MCE 04-03 Tu thronus es salomonis : Salve mater pietatis : Lux eclipsim nesciens
Motet
Text (ed. by Eva Ferro)
|
Edition |
Translation |
1 |
Tu thronus es Salomonis, |
You are the throne of Salomon, |
2 |
Ebur candens castitatis[1], |
Shining ivory of chastity, |
3 |
Palmam praefers singularem |
You hold forth an extraordinary palm branch |
4 |
Laus humani generis, |
You are the praise of the human species; |
5 |
Sol luna lucidior |
As the Sun is brighter than the moon |
6 |
Salve, mater pietatis |
Hail, Mother of Compassion |
7 |
Verbi tamen incarnati |
preparing a special lodging |
8 |
O Maria, stella maris, |
O Mary, star of the sea |
9 |
In supremo sita poli |
Placed in the very height of heaven, |
10 |
Lux eclipsim nesciens |
The chastity of the Virgin |
11 |
In procinctu[iv] constituti |
Ready for battle, |
12 |
Iesu, verbum summi[v] patris, |
Jesus, Word of the highest Father, |
[1] castitatis] castistitatis Librone 1, B
[2] virtutum] vitutum Librone 1, B
[3] ordinaris] ordinaris ris Librone1, C; ordinaras Librone 1, T
[4] supplantent] supplantent tent Librone 1, B
[5] pervicacis] pernicacis Librone 1, C T
[6] may be we safe] simus tuti has been translated here with a present tense passive with respect to the syntactic phenomenon called ‘periphrastische Passivierung’ observed by Peter Stotz, Handbuch zur lateinischen Sprache des Mittelalters, Vierter Band: Formenlehre Syntax und Stilistik (Munich: Verlag C. H. Beck, 1998), ix, §77.1, p. 350: ‘Im Vlat. und im Rom. sind die kompakten Passivformen der Prs.-Tempora vom Typus amor durch Periphrase abgelöst worden, v. a. nach dem … Typus amatus sum.’
[i] mysteria] musteria Librone 1, A
[ii] sideribus] syderibus Librone 1, A B
[iii] caritas] charitas Librone 1, C A T B
[iv] procinctu] procintu Librone 1, C
[v] summi] sumi Librone 1, B
[vi] gratis] grattis Librone 1, C B
This edition reflects the text transmitted in Librone 1, ff. 87v–90r written by Scribe B, like the other motets of this cycle. He inserted some mistakes (for instance ‘castistitatis’ for castitatis and ‘vitutum’ for virtutum in B; ‘ordinarisris’ in C and ‘ordinaras’ in T for ordinaris) as well as phonetic variants (for instance the typical omission of double consonants as ‘sumi’ (B) for summi or redundant consonants as ‘grattis’ (C B) for gratis).
The text of this third motet of the cycle is again devoted to Mary and was drawn from the same sequence of Adam of Saint-Victor (AH 54, no. 245, pp. 383–86) as in the two preceding motets. The motet is quite long and comprises three parts, for which Gaffurius utilized all of the remaining verses from the sequence (13 to 24). As has been noted before,[1] Gaffurius utilized the sequence’s text almost without modifications, except for the position of verse 18 (which corresponds to no. 10 in the present edition). Although other explanations are possible,[2] it is likely that he undertook this modification in order to create a compact block of texts that deal with the semantic field of vision, as the references to light (lux) and flame (ardor) in verse 18 (= no. 10), to the action of seeing (tueri) in verse 23 (= no. 11), and the image of brightness (claritas) in verse 24 (= no. 12) demonstrate. In this subsection of the motet formed by verses 18 (= no. 10) and 23 (= no. 11) Gaffurius is ‘textually’ preparing the scene for the liturgical moment in which verse 24 (= no. 12) finally resounds, namely at the climax of mass, the Elevation of the Host. With these references Gaffurius thus connects the motet to the Elevation of the Eucharist, which in the late Middle Ages was received in a form of ‘ocular’ communion.[3]
[1] Eva Ferro, ‘“Old Texts for New Music”? Textual and Philological Observations on the Cycles “Salve Mater Salvatoris” and “Ave Domine Iesu Christe” from Librone 1’, in Motet Cycles between Devotion and Liturgy, ed. Daniele V. Filippi and Agnese Pavanello, Schola Cantorum Basiliensis Scripta 7 (Basel: Schwabe, 2019), 189–218, at 197–99.
[2] See also the Introduction to the cycle.
[3] Thomas Lentes, ‘“As far as the eye can see...”: Rituals of Gazing in the Late Middle Ages’, in The Mind’s Eye: Art and Theological Argument in the Middle Ages, ed. Jeffrey F. Hamburger and Anne-Marie Bouché (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006), 360–72, at 362.
Measure | Voice | Source | Category | Comment | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
I-Mfd1 | rubrics and verbal directions | ‘F. G.’ added later by Gaffurius | |||
I-Mfd1 | designation of voices | –, Contra acutus, Tenor, Contra gravis | |||
I-Mfd1 | clefs | original clefs: c1, c3, c4, c4 | |||
100 | 3 | I-Mfd1 | pitch and rhythm | c' Sb and b Mi (written in smaller size) are probably a correction of a previous mistake | Show |
139-140 | 4 | I-Mfd1 | rubrics and verbal directions | ‘Verte’ direction at f. 89r (B), pointing to the conclusion of the piece on the following opening, and corresponding to the passage between mm. 139 and 140 in the edition | |
161 | 3 | I-Mfd1 | pitch and rhythm | the Br g, smaller than the others and with a slightly different shape, has probably been added later | Show |
204 | 2 | I-Mfd1 | musical symbols | fermata missing |
Text
Edition | Translation |
---|---|
Tu thronus es Salomonis, |
You are the throne of Salomon, |
Ebur candens castitatis, |
Shining ivory of chastity, |
Palmam praefers singularem |
You hold forth an extraordinary palm branch |
Laus humani generis, |
You are the praise of the human species; |
Sol luna lucidior |
As the Sun is brighter than the moon |
Salve, mater pietatis |
Hail, Mother of Compassion |
Verbi tamen incarnati |
preparing a special lodging |
O Maria, stella maris, |
O Mary, star of the sea |
In supremo sita poli |
Placed in the very height of heaven, |
Lux eclipsim nesciens |
The chastity of the Virgin |
In procinctu constituti |
Ready for battle, |
Iesu, verbum summi patris, |
Jesus, Word of the highest Father, |