Centre dtudes

suprieures
de la Renaissance

The motet around 1500

On the relationship of imitation and text treatment?

The motet around 1500

On the relationship of imitation and text treatment?

Edited by
Thomas Schmidt-Beste

H
Couverture 1

Centre dtudes suprieures

de la Renaissance
Collection pitome musical

BREPOLS

20/06/12 14:17

Centre dtudes suprieures de la Renaissance

Universit Franois-Rabelais de Tours
Collection Epitome musical
dirige par Philippe Vendrix.
Comit ditiorial
Marie-Alexis Colin, David Fiala, Xavier Bisaro, Annie Coeurdevey,
Daniel Saulnier, Fabien Guilloux
Coordination ditoriale
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Motets.indb 4

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Thomas
Schmidt-Beste

The Motet around 1500

On the relationship of
imitation and text treatment?

centre d tudes suprieures de la renaissance

Liminaires.indd 5

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Motets.indb 6

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Daniele V.
Filippi

Text, Form, and Style

in Franchino Gaffurios Motets*

Esist beinahe sprichwrtlichKnud Jeppesen wrote, at the very beginning of his article on the Milanese Libroni

* I wish to thank Bonnie Blackburn

for valuable comments to the conference version of this paper, and the
staff of the Archivio della Veneranda
Fabbrica for granting me access to
the Librone1. I would like also to
thank the amateur singers of the
Schola cantorum San Luca (Milan),
with whom I often performed Gaffurios Quando venit ergo in concerts
and during church services: it was
rehearsing this motet with the
Schola that the idea of this research
project firstoccurred to me.
1. K.Jeppesen, Die 3 Gafurius-Kodizes der Fabbrica del
Duomo, Milano, Acta Musicologica, 3 (1931), pp.1428, at p.14.
2. The fact that Gaffurios compositions do not pertain to the age
of Galeazzo probably contributed to the marginalization of his
works in mostmusicological studies concerning the Milanese motet,

Motets.indb 383

da kein Theoretiker auch als Komponist bedeutend war, da Intuition und Ratio sich selten reimen. Als einzige, allerdings auch glnzende Ausnahme pflegt man hier gewhnlich den in beiden Beziehungen
genialen Rameau anzufhren. Wenn man sich recht umsieht, verdienen doch auch andere Theoretiker hier mit Ehre genannt zu werden.
Die drei berhmtesten italienischen Musiktheoretiker Gafurius, Spataro und Zarlino waren so alle fruchtbare Komponisten, und konnte
der letzgenannte vielleicht etwas trocken scheinen, waren die beiden
anderen sogar sehr begabte und originelle Schpfer.1

Eighty years after this favourable judgement was formulated by

Jeppesen, and notwithstanding his undisputable status of first native Italian composer of the Renaissance, Franchino Gaffurios music still remains largely unexplored. The aim of the present paper
is to investigate some aspects of Gaffurios motets in the Librone 1
dellArchivio della Veneranda Fabbrica (IMd), outlining the peculiar stylistic synthesis he conceived in the 1480s on the basis of the
style elaborated by Loyset Compre, Gasparvan Weerbeke, and other
composers working in Milanin the preceding decade.2

in spite of the availability of a modern edition: F.Gaffurio, Mottetti,

ed.A.Bortone (Archivium Musices
Metropolitanum Mediolanense

[=AMMM],5; Milan, 1959); I will refer

to this edition for musical examples (sometimes with slight editorial changes), measure numbers,etc.

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text, form, and style

384

I. Gaffurios motets in Librone 1:
General remarks
Franchino Gaffurios motets in Librone 1, written probably in the
period 148490,3 can be divided into three categories (the second one
being the leastnumerous):
1) compositions akin to the motetti missales, characterized by homorhythmic texture, clear sectionalization, short and tuneful phrases, lively vocal orchestration, fermata chords, and so on; a fine
exampleis Quando venit ergo, a motet I will often refer to in this
paper, which is reproduced in full score in the Appendix;
2) motets in a contrapuntal (more or less imitative)4 texture throughout, such as Regina coeli,5 Omnipotens aeterne Deus, or Verbum sapientiae;
3) motets falling somehow in the middle between the two extremes:
a superius-tenor imitative relation is embedded into a more or less
homorhythmic texture, sometimes with fermata chords sections.
See, for instance, the group Castra coeliO rex laetaImperatrix reginarum.

3. In 1484 Gaffurio became choirmaster at the Duomo. It seems unlikely

that Gaffurius devoted much time
to composition before he became
choirmaster at Milan, although he
reportedly composed in Genoa. His
only surviving secular works (in I
PAc 1158) musthave been written in
the 1470s, and (to judge from Illustrissimo marchexe) they are not even
competent. Clearly, he gained experience in the following decade, perhaps
under the influence of the skilled
composer Tinctoris (B.J.Blackburn, Gaffurius, Franchinus, NG2).
4. Gaffurios imitations (preferably
built on a cantus-tenor axis) are generally short, often lasting less than
two breves. The mostcommon imitative intervals are the unison, the

Motets.indb 384

Although a systematic exploration of the corpus of texts set to

music in the Milanese motet repertoire is still missing, many authors
have sketched its peculiar nature: heterogeneous compilations from
hymns, sequences, antiphons, litanies, rhythmic offices, and so on,
with the occasional addition of Bible verses or newly composed segments, in a mixture of prose and verse. These texts reflect what has
been defined as the Milanese fondness for composite structures,6
and provide a rich and multifaceted theological commentary on specific feasts or aspects of Christian liturgy (as in substitution motets).
With a few exceptions, like the Regina coeli, Gaffurios texts are perfectly in line with this tradition.
Beyond the different categories, these motets build a fairly consistent set: the motivic repertoire, melodic and harmonic formulae, tonal and formal solutionsto say nothing of the explicit links between
some motetsdelineate a coherent and homogeneous personal style:
indeed an impressive one.
octave, and the fifth (for a rather
5. This motet is characterexceptional case of four-voice imiized by melodic references to
tation with each voice entering
the plainchant antiphon.
on a different pitch, see the begin6. J.Rifkin, Munich, Milan, and a Marning of Castra coeli, with the contraian Motet: Dating Josquins Ave
tenor gravis entering on g, the tenor
Maria virgo serena, JAMS, 56
on d, the superius on a, the contra(2003), pp.239350, at p.277. See
tenor acutus on c). Gaffurio does not
also, among others, Patrick Macey,
observe a one-to-one correspondence
Galeazzo Maria Sforza and Musibetween textual and motivic units in
cal Patronage in Milan: Comimitation: the voices involved often
pre, Weerbeke and Josquin, EMH,
carry different textual segments.
15 (1996), pp.147212, at p.182.

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Table 1. Motets by Gaffurio in Librone 1

(ordered according to their position in the manuscript; all motets are four voice unless stated)
motet
Virgo prudentissima
Beata progenies (3 voice)
Gloriosae Virginis Mariae (3 voice)
Sub tuam protectionem (3 voice)
Sponsa Dei electa
Hortus conclusus
Descendi in hortum
Tota pulchra es
Quando venit ergoAve corpus Jesu Christi
O sacrum convivium
Hoc gaudium
Gaude Virgo gloriosa
Prodiit puerRes a saeculis
Joseph conturbatus est
Gaude Mater luminisTe honorant superi
Ave mundi spes, Maria
Regina caeli laetare
Salve decus genitorisQui nepotes
Salve Mater SalvatorisSalve Verbi sacra parens
Salve decus virginumO convallis humilis
Tu thronus esSalve Mater pietatisVox eclipsim nesciens

system

final sonority

bars

53

25

51

Omnipotens aeterne Deus

Virgo Dei digna
Verbum sapientiae
Castra caeli
O res laeta
Imperatrix reginarum
Promissa mundo gaudia
Magnum nomen Domini (5 voice)
Audi benigne Conditor (5 voice)
Salve mater SalvatorisInter natos mulierum
Stabat MaterAdoramus te Christe

38

46

48

55

27

52
65

53

51

C*

41

30

D
d*

36

34
38

58

d*

67

64

29

34

d*

53

47
68

78

F*

72

69

75

70

G*

d*

71
28

71

79

d*

Beate Sebastiane

30

Imperatrix gloriosaFlorem ergo genuistiRes miranda

F
G

131
63
100

217

216
120

54

64

21

24

29

32

85

34

46

71

65

67

53

136
120

* Final sonorities marked with an asterisk are triads; all the others do not contain the third.

