Monday 28 March 2022

Alonso Lobo (1555-1617): Versa est in luctum (SSATTB)

The most famous work by Alonso Lobo. This astonishing six-voice motet was composed for the funeral of Philip II of Spain. Although there are lots of editions available online, they seem to miss some very crucial musica ficta: the most interesting omission occurs in measure 65, where there is a "hidden" English cadence (a clash of a minor second in a cadence that is common in Franco-Flemish music composers of the mid-sixteenth century like Gombert or Clemens non Papa) that appears in some Spanish works in the late sixteenth century like the one in Versa est in luctum by Sebastián de Vivanco or Vadam et circuibo civitatem by Tomás Luis de Victoria.

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© 2022 Jorge Martín