RARE LASSUS
MASTERPIECES
GLORIOUS POLYPHONY BY A
SUPREME RENAISSANCE COMPOSER
Chantry
David Taylor, Music Director
St. Mary Mother of God
Washington, DC
Sunday, February 25, 2024
3:00 p.m.
Orlande de Lassus
(1548-1611)
I
Pater noster
Pater noster, qui es in coelis, Our Father, which art in heaven,
sanctificetur nomen tuum. hallowed be thy name.
Adveniat regnum tuum. Thy kingdom come.
Fiat voluntas tua, Thy will be done,
sicut in coelo et in terra. in earth as it is in heaven.
Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie; Give us this day our daily bread;
et dimitte nobis debita nostra, and forgive us our debts,
sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. as we forgive our debtors.
Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, And lead us not into temptation [the time of trial],
sed libera nos a malo. but deliver us from evil.
St. Matthew 6:9-13, St. Luke 11:2-4.
II
Je suys desheritee Johannes Lupi
(c.1506-1539)
Je suys desheritee I have no future,
Puisque j’ai perdu mon amy. Because I have lost my beloved.
Seule si m’a laissée, He has left me all alone,
Pleine de pleurs et de soucy. Full of tears and worries.
Rossignol du boys joly, Nightingale of the lovely woods,
Sans point faire demeure, Without remaining there for always,
Va t’en dire a mon amy, Go and say to my beloved,
Que pour luy suys tourmentee. That because of him I am in torment.
Anonymous early 16th century French chanson
Missa super Je suys desheritee
Kyrie
Kyrie eleison Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christe eleison. Christ, have mercy upon us.
Kyrie eleison. Lord, have mercy upon us.
Gloria
Gloria in excelsis Deo, Glory be to God in the highest,
et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis. and on earth peace, good will towards men.
Laudamus te. Benedicimus te. We praise thee. We bless thee.
Adoramus te. Glorificamus te. We adore thee. We glorify thee.
Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam. We give thanks to thee for thy great glory.
Domine Deus, Rex caelestis, O Lord God, heavenly King,
Deus Pater omnipotens. God the Father Almighty.
Domine Filii unigenite, Jesu Christe; O Lord, the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ;
Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris. O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father.
Qui tollis peccata mundi, Thou that takest away the sins of the world,
miserere nobis. have mercy upon us.
Qui tollis peccata mundi, Thou that takest away the sins of the world,
suscipe deprecationem nostram. receive our prayer.
Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, Thou that sittest at the right hand of the Father,
miserere nobis. have mercy upon us.
Quoniam tu solus sanctus; tu solus Dominus; For thou only art holy; thou only art the Lord;
tu solus Altissimus, Jesu Christe; thou only art most high, Jesus Christ;
cum Sancto Spiritu, with the Holy Ghost,
in gloria Dei Patris. Amen. in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
Ordinary of the Mass in the Roman Rite
III
Ave maris stella
Ave maris stella, Hail, Star of the Sea,
Dei Mater alma, Nurturing Mother of God,
Atque semper Virgo, And ever Virgin,
Felix caeli porta. Heaven’s blissful portal.
Sumens illud Ave Receiving that “Ave”
Gabrielis ore, From the mouth of Gabriel,
Funda nos in pace, Establish us in peace,
Mutans Hevae nomen. Transforming the name of “Eva.”
Solve vincla reis, Loose the chains of the guilty,
Profer lumen caecis: Send forth light to the blind,
Mala nostra pelle, Banish our ills,
Bona cunta posce. Intercede for all good things.
Monstra te esse matrem: Show thyself a mother:
Sumat per te preces, Let him receive our prayers through thee,
Qui pro nobis natus, Who, being born for us,
Tulit esse tuus. Undertook to be thine.
Virgo singularis, O peerless Virgin,
Inter omnes mitis, Meek above all others,
Nos culpis solutos, Make us, freed from sin,
Mites fac et castos. Meek and chaste.
Vitam praesta puram, Bestow a pure life,
Iter para tutum: Prepare a safe way:
Ut videntes Jesum, That, seeing Jesus,
Semper collaetemur. We may ever rejoice together.
Sit laus Deo Patri, Praise be to God the Father,
Summo Christo decus, To the most high Christ be glory,
Spiritui Sancto, To the Holy Spirit
Tribus honor unus. Amen. Honor, Three in One.
