Joti Rockwell
4-3-97
Music 250
NOTE: to listen to the musical examples cited in this paper use MCD 212 (Victoria Ave Maris Stella/ O quam gloriosum sung by the Westminster Cathedral Choir)
Tomás Luis de Victoria is certainly not the most well-known of late Renaissance composers; he did not
produce as much music and did not show as varied a style as some of his contemporaries. Still, as Bruno
Turner states, "...in its narrow specialisation in strictly liturgical or devotional function, Victoria's music is
not only the most perfectly fit for its purpose, but the most perfectly styled and fashioned of its kind..."
[Turner a) p.2]. Victoria's style is well-characterized by one of his most common compositional types- the
parody mass. Presented here is a discussion of how Victoria composed his parody mass "O Quam
Gloriosum", with special consideration given to the following questions: What were the conventions of
mass writing leading up to Victoria's time and how does Victoria's style exemplify these conventions?
How do Victoria and his music agree with Counter Reformation thought? What are the musical similarities
and differences between the original motet material and the material in the Mass?
In his article, "A View of the Early Sixteenth-Century Parody Mass", Lewis Lockwood discusses
the stylistic changes that occurred in parody masses between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.The motet
tended to replace the chanson as the basis for a mass; there were many consequences of this change. Since
as a compositional form the motet is more closely related to the mass than the chanson, Lockwood argues,
the parody mass and its motet can be combined to serve a practical function. He gives some evidence to
suggest that parody masses and motets were sometimes performed together and argues that in general there
is a greater degree of unity between mass and motet than between mass and chanson. Another general
difference between 15th century and 16th century parody procedure is that more attention seemed to be
given to text: "...not only the musical substance of the model but its text as well is seen to exert an
influence on the parody procedure." Lastly, Lockwood makes the case that imitative writing in motets by
necessity translates into imitative writing in masses; the borrowing of entire individual lines such as in
chanson or plainchant-based masses is not as common with later parody procedure [Lockwood pp. 53-
75].
Later in the sixteenth century, the compositional process for many Catholic composers was
influenced by the ideology of the Council of Trent and the Counter Reformation. In an attempt to purify
Catholic music, the Council of Trent issued a decree on church music in 1562:
"All things should indeed be so ordered that the Masses ... may reach tranquilly into the ears and hearts of those who hear them, when everything is executed clearly and at the right speed ... let nothing profane be intermingled, but only hymns and divine praises. The whole plan of singing in musical modes should be constituted ... in such a way that the words may be clearly understood by all ... They shall also banish from church all music that contains, whether in the singing or in the organ playing, things that are lascivious or impure." [Weiss p.137]
The clergy of the Counter Reformation preferred a musical style that was not overly virtuosic or
ornamented; they wanted to be able to hear sacred texts clearly. A consequence of their thought for parody
procedure was that masses should not be based on "profane" motets. More suggestions specific to
composing parody masses were given by Padre Pietro Cerone in his compendium El Melopeo y maestro ,
written in 1613:
- "It is necessary and obligatory that the musical theme at the beginnings of the first Kyrie, the Gloria, the Credo, the Sanctus, and the Agnus Dei should be one and the same.
- In the course of the Mass, the more use one makes (whether with or without imitation) of motives from the middle or inside of the composition upon which the Mass is written, the better and the more praiseworthy the work will be.
- The Gloria and Credo are composed as continuous movements, without embellishment and with less imitation among the parts, using melodic ideas that are short, clear, familiar, and closely woven, unlike those of the Kyries, the Sanctuses, and the Agnus Dei's, which should be long, elaborate, less familiar, and less closely woven.
-It may be seen that good composers have taken care to make the parts sing all together, using only slow notes and with devout consonances and harmonious intervals, upon the words "Jesu Christe." This is done because of the reverence and decorum due to their meanings. The same is usually observed upon the words "Et incarnatus est" to "Crucifixus". To write points of imitation and lively passages here is a very great error and a sign of great ignorance." [Weiss pp. 132-133]
It can be seen with Cerone's writing that some of the characteristics of the parody mass which
Lockwood discusses had been thoroughly incorporated into the practice of the late sixteenth century.
Cerone's specific descriptions of the ways in which words relating to the life of Christ should be treated
musically illustrates the added attention given to text. Also, Cerone's reference to the borrowing of musical
material for "points of imitation" supports Lockwood's suggestion that motivic writing became more
common than the inclusion of entire melodic lines.
Victoria's parody mass "O Quam Gloriosum", published in 1583, is in general accord with the
historical context presented in this study. The similarity of the mass and motet texts and the way in which
the motet is incorporated into the mass give the two pieces a unity that likely would not have existed had
Victoria used a chanson. Victoria pays close attention to text setting in the Mass. Also, he does not borrow
melodies from the motet as "self-contained linear totalities" [Lockwood p. 61]; rather, he adapts the
borrowed material to suit the imitative style used in the mass. Lastly, although he does not follow every
rule presented by Cerone, Victoria illustrates a style that is generally in harmony with the attitudes of late
sixteenth century Catholicism.