Motets.indb 385

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text, form, and style

386

II.Text, form and style: some

aspects of Gaffurios technique
I would like to concentrate on three aspects of the interrelationship between text, form and style in these motets:
1. phraseology and formal planning;
2. expressive use of homorhythmic textures and syllabicity;
3. use of motivic and structural relationships to achieve internal unification; thereafter, I will briefly consider the parallel
issue of intertextual relations.
1. Phraseology and formal planning
Firstof all, it can be said that Gaffurios phraseological units are
generally short: see, for instance, Ave mundi spes Maria or Tu thronus es,
where phraseological units are often no longer than 23 breves. This
is a decisive factor for the achievement of a peculiar listener-oriented
formal clarity.7
One of Gaffurios favourite devices is the setting of 3-line strophes
in a corresponding ternary musical form (AAB). Quasi-antecedentconsequent structures are closed by a third segment, balancing the
overall geometry by means of contrast, or intensification, or both.
O sacrum convivium provides two remarkable examples of this procedure. At bars45ff. a strophe from the sequence Veni sancte Spiritus is
sung. The two contratenores (acutus and gravis) sing the firstlinein
duet (Veni, Sancte Spiritus); superius and tenor answer singing the
second line (et emitte caelitus) on different musicphrase length
is exactly the same (3 breves) but this duet is more homorhythmic
and text declamation is more synchronized, while the contratenores
join in on the lastbrevis, so that a four-voice texture is achieved;
then, the third lineis sung homorhythmically a quattro (4 breves),
with a solemn slowing down of pace.
Table 2. F. Gaffurio, O sacrum convivium, AAB symmetry in bars 4555
segment

bars

notes

Veni, Sancte Spiritus,

4548
[3 ]

2 voice (CtAcCtGr)

et emitte caelitus

4851
[3 ]

2 voice (ST), then 4 voice

lucis tuae radium.

5155
[4]

4 voice

7. Obviously, there are exceptions to

the rule: see, for instance, the incipit
of the four voice O sacrum convivium,
with an 11-breves-long melismatic and

Motets.indb 386

sequential duet, sung by the higher

voices and then repeated by the lower
ones (the restof the motet, however, has short phrases throughout).

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daniele v. filippi

387

Example 1. F. Gaffurio, O sacrum convivium, bars 4555

45

Superius

Ve

Contratenor
acutus

Tenor

Contratenor
gravis

ni,

San

Et

cte Spi

Et

Ve - ni,

San - cte

Spi

ri

mit

- li - tus

mit

tu

ae

ra

cae - li - tus

lu - cis

tu

ae

ra

tus

lu - cis

tu

cae

li - tus

lu

ae

ra

cis

tu

te

cae -

tus

lu - cis

- - - li

cae -

50

te

ri - tus,

di

ae

di

di

um.

di - um.

ra

um.

um.

Besides the AAB phraseology, this fragment shows some other

typical features of Gaffurios writing, on which we shall return later:
the tunefulness of melodic lines, the progressive introduction of homorhythmic textures, the importance of phrase-length as an independent formal parameter.
Another structure of this sort follows in the last section (bars
55ff.): Caro cibus, sanguis potus / manet tamen Christus totus / sub
utraque specie.8
Table 3. F. Gaffurio, O sacrum convivium, AAB symmetry in bars 5565
segment

bars

notes

Caro cibus, sanguis potus

5557
[2 ]

4 voice

manet tamen Christus totus

5861
[3 ]

2 voice (S-CtAc)

sub utraque specie

6165
[4 ]

4 voice; triple metre;

textual repetition

8. This part of the text is taken

from the sequence Lauda Sion.

Motets.indb 387

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text, form, and style

388

Example 2. F. Gaffurio, O sacrum convivium, bars 55-65

56

S.

Ca - ro

Ca - ro

CtAc.

T.

CtGr.

po

po

ci - bus, san - guis

- tus

sub

- tus

sub

ci - bus, san - guis

sub

po

u - tra

u - tra

u - tra

que

spe

que

spe

que

spe

ta - men

Chri

- stus

to

Chri

- stus

to

tus,

spe

tus,

que

ta - men

ma - net

9. See especially his Ave, stella matutina, in Gaspar van Werbeke [sic],
Messe e mottetti, ed.G.Tintori
(AMMM, 11; Milano, 1963), pp.812.

tus,

ma - net

tus,

u - tra

sub

po

Ca - ro

61

Motets.indb 388

ci - bus, san - guis

ci - bus, san - guis

Ca - ro

ci - e

u -

u -

spe

tra - que
3

u -

sub

spe

tra - que
3

tra - que

u -

sub

ci - e

sub

ci - e

sub

ci - e

tra - que

ci - e.

ci - e.

spe

ci - e.

spe

ci - e.

Clearly, in this treble-dominated texture the top-voice melodic

phrase of the second unit answers that of the first unit, building
a climax (significantly reaching the peak, d, on Chri[-stus]) and
driving to a cadence on b. The vocal orchestration indicates, though,
that this self-contained structure needs further expansion to come
to a full stop: the return to a full-voice texture combined with the
shift to triple metre (by means of coloration) brings this episode, as
well as the entire motet, to an appropriate conclusion, beautifully
highlighting the theological content of the text.
Similar passages can be found, for instance, in Weerbeke,9 perhaps
the composer whose influence is most notable in Gaffurio: but Gaffurios use of characteristic short, syllabic, tuneful, sharp-profiled
phrases makes such structures even more intense in his motets.
In the magnificent Stabat Mater, the AAB symmetry dominating
the text is reflected in the musical structure: at bars1422, for instance, two identical bicinia (2 breves +2 breves ) are followed
by a closing phrase that breaks the metrical uniformity and moves
towards the cadence (3 breves ; see Example3); later, at bars5058, a
trio answering the low pair at the upper fifth (again 2 +2 ) is followed by another cadential phrase sung by the four voices together
(4 breves); immediately afterward, bars5967, Gaffurio replicates
the bicinia of bars14ff., changing the vocal scoring and modifying

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daniele v. filippi

389

the lower voice (2 +2 ), but now he introduces a new concluding

phrase a quattro (4 breves).
Table 4. F. Gaffurio, Stabat Mater, AAB symmetry in bars 1422 and 5067
bars

1422

5058

5967

scoring

text

1416

SCtAc

Dulce lignum, lignum vitae

1719

TCtGr

venerari convenite,

1922

tutti

salvi ligni pretio.

5052

TCtGr

Quis est homo qui non fleret

A1

5254

SCtAc
CtGr

Christi Matrem si videret

A2

5558

tutti

in tanto supplitio?

5961

CtAcCtGr

Ligno crucis fabricatur

6163

ST

archa Noe, qua salvatur

6467

tutti

mundus a miseria.

Dul - ce

CtAc.

T.

CtGr.

phrase

notes
identical bicinia

SCtAc answer
at the upper fifth

~
= 1419
new material

Example 3. F. Gaffurio, Stabat Mater, prima pars, bars 1422

15

S.

length

li -gnum, li -gnum vi - tae

Dul - ce
li -gnum, li -gnum vi

sal - vi

ve - ne - ra - ri

sal - vi

- tae

con - ve - ni - te

ve - ne - ra - ri

con - ve - ni - te

sal - vi

sal - vi

li

gni pre

li

gni pre -

li

li

gni pre

ti - o.

gni pre

ti - o.

ti - o.

ti - o.

