Katelijne Schiltz: „Harmonicos magis ac suaves nemo
edidit unquam cantus“. Cipriano de Rores Motette Concordes adhibete animos*
Although Rore’s
posthumously published motet Concordes adhibete animos carries the heading “in mortem Adriani
Willaert,” nowhere in its text is grief for the loss of the deceased
composer mentioned. The spirited exclamation “Vive Adriane decus Musarum,
vive Adriane” that stretches the length of the composition as a soggetto
ostinato seems equally at odds with
the stated occasion in the composition’s heading. This led Bernhard Meier
to the conclusion that a secunda pars,
in which the death of Willaert is lamented, has since been lost; the arguments
he puts forth to strengthen this hypothesis relate to the modality of the
piece. This article by contrast draws on musical and intertextual
considerations that speak for the completeness of the work and interpret its
text as a posthumous panegyric. The style of Rore’s motet also suggests
that he wished to uphold the memory of Willaert’s achievements and to
guarantee the survival of Willaert’s music. In his homage to il divino
Adriano, Rore made Willaert’s
style—through the use of the ostinato, the special treatment of
word-sounds, and the texture of the entire musical construction—indeed
his own.