Ave, Domine Iesu Christe

Book excerpt: The motet cycles known as motetti missales are among the most intriguing repertoires of late-fifteenth-century polyphony. This series features a new critical edition of the six cycles by Loyset Compère, Gaspar van Weerbeke, and Franchinus Gaffurius included in the Milanese Libroni and of the two anonymous cycles transmitted in the Leopold Codex (Munich MS 3154). For the first time this corpus is presented with uniform editorial criteria, facilitating the comparison of mensural choices and other compositional strategies. Furthermore, the introduction of each volume thematizes the peculiar characteristics of each cycle, in terms of textual choices, use of preexisting material, and musical design, allowing for a new assessment of the motetti missales that goes beyond the homogenizing stereotypes of earlier literature and accounts for the individual contributions of the various composers. The editors’ insight in this repertoire is the result of two interdisciplinary research projects financed by the Swiss National Fund and carried out at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in 2014–21. The anonymous motet cycle Ave, Domine Iesu Christe, transmitted uniquely in Librone 1 of the Milanese Libroni, consists of eight motets for four and five voices on Christological texts; the first four, each of which begins with the words “Ave, Domine Iesu Christe,” take their text from a prayer to Christ popular in contemporary prayer books. Despite the anonymous transmission, several notable stylistic features of the cycle—including use of the technique of “split tenors”—suggest a possible attribution to Loyset Compère (ca. 1450–1518). All eight motets bear loco rubrics indicating their placement in the mass liturgy.