Examples of these geometrical structures could be multiplied. In

the second part of the same motet, the metrical structure of the text
temporarily changes (Adoramus te, Christe ). When the text resumes the AAB form (with strophes extracted no longer from Stabat
Mater, but from another de cruce poem) at first Gaffurio does not
seem to follow that scheme: see bars 24ff., Crux est virga quae percussit / silicem bis et excussit / rivum vivum saeculo. Given his fine
sense for text structures, however, we cannot help noting that a double enjambement alters the symmetry of these very lines.
But in the following section, the last in the motet, the AAB scheme
looms again in the music, albeit in a more florid melodic style and in
less regular dimensional proportions (see Example 4): from bar 36 to
the end, we have again two periodical bicinia (CtAcCtGr, 5 breves
ST, 6 ), followed by a closing phrase sung by the four voices, and
the final Amen in fermata chords. In spite of the different melodic

Motets.indb 389

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text, form, and style

390

style, tunefulness and the multilayered geometrical correspondence

between these phrases cannot be overlooked.10
Example 4. F. Gaffurio, Stabat Mater, secunda pars, bars 3653
37

S.

Quod in no - bis

CtAc.

T.

CtGr.

est

Quod

in

no

ma

sa

bis est

num

tu - ae

num

tu - ae

10. While, for instance, the cadential goals (ddg) comply with
the A1A2B phraseological structure, the linear progression of the
top voice opening pitches (d-fb!) operates on another level.
11. The contratenor acutus actually goes on singing the segment
et vox turturis, but the sonic
result is virtually the same.
12. For further examples of rhetoric-oriented structures see: Hortus conclusus, bars2633, where a duet singing
the word melliflui is answered by
another duet singing facti sunt
coeli, then the whole phrase melliflui facti sunt coeli is sung by 34
voices. Descendi in hortum meum,
bars1327: cantus and tenor sing ut
viderem , contratenor acutus and
gravis sing et inspicerem , cantus and tenor again sing si floruissent , contratenor acutus and gravis
add si floruissent mala, si floruissent
mala , and on the mala punica a
34voice texture is finally reached.

ste,

Chri

ce

fac

et

ste,

dul - ce

fac

et

ma - rum

cis gra

cru

cru -

- cis gra

ti - a.

cis gra - ti - a.

cru

dul

cru

rum

tu - ae

Motets.indb 390

tu - ae

sa

45

Chri

cis gra

ti - a.

ti - a.

- men.

men.

men.

- men.

In some cases, the phraseological architecture follows a clear rhetorical orientation: in Tota pulchra, bars 43ff., the textual segment et
vox turturis audita est is sung by different vocal groups in two distinct statements without any motivic interrelationships. In the first
statement, superius and tenor sing the words et vox turturis in
duet, and are joined by the contratenor acutus on audita est; in
the second one, contratenor acutus and contratenor gravis sing et
vox turturis and the answer leads to a tutti texture.11 Thus, a 23
voice statement is followed by a 24 voice statement, in a composite
but transparent climax further enriched by the imitation between
contratenor gravis and tenor of bars 4851, that one is tempted to
regard as a Textausdeutung.12
Gaffurios command of the diverse factors that allow for a rhetorical orientation of form is evident also in passages like Quando venit
ergo, bars 18ff. (see Appendix). On the words atque ventre virginali
the contratenor gravis sings in duet first with the contratenor acutus (bars 1820), then with the tenor (bars 2022), while the following segment caro factus prodiit is sung by the four voices together.
Rhythmic imitation links the duets, but melodic imitation links
tenor and superius (bars 2022), although on different textual units.

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391

The textural chiaroscuro (the second duet is lower and allows the entrance of the superius at bar 21 to be more effective), the broadening
of the overall vocal gamut (with the emergence of the superius and
the descent of the contratenor gravis from b to G), the expansion
of phrase-length and the gradual abandonment of homophony herald the approaching of an important cadence. The formal outline,
marked by a perfect tension, is thus the result of a complex and at
the same time clear rhetorical strategy, connected to the preparation
and realization of a convincing conclusion for the first part of the
motet.
In Gaude Mater luminis there is a peculiar formal construction,
based on a recurring block of fermata-chords on the word Maria
(see Table 5). The block of three chords, always introduced by a rest,
appears alternatively in two forms: dC6d (M1 in the table) and dgd
(M2 in the table).13
Table 5. F. Gaffurio, Gaude Mater luminis, structure
pars

II

segment

length

cadential goal

block form

Gaude Mater luminis / quam divini numinis / visitavit gratia.

12

M1

Virga Dei regia / flore fructu candida / divina potentia.

a0

M2

Tu virtutum speculum / prelustrasti saeculum / luce claritatis.

10

F/d

M1

Plena Dei munere / meruisti gignere / prolem sanctitatis.

M2

Te honorant superi / matrem omnis gratiae.

10

a/d0

M1

Ad te clamant miseri / de valle miseriae.

6+

d0

M2

Audi preces, terge fletus, / nos commenda Filio.

M1

Ut nos tua prece suo / collocet in solio.

3+

F0

M2

Amen.

M1= dC6d / M2 = dgd

13. About the insistence on the nomen

sacrum Maria in Milanese motets
and related works by Gaspar van
Weerbeke, Loyset Compre, and
Josquin des Prez, and the probable link with Galeazzo Maria
Sforza, see Macey, Galeazzo Maria
Sforza and Musical Patronage in
Milan, particularly pp.155ff.
14. By means of an extensive coloration
(in the secunda pars the Amen following the lastblock is in triple metre
as well, again through coloratio).

Motets.indb 391

Although the four strophes in the text of each part are of the same
length, the corresponding musical segments have different proportions. The scheme is fairly regular: a long segment + Maria block
type 1 + a short segment + Maria block type 2. The symmetry between the two parts is further enhanced by means of a mensural
shift in the segment preceding the last Maria block.14 This kind
of formal planning, though respecting the partitions of the text, is
largely independent from its proportions.
To sum up these remarks on phraseology and form: Gaffurio reacts to text structures in various ways. Particularly noteworthy is the
association of tunefulness (cantabilit) and binary or ternary phraseological structures. Gaffurio shows a keen sense for phraseological
proportions, often independent from text proportions; and he frequently organizes form according to rhetorical strategies.

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392

2. Expressive use of homorhythmic textures and syllabicity

A second relevant point concerns the exploitation of the contrast
between non-homorhythmic and homorhythmic textures and between different text-setting styles for expressive purposes.
Virgo prudentissima is more melismatic than average among Gaffurios motets: this is, perhaps, partly owing to the presence of many
precious Marian attributes deriving from the Song of Songs (aurora
rutilans filia Sion tota formosa pulchra ut luna electa
ut sol). The texture is prevailingly non-homorhythmic, but the few
passages in which two or more voices sing together the same words
are carefully chosen, revealing a conscious expressive strategy: the
opening tricinium and bicinium on the words Virgo prudentissima
(bars18), the word pulchra (bars356), and the lastword, clamantibus (bars513). On the other hand, notwithstanding the general
melismatic disposition, the melisma in semiminimae on aurora in
the superius, being doubled in tenths by the tenor, contrasts with
what precedes, looming as a peculiar sound object and thus bearing
an expressive character.
Example 5. F. Gaffurio, Virgo prudentissima, bars 1119
11

S.

ris

pro

T.

CtGr.

qua

CtAc.

qua

si

gre

ro

si

ris

de

au

si

au

qua

au - ro

si

au

ra

17

ro

ra?

