DUFAY: ALMA REDEMPTORIS MATER
Alma redemptoris mater, quae pervia caeli Porta manes, et stella maris succurre cadenti Surgere qui curat populo: tu quae genuisti, Natura mirante, tuum sanctum genitorem: Virgo prius ac posterius, Gabrielis ab ore Sumens illud Ave, peccatorum miserere.
Translation. Loving mother of the Redeemer, who are the open Door of heaven and the star of the sea, help the people, Fallen but striving to rise up. You, who to the astonishment of nature gave birth to your own creator, Virgin before and after, who heard the “Ave” from the mouth of Gabriel, have mercy upon the sinners.
Note. The original plainsong is paraphrased in the yop voice. In the modern liturgy the Alma redemptoris is sung at the end of Compline from Saturday before the first Sunday in Advent until the second vespers of the Purification (February 2). In the middle ages its function varied considerably. Du Fay’s setting was probably intended for one of the feasts of the Virgin Mary, such as the Assumption or the Nativity, which became very frequent in the fifteenth century.
MOTET 1: Sancta Mater gracie/Dou way Robin Anon. C13
Duplum. Sancta mater gracie, Stella claritatis, Visita nos hodie, Plena pietatis.
Veni vena venie, Mox incarceratis, Solamen angustie, Fons suavitatis.
Recordare mater Christi, Quam amare tu flevisti; Juxta crucem tu stetisti, Suspirando viso tristi.
O Maria flos regalis, Inter omnes nulla talis, Tuo nato specialis, Nostrae carnis parce malis.
O quam corde supplici Locuta fuisti Gabrielis nuncii Verba cum cepisti.
‘En ancilla domini’ propere dixisti; Vernum vivi gaudii Post hoc peperisti.
Gaude digna, Tam benigna, Caeli solio; Tuos natos, Morbo stratos, Redde filio.
Translation. Holy mother of grace, star of brightness, visit us today, full of compassion.
Come soon, channel of pardon, to those in prison, as a solace of misery, a source of sweetness. Remember, mother of Christ, how bitterly you wept; you stood beside the cross signing at the sad sight. O Mary, royal flower, among all women none such (as you), in your son unequalled, forgive the sins of our flesh. O with how humble a heart you spoke when you received the words of Gabriel the messenger. ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord’, you quickly said; thereafter, worthy lady, so gracious, in the throne of heaven; restore your children, brought low by vice, to the Son.
Tenor. Dou way, Robin, the child wile wepe, dou way Robin.
Translation. Careful, Robin, the child will weep; careful.
DUFAY: ECCLESIA MILITANTIS
Cantus 1.
Ecclesiae militantis Roma sedes triumphantis Patris sursum sidera Carmen cleri resonantis Laudem pontifici dantis Promat voce libera.
Gabrielem quem vocavit, Dum paternum crimen lavit, Baptismatis sumptio, Eugenium revocavit, Bonum genus quod notavit, Pontificis lectio.
Quod consulta concio, O quam sancta ratio, Sic deliberavit, Ut sola devotio Regnet in palatio Quod deus beavit.
Certe deus voluit Et in hoc complacuit Venetorum proli; Sed demon indoluit, Quod peccatum defuit Tantae rerum moli.
Dulcis pater populi, Qui dulcorem poculi, Crapulam perhorres, Pone lento consuli Rem gregis pauperculi, Ne nescius erres.
Pater haerens filio Spiritus confinio Det prece sollemni Gaudium Eugenio, Perfecto dominio, In vita perenni. Amen.
Translation. Let Rome, seat of the Church Militant of the Father who triumphs above the stars, bring forth with free voice a song of the clergy praising the Pope. Him whom the taking up in baptism called Gabriel when it washed away ancestral sin, papal election renamed Eugenius, which marked his good race. Which the well advised assembly (O what holy reasoning) has so determined: that devotion alone may reign in the palace that God blessed. Certainly God willed it, and in this gave pleasure to the Venetian stock; but the devil was grieved that sin was absent from an affair of such great moment. Sweet father of the people, who abhor the sweetness of the cup, namely drunkenness, entrust to a cautious counselor the business of your poor little flock, lest you go astray in ignorance. Let the Father ever cleaving to the Son in the neighborhood of the Spirit give by our solemn prayer joy to Eugenius, when his reign is over, in eternal life! Amen.
Cantus 2.
Sanctorum arbitrio Clericorum proprio Corde meditanti, Aequum genus atrio Accedit ludibrio Umbrae petulanti,
Nam torpens inertia, Longa quaerens otia, Nescivit Eugenium; Sed iuris peritia Cum tota iustitia Sunt eius ingenium.
Hinc est testimonium: Pacem quaerit omnium, Exosus piaculi; Et trinum dominium Daemonis et carnium Pompam vincit saeculi.
Quam color ipse poli Dic scutum quod attuli Tibi, pater optime, Sacrum dat, quod oculi Tui instar speculit
Cernunt nitidissime.
Eia tu, pulcherrime, Quaerimur, tenerrime, Moram longi temporis. Ducimur asperrime Nescio quo ferrime
Ad fulmentum corporis.