9th century manuscript of the Abbey of St. Gall; attrib. Venantius
Fortunatus (c.535-c.609). Hymn for Feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
and for the Office of Vespers on Saturdays and the Little Office of the
Blessed Virgin Mary in the Roman Rite.
Tota pulchra es
Tota pulchra es, amica mea, Thou are all fair, O my love,
et macula non est in te. and there is not a spot in thee.
Favus distillans labia tua, Thy lips are as a dropping honeycomb,
mel et lac sub lingua tua, honey and milk are under thy tongue,
odor unguentorum tuorum the sweet smell of thy ointments
super omnia aromata. above all aromatical spices.
Jam enim hiems transiit, For lo, the winter is past,
imber abiit et recessit. the rain is over and gone.
Flores apparuerunt, The flowers have appeared,
vineae florentes odorem dederunt, the vines in flower yield their sweet smell,
et vox turturis audita est in terra nostra. and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
Surge, propera, amica mea, Arise, hasten, my love,
veni de Libano, veni, coronaberis. come from Lebanon, come, thou shalt be crowned.
The Song of Songs 4:7, 10-11; 2:10-13; 4:8. Cf. Antiphon at First
Vespers for the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
in the Freising Rite
IV
Dum sacrum mysterium
Dum sacrum mysterium cerneret Joannes: While the holy mystery is seen of John,
Archangelus Michael tuba cecinit: the Archangel Michael soundeth the trumpet:
ignosce Domine Deus noster, forgive us, O Lord our God,
qui aperis librum, et solvis signcula ejus. who hast opened the book, and undone its seals.
Alleluia. Alleluia.
Antiphon at the Magnificat for the Office of First Vespers on
the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel in the Roman Rite.
Magnificat Primi toni
Magnificat anima mea Dominum: My soul doth magnify the Lord.
Et exultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.
Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae: For he hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden:
ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent for behold, from henceforth all generations
omnes generationes. shall call me blessed.
Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est: For he that is mighty hath magnified me,
et sanctum nomen eius. and holy is his name.
Et misericordia eius a progenie in progenies And his mercy is on them that fear him
timentibus eum. throughout all generations
Fecit potentiam in brachio suo: He hath showed strength with his arm;
dispersit superbos he hath scattered the proud
mente cordis sui. in the imagination of their hearts.
Deposuit potentes de sede, He hath put down the mighty from their seat,
et exaltavit humiles. and hath exalted the humble and meek.
Esurientes implevit bonis: He hath filled the hungry with good things,
et divites dimisit inanes. and the rich he hath sent empty away.
Suscepit Israel puerum suum, He remembering his mercy
recordatus misericordiae suae. hath holpen his servant Israel,
Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros, As he promised to our forefathers,
Abraham et semini eius in saecula. Abraham and his seed, for ever.
Gloria Patri et Filio, Glory be to the Father and to the Son,
et Spiritui Sancto. and to the Holy Ghost.
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, As it was in the beginning, and is now, and ever shall be,
et in saecula saeculorum. Amen. world without end. Amen.
St. Luke 1:46-55. Canticle at the Office of Vespers in the Roman Rite.
Princeps gloriosissime
Princeps gloriosissime, Archangel Michael, O most glorious Prince, Archangel Michael,
esto memor nostri: hic et ubique semper be mindful of us: here and everywhere always
precare pro nobis Filium Dei. Alleluia. pray for us unto the Son of God. Alleluia.
Antiphon at the Magnificat for the Office of Second Vespers on
the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel in the Roman Rite.