- ro

ra

val

de

ra

val

val

ru

The same kind of enhancement of textual units can be found, for

instance, in Promissa mundo gaudia: the only homorhythmic passage
in four voices falls on [in prole] fulsit deitas, munere fatali (bars
359), the core, the crucial point in this text.

Motets.indb 392

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daniele v. filippi

393

In other cases it is the combination of two distinct factorsthe

shift to homorhythmic counterpoint and the adoption of syllabic
declamation with a steady pulsethat marks a turning-point in the
motet.In Quando venit ergo, on the words sacri plenitudo temporis,
missus estab arce Patris natus orbis conditor, bars917 (see edition in appendix), there is a firstconvergence on plenitudo, then
a cadence, then a new phrase with a lively syllabic declamation (anticipated by the contratenor gravis on temporis), in which only the
two contratenores sing in homophony; on natus orbis conditor,
the four voices finally sing together, emphasizing the paradox of Incarnation expressed by these words which is central to the whole
text. Distinct constructive levels converge here, contributing to highlight this textual focus: on missus estab arce Patris we have the
only movement to C in the entire cadential plan (see Table6 below),
pointing toward the durus side of the tonal system; and imitation
is introduced for the firsttime on these same words, exactly where
pulse and declamation result in a powerful condensation.
It is precisely in the light of such passages that the conventional
view of Gaffurios style as somehow unemotional and almostexclusively oriented toward a neutral deutliche Prsentation15 of the text
should be questioned. The study of his motets shows him as a composer experimenting with moderate but nevertheless variable and effective text-expressive solutions.16
3. Unifying strategies and intertextuality
Musical unity within the single motet figures clearly among the priorities in Gaffurios agenda. Obviously, in order to achieve this goal,
he uses various methods, working on motivic elaboration, cadences,
recurring melodic or harmonic elements (as we have already seen in
Gaude Mater luminis), and so on.Two cases seem particularly striking. In Promissa mundo gaudia Gaffurio employs insistent chains of
melodic/harmonic cells migrating from voice to voice on different
pitch levels in various segments of the motet (the presence of these
cells affects directly almostthe half of the 85 bars).

15. See L.Finscher and A.Laubenthal, Cantiones quae vulgo motectae vocantur. Arten der Motette
im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert, in
Die Musik des 15. und 16. Jahrhunderts, ed.L.Finscher (Neues Handbuch der Musikwissenschaft,3;
Laaber, 1990), pp.277370, at p.337.
16. A different example of these strategies can be found in the second part
of Quando venit ergo (see appendix): at

Motets.indb 393

bars368, where the text deals with

the descent of Christfrom heaven
(in his Incarnation as well as in the
Eucharist), the contratenor acutus sings a plain descending hexachord (qui de caelo), while the tenor
answers firstwith an ascending hexachord and then with a similar descent
(descendisti). I wish to thank Adam
Gilbert, who pointed out this passage
during the discussion of this paper.

29/02/12 08:10

text, form, and style

394

Example 6. F. Gaffurio, Promissa mundo gaudia, bars 1127

11

gra - ti - a

gra

- di - a

per

per

su - per

na

- ti

sol

sol

vit

gra

gra

ti

gra

ti - a

hac

vit

vit

na

na sol

ti

18

di

gra

hac

hac

di

ti

di

hac

di

nat

ta

na

ta

na

na -

li.

ta

li.

24

ta - li.

In

li.

In

vir

vir

vir

gi

17. In which, by the way, masterly expressive touches are to be seen, like the
turn to b! at the end of the segment
Christi sanguis ave: the firstoccurrence of this cadential goal, reached
through F after four fermata chords
insisting on g, lends a portentous ecstatic character to this passage. Using the simplestdevices (the
change of register in the lower voices
between Christi and sanguis, the
contrastbetween static and dynamic
harmonies), Gaffurio achieves once
more a powerful text expression.

Motets.indb 394

In

gi

gi - ne

foe -

ne

foe

ne

foe

cun -

di

cun -

If the case of Promissa mundo gaudia is rather unique, many motets

share the motivic unity and cadential uniformity we can observe for
instance in Quando venit ergo. As shown in Example 7, basically the
same melodic cadential formula, though in different variations, recurs throughout the motet (a climactic expansion can be observed,
whose apex corresponds to the ardent segment amor et desiderium). A closer look at the cadential plan reveals the recurrence of one
polyphonic cadential model as well, in two variant forms (marked by
a triangle in Table 6), functioning as a further tool of unification in
an already clear, homogeneous, symmetrical tonal plan.17

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daniele v. filippi

395

Example 7. F. Gaffurio, Quando venit ergo, synopsis of melodic cadences

I, bars 3-6

I, bars 25-27

II, bars 60-63

Motets.indb 395

II, bars 67-71

II, bars 76-79

II, bars 38-40

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text, form, and style

396

Table 6. F. Gaffurio, Quando venit ergo, structure and cadential plan

segment

bars
(lenght)

structure

cadences

Quando venit ergo sacri

plenitudo temporis

113
[12 ]

dense four voice counterpoint, then tending

toward homorhythmic texture

6: g; 9: g;
10: d; 13: B/g

missus est ab arce Patris

natus orbis conditor

1317
[5]

declamatory pseudoimitation, then

progressively homorhythmic

15: C0; 17: g0

atque ventre virginali

1822
[5]

duets: CtAcCtGr, then TCtGr

20: g0; 22: g

caro factus prodiit.

2127
[6 ]

final four voice cadence

27: g0

Ave corpus Jesu Christi,

2835
[8]

fermata chords

35: d

qui de coelo descendisti!

3640
[5]

animated homorhythmic texture

40: g0

Ave Verbum incarnatum,

4148
[8]

fermata chords

48: F

in altari consecratum!

4953
[5]

animated homorhythmic texture

53: F/d

Christi sanguis ave,

5459
[6]

fermata chords

59: B0

coeli sanctissime potus!

6063
[4]

animated homorhythmic texture

63: g0

Jesu nostra redemptio,

6467
[4]

duet CtAcCtGr

67: F0

amor et desiderium,

6771
[4]

duet ST

71: B0

Deus Creator omnium,

7174
[4]

duet CtAcCtGr

74: F

final four voice cadence

79: g0

homo in fine temporum.

7479
[5 ]

type
cadence

(cadences marked with are variants of )

Motets.indb 396

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397

Intertextual references between different motets are quite frequent.

Prominent motivic relationships between the openings of consecutive motets in Librone 1 suggest the existence of other veritable cycles
besides Salve Mater luminis, as already noted by other scholars.18 The
question clearly needs to be reconsidered, but here it would take us
too far. Anyway, it is worth noting that a chain of references links
Hortus conclusus, Descendi in hortum, Tota pulchra, Quando venit ergo, O
sacrum convivium;19 and another chain links Hoc gaudium, Prodiit puer,
Joseph conturbatus est, Gaude mater20 (but the non-consecutive Omnipotens aeterne Deus too opens with the same motivic cell).
Other motivic relations in internal segmentscombined with
structural analogieslink, for instance, another consecutive trio of
Marian motets: Castra coeli, O res laeta (whose texts derive from the
same poem)21 and Imperatrix reginarum.22 A significant motivic relationship subsists between Castra coeli and O res laeta in correspondence with the last two lines of the first strophe: the prominent phrase
sung by the contratenor gravis in Castra coeli at bars 1011 (gaba
cbag) recurs with identical rhythmic values in O res laeta in a tenor-superius imitation at bars 911; the next phrase in Castra coeli (bars
1213), somehow extending the previous one (bcdcba), returns
as well in O res laeta (bars 1517), albeit after another segment. In both
motets, moreover, the following segment has the typically Gaffurian
declamation pace in couples of minimae. The descending incipit motive of Imperatrix reginarum closely recalls that of Castra coeli; at bars
19ff. tenor and superius sing again the gabacbag phrase in
imitation. A web of further motivic references emerges (compare for
instance the contratenor gravis in Imperatrix reginarum, bars 1720,
and O res laeta, bars 1920). All in all, the compositional project seems
to reflect the AAB symmetry of the three texts: Imperatrix reginarum
has some elements in common with Castra coeli and O res laeta, but
resembles them less than they resemble one another.23
Another kind of internal intertextuality links Quando venit ergo
and Magnum nomen Domini. Where identical textual segments occur
in the two motets, patent rhythmic and structural analogies are to
be seen, even in the absence of motivic relations. See in Example 8
another instance of Gaffurios syllabic declamation (bars 23ff.), the
entries on missus est ab arce Patris (compare bars 257 here with
bars 1315 in Quando venit ergo),24 and the overall design, already described above, with a contrapuntal segment, then a progressive shift
to homorhythmic texture, then strict homophony on natus orbis
conditor.

