Lamentatio sanctae matris ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae
Encyclopedia
Lamentatio sanctae matris ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae ('Lament of the Holy Mother Church of Constantinople') is a motet
by the Renaissance
composer Guillaume Dufay
. Its topic is a lament of the fall of Constantinople
under the Ottoman Turks
in 1453. Because of its Byzantine
subject matter, it is sometimes grouped together with Vasilissa ergo gaude
, Apostolus gloriosus and Balsamus et munda cera as one of Dufay's "Byzantine motets".
de' Medici. The letter must have been written on February 22, 1454, although the exact year is not specified in the text. The musical score and the texts of the French Chanson and the Latin Cantus Firmus are found in two contemporary manuscript sources: Codex 2794 (fols. 34v-36r) of the Biblioteca Riccardiana in Florence
, and MS 871N (fols. 150v-151r) in Montecassino.
It is believed to have been composed in the context of the "Feast of the Pheasant
", a banquet and extravagant political show organised in Lille
by Philip the Good of Burgundy
on 17 February 1454. Its purpose was to propagate the idea of a crusade for the recapture of the city. It is, however, unclear whether the piece was ever performed on that occasion. There are contemporary accounts of the banquet (notably the Memoirs of Olivier de la Marche
, and the Chroniques of Mathieu d'Escouchy
), which name and describe in much detail various pieces of music performed at it, but they fail to mention this piece. At one point in the show, according to the chronicles, an actor dressed as a woman in white satin clothes, personifying the
church of Constantinople (according to one hypothesis, played by Olivier de la Marche himself) entered the hall of the banquet riding on an elephant, to recite a "complaint and lamentation in a piteous and feminine voice" ("commença sa complainte et lamentacion à voix piteuse et femmenine"). It has been surmised that this was the moment when Dufay's motet would have been performed; other authors have conjectured that it was merely a moment of inspiration and that the motet was actually written later.
line based on Gregorian plainchant
in its tenor
voice, but the structure of a chanson insofar as there is only one other text sung, in French, in the upper voices. The text is a poem in Middle French
, presenting the voice of a mother lamenting the sufferings of her son and addressing God as her son's father – evoking both the image of the Virgin Mary in the Lamentation of Christ
, and the personification of the Church as the mythical mother of the faithful.
The tenor text is a modified quotation taken from the Book of Lamentations
(1.2), the biblical lament about the fall of Jerusalem
: Omnes amici ejus spreverunt eam, non est qui consoletur eam ex omnibus caris ejus. ('All her friends have scorned her; of all her beloved ones there is not one to comfort her.'),
Motet
In classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...
by the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
composer Guillaume Dufay
Guillaume Dufay
Guillaume Dufay was a Franco-Flemish composer of the early Renaissance. As the central figure in the Burgundian School, he was the most famous and influential composer in Europe in the mid-15th century.-Early life:From the evidence of his will, he was probably born in Beersel, in the vicinity of...
. Its topic is a lament of the fall of Constantinople
Fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which occurred after a siege by the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, against the defending army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI...
under the Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in 1453. Because of its Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
subject matter, it is sometimes grouped together with Vasilissa ergo gaude
Vasilissa ergo gaude
Vasilissa ergo gaude is an isorhythmic motet by the Renaissance composer Guillaume Dufay. In terms of its subject matter, it is sometimes grouped together with Lamentatio sanctae matris ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae, Apostolus gloriosus and Balsamus et munda cera which are generically called...
, Apostolus gloriosus and Balsamus et munda cera as one of Dufay's "Byzantine motets".
Historical context
The motet probably belongs to a series of four Lamentations for the fall of Constantinople composed by Dufay and mentioned for the first time in one of his letters addressed to Piero and GiovanniGiovanni di Cosimo de' Medici
Giovanni de' Medici was an Italian banker and patron of arts.Born in Florence, he was the son of Cosimo de' Medici the Elder and Contessina de' Bardi, and brother to Piero the Gouty....
de' Medici. The letter must have been written on February 22, 1454, although the exact year is not specified in the text. The musical score and the texts of the French Chanson and the Latin Cantus Firmus are found in two contemporary manuscript sources: Codex 2794 (fols. 34v-36r) of the Biblioteca Riccardiana in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, and MS 871N (fols. 150v-151r) in Montecassino.
