Victorias, O Magnum Mysterium as Performed by Flamma Chorum

Toms Luis de Victoria is considered to be one of Spains most famous composers. Born

in 1548 near Avila Spain, he began his musical training as a choirboy (Toms Luis de Victoria,

2016). When he, and his voice, matured he was sent to study at the Jesuit Collegio Germanico in

Rome. (Miethe, 2012). Miethe (2012) suggested that Victorias time living in Rome heavily

shaped the cultural aspect of his music. Though he had a Spanish upbringing, it has been argued

by musical theorists that it was his Latin and ecclesiastic training that inspired his sound.

Victoria became a priest after his formal musical training and devoted his life to writing religious

scores, his music was used in both secular and religious settings. (Miethe, 2012)

Flamma Chorum has studied and will perform the O Magnum Mysterium, a piece that

was used to pay homage to the Nativity. O Magnum Mysterium was published as a sacred piece

of music in his first book of motets entitled, Abulensis, Motecta Que Partim, Quaternis, Partim,

Quinis, Alia, Senis, Alia, Octonis Vocibus Concinuntu, in the year 1572. (Bootello, 2016)

Figure 1: Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass, song parts from an extant copy of El libro demisas de 1576 es la segunda
publicacin de Victoria 1576. Photos taken in 2005. (Bootello, 2016)
 Translations of the original words to English. (Coote, 2016)

Original Text English Translation

O magnum mysterium O great mystery

et admirabile sacramentum,
ut animalia viderent Dominum natum,
jacentem in praesepio.
O beata Virgo, cujus viscera meruerunt
portare Dominum Jesum Christum.
Alleluia!
and wondrous sacrament,
that animals should see the Lord newborn
lying in a manger.
O blessed Virgin, whose womb was worthy
to bear the Lord Christ Jesus.
Alleluia!

Flamma Chorum will be performing the composition with all required parts in a doubled

choir. A double choir, also known as a double chorus, consists of a group arranged in two equal

and complete parts, with paired voices converging and diverging to give the impression of

being at once independent and working together in a common purpose (Evans, n.d.). This

technique was frequently used by Venetian composers of 16th and 17th centuries (Kennedy &

Bourne, 1996). Some members of Flamma Chorum will be singing the piece from a direct

redaction of the original source. This redaction was translated and transcribed by Nacho Alvarez.

A copy of Alvarezs work has been included in Figure 3. Others will be using the score directly

written in the primary source, or have committed the piece to memory.

According to Richard Fuller, keyboardist and worship leader for St. Marys Church in

Scarborough, Renaissance church music is described as choral polyphony (Fuller, 2010).

Polyphony refers to having more than a single part sung. Choral polyphony was intended to be

sung a cappella. This motet is a motet written for a traditional four-part choir (Manning,

2014). The song itself is responsorial, unlike many similar nativity songs of its time. It is also

considered to be quite vocally challenging with complicated range and length. Most of the

voices echo each other rather than sing syllables at the same time (Manning, 2014). The

simplistic definition of a motet is a short piece of sacred choral music, typically polyphonic and

unaccompanied (Manning, 2014).

 Generally, in the Renaissance, women were not permitted to sing choral music in the

church, however we take our liberties as probably many did perform the piece despite sanctions.

In her article entitled What did Women Sing? A Chronology of Female Choristers, Laura

Standfeild Pritchard contends, women participated in early European religious music when men

were not present, and some

Early Church leaders encouraged female singing. Paul of Samosata, Bishop of Antioch

from 260-268, trained women to sing psalms to himself (Eusebius, Eccesiastical

History, c320). During the Medieval period, Hildegard von Bingen, the German abbess,

composer, and poet composed many sacred Latin texts and Gregorian chant-style

melodies. Her Ordo Virtutem (1151) is the oldest surviving medieval morality play with

music, and was created, along with sixty-nine other sacred songs, for the nuns at

Rupertsberg. Venetian choirs of female voices were a prime tourist attraction in

Renaissance and Baroque Venice (1525-1797), but the performers were visually obscured

and spatially segregated from mixed audiences and occasional male collaborators (such

as trumpeters, who were required to be male by Venetian guild rules) (Pritchard, 2007, p.

190).