INTERMISSION
V
Missa super Je suys desheritee
Credo
Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentum, I believe in one God, the Father Almighty,
factorem caeli et terrae, maker of heaven and earth,
visibilium omnium et invisibilium: and of all things visible and invisible:
Et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum, And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
Filium Dei Unigenitum, the only-begotten Son of God,
et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula; begotten of his Father before all worlds;
Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, God of God, light of light,
Deum verum de Deo vero, very God of very God,
genitum, non factum, consubstantialem Patri, begotten, not made,
consubstantialem Patri, being of one substance with the Father,
per quem omnia facta sunt; by whom all things were made;
qui propter nos homines who for us men
et propter nostram salutem and for our salvation
descendit de caelis; came down from heaven;
Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost
ex Maria Virgine, of the Virgin Mary,
et homo factus est; and was made man;
Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato; And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate,
passus, et sepultus est; he suffered and was buried;
et resurrexit tertia die, and the third day he rose again,
secundum Scripturas, according to the Scriptures,
et ascendit in caelum, and ascended into heaven,
sedet at dexteram Patris; and sitteth on the right hand of the Father;
et iterum venturus est cum gloria and he shall come again with glory
judicare vivos et mortuos, to judge both the quick and the dead,
cujus regni non erit finis: whose kingdom shall have no end:
Et in Spiritum Sanctum, And [I believe] in the Holy Ghost,
Dominum et vivificantem; the Lord and giver of life;
qui ex Patre Filioque procedit; who proceedeth from the Father and the Son,
qui cum Patre et Filio who with the Father and the Son
simul adoratur et conglorificatur; together is worshipped and glorified;
qui locutus est per prophetas. who spake by the prophets:
Et unam, sanctam, catholicam, et And [I believe] one, holy, catholic, and
apostolicam Ecclesiam: apostolic Church:
Confiteor unum baptisma I acknowledge one baptism
in remissionem peccatorum: for the remission of sins:
Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum, And I look for the resurrection of the dead,
et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen. and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Sanctus
Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus, Holy, holy, holy,
Dominus Deus Sabaoth; Lord God of Hosts;
Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua: Heaven and earth are full of thy glory:
Osanna in excelsis. Hosanna in the highest.
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:
Osanna in excelsis. Hosanna in the highest.
Agnus Dei
Agnus Dei, O Lamb of God,
qui tollis peccata mundi: that takest away the sins of the world:
miserere nobis have mercy upon us.
Agnus Dei, O Lamb of God,
qui tollis peccata mundi: that takest away the sins of the world:
dona nobis pacem. grant us peace.
Ordinary of the Mass in the Roman Rite
VI
Nunc dimittis Quarti toni
Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace
secundum verbum tuum in pace: according to thy word:
Quia viderunt oculi mei salutare tuum: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation:
Quod parasti ante faciem omnium populorum: Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people.
Lumen ad revelationem gentium, To be a light to lighten the Gentiles,
et gloriam plebis tuae Israel. and to be the glory of thy people Israel.
Gloria Patri, et Filio, Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
et Spiritui Sancto. and to the Holy Ghost.
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
et in saecula saeculorum. Amen. world without end. Amen.
St. Luke 2:29-32. Canticle at the Office of Compline
in the Roman Rite
VII
Salve Regina
Salve Regina, mater misericordiae: Hail [holy] Queen, mother of mercy,
vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve. our life, our sweetness, and our hope, hail.
Ad te clamamus, exsules, filii Hevae; To thee we cry, poor exiled children of Eve;
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes, To thee we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping,
in hac lacrimarum valle. in this vale of tears.
Eia ergo, advocata nostra, Turn then, most gracious advocate,
illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte; thine eyes of mercy toward us;
Et Jesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, And after this our exile, show us Jesus,
nobis post hoc exsilium ostende. the blessed fruit of thy womb.
O clemens: O merciful:
O pia: O loving:
O dulcis Virgo Maria. O sweet Virgin Mary.
Anonymous 11th century Votive Antiphon (one of the four great Marian
Antiphons), sung at the conclusion of the Office of Compline from
Pentecost to Advent in the Roman Rite, and recited at the conclusion
of the Rosary
VIII
Laetentur coeli
Laetentur coeli, et exsultet terra: Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad:
commoveatur mare, et plenitudo ejus: let the sea make a noise, and all that therein is:
gaudebunt campi, et omnia quae in eis sunt. let the field be joyful, and all that is in it.
Tunc exsultabunt omnis ligna silvarum Then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice
a facie Domini, quia venit: before the Lord, for he cometh:
quoniam venit judicare terram. for he cometh to judge the earth.