It is believed to have been composed in the context of the "Feast of the Pheasant
Feast of the Pheasant
The Feast of the Pheasant was a banquet given by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy on 17 February 1454 in Lille, now in France. Its purpose was to promote a crusade against the Turks, who had taken Constantinople the year before...
", a banquet and extravagant political show organised in Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
by Philip the Good of Burgundy
Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...
on 17 February 1454. Its purpose was to propagate the idea of a crusade for the recapture of the city. It is, however, unclear whether the piece was ever performed on that occasion. There are contemporary accounts of the banquet (notably the Memoirs of Olivier de la Marche
Olivier de la Marche
Olivier de la Marche was a courtier, soldier, chronicler and poet in the last decades of the independent Duchy of Burgundy. He was close to Charles the Bold, and after his death held the important position of maître d'hotel to his daughter Mary of Burgundy, and her husband, and was sent on a...
, and the Chroniques of Mathieu d'Escouchy
Mathieu d'Escouchy
Mathieu d'Escouchy was a Picard chronicler during the last stages of the Hundred Years War. His Chronique was a continuation of the chronicle of Enguerrand de Monstrelet, with manuscripts of which it occurs as a third volume; it was edited by G. du Fresne de Beaucourt,...
), which name and describe in much detail various pieces of music performed at it, but they fail to mention this piece. At one point in the show, according to the chronicles, an actor dressed as a woman in white satin clothes, personifying the
church of Constantinople (according to one hypothesis, played by Olivier de la Marche himself) entered the hall of the banquet riding on an elephant, to recite a "complaint and lamentation in a piteous and feminine voice" ("commença sa complainte et lamentacion à voix piteuse et femmenine"). It has been surmised that this was the moment when Dufay's motet would have been performed; other authors have conjectured that it was merely a moment of inspiration and that the motet was actually written later.
Content and structure
The piece is a four-voice chanson-motet. It follows the structure of a motet insofar as it has a cantus firmusCantus firmus
In music, a cantus firmus is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition.The plural of this Latin term is , though the corrupt form canti firmi is also attested...
line based on Gregorian plainchant
Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...
in its tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
voice, but the structure of a chanson insofar as there is only one other text sung, in French, in the upper voices. The text is a poem in Middle French
Middle French
Middle French is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from 1340 to 1611. It is a period of transition during which:...
, presenting the voice of a mother lamenting the sufferings of her son and addressing God as her son's father – evoking both the image of the Virgin Mary in the Lamentation of Christ
Lamentation of Christ
350px|thumb|Lamentation by [[Giotto di Bondone]] in the [[Scrovegni Chapel]]The Lamentation of Christ is a very common subject in Christian art from the High Middle Ages to the Baroque. After Jesus was crucified, his body was removed from the cross and his friends and family mourned over his body...
, and the personification of the Church as the mythical mother of the faithful.
O tres piteulx de tout espoir fontaine, Pere du filz dont suis mere esplorée, Plaindre me viens a ta court souveraine, De ta puissance et de nature humaine, Qui ont souffert telle durté villaine Faire à mon filz, qui tant m'a hounourée. |
O most merciful fount of all hope, Father of the son whose weeping mother I am: I come to complain before your sovereign court, about your power and about human nature, which have allowed such grievous harm to be done to my son, who has honored me so much. |
Dont suis de bien et de joye separée, Sans qui vivant veule entendre mes plaints. A toy, seul Dieu, du forfait me complains, Du gref tourment et douloureulx oultrage, Que voy souffrir au plus bel des humains. Sans nul confort de tout humain lignage. |
For that I am bereft of all good and joy, without anyone alive to hear my laments. To you, the only God, I submit my complaints, about the grievous torment and sorrowful outrage, which I see the most beautiful of men suffer without any comfort for the whole human race. |
The tenor text is a modified quotation taken from the Book of Lamentations
Book of Lamentations
The Book of Lamentations ) is a poetic book of the Hebrew Bible composed by the Jewish prophet Jeremiah. It mourns the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple in the 6th Century BCE....
(1.2), the biblical lament about the fall of Jerusalem
Siege of Jerusalem (597 BC)
In 601 BC, in the fourth year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon, unsuccessfully attempted to invade Egypt and was repulsed with heavy losses...
: Omnes amici ejus spreverunt eam, non est qui consoletur eam ex omnibus caris ejus. ('All her friends have scorned her; of all her beloved ones there is not one to comfort her.'),
External links
- Online performance by Collegium Cantorum, Washington.
- Online sheet music by M.A.B. Soloists