Figure 2:

Peter Paul Ruebens, Teresa of vila, Ulm, Germany, 1516 Fray Juan de la Miseria, Teresa of Avila, 1570
 In secular music women began to sing publically during the end of period. Concerto delle

donne, or consort of women, was a type of professional female vocal ensemble that flourished

in Italy in the late 16th and early 17th centuries (Cypess, 2015). These vocal ensemble were

especially prominent in the northern Italian courts of Ferrara, Mantua, and Florence. Evidence of

such a group of professional female singers performing together in Ferrara exists from the early

1570s. A prestigious group, associated with private court music also likely existed in 1579.

According to Cypess (2015), Many prominent composers in Italy (Wert, Luzzaschi,

and Marenzio) wrote works for the Ferrarese concerto. Some of this music was compiled into

two collections, titled Il lauro secco [1582, The Dry Laurel] and Il lauro verde [1583, The

Green Laurel] (Cypess, 2015). In Florence the intermedi (musical interludes) to the drama La

pellegrina performed durring the wedding festivities of Ferdinando De Medici (Ferdinand I) and

French Princess Christine de Lorraine in 1589 include pieces composed for groups of

professional female singers (Cypess, 2015).

Because we understand that mainly religious women would have had the chance, slim as

it may be, to perform the piece, the choir opted to create dark dresses as an homage to the habit a

woman of the church would have donned. The uniform of Flamma Chorum, a simple and

affordable black cotehardie was also chosen for the group as it allows members of Flamma

Chorum to appear as a cohesive group, when in fact the membership is comprised of individuals

who have attended one event up through individuals with 20 or more years of dedicated service.

The choir members, when not performing as part of Flamma Chorum portray persona ranging

from early to late period, and from across the known world. The simple elegance also lends

itself well to adding visual flare, such as our flame tippets, to customize the look easily for

different performances.
Figure 3: O Magnum Mysterium as transcribed and edited from the extant source by Nacho Alvarez.
 As the listener will hear, the piece is quite a complicated composition, never

repeating a chorus and often changing the tempo, lending it a unique sound. O

Magnum Mysterium begins in quite a haunting and traditional manner, appropriate of

the sacredness of the subject matter, the birth of Christ. One can almost feel the

seriousness of Victorias admiration of the Nativity. The end of the song, with its

proclamation of the alleluias at a much quicker tempo then the rest of the song evokes

a joyous and lively feel, fashioning the spirit of the adoration of the Virgin Mary and

her worthiness, as well as, the birth of Jesus Christ. This imagery evoking sound must

have been inspiring to hear in the 16th century, as it is still today.

About the Flamma Chorum

The choir members are a mix of history and music lovers from the Barony of the Flame. The

group was formed in late 2015 and members practice together weekly. We have an assemblage

of members formally trained in music and many with no training at all. The choir members have

loved learning about period music ranging from the 14th to the 16th centuries.
 Bibliography

Bootello, M. A. (2016). Toms Luis de Victoria. Retrieved from Toms Luis de Victoria:
http://www.uma.es/victoria/english-biografia.html

Coote, R. (2016). San Fransico Bach Choir. Retrieved from Illuminating and Ancient Art :
http://www.sfbach.org/text-o-magnum-mysterium-victoria

Cramer, E. C. (2001). Studies in the Music of Tomas Luis de Victoria. Hamphire: Ashgate :
Publishing Limited .

Cypess (2015) concerto delle donne. In Encyclopdia Britannica. Retrieved from

http://www.britannica.com/topic/concerto-delle-donne

Fuller, R. P. (2010). Renaissance Music (1450-1600). Retrieved from rpfuller.com :

http://www.rpfuller.com/gcse/music/renaissance.html

Kennedy, M. & Bourne, J. (1996). "double choir." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music.
Retrieved from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-
doublechoir.html

Manning, C. (2014). O Magnum Mysterium from three composers

perspectives. Retrieved from Chelsea Manning, Author and Classical Singer:
https://chelseabmanning.wordpress.com/tag/o-magnum-mysterium/

Miethe, B. (2012). TOMS LUIS DE VICTORIA. Renaissance History , 1-2.

Pritchard, L. S. (2007). What Did Women Sing? A Chronology of Female Choristers. Memorial
Universities Library Elcronic JournalsVol 6 (2007): The Phenomenon of Singing
International Symposium VI, 4-5.

Tomas Luis de Victoria. (2016). In Encyclopdia Britannica. Retrieved from

http://www.britannica.com/biography/Tomas-Luis-de-Victoria