18. Ludwig Finscher, in his Loyset Compre (c.14501518): Life and Works (n.p.,
1964), p.90, suggested a cycle encompassing fols71v75 (that is to say:
Quando venit ergo, O sacrum convivium,
Hoc gaudium, Gaude Virgo gloriosa);
other scholars, like Thomas Noblitt
in The Motetti Missales of the Late
Fifteenth Century (Ph.D. diss., University of Texas, 1964), pp.20839,
are less inclined to acknowledge
the existence of hidden or incomplete cycles; see a critic of this rather
stiff position in D.E.Crawfords
review in Current Musicology, 10 (1970),
pp.10210, at pp.1056, and, in positive and more general terms, L.Halpern Ward, The Motetti Missales
Repertory Reconsidered, JAMS, 39
(1986), pp.491523. On the problem
of identifying cycles and their structures, see also A.Lindmayr-Brandl,
Gaspar van Weerbeke and the Motet
Sancti spiritus adsit nobis. An Analytic Study Within the Diplomatic
Environment of the motetti missales,
Gaude Virgo gloriosa at fols74v75r).
Musica Disciplina, 46 (1992), pp.10513,
Prodiit puer, Joseph conturbatus estand
and P.A.Merkley and L.L.M.MerGaude mater are in triple metre.
kley, Music and Patronage in the Sforza
21. Analecta Hymnica, liv, 374. Castra coeli
Court (Turnhout, 1999), pp.33257.
sets the firsttwo strophes, O res laeta
19. Fols 68v73r.
the following two (of six in all).
20. Fols 73v80r (though with the inter22. Analecta Hymnica, xx, 154. Note that
polation of the apparently non-linked
the two poems are metrically related.

Motets.indb 397

23. This is true also from the mensural point of view: Castra coeli and O res
laeta bear the sign circulum diminutum,
Imperatrix reginarum the half-circle.
24. Note the similar voice disposition (131 in Magnum nomen
Domini, 121 in Quando venit ergo).

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text, form, and style

398

Example 8. F. Gaffurio, Magnum nomen Domini, bars 1629

16

Quan - do ve

do ve

do

do

ple - ni - tu - do tem - po-ris,

er

cri

sa

go

cri

nit

er - go

sa

ar - ce

Pa - tris

ple - ni - tu - do tem-po - ris,

tu - do tem-po - ris

quan - do ve -

mis -sus est ab

tem-po - ris,

nit

mis -sus est ab

sa

nit

go

nit

ve

ple - ni

do

er

ple - ni - tu - do tem-po - ris,

nit

Quan - do ve - nit

23

ple - ni-tu

ve

ae.

Quan

Quan -

Quan

ar

ce

Pa - tris

3
2

er - go

na - tus or

na - tus or

mis -sus est ab

mis -sus est ab

ar - ce

ar - ce

Pa - tris

Pa - tris

mis - sus est ab

ar - ce Pa - tris

na - tus or

na - tus or

cri

bis con - di - tor,

bis con - di - tor,

bis con - di - tor,

bis con - di - tor,

na - tus or

sa

cri

bis con - di - tor,

Another kind of intertextual reference, pointing outside Gaffurios

oeuvre, will be addressed in the last part of this paper.

III. Quando venit ergo:

Gaffurio, Ockeghem
and Josquin?
The motet in two parts Quando venit ergoAve corpus Jesu Christi,
already mentioned in previous remarks, provides a fine example
of Gaffurios humanistic-devotional style. It may clearly have been
conceived as a loco Sanctus motet, whether or not it can be ascribed
to a real cycle of motetti missales (see above):25 as in Weerbekes cycle
25. Merkley and Merkley, Music and
Patronage in the Sforza Court, p.349,
include its second part in a listof elevation-style pieces by Gaffurio in

Motets.indb 398

Librone 1, that in their view could

possibly have been used ad Elevationem outside any cycle whatsoever.

They do not seem, though, to take

into consideration its being a second
part, and not an independent piece.

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399

Quam pulchra es, for instance,26 its first part is contrapuntal, while the
second, related to the Elevation of the Host, is prevailingly homorhythmic and has fermata-chords sections.27 The text is a characteristic Milanese assemblage (see Table 7): the first part corresponds to
the fourth strophe of the hymn Pange lingua by Venantius Fortunatus, while the second part includes snippets from various eucharistic
hymns (lines 14), from the poem Christi corpus ave (lines 56) and
from the hymn for the lauds of the Ascension Jesu nostra redemptio
(lines 710).
Table 7. F. Gaffurio, Quando venit ergo, text and textual sources
textual source
I.

Quando venit ergo sacri

plenitudo temporis
missus est ab arce Patris
natus orbis conditor
atque ventre virginali
caro factus prodiit.

from Venantius Fortunatus, Pange lingua

(strophe IV); biblical source: Gal. 4:4,
At ubi venit plenitudo temporis, misit
Deus Filium suum factum ex muliere.

Ave corpus Jesu Christi

qui de coelo descendisti!
Ave Verbum incarnatum
in altari consecratum!

cfr. hymns in Analecta Hymnica: xxxi, 109

(1. Ave Verbum incarnatum / In altari
consecratum, / Verus panis angelorum /
Salus spes christianorum. // 2. Salve [or:
Ave] corpus Jesu Christi / Qui de caelo
descendisti / Pro vera mundi salute /
Libera nos servitute.); see also xv, 56
etc.

Christi sanguis ave, coeli

sanctissime potus!

from the anonimous poem Christi corpus

ave, sancta de virgine natum, Analecta
Hymnica, xlviii, 95: Christi Corpus, ave,
sancta de virgine natum, / Viva caro,
Deitas integra, verus homo. // Salve
vera salus, vis, vita, redemptio mundi
/ Liberet a cunctis nos tua dextera
malis. // Christe Sanguis, ave, coeli
sanctissime potus, / Unda salutaris
crimina nostra lavans. // Sanguis ave
lateris Christi de vulnere sparse, / In
cruce pendens unda salutaris ave.

Jesu, nostra redemptio,

amor et desiderium,
Deus creator omnium,
homo in fine temporum.

Lauds hymn In festo Ascensionis (strophe

I), Analecta Hymnica, ii, 49

II.

26. Edited in Messe e mottetti, pp.4475.

27. Cf. Halpern Ward, The Motetti
Missales Repertory Reconsidered,
p.516, n.42. As Philip Weller helpfully recalled during the discussion of
this paper, highly sectionalized movements with fermata-chords are especially apt for synchronization with
liturgy: the crucial moment of Eleva-

Motets.indb 399

tion (see below for liturgic-theological

commentaries) would probably benefit in the mosteffective way from this
synchronization.On fermata chords
sections in the contemporary repertoire see also B.J.Blackburn, The Dispute about Harmony c.1500 and the
Creation of a New Style, in Thorie et
analyse musicales 14501650: Actes du collo-

que international Louvain-la-Neuve, 2325

septembre 1999, ed.A.E.Ceulemans and
B.J.Blackburn (Publications dhistoire
de lart et darchologie de lUniversit
catholique de Louvain C/Musicologica neolovaniensia, Studia IX; Louvain-la-Neuve, 2001), pp.137.

