THE SECULAR LATIN MOTET
The motet as a form has attracted considerable attention in recent
years. One distinctive sub-form is what might be called the secular
Latin motet, that is, settings of texts drawn from classical Latin
authors such as Catullus and Horace or of classicising texts by
Renaissance humanists. One might also include within this area
paraphrases and translations of classical texts and significant
allusions to them; a loose overall definition might be: works which
set, or make use of, texts that are neither biblical nor part of the
regular liturgy, written before c. 1600. Composers who set classical
texts include Josquin, Willaert, Rore, Arcadelt, Senfl, Mouton and
Lassus; most of these also wrote motets on humanist texts, as did
Dufay, Gombert, Clemens, Isaac and Agricola, among others. There
are also striking Ovidian allusions in 13th and 14th century motets
by Philippe de Vitry and others.
This phenomenon raises a variety of questions, and deserves study
from a range of perspectives. What was the extent of the knowledge,
understanding and use of classical texts in late-mediaeval and
renaissance culture, and how important in this was the role played by
the secular motet ? What were the political, religious and cultural
implications of setting classical texts ? For what contexts and
audiences were such settings intended ? What factors determined the
selection of texts, and which authors are favoured ? Do multiple
settings of popular passages such as Virgil's Dulces exuviae reveal
allusion or an awareness of predecessors ? Is the attraction of such
texts purely literary, or are other factors, such as metre, sometimes
significant ? Does the music of such settings owe more to liturgical
models or to madrigals and other compositions in the vernacular ?
Which composers chose to work in this sub-genre, and why ? What can
we learn from the manner in which secular motets were published ?
We intend to organise an interdisciplinary colloquium on the secular
Latin motet at Leeds on Saturday 14th November 1998, and invite
expressions of interest and offers of papers on all aspects of the
topic. We hope that the proceedings will conclude with a concert of
selected examples; advance notice of possible candidates would be
welcome. We also envisage providing facilities for the performance
of live or recorded illustrations.
Richard Rastall, Department of Music ([log in to unmask]; Tel.:
0113 233 2581)
Roger Brock, School of Classics ([log in to unmask]; Tel.: 0113
233 6785)
University of Leeds,
LS2 9JT,
U.K.
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