolik in der Musik der alten Niederl?nder (Bilthoven 1968), 138

139 also goes into the numerology that characterises the cantus firmus Peccavi super nu

merum ? Quoniam iniquitatem.

30 Willaert dedicated another motet (Venator lepores -

At Francisce) to Francesco Sforza,

which also uses a cantus firmus ('Argentum et aurum non est mihi, quod autem habeo

hoc tibi do'). The work is published in Willaert's book of six-part motets, printed by An

tonio Gardano (Venice, 1542).

31 In book III, chapter 66 of Le istitutioni harmoniche (Venice, 1558) Gioseffo Zarlino ex

plicitly gives Willaert's Victor io salve and Indite Sfortiadum princeps as examples of cantus

firmi that are subjected to a process of rhythmical diminution.

32 The corresponding chant tunes of both works can be found in the Liber usualis missae et

qfficii (Parisiis etc. 1954), 1543 (O crux splendidior), 704 (prima pars of Ecce lignum crucis) and

709 (secunda pars of Ecce lignum crucis).

33 For an analysis of Locuti sunt adversum me - Et posuerunt see K. Sch?tz,

' Vulgari orecchie

?

p?rgate orecchie'. De relatie tussen publiek en muziek in het Venetiaanse motetoeuvre van Adriaan

Willaert (Leuven 2003), 186-189.

34 The text of Precatus est Moyses -

Memento Abraham is discussed in D. Harr?n, 'Stories from

the Hebrew Bible in Music of the Renaissance', in MD 37 (1983), 235-288.

35 In Indite Sfortiadum princeps there are also two rhythmical diminutions of the cantus fir

mus, as the rhythmical unity is successively the longa, the brevis and the semibrevis: see

also Dammann, op. cit., 37.

36 In the foreword to Adriani Willaert Opera Omnia, Vol. 3, CMM 3 (Rome 1950), iii,

Zenck characterises the three sacred motets (Nos. 4, 6 and 16) by 'the continuous imita

tion of all voices, the expressive declamation and the harmonic Italian style', the three

116

secular works (Nos. 5, 7 and 17) by their use of'bright sounds, [...] chromaticism and [...]

plastically built themes'.

37 Bernstein, op. cit., 162.

38 English translation by G.A. Marco & C.V. Palisca, Gioseffo Zarlino, The Art of Counter

point. Part Three of Le istitutioni harmoniche, 1558, Music Theory Translation Series 2

(New Haven etc. 1968).

39 See Pietro Aaron's Trattato della natura et cognitione di tutti gli tuoni di canto figurato (Venice,

1525), Giovanni Maria Lanfranco's Scintille di m?sica (Brescia, 1533) and Giovanni Del

Lago's Breve introduttione di m?sica misurata (Venice, 1540), as well as BJ. Blackburn, E.E.

Lowinsky & C.A. Miller edd., A Correspondence of Renaissance Musicians (Oxford 1991).

Willaert is prominently present in this correspondence (MS Vat. lat. 5318): at times he

participates in certain discussions, at other times he is the subject of the conversation. Cf.

Blackburn et al, op. cit., 4: 'Adrian Willaert, who, though no letter of his appears here,

hovers in the background as a guiding spirit'. For an inventory of the letters mentioned

in the correspondence, see Blackburn et al., op. cit., xxxviii-xliv.

40 Bernstein, op. cit., 173.

41 See G.M. Ongaro, 'Venetian Printed Anthologies of Music in the 1560s and the Role of

the Editor', in The Dissemination of Music. Studies in the History of Music Publishing, ed. H.

Lenneberg, Musicology 14 (Illinois 1994), 43-69, in which the activities of Giulio

Bonagiunta da San Genesi are discussed.

42 See the collections of two-part and three-part madrigals from 1541 (S 2618 and S 2615

respectively), as well as the two books with canzoni alia napolitana from 1571 (S 2625 and

S 2626). Motets, madrigals and instrumental works by Scotto are also included in an

thologies, see Bernstein (1998), passim and B. Mann, 'From Berlin to Cracow: Sixteenth

and Seventeenth-Century Prints of Italian Secular Vocal Music in the Jagellonian Li

brary', in Notes 49 (1992), 11-27.

