External Solemnity of Our Lady of the Rosary
Processional hymn: O Sanctissima, 915
Recessional hymn: Immaculate Mary, 906
Kyriale: Mass IX, 731; Credo III, 776
Motet at the offertory: Ave Maria, Jacobus Gallus (1550–1591)
Marian antiphon: Salve Regina, Chant (Solemn Tone)
To mark the beginning of October and celebration of the feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, the music selections are Marian in theme. The choral motet Ave Maria by Jacobus Gallus (1550–1591) is widely recognized among those familiar with traditional Catholic music but under the attribution of Victoria. A prominent Spanish musicologist in 1913 had published the work in a group of Victoria’s motets and it was not disputed until 2001 when the work was contained in Gallus’s manuscripts.
The setting of the Angelic Salutation begins with the simple Gregorian incipit and elaborates on the melody initially in the Soprano voice and eventually moving to each voice throughout the motet. The clarity of the text, careful repetition, and clever use of harmony has made this work a favorite among chorister and listener alike.
Jacobus Gallus (1550–1591), was a late-Renaissance composer of presumed Slovene ethnicity. Born in Carniola, which at the time was one of the Habsburg lands in the Holy Roman Empire, he lived and worked in Moravia and Bohemia during the last decade of his life. His output was both sacred and secular, and hugely prolific: over 500 works have been attributed to him.