Psalm 96:11-13. Antiphon at Matins and Offertory of the First Mass on
the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord in the Roman Rite
CHANTRY
Soprano Alto
Sara MacKimmie Stephanie Buen Abad
Carolyn Wise Kristen Dubenion-Smith
Tenor Bass
Rexford Tester Matt Scollin
Stephen White Bryan Vanek
MEET THE MUSICIANS
CHANTRY has enchanted Washington area audiences since its founding in 2001. The Washington Post has hailed
Chantry’s “edge-of-seat vitality,” “vast expressive capacity and deeply ingrained sense of style”, “nuance and lyricism”
and “gut-level understanding of the idiom” of early music, and lauded its presentation of “exceptionally interesting
and moving music.” Reviewing a Chantry performance of Renaissance polyphony, Washington Classical Review said
Chantry “sings this music extremely well,” with pieces “crystalline in structure and balance,” sound with “a virtuosic
sheen,” and singing with “delightful rhythmic alacrity.” Ionarts Music called a Chantry concert “an evening of
extraordinary singing, poised, with impeccable diction and intonation.” According to All Arts Review, “Chantry is one
of the musical glories of Washington.” Chantry’s eight to sixteen professional early music voices are dedicated to
fresh, vibrant, historically informed performance of neglected masterpieces of Renaissance polyphony and music of
the Baroque era. Chantry has performed with major Washington early music ensembles including Modern Musick,
Hesperus Viols, and the Bach Sinfonia. The name "Chantry" comes from the old French chanterie ("to sing"). In
medieval and Renaissance times, a "chantry" was a chapel (often a small chapel inside a large cathedral) dedicated to
the singing of masses for someone's soul.
DAVID TAYLOR, Chantry's Founder and Music Director, holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral literature
and performance from the University of Colorado, a Master of Music degree in conducting from the University of
Maryland, where he studied with Paul Traver, and a Bachelor of Music degree in organ from Andrews University. Dr.
Taylor founded the chamber choir Musicorum of Mankato, MN, spent 15 years as a college choral director, was a
member of the Choir of Men and Boys of Washington Cathedral under Paul Callaway, and made his conducting debut
with the Battle Creek Academy Band at age five. He has served as organist-choirmaster or director of music for
numerous churches since beginning his church music career at age 13, and currently serves as Director of Music at
Holy Cross Anglican Church in Farragut, TN. Chantry sings much of its repertoire, including the music for this
concert, from performing editions prepared by Dr. Taylor.
PROGRAM NOTES
ORLANDE DE LASSUS is often named today with Palestrina and Byrd as supreme in the art of 16th century, late
Renaissance counterpoint. Lassus was in his time the best-known and most widely admired musician in Europe.
Born in what is now Belgium, as a boy Lassus was a chorister in the service of the Gonzaga family in Italy. (Legend
has it that he was three times abducted on account of the beauty of his voice.) He entered the service of a Neapolitan
noble family in his late teens, and probably began composing there. In his early twenties, Lassus moved to Rome,
serving in the household of the Archbishop of Florence and then as Master of the Musicians at St. John Lateran, the
Pope’s cathedral. After a period of travel and publishing in the Low Countries, he joined the Bavarian ducal court in
Munich in 1556, where he soon became Master of the Musicians and remained for the nearly forty-year remainder( of
his illustrious career.
JOHANNES LUPI (also known as Jehan or Jennot Leleu), also born in what is now Belgium, spent his notable but
short career at the Cathedral of Cambrai, where he was first a choirboy and later Master of the Musicians and Sub-
Deacon. He was among the foremost Franco-Flemish composers of the early 16th century, known for his skill in
composing five-to-eight-part contrapuntal motets, and also for his secular chansons.
PATER NOSTER is of course the prayer that Christ taught his disciples to pray, and it is part of virtually every service
in the liturgy. Lassus based his four-part setting on the plainchant melody sung at every Mass and universally
familiar to his hearers, sharing its phrases among the parts (starting with the sopranos) and surrounding it with
beautiful counterpoint.
LASSUS’S MISSA SUPER JE SUYS DESHERITEE is what musicologists call a parody Mass or imitation Mass. It
was common practice for Renaissance pieces to be based in some fashion on musical material from other works.
Such pieces would absorb multiple aspects of a preexisting composition, including its themes, rhythms, and
harmonies, either in unaltered form or subject to free variation. The result was music featuring a fusion of old and
new elements. While the musical basis of a parody Mass often was a sacred motet, either the composer’s own or
someone else’s, throughout the 15th and 16th centuries composers often wrote parody Masses based on secular tunes,
chansons, or madrigals. (While the Council of Trent frowned on sacred works with such secular bases, great
composers still wrote them.) Lassus based this beautiful Mass on an early 16th century secular French chanson by
Johannes Lupi, JE SUYS DESHERITEE. The melodies and harmonies of the chanson can be heard throughout the
Mass.
Several works on today’s program feature another prominent Renaissance compositional technique known as
alternatim. In alternatim style, composers of polyphonic settings of canticles—Biblical poetic passages used for the
principal music at the Offices of Matins, Lauds, Vespers, and Compline—or of plainchant hymns would alternate
verses using only the pre-existing plainchant melody with verses set in polyphony. Lassus makes brilliant use of
alternatim style in his settings of the Marian hymn AVE MARIS STELLA and of the canticles MAGNIFICAT and
NUNC DIMITTIS (the canticles for Vespers and Compline, respectively) which Chantry sings this afternoon. In all
three of these pieces, Lassus makes flexible and virtuosic use of the pre-existing plainchant in the polyphonic verses,
deftly weaving the plainchant melody through the contrapuntal texture. The Ave maris stella, which dates from as
early as the ninth century, was one of the most beloved and widely sung hymns to the Virgin Mary during the
medieval and Renaissance periods, and it came to be prescribed for Vespers on all the major Marian feasts and for the
Office of the Virgin celebrated weekly on Saturday. The fact that Lassus composed no less than 101 settings of the
Magnificat suggests that Vespers was celebrated splendidly at the Bavarian ducal court. At any rate, Lassus used this
canticle as a showcase for his musical mastery, composing multiple cycles in varying numbers of voice parts for each
of the eight Magnificat tones. The Nunc dimittis may have had personal significance for Lassus later in life, since
several of his 12 settings of this canticle date from that period.
The text of Lassus’s motet TOTA PULCHRA ES comes from the Song of Songs. A long Christian tradition, dating
from at least the 12th century, viewed both the Bride and the hortus conclusus or enclosed garden in the Song of Songs
as emblematic of the Virgin Mary. Renaissance motets on such texts, probably including this one, were composed for
liturgical use on Marian feasts. Lassus’s composition features consummately skilled counterpoint as well as block
harmonies that sometimes involve chromatic harmonic shifts—notably at mel et lac (honey and milk)—or staggered
entry of vocal parts, and it breaks into triple time, dance-like rhythms at vineae florentes (the vines in flower).
In the liturgy, psalms and canticles are traditionally preceded and followed by an antiphon, a short piece of plainchant
that serves to make the psalm or canticle appropriate to the liturgical occasion in question. Lassus wrote two
compact, complex, and coruscating polyphonic settings of antiphons for the Magnificat on the Feast of St. Michael
the Archangel, DUM SACRUM MYSTERIUM and PRINCEPS GLORIOSISSIME. While on a given celebration of
that feast the same antiphon would have both preceded and followed the Magnificat, today’s program uses both to
frame the MAGNIFICAT PRIMI TONI.
SALVE REGINA is perhaps the most celebrated and beloved of the four great plainchant Marian Antiphons or hymns
to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is sung at the conclusion of the Office of Compline from Pentecost to Advent, and is
recited at the conclusion of the Rosary. Anonymous in origin, its text and music appear in manuscripts as early as the
11th century. It came to be part of the ritual for the blessing of a ship, and was especially dear to sailors. Lassus’s
setting sung on this program weaves the beloved plainchant melody—especially its signature opening phrase “so fa so
do”--through the counterpoint, and crafts magnificent polyphony for each verse.
LAETENTUR COELI is one of Lassus’s most brilliant motets. For each phrase of the celebratory text, Lassus creates a
striking polyphonic motive which appears in close polyphonic imitation in all four voice parts.
ABOUT APPLAUSE
The music on tonight’s program is divided into eight groups of pieces. You may find
the greatest enjoyment of the music if you hold your applause
until all of the pieces in a group are completed.
PLEASE TURN OFF ALL CELL PHONES AND OTHER
ELECTRONIC DEVICES THAT MAKE SOUNDS
JOIN US FOR THE CONCLUSION OF
CHANTRY’S 2023-2024 SEASON
PALESTRINA, PETER & PAUL, PAPAE MARCELLI
RENAISSANCE MASTERWORKS
Palestrina Missa Papae Marcelli
Byrd Gradualia Propers for Sts. Peter and Paul
Palestrina Tu est Petrus and Sancte Paule
Sunday, June 30, 2024, 3:00 p.m., St. Bernadette (Silver Spring)
PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION TO CHANTRY
Ticket revenues cover nowhere near half of the cost of bringing you this wonderful music. Your generous contribution
will enrich our cultural life, and make it possible for Chantry to keep bringing fresh, historically-informed
performances of great pieces of Renaissance and Baroque music to area music lovers. You can contribute at the door
or by mail to Chantry, 107 Noya Way, Loudon, TN 37774. Checks should be made out to Chantry. Chantry is a
501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and your contribution is tax deductible.
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