Libro de Motetes

Capilla Flamenca and Oltremontano

Vivanco's Libro de Motetes, Vivanco’s Book of Motets

A print copy of Sebastián de Vivanco's Libro de Motetes is kept in the music archive of the cathedral of Salamanca (Spain). The Book of Motets was created in 1610 by the Antwerp printer Artus Taberniel. It is a polyphonic canticle, executed in paper (550 x 410 mm).

The 74 included motets have been arranged according to the succession of liturgic celebrations. It is a complete cycle of polyphonic pieces designed for Sundays and solemn festivities. The 1610 edition contains contemporary as well as older pieces from throughout Vivanco’s career, spanning over five decades. Vivanco, who was a professor of music at the University of Salamanca, lived to the age of 73, this book was published when he was 60.

The enormous amount of compositions (8 magnificats, 10 mass ordinaries and 74 motets, totalling more than 800 pages) could not be performed during the four years it took to publish the book. The near total absence of errors in the published work is an indication of the skill of the Antwerp printer. It furthermore suggests that Vivanco himself was overseeing the work closely.

Libro de Motetes is a reflection