29/02/12 08:10

text, form, and style

28. Paul and Lora Merkley have

castdoubt on the latter cycles attribution to Compre (Merkley and
Merkley, Music and Patronage in
the Sforza Court, pp.339 and 345);
however, the problem of authorship is as good as irrelevant here.
29. The situation is slightly different in
the third of Compres substitution
cycles (Missa Hodie nobis de Virgine),
where the firstpart of the Sanctus
is sung with its usual text, while the
Osanna-Benedictus is substituted
by a section prevailingly in fermatachords on the words Verbum caro
factum est, et habitavit in nobis, et
vidimus gloriam eius (Gv 1:14); then
a postElevationem motet follows, setting the hymn strophe Memento
salutis auctor, again on the theme of
Incarnation (obviously a basic motif
in this Christmas Mass). In the Salve
Mater Salvatoris cycle by Gaffurio himself, the correspondences between
motets and mass movements is a matter of discussion (see the Introduction to the edition in AMMM, 5, p.iv,
and Merkley and Merkley, Music and
Patronage in the Sforza Court, pp.342
3, with further literature). Looking
at the theological content, the hypothesis that the three-part Tu thronus es
as a whole should be the loco Sanctus
motet finds further credit: its firstand
second parts, though addressed to
Mary, gradually focus on the Incarnation, while the lastsection of the
third part has fermata chords on the
text Jesu, Verbum summi Patris,
and is addressed to Christ, probably intended as the elevated Host.
30. Rationale divinorum officiorum, iv, 34,
7 and 11. I quote the French translation: Guillaume Durand, Le sens
spirituel de la liturgie, ed.D.MilletGrard (Genve, 2003), pp.2946.
31. Ibid., iv, 41, 51 (modern edition, p.364).

Motets.indb 400

400

The theological content of the text is perfectly fitting and matches,

for instance, with those of two missales cycles by Loyset Compre (the
so called Missa Galeazescha and Missa Ave Domine Jesu Christe),28 where
the loco Sanctus section contemplates the mystery of Incarnation and
of the theandric unity in Christ, with a more or less pronounced
Marian flavour, while the following ad Elevationem movement, beginning in both cases with the words Adoramus te Christe, features an
adoration attitude (reflected in the music by the adoption of fermata
chords).29 Clearly, the substitution of a part of the ordinarium missae
through a motet may provide a valuable theological commentary on
that moment of the divine liturgy: in Quando venit ergo the text does
not only present the classic parallelism between Incarnation and eucharistic Transubstantiation, but alludes to the interconnection of
some of the central mysteries of Christian faithChrists humanity,
his Passion, Resurrection and Ascension (symbolically associated to
the Elevation of the consecrated Host). This is very well in line with
the traditional interpretation of liturgy. Guillaume Durand (c.1230
96) writes in his highly influential Rationale divinorum officiorum:
Lorsque nous disons Benedictus qui venit etc., nous rendons grces tout
spcialement du bienfait de la rdemption. Puisquen effet il est ncessaire au salut ternel de confesser le mystre de lIncarnation, cest
bon droit que lon ajoute Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.
Quand commence le Sanctus, nous devons nous tenir debout et inclins, parce que nous vnrons alors lIncarnation et la majest divines, reconnues par le chant des anges et des hommes. Ensuite, en
disant Benedictus etc., puisque ces mots sont tirs de lvangile, nous
devons faire le signe de croix ou nous revtir de ltendard de la croix,
parce que cest par la croix que le Christ a triomph et nous fait triompher.
partir de maintenant, en gestes et en parole, cest la Passion du
Christ, qui est reprsente.30

And on the meaning of the Elevation:

Aprs avoir dit ces paroles: Ceci est mon corps, le prtre lve le corps
du Christ Il le fait, dabord pour que tous ceux qui sont prsents
le voient et demandent ce qui est utile au salut, selon cette parole:
Si je suis lev de terre, etc.. Ensuite, pour montrer quil ny a pas
dautre sacrifice digne, quil est au-dessus de toutes les victimes. Troisimement, lexaltation de leucharistie dans les mains du prtre
signifie le Christ vrai pain exalt par les Prophtes dans les critures,
notamment lorsquils prophtisaient son Incarnation, ainsi Isae:
Voici quune vierge concevra; et que cette nourriture serait la plus
excellente de toutes. Il en va de mme du breuvage. Quatrimement
llvation signifie la Rsurrection.31

Let us go back to the music. The motet is characterized by a strong

sectionalization, and richness of contrasts on many different levels

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daniele v. filippi

401

(rhythm, dimensional proportions, texture and so on), balanced by a

strong endeavour to melodic, cadential and tonal unity, as suggested
by Example 7 and Table 6 discussed above.
The very opening of the motet is rather uncommon: in fact, this
is the only motet by Gaffurio in Librone 1 to open with a contrapuntal segment sung by the four voices together, while he usually
employs imitative textures or contrapuntal duets or homophony.
This anomaly concealsor perhaps I had better say revealsan intertextual reference: Gaffurio is quoting Johannes Ockeghems chanson Dun autre amer, as shown in Example 9 (Ockeghems tenor and
discantus are exchanged in Gaffurios reinvention of the passage).
Afterwards (bars 36) Gaffurio reuses the beginning of the second
discantus phrase in Ockeghems refrain (bars 912): and it is precisely
from this phrase that the ubiquitous cadential formula discussed
above derives.
Ockeghems setting of this rondeau quatrain hardly needs to be
introduced: one of his earliest chansons,32 widely disseminated, reworked and referenced by composers like Agricola, Tinctoris, Basiron, Pierre de la Rue, Marbriano de Orto and obviously Josquin.
We know from his writings that Gaffurio had a deep knowledge
of Ockeghems music: he cites Ockeghem, for instance, not only in
his Practica musicae of 1496, but also in his earlier manuscript treatise
Tractatus practicabilium proportionum, usually dated to 1482.33 Gaffurio was probably influenced in this by Johannes Tinctoris, who had
a deep critical knowledge of Ockeghems oeuvre.34 But what is the
reason for this quotation, and what is its meaning? As a matter of
fact, the text of this chanson can be read under the perspective of
spiritual, sacred love:
32. It is usually dated to the early 1460s:
see D.Fallows, Johannes Ockeghem: The Changing Image, the
Songs and a New Source, Early
Music, 12 (1984), pp.21830, at p.223,
and id., A Catalogue of Polyphonic
Songs: 14151480 (New York, 1999).
33. See C.A.Miller, Early Gaffuriana: New Answers to Old Questions, The Musical Quarterly, 56
(1970), pp.36788, at p.375.
34. Concerning Ockeghems relation
with the Milanese milieu, contacts
between the Ducal court and the
composer are documented for the
early 1470s: Ockeghem was acting as
a kind of external consultant for the
recruitment of singers for the Ducal
chapel (see Merkley and Merkley,
Music and Patronage in the Sforza Court,
p.80). No compositions by Ockeghem figure in the Libroni della Veneranda Fabbrica; thus, unfortunately,
given the codicological desert surrounding the Libroni, we do not
know anything about the actual circulation of his music in Milan.