The most direct thematic connections between Victoria's motet and Mass as given by Thomas Rive
are:
example 1:
example 2:
example 3:
example 4:
[Victoria p.VI]
With example 1 we see the first theme of the motet that is directly referenced in the mass. Perhaps the
reason that the beginning of the motet does not appear in the mass is as Bruno Turner suggests: "Victoria,
it seems, omitted this from the material for the mass because it was suitable only for quotation, not
development." [Turner b) p.2] It is clear with this example that Victoria did not seek to take melodic
material from the motet to use it strictly; he adapts it to suit the contrapuntal and textual nature of the Mass.
A good example of contrapuntal and textural adaptation is 1.d, where Victoria gives added movement on
the word "mundi". Although he begins the Kyrie with the C-F-G-A theme of the motet, Victoria does not
begin every movement of the mass with this motive, as Cerone suggests.
Example 2 shows a rising G-mixolydian scale in the motet which is borrowed for the Gloria and
Credo sections of the Mass. Here we see an obvious but important similarity between motet and Mass-
the mode is generally maintained. It is also clear from this example that in some ways Victoria was more
concerned with variety between motet and Mass than variety between corresponding sections of the Mass;
the endings of the Gloria and Credo sections are virtually the same. This is in basic agreement with
Cerone's discussion of treatment of Gloria and Credo sections; since Victoria uses this short section of
material to end both movements, it is "familiar and closely woven", as Cerone suggested.
Example 3 illustrates how a descending G-mixolydian scale translates from motet to mass. We can
observe a careful treatment of text in the Credo section (ex. 3.d) In order to have a melisma on "salutem"
(salvation), Victoria breaks up the half-note rhythm of the motive. By doing this, he not only adapts the
musical material to fit the text of the mass but he also maintains a similar textual treatment to that of the
motet. One can also observe in the Credo section the use of the descending scale on the word "descendit";
the motive here is concise as suggested by Cerone. Cerone certainly would have liked the repeated use of
this passage from the motet, since he said that works are more "praiseworthy" if they make frequent use of
motives from the inside of the parent motet.
Example 4 illustrates a use of mode that distinguishes Victoria from some of his contemporaries. His
use of the mixolydian mode in conjunction with the ionian can be seen in both the Mass and its parent
motet. The use of F# and F natural (or C# and C natural) in the same measure creates a modal distinction
between rising and falling melodic lines. This is analogous to the chromatic nature of the current melodic
minor scale. It is important to note that this chromatic peculiarity in the Mass does not obscure important
text- in the Kyrie , for example, Victoria has a descending third for "Christe" and does not introduce the
bimodal figure until a melisma on "eleison". Although Cerone might have had some objection to Victoria's
use of "Christe" in imitative writing, he certainly would have acknowledged Victoria's appreciation of the
text.
Example 5 is an excellent illustration of how Victoria treats sacred words. As Cerone states, the
words "Et incarnatus est" to "crucifixus" should generally be given consonant and homorhythmic
treatment. This is exactly what Victoria does in measures 50-62 of the Credo. In what Bruno Turner calls a
"magical moment of reverent simplicity," Victoria changes to a triple meter (perhaps representing the
trinity) and declares the text consonantly and clearly.
Victoria's "O Quam Gloriosum" shows how Victoria generally shared the sentiment of the Council of
Trent with regards to composition. Like all of his other masses (and all of his other works), it is set to a
sacred Latin text, so there is nothing "lascivious or impure" as there might be with a parody mass based on
a secular piece. Victoria is careful and deliberate with his setting of the sacred text; the only objection the
Council of Trent might have had to his style would have concerned the occasional confusion of text that
results from imitative writing. In his preface to the book of masses that contained "O Quam Gloriosum",
Victoria said, "...for what should music serve rather than the holy praise of the immortal God from whom
number and measure proceed, whose works are wonderfully ordered by a kind of harmony and
consonance?" With this statement one can clearly see that Victoria was in fairly good agreement with
Counter Reformation thought.
Victoria's style of mass writing is advanced but controlled; he combines a sophisticated knowledge of
vocal counterpoint with a profound respect for the sacredness of the work. Some general characteristics of
Victoria's parody procedure can be summarized as follows: by his frequent borrowing of musical material
from the motet and his restriction to only sacred texts, Victoria creates a unity between his mass and its
parent motet. Second, he gives careful attention to text; the textual treatment in the motet influences but
does not govern that of the mass. Third, musical material is generally borrowed from the motet more for
adaptation than for literal use; Victoria is more inclined to use a motive from the motet than an entire
individual line. Lastly, Victoria's style of text setting shows reverence and praise to God, which is exactly
what the proponents of the Counter Reformation wanted in the composition of masses. When considering
the historical context surrounding Victoria's time, one can conclude that "O Quam Gloriosum" is an
excellent example of late Renaissance parody procedure.
References:
1. Turner, Bruno. Victoria: Ave Maris Stella/ O Quam Gloriosum. cd liner notes. Hyperion Records, London, 1985.
2. Lockwood, Lewis. "A View of the Early Sixteenth-Century Parody Mass", Twenty-fifth Anniversary Festschrift. Queens College Press, New York, N.Y., 1962.
3. Weiss, Piero and Taruskin, Richard. Music in the Western World. Simon and Schuster Macmillan, New York, N.Y., 1984.
4. Victoria, Tomás Lues de. Motet and Mass, O quam gloriosum est regnum. ed. Thomas Rive. Ernst Eulenberg Inc, New York, N.Y., 1978.