43 Bernstein, op. cit., 171-172. This is the last print Andrea Antico (who provided the

woodcuts) worked on and the only print by Amadio Scotto's sons. See also C.W. Chap

man, Andrea Antico (Ph.D. diss., Harvard University 1964), 396-405. It may be noted

that, as a consequence, the formulation on the title page of the second book of four-part

motets differs from that of the first book of four-part and the book of five-part motets. It

may be no coincidence that the latter two collections share two important modal order

ing criteria: the division in cantus durus and cantus mollis, and the combination of low clefs

in all works.

44 E.E. Lowinsky, 'A Newly Discovered Sixteenth-Century Motet Manuscript at the Bib

lioteca Vallicelliana in Rome', in JAMS 3 (1950), 173-232.

45 I would like to thank Klaus Pietschmann for this information. See also Idem, Kirchenmusik

zwischen Tradition und Reform. Die p?pstliche S?ngerkapelle und ihr Repertoire im Ponti?kat

Pauls III. (1534-1549) (in print). 46 A wider distribution is suggested by the works printed in Grapheus' Secundus tomus

(15383): Prolongan sunt - Inveterata sunt ossa mea -

Sit fas ergo dicere (No. 4) and Ne projicias

nos (No. 23). The latter motet also appeared in the collection Moteti de la Simia (15397)

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which was published in Ferrara. Finally, there is Sch?ffer's Cantiones quinqu? vocum

(15398), which includes Laetare sancta mater- Augustine, lux doctorum (No. 8), Peccavi super

numerum - Quoniam iniquitatem (No. 12) and Congratulamini mihi-Et dumflerem (No. 20).

47 A similar combination of old and new material can be found in Willaert's book of six

part motets (Venice, 1542), but with the difference that other composers Qachet de

Berchem, Philippe Verdelot, Loyset Pi?ton, etc.) are also represented in this collection.

However, in this case a practical problem ?

his stay in Flanders during the year of publi

cation -

appears to have prevented Willaert from applying the finishing touch to the col

lection, so the printer Antonio Gardano must have been responsible for this. He dedicat

ed the book of motets to the Venetian aristocrat Marco Trivisano. See also M.S. Lewis,

'Antonio Gardane's Early Connections with the Willaert Circle', in Music in Medieval and

Early Modern Europe. Patronage, Sources and Texts, ed. I. Fenlon (Cambridge 1981), 209

226.

48 For this reason I will from now on use the neutral term 'compiler' for the person who

was responsible for the internal ordering of Willaert's book of five-part motets.

49 In this context it seems that the placing of Peccavi super numerum has a deeper meaning. In

a collection that so evidently plays with the specific ordering of works, I believe it is no

coincidence that a motet that starts off with 'the number' as a theme, is placed exactly in

the centre of the collection (No. 12 on a total of 23 motets).

50 N. Fraistat, 'Introduction. The Place of the Book and the Book as Place', Poems in their

Place. The Intertextuality and Ordering of Poetic Collections, ed. N. Fraistat (Chapel Hill-Lon

don 1986), 3-17.

51 Ibid., 8.

52 Powers, op. cit.

53 See C. Goldberg, 'Werk, Quelle, Analyse. Betrachtungen zum Chansonnier Nivelle de la

Chauss?e', in Quellenstudium und musikalische Analyse. Festschrift Martin Just zum 70. Ge

burtstag, edd. P. Niederm?ller, C. Urchueguia & O. Wiener (W?rzburg 2001), 1-22.

54 According to AJ. Lewis, op. cit. this is the case with Nicolas Gombert's first book of four

part motets.

55 C. Urchueguia, 'Intertextualit?t und historisches Textverst?ndnis in der Musik der Re

naissance. Fors seulement: zwischen Werk und 9?|I0C', Text und Autor. Beitr?ge aus dem

Venedig-Symposium 1998 des Graduiertenkollegs 'Textkritik' M?nchen, edd. Chr. Henkes, H.

Salier & Th. Richter (T?bingen 2000), 115-151.

56 Furthermore, I would like to point out that the beginnings of the first two motets share

a two-part contrapuntal structure as well: compare for example mm. 1-3 (tenor and bass)

or mm. 3-5 (cantus and altus) of Verbum iniquum with mm. 2-4 (altus and bassus) or mm.

4-5 (cantus and altus) of Salva nos ab excidio.

57 Researchers have found a similar phenomenon in ancient collections of poems by, among

others, Virgil, Ovid and Horace. Here introductory poems were also thematically con

nected as a sign for the reader-listener as regards the continuation of the collection.

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