Motets.indb 401

Dun autre amer mon cueur sabesseroit;

il ne fault ja penser que je lestrange
ne que pour rien de ce propos me change
car mon honneur en appetisseroit.
Je laime tant que jamais ne seroit
possible a moi de consentir leschange.
Dun autre amer
La mort, par Dieu, avant me desferoit
quen mon vivant jacoinctasse ung estrange
ne cuide nul qua cela je me range:
ma leaut trop fort se mesferoit.
Dun autre amer

These words could easily be understood as spoken by the devout

professing his loyalty to God or to Christ in the Eucharistor even,
on the other hand, by Christ professing his faithfulness to his mystical Spouse, with an allusion to the sacrifice of his death. Vague
as this interpretation may seem, Gaffurio is not alone in quoting

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Motets.indb 402

Gaffurio

Tenor

Superius

Tenor

Discantus

Ockeghem

Example 9. Gaffurio quoting Ockeghem in Quando venit ergo (reduction)

T.

na

tus

con - di - tor

or - bis

text, form, and style

402

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daniele v. filippi

403

Dun autre amer within sacred compositions.35 We know of at least

two anonymous masses (in I-Rvat, Ms. San Pietro B 8036 and D-Ju 31),
an anonymous Regina coeli (in I-Rvat, Ms. Capp. Sist. 63), and most of
all a well-known and substantial group of compositions by Josquin
Desprez: a mass,37 a Sanctus, the motets Victimae paschali laudes and Tu
solus qui facis mirabiliaworks that still seem to be unanimously attributed to him, and are generally related to his early period.
Leaving aside the other works by Josquin, I will consider briefly
the two motets. In Victimae paschali laudes,38 Josquin admirably combines the melody of the Easter sequence (sung alternatively by the
three lower voices) with the discantus of Ockeghems Dun autre amer
in the first part, and with the discantus of Hayne van Ghizegems
De tous biens plaine in the second part, respectively. Josquin possibly
noticed that the first phrase in the tenor of Ockeghems chanson
looked de facto like an ornamented version of the incipit of the sequence, and hence he developed this daring combinatorial idea. By
the way, Gaffurio himself composed a Missa De tous biens plaine (Librone 2, fols 8493): thus, curiously enough, the two known cases
of reusing of chanson materials in Gaffurios oeuvre regard the two
chansons combined by Josquin in his Victimae paschali laudes.
But of more interest, from the point of view of this paper, is Tu
solus qui facis mirabilia.39 This motet has been associated with the Milanese motetti missales style: as a matter of fact, its first part stands
loco Benedictus in Petruccis edition of the Missa Dung aultre amer. It
is in the second part, however, that the musical as well as textual
quotation from Ockeghems chanson is embedded.40 The reference is
clearly and explicitly integrated within the text of the motet, possibly
alluding to the contraposition of secular and sacred love:

35. See H.M.Brown, Music in the French

Secular Theater: 14001550 (Cambridge,
MA, 1963), pp.20910; H.Meconi,
Art-song Reworkings: an Overview,
JRMA, 119 (1994), pp.142, at pp.289;
E.Jas, Ockeghem as a model, in
Johannes Ockeghem: actes du XLe colloque international dtudes humanistes:
Tours, 38 fvrier 1997, ed.P.Vendrix
(Paris, 1998), pp.75785, at p.777; Fallows, A Catalogue of Polyphonic Songs.
36. Probably the oldestcomposition of the group, dating back to
the early 1470s: see R.C.Wegman,
The Anonymous Mass DUng aultre amer: ALate Fifteenth-Century Experiment, The Musical
Quarterly, 74 (1990), pp.56694.
37. Josquins Missa Dung aultre amer is
usually ascribed to his early period,
like all his other compositions quoting this songsee M.J.Bloxam,
Masses on Polyphonic Songs and
Canonic Masses, in Josquin Companion, ed.R.Sherr (Oxford, 2000),
pp.151209, at pp.160ff.; in the light
of the recent reassessment of Josquins biography, it can be said to be
either a Milanese work of the 1480s,
or a Milanese-inspired work of the
1470s, or a misattribution.The shortestamong Josquins masses, according to Finscher it curiously resembles
Dung aultre amer
works by Gaffurio like the Missa de
Nobis esset fallatia;
Carneval and Missa brevis et expedita: it
Dung aultre amer
is however difficult to determine the
direction of the compositional influMagna esset stulticia
ence (L.Finscher, Four-Voice Motets,

et peccatum.
in Josquin Companion, pp.24979, at
p.257). Matters have been further
complicatedwrote Bonnie BlackAt first sight, the quotations from Ockeghem in Josquin and in
burn in the Critical Commentary of
Gaffurio seem unrelated, arranged as they are in different polyphonNJE, xxii/2, p.46 (see the next note)
ic structures. A closer view, though, reveals a coincidence: if Gaffurio
by the discovery that the anonyexchanges the chanson discantus and tenor in his opening, while
mous Missa Dung aultre amer in Jena
31 shares its Gloria [] with JosJosquin maintains their original positions, the two composers share
quins Missa Dung aultre amer.
the idea of combining the second melodic cell of the tenor with the
38. See NJE, xxii: Motets on non-bibsubsequent discantus phrase in a cadential construction that reachlical texts 2: De Domino Jesu
Christo, ed.B.J.Blackburn
es the finalis g (at bar 6 in Gaffurio, in four voices; at bar 7 in Josquin).
(Utrecht, 2003), pp.438.
Considering the technical and liturgical correspondences41 on
39. Ibid., pp.3842.
40. This second part could possibly have the one hand, and the rarity of chanson quotations in the Milanese
been added later, but it is stylistically
while Josquins Tu solus (probably in
congruent, and there is no reason to 41. It mustbe noted, however, that Gaffurios motet (standing probably loco
itself an Elevation motet loco Benedicreject its attribution to Josquin (see
Sanctus, as said) bears the quote at
tus) has the quote in the second part.
the Critical commentary of the NJE volthe very beginning of its firstpart,
ume cited above, pp.3940 and 45).

Motets.indb 403

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text, form, and style

404

Example 10. Josquin, Tu solus qui facis mirabilia, secunda pars, bars 6985
(from NJE, xxii.2, ed. Bonnie J. Blackburn)
69

S.

Dung
A.

T.

aul - tre a

- mer,

aul - tre a -

76

dung

- tre a

aul

- tre a

pec

et

pec

et

pec

pec

ti

fal - la

ma

ti

ma - gna

es

gna

es

ca

ca

ca

ca

set

stul

set

stul

ti

ci

ci

ti

tum.

tum.

tum.

tum.

mer

et

- set

es -

fal - la

bis

es - set

mer

et

Motets.indb 404

aul

dung

mer,

82

No

Dung

No - bis

B.

29/02/12 08:10

Motets.indb 405

Bassus

Tenor

Altus

Josquin

Gaffurio

Cantus

Tenor

Superius

Tenor

Discantus

Ockeghem

Example 11. Gaffurio and Josquin quoting Ockeghem (reduction)

daniele v. filippi
405

29/02/12 08:10

text, form, and style

42. Very few cases are known at the

moment in Milanese motets: Finscher, Loyset Compre, p.107, n.40,
traces back the firstphrases of the
unifying melody in Compres
cycle Ave Domine to the tenor of the
chanson Je ne demande by Busnois,
while C.A.Reynolds, The Counterpoint of Allusion in Fifteenthcentury Masses, JAMS, 45 (1992),
pp.22860, at p.247, recalls the quotation of Jay pris amours (attributed
to Caron) in the contratenor of Josquins Christe, Fili Dei, already noted
by Taruskin (Christe, Fili Dei being
the seventh part of Vultum tuum deprecabuntur, the motet-cycle that
resembles the Milanese motetti missales more than any other Josquinian composition, as pointed out by
Finscher, Four-Voice Motets).
43. During the discussion of this paper,
Jeffrey Dean kindly suggested that the
alluded text could have functioned as
a link between the preceding Song of
Songs texts (Hortus conclusus, Descendi
in hortum, Tota pulchra) and the eucharistic subject shared by Quando venit
ergo and the following O sacrum convivium, in the possible substitution
cycle already mentioned above.
44. Finscher, Four-Voice
Motets, pp.2567.
45. Franchinus Gafurius, Angelicum
ac divinum opus musicae, facs. edition (Antiquae musicae Italicae scriptores: libri fototypice
expressi,1; Bologna, 1971).

