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Printed Polyphonic Praises of the Ruler and the Virgin Mary

Birgit Lodes

During his visit to the Netherlands as the newly proclaimed emperor (vgl. Kap. Zum Repertoire der Handschrift A-Wn Mus.Hs. 15495) Maximilian also made a splendid visit to the city of Antwerp in September 1508, ahead of the negotiations with France. First, he invoked the Holy Spirit for his assistance there; then he turned to the Virgin Mary and sought to place his activities under her protection with the motet Sub tuum presidium. The set Sub tuum presidium (“Under Your Protection…”) is an old Marian prayer that was evidently significant for Maximilian (see J. Body and Soul). During this visit, his grandson Charles (» D. Musik für Kaiser Karl V.) was also appointed as Margrave of the Holy Roman Empire.

When in February 1515 in Antwerp the accession of the 15-year-old Charles as Duke of Burgundy was staged, the opportunity was seized to medially recall and inscribe in history the last significant presence of Maximilian and Charles in the city (that of 1508). A 40-page print was produced with the title » Unio pro co[n]servatio[n]e rei publice / Lofzangen ter ere van Keizer Maximiliaan en zijn kleinzoon Karel den Vijfden, which contains praises of rulers, God, and Mary in various text types, images, and music:[14] laudatory poems, humanist letters, prayers, full-page woodcuts, and the two motets Sub tuum presidium and Summe laudis o Maria. With this, the Antwerp printer Jan de Gheet presented the earliest print of polyphonic music in the Netherlands in 1515.[15] The 17 pages with notes – like in A-Wn Mus.Hs. 15495 in choir book arrangement – and text are made in block printing (woodcut) (» Abb. Summe laudis o Maria).

 

 

In the print documenting the events in Antwerp from the year 1508, the merits of Maximilian (for peace in the empire, unity among princes, and the promotion of the common good[16]) are the main focus, which he was able to achieve through the intercession and vigor of the Virgin Mary (see e.g. » Abb. Maximilian I. und Kurfürsten). The print reflects a ruler’s understanding that was widespread at the time (illustrated in the initial at the beginning of the discantus of the motet Summe laudis o Maria: see Abb. Summe laudis o Maria, initial): the Holy Spirit sends his rays down upon Maximilian, depicted as the ruler of the world, to whom his high office – like many other rulers – was entrusted by God, and Mary provides him with her indispensable assistance in the exercise of his difficult office.

 

The centerpiece of the homage print is the second motet Summe laudis o Maria, whose text “Summe laudis” was written by Petrus de Opitiis, the brother of the composer of both motets, Benedictus de Opitiis (* ca. 1476; † 1524).[17] The text of the motet is paraphrased and interpreted section by section in the print, and the motet is also introduced by a Latin poem that makes it clear that the thought process of the motet underlies the conception of the entire print.

The text “Summe laudis” (» Abb. Summe laudis o Maria, Text) begins with great praise of Mary and then addresses in various paraphrases the legitimacy of Maximilian as emperor[18] – which was quite significant in the historical context, as the rightful imperial coronation in Rome had been prevented –, and finally culminates in an extended praise of the emperor.[19] The structure of the text, with praise of Mary first and praise of the ruler second, thus resembles that of Heinrich Isaac’s motet Virgo prudentissima (» D. Isaac und Maximilians Zeremonien, Kap. Musik für den Konstanzer Reichstag 1507).

 

 

Visually, the intertwining of Marian devotion and the state-political and worldly dimension in the Antwerp print is emphasized by the fact that the initial of the motet Summe laudis shows Emperor Maximilian singing the words “Sub tuum presidium ad te confugimus” (» Abb. Summe laudis o Maria, » Abb. Summe laudis o Maria, Initiale) thus placing himself personally and actively under Mary’s protection. It is particularly noteworthy that the text creates the impression that the “Son of Mary” is evidently not just Jesus (who is never mentioned by name), but also the praised Maximilian (» D. Obrechts Missa Salve diva parens, Kap. „Mehrfacher Sinn“: Maria als Mutter des zukünftigen Herrschers).

 

 

Benedictus de Opitiis followed the structure of the text in his four-part setting and placed clear polyphonic cadences at the end of almost every text unit. He composed a strongly imitative four-part setting, as was typical for the motet genre at the time, and highlighted certain text passages particularly clearly through homorhythmic voice leading: for example, in the sonorous greeting section “Summe laudis o Maria […] glorie”, in the assurance of the battle in God’s trust (6th text section), and in the two final sections (13th and 14th), where the musical colon settings after “cunctipotem” and “Maximilianum” particularly emphasize the prayers that God, the Almighty, may eternally preserve the peace-bringing Emperor Maximilian and the imperial Austria.

(» Hörbsp. Summe laudis o Maria)

[14] The print was produced in two editions (one with a summary in Dutch, the other with a summary in Latin) and is available as an annotated facsimile: Nijhoff 1925, with a translation of the two motets by Charles Van den Borren as an appendix. See also Schreurs 2001 and Wouters/Schreurs 1995. For a complete digital copy of the Latin edition, see: http://depot.lias.be/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE4756261.

[15] Earlier in Antwerp, a music print with the imperial coat of arms and that of the Margraviate of Antwerp had already been produced: » Principium et ars tocius musice, Antwerpen: Jost de Negker (c. 1500–1508). However, this is a representation of the Guidonian Hand with mensural notes and comments, not a polyphonic composition. See Schreurs/Van der Stock 1997; also a facsimile on page 173.

[16] Schlegelmilch 2011, esp. 443–447.

[17] Benedictus held the position of organist at the Antwerp Church of Our Lady from 1512 to 1516 and then went to the English court. Only these two compositions of his are known.

[18] Victoria Panagl particularly points out the lines “Ergo Cesar quum nec deus / rerum metas neque tempus / tuo dat imperio” (7th stanza; “Therefore, Caesar, because God sets no spatial or temporal limits to your rule”), which as a quotation from Virgil emphatically refer to Maximilian’s claim to power (as successor to the Roman Empire): In the Aeneid (1,278: “his ego non metas rerum nec tempora pono”), Jupiter speaks these words, looking ahead to the glorious rulers of the Roman Empire (see  Panagl 2004, esp. 73–81, here 78).

[19] See Dunning 1970, 61–64.

 

[1] For this, see recently Gasch 2015, especially pages 362–371.

[2] Petition to King Ferdinand I in 1530; A-Whh Finanz- und Hofkammerarchiv, Niederösterr. Kammer, Rote Nr. 7. Reprinted in Birkendorf 1994, Vol. 3, 248.

[3] Bente 1968.

[4] Lodes 2006.

[5] Strohm 1993, 519–522; Edition in 4 volumes: Noblitt 1987–1996.

[6] For the secular sources („Liederbüchern“) related to Maximilian’s court, see  » B. Lieder 1450–1520, Kap. Aufschwung der Liedkunst unter Maximilian I. and » B. Lieder 1450–1520, Kap. Liederdrucke.

[7] See Heidrich 1993.

[8] Birkendorf 1994. The compositions are often recorded without text.

[9] Gasch 2013.

[10] For this, see among others, Kellman 1999; Bouckaert/Schreurs 2003; Saunders 2010; Burn 2015.

[11] Lodes 2009, 248.

[12] Missa Faisantz regretz and Missa Une mousse de Biscaye – the latter of which, although passed down under Josquin’s name, was probably not composed by him.

[13] For the historical-political context, see among others, Wiesflecker 1971–1986, Vol. 4, 1–27.

 

[14] The print was produced in two editions (one with a summary in Dutch, the other with a summary in Latin) and is available as an annotated facsimile: Nijhoff 1925, with a translation of the two motets by Charles Van den Borren as an appendix. See also Schreurs 2001 and Wouters/Schreurs 1995. For a complete digital copy of the Latin edition, see: http://depot.lias.be/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE4756261.

[15] Earlier in Antwerp, a music print with the imperial coat of arms and that of the Margraviate of Antwerp had already been produced: » Principium et ars tocius musice, Antwerpen: Jost de Negker (c. 1500–1508). However, this is a representation of the Guidonian Hand with mensural notes and comments, not a polyphonic composition. See Schreurs/Van der Stock 1997; also a facsimile on page 173.

[16] Schlegelmilch 2011, esp. 443–447.

[17] Benedictus held the position of organist at the Antwerp Church of Our Lady from 1512 to 1516 and then went to the English court. Only these two compositions of his are known.

[18] Victoria Panagl particularly points out the lines “Ergo Cesar quum nec deus / rerum metas neque tempus / tuo dat imperio” (7th stanza; “Therefore, Caesar, because God sets no spatial or temporal limits to your rule”), which as a quotation from Virgil emphatically refer to Maximilian’s claim to power (as successor to the Roman Empire): In the Aeneid (1,278: “his ego non metas rerum nec tempora pono”), Jupiter speaks these words, looking ahead to the glorious rulers of the Roman Empire (see  Panagl 2004, esp. 73–81, here 78).

[19] See Dunning 1970, 61–64.


Empfohlene Zitierweise:
Birgit Lodes: “Musikalische Huldigungsgeschenke für Maximilian I.”, in: Musikleben des Spätmittelalters in der Region Österreich <https://musical-life.net/essays/musikalische-huldigungsgeschenke-fur-maximilian-i> (2017).