Una tibi trinitas Vera deus unitas Det caeli fulgorem, Quem linea bonitas, Argentea castitas, Secernit in morem Amen.
Translation. By the holy clerks’ own judgment that meditates in their hearts, the just race approaches the hall, an object of mockery for the wanton shade. For sluggish idleness, seeking prolonged rest, did not know Eugenius; but skill in the law and all-round justice are his nature. The proof is this: that he seeks peace for all, hating sin; and his triple dominion defeats the pomp of the devil, the flesh, and the world. Say: As is the very color of the heaven, is the shield that I have brought you; it makes a sacred object that your eyes see most brightly, like a mirror. Hail, most beauteous one, we bewail, most tender one, the delay of a long time; we are led most harshly we know not whither, most cruelly, to the support of the body. God, the One Trinity, the True Unity, grant you the blaze of heaven, whom linen goodness and silver chastity regularly distinguish. Amen.
Contratenor.
Bella canunt gentes, quaerimur, pater optime, tempus: Expediet multos, si cupis, una dies.
Nummus et hora fluunt magnumque iter orbis agendum Nec suus in toto noscitur orbe deus. Amen.
Translation. The nations sing of wars; we complain, O best of fathers, of our time. One day will dispatch many if you so desire. Money and time are pouring away, and the great journey must be made over the earth, but nowhere in the whole world is God known. Amen
Tenor 1. Gabriel.
Tenor 2. Ecce nomen Domini
Translation. That is the name of the Lord
Note. Ecclesiae militantis is a mensuration motet. The tenors are derived from the beginnings of two Magnificat antiphons: Gabriel, for the Annunciation, and Ecce nomen domini for the first Sunday in Advent. After a partially canonic introitus for cantus 1 and 2 the tenors are repeated six times under six different mensurations (time signatures). Meanwhile, the contratenor is sung three times under three different mensurations. The upper voices are entirely non-isorhythmic. The tempo of the semibreve is set at the outset in the introitus for cantus 1 and 2 and it never changes throughout the motet. It becomes the tempo of the minim in the tenors for statements in integer valor and that of the semibreve in the statements in tempus diminutum.
MOTET 2. Hyer matin à l’enjournée Anon. C13
Hyer matin a l’enjourneé toute m’ambleure.
Chevauchai avai la prée querant aventure.
Une pucele ai trovée gente de faiture,
Mai de tant me desagrée que de moi n’ot cure.
Douz et ris et simple vis,
Vers les ieuz a bien assis,
Seule estoit et si notoit,
‘O, O, dorenlot,’
Si chantot, mout li avenoit,
Souvent regretot
Sa compaignete Marot.
Translation. Yesterday morning at dawn I was riding on my horse looking for some adventure, when I spied a lovely maiden, fair of feature; but she displeased me much as she took no notice of me. Sweet and smiling, an honest face, her eyes bright and well set, she stayed alone and cried out: O, O, woe is me. So she sang and with each word expressed sorrow for her friend Marion.
DUFAY: FLOS FLORUM
Flos florum, Fons hortorum, Regina polorum
Spes veniae, Lux laetitiae, Medicina dolorum,
Virga recens Et virgo decens, Forma bonorum:
Parce reis Et opem fer eis In pace piorum,
Pasce tuos, Succurre tuis, Miserere tuorum.
Translation. Flower of flowers, Fount of gardens, Queen of the heavens
Hope of pardon, Light of joy, Remedy of sorrows,
A fresh branch And seemly virgin, Model of goodness:
Spare the guilty And bring them a reward Through the peace of the righteous,
Feed your own, Succor your own, Have mercy upon your own.
Note. The text for this motet survives in three German manuscripts from the 15th century. This piece dates from Du Fay’s years in the Malatesta court, and became an influential and widely imitated work, both by Du Fay himself in later pieces, and by a number of his contemporaries.
MOTET 3. Trois Sereus Anon. C13
Quadruplum. Trois sereus, seur rive mer Chantent cler.
La jonete Fu brunete; De brun ami S’a a-ti :
´Je sui brune’, s’avrai brun ami ausi.’
Triplum. Trois sereus, seur rive mer Chantent cler.
La mainée a apeleé Robin son ami.
‘Prise m’avez el bois ramé, Reportez m’i.’
Duplum. Trois sereus, seur rive mer Chantant cler.
L’ainnée dit a: “On doit bien jone s´dame amer,
Et s’amour garder, Cil qui l’a.”
Translation.
Three sisters by the seashore sing clearly:
(Quadruplum.) The youngest had brown hair and boasted about her dark-haired young man.
(Triplum) The middle one says to her young man, take me to the woods again.
(Duplum) The eldest says, “a man should love her lady, and guard the love that you have.”
(Tenor) (vocalised)
LAMENTATIO
Cantus 1. O tres piteulx de tout espoir fontaine,
Pere du filz don’t suis mere esploree,
Plaindre me viens a ta court souveraine
De ta puissance et de nature humaine,
Qui on souffert telle durté villaine
Faire a mon filz, qui tant m’a honouree.
Translation. O most merciful one, fountain of all hope,
Father of the son of whom I am the tearful mother,
I come to lay my complaint at your sovereign court
That your power and human nature
Have allowed such villainous harm
To be done to my son, who has honored me so much.
Cantus 2. Don’t suis de bien et de joye esgaree, Sans que vivant veulle entendre mes plains.
A toy, seul Dieu, du forfeit me complains, Du gref tourment et doleureulx oultrage,
Que voy souffrir au plus bel des humains Sans nul confort de tout humain lignage.
Translation. Thus I am bereft of goodness and joy, Without anyone living willing to hear my complaints.
To you, only God, I complain of the crime, Of the grave torment and painful outrage,
That I see the most noble of men suffer Without any comfort from the whole human lineage
Tenor. Omnes amici eius spreverunt eam. Non est qui consoletur eam ex omnibus caris eius.
Translation. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her. Among all her lovers she has none to comfort her.
Note. This piece was written during Du Fay’s sojourn at the court of Savoy. The ‘speaker’ is the Virgin Mary, and her complaint is directly addressed to God the Father. Du Fay’s use of a tenor from the Lamentation of Jeremiah, 1:2, as sung during Holy Week, but with the two phrases reversed, should be read as a direct rebuke to all European powers who failed to help the Byzantine empire. In this respect it is Du Fay’s most overtly “political” work, telling the European princes (including his patrons): “where were you when she needed your help?”
MOTET 4. Clap Clap/ Sus Robin Anon. Ivrea MS. Anon, C13
Voice 1:
Clap clap par un matin s’en aloit Robin, Clap clap par un moulin qui moloit.
Souvent ileques reperoit, Quar trop forment se delitoit
Ou batel qui clappetoit. Clap clap une seule fame y avoit
Qui s’escridoit: Heu hu vilain, hau ha hu!
D’enuiment ainsi se moquoit, Et juroit Que couble feroit,
Foy que Dieu doit. Lors vient Robin qui bien savoit
Ou je joillet tenoit. Clap clap tant l’a molu qui s’endoloit
Et elle disoit: Heu hu vilain, hau ha hu! Robin dort, le molin esclos
Mes trop y avoit feru de cops Grans et gros syns qui feust esclos.
Voice 2:
Sus Robin, alons au molin. Clap clap en despit de de vilain
Qui tout me jours me fait gaitier. Huy me feray hurtebilliez
Et pour li plus airier Veuil ge chanter: Jé ha vilain hé ha heu!
Clap clap Robin dort, le molin esclos Ja per Dieu, Guerin le clos
Ne me torroit mon pourpos Quay j’ay le cuer trop voage.
Le vilain revient de son laborage, Il a si grant faim qu’a peu qu’il n’enrage,
Le vilain gueu, Lé dé heu heu! Aynsi disoit Et si chantoit:
‘Molin de sa molin de la, Se l’une m’ost, l’autre m’oora, Clap clap ja ni faudra.’
DUFAY: VERGENE BELLA
Vergene bella, che di sol vestita, Coronata di stelle al sommo sole
Piacesti sì, che’n te sua luce ascose; Amor mi spigne a dir di te parole:
Ma non so cominzar senza tu’ aita, E di colui ch’amando in te si pose.
Invoco lei che ben sempre rispose, Chi la chiamò con fede.
Vergene, s’a mercede, Miseria estrema de l’humane cose
Già mai ti volse, al mio prego t’inchina
Soccorri alla mia guerra, Bench’i sia terra, e tu del ciel regina.
Translation. Beautiful virgin, dressed in the sun’s rays, Crowned with stars even to the highest sun, Whom you so pleased that he hid his light in you. Love impels me to speak of you, But I cannot do so without your help,
And that of Him who, loving you, placed himself within you. I invoke her who always answered well
Whoever called her with faith: Virgin, if you have mercy, Extreme pity for human things, Never turn away, incline to my prayers. Help my struggle, Even though I am dust and you the Queen of Heaven.
Note. This motet is a setting of the opening stanza to the final canzone of Petrarch’s Canzoniere, and is one of the earliest musical settings of any text by Petrarch (1304-1374). It was very likely composed for ceremonies connected with the 50th anniversary of Petrarch’s death, which were held in Padua in 1424.
Dufay’s main connection with the Malatesta family was Pandolfo di Pasaro (1390-1441) who probably commissioned the setting of Vergene bella for the Padua event (1424). But the Malatesta’s association with Petrarch went back to the poet himself, through Pandolfo II di Malatesta (1328-73), who was Pandolfo di Pasaro’s grandfather.
This older Pandolfo was an admirer and friend of Petrarch, who shortly before his death received a copy of the canzoniere from the poet himself. This was later inherited by Pandolfo di Pasaro, (who was himself a poet and known as Malatesta dei Sonetti.) The younger Pandolfo was probably Du Fay’s actual patron among the Malatestas, and it most likely he who commissioned Dufay to compose the setting.
