MCE 03-03 Ave decus virginale
Edition
Motet
Text (ed. by Eva Ferro)
|
Edition |
English translation |
|
Ave, decus virginale, |
Hail, virginal splendour, |
|
O domina piissima, |
O most pious lady, |
|
O domina deo cara, |
O lady dear to God, |
|
O domina dominarum, |
O lady of ladies, |
|
O preclara stella maris, |
O beautiful star of the sea, |
[1] decens] docens Librone 3, A
[2] Numquam sinas nos] numquam nos sinas Librone 3, B
[i] speciale] spetiale Librone 3, C A
This edition is based on Librone 3, ff. 127v–128r, where the motet was written by Scribe I.
The scribe was very careful and there are almost no spelling or wording mistakes. Only in one case, namely in the Altus, the word decens is spelled ‘docens’.
The subject of the motet text is Mary. In all verses she is invoked (‘Ave’, ‘O’) and asked for help. The tone of the text is very devotional: its sources are, in fact, Marian prayers (O Maria mater Dei, AH 46, no. 129, p. 172; compare also Ave regina coelorum / clarum iubar supernorum, AH 32, no. 27, pp. 43–47) and only in one case (verse 1) a Marian sequence (Ave virgo gratiosa/gloriosa, AH 54, no. 278, pp. 419–22). While the verse drawn from the sequence is identical in the motet, the prayers present different wordings in the motet compared to the texts edited in AH.[1] The most striking difference is that the person speaking in the motet is a first person plural (‘nos’), while the prayers are more individual and the speaker is in the first person singular (‘ego’, ‘me’). The change from ego to nos can be interpreted as a ‘change of scenario’, a switch from a setting of private devotion to a more liturgical or public context.
[1] For the second prayer, see also the Burnet Psalter (Aberdeen University Library, MS 25), f. 103r–v, including the verse missing in AH.
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| Measure | Voice | Source | Category | Comment | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I-Mfd3 | designation of voices | –, Altus, Tenor primus, Tenor secundus, Bassus | |||
| I-Mfd3 | clefs | original clefs: c1, c4, c4, c4, f4 | |||
| 18 | 5 | I-Mfd3 | text underlay | the syllables ci-a in speciale are forcedly treated here as a single syllable | |
| 20 | 5 | I-Mfd3 | text underlay | lig. splitted between two syllables ([Ga-bri]-e-le]) for a better distribution of the text | |
| 43-44 | 5 | I-Mfd3 | text underlay | lig. splitted between three syllables ([di]-gnis-si-ma) for a better distribution of the text | |
| 53-55 | 5 | I-Mfd3 | text underlay | lig. splitted between three syllables (Ve-ne-ra-[ri]) for a better distribution of the text | |
| 54-57 | 3 | I-Mfd3 | pitch and rhythm | a superfluous fifth rest of Br has probably been added in a second moment | Show |
| 80-83 | 2 | I-Mfd3 | text underlay | repetition inserted in order to better synchronize the text declamation in the various voices; from here on the edition does not follow the apparent text-underlay of the ms. | |
| 92 | 2 | I-Mfd3 | pitch and rhythm | the prolonged c' generates awkward dissonances with the other voices; a possible (even though not entirely satisfying) emendation would be to postulate a rest instead of the punctum after the Br | Show |
| 98-99 | 2 | I-Mfd3 | pitch and rhythm | the blackened group in the ms. consists of a Lo and a Br: I split the Lo in order to accommodate the text |
Text
| Edition | English translation |
|---|---|
|
Ave, decus virginale, |
Hail, virginal splendour, |
|
O domina piissima, |
O most pious lady, |
|
O domina deo cara, |
O lady dear to God, |
|
O domina dominarum, |
O lady of ladies, |
|
O preclara stella maris, |
O beautiful star of the sea, |