Motets.indb 406

406

repertoire42 on the other, the citation in Quando venit ergo, not easily
explainable from a symbolic or semantic point of view,43 could be
regarded as the result of an intertextual dialogue between Gaffurio
and Josquin.
In his contribution on the four-voice motets in the Josquin Companion, Ludwig Finscher defined Josquins attitude toward the Milanese
style as a systematic attempt at emulation combined with elements
of direct intertextuality.44 This applies primarily to earlier Milanese
compositions like the motetti missales cycle Missa Galeazescha by Compre, while it seems less probable at first sight that Gaffurios works
of the mid- and late 1480s could have influenced Josquin. However,
as already mentioned above (see note 37), the direction of the influence between Josquins Missa Dung aultre amer and some masses by
Gaffurio, like the Missa de Carneval and Missa brevis et expedita, cannot
be easily ascertained. The always in-progress reconsideration of Josquins attributed oeuvre and biography (in particular about his relations with Milan) prevents the drawing of firm conclusions. What
is sure is that the two men knew each other; see in particular the
famous passage in Gaffurios Angelicum ac divinum opus musice of 1508
(Tractatus quintus, Capitolo Sexto), on the proportio sesquialtera and the
problems connected to its notation:
De questi inconvenienti ne advertite gi molti anni passati Iusquin
despriet & Gaspar [van Weerbeke] dignissimi compositori: qui quanquam acquieverunt sententie nostre tamen ab assueta eorum corruptela difficile diverti potuerunt.45

Thus, we are perhaps skating on thin ice, given the potentially fatal interaction of uncertain datings and attributions, but the fascinating picture of Josquin, Gaffurio and other Milan-based composers exchanging opinions on notational and theoretical matters could
indeed have a correspondence in the field of musica practica.

The investigation of Gaffurios compositional output through the

analysis of his four-voice motets in the Librone 1 della Veneranda
Fabbrica undertaken in this paper has shownI hopethat the Italian master developed a personal style deserving further exploration.
Particularly intriguing are aspects of his technique concerning motivic invention, phraseology, text expression, and form. In general,
his original way of dealing with the main stylistic problems of the
time still awaits a comprehensive study. Moreover, some characteristics of his compositional thought as sketched above (e.g. the concern
for formal proportions) should be put in relation to his theoretical
contributions. On a broader level, the Milanese repertoire as a whole
can surely be said to deserve new detailed analysis. Beyond its historical significanceusually acknowledged by scholarsthis repertoire
needs to be reconsidered from a technical and gattungsgeschichtlich

29/02/12 08:10

daniele v. filippi

407

point of view. And the web of intertextual relationships emerging

from close analysis may indeed reveal surprising and exciting new
details concerning the interaction among the composers involved.

Motets.indb 407

29/02/12 08:10

text, form, and style

408

Appendix Gaffurio, Quando venit ergo

Filippi - Appendix - Quando venit ergo

h ll h

Quan

Contratenor acutus

Tenor

Quan

Cb J g h h
Contratenor gravis

Fb J

Quan-do ve - nit

Cb J i i i i

do ve

- nit

ple

- nit

er

ve

- do

ve

mis -sus

na - tus or - bis

O R

O R

O R
A

cri

ple - ni - tu

tris

na - tus or - bis

Pa - tris

na - tus or - bis

ve

Cor

ve

ve

ve

Cor

Cor

Cor

ro fa

ca

ca

ro

pus

pus

Je

Je

pus

pus

Je

Je

su

su

su

ro

at - que ven - tre

Chri

Chri

fa - ctus

pro

Chri

su

Chri

ctus

sti

sti

po -

po

do

tem - po -

at - que ven - tre

pro

- di - it.

qui

de

qui

sti

qui

de

cae

it.

di

di

cae - lo

di

de

qui

cae

sti

vir - gi - na

pro

fa - ctus

fa

go

vir - gi - na - li

ca

- ro

at - que ven - tre

con - di - tor,

- ctus pro

con - di - tor,

na - tus or - bis con - di - tor,

li
II [ AVE CORPUS JESU CHRISTI ]

O R

ple - ni - tu - do tem

vir - gi
na - li

cri

Pa - tris

con - di -tor,

sa

ple - ni - tu - do tem

tem - po - ris,

ar - ce Pa - tris

est ab ar - ce

21

ca

cri

- go

mis -sus eat ab ar - ce

- ris,

nit er

mis -sus est ab

mis-sus est ab ar - ce Pa

Motets.indb 408

do

do

- ris,

go sa

go sa

- ris,

13

28

er

ni - tu

er

- -

go

er

Quan -

it.

it.

de - scen - di

lo

de -

de

cae

lo

lo
29/02/12 08:10

ca

vir - gi
na - li

O R
28

ve

Cor

Cor

ve

Cor

scen

Cor

ve

39

ca

de

ca

Je

Je

pus

pus

Je

Je

di - sti.

sti.

sti.

scen - di

sti.

in

al

in

al

in

al

in

al

po

cae - li san - ctis - si - me

69

de - si - de

po

de

ri

Motets.indb 409

de -

de

cae

qui

sti

qui

de

lo

cae

lo

Ver

bum

in

car

na

tum

ve

Ver

bum

in

car

na

tum

ve

Ver

bum

in

car

na

tum

ve,

se -

cra -tum.

Chri

sti

San

guis

tum.

Chri

sti

San

guis

ve,

tum.

Chri

sti

San

guis

ve,

po-tus.

tus.

tus.

Je - su,

- pti - o,

re

a - mor

et

a - mor

et

dem-pti - o,

ho - mo

in

fi - ne tem

tor

ho -

mo

in fi -

mni-um,

re -

dem

no - stra

nos - stra

tus.

Je - su,

guis

cre - a

me

ve,

um,

San

cra

cre - a

sti

Chri

cra

- tum.

De - us
77

lo

De - us

- si - de

cae

ve

de

qui

tum

ri - um,

de - scen - di

cae - lo

na

de

sti

po

qui

it.

san - ctis - si

di

409

con - se -

cae - li san - ctis - si - me

Chri

it.

car

con - se -

su

sti

di

in

ta - ri

sti

it.

pro

Chri

ctus

di

bum

con

ta - ri

cae - li san - ctis - si - me

pro

60

fa - ctus

- di - it.

Ver

ta - ri

Chri

su

pro

fa - ctus

Chri

su

ve

ta - ri con - se - cra

fa

su

ro

pus

pus

49

ro

de - scen - di

- ro

li

ve

- ctus pro

daniele
v. filippi

ro fa

II [ AVE CORPUS JESU CHRISTI ]

O R

O R

O R

ca

tor

ho - mo

mni - um,

in

ho - mo

fi

in
29/02/12 08:10

cae - li san - ctis - si - me

po

san - ctis - si

cae - li san - ctis - si - me

po

me

Je - su,

po-tus.

de

ri

De - us

ne

tem

- - - ne tem -

po

ne

tem

no - stra

re

et

a - mor

et

410

dem-pti - o,

ho - mo

in

fi - ne tem

tor

ho -

mo

in fi -

mni-um,

tor

ho - mo

mni - um,

in

ho - mo

fi

in

po - rum.

- pti - o,

dem

a - mor

fi

Motets.indb 410

cre - a

re -

77

Je - su,

um,

cre - a

nos - stra

De - us

tus.

ri - um,

- si - de

tus.

po

de - si - de

tus.

text, form,
and style

cae - li san - ctis - si - me

69

po - rum.

rum.

rum.

po

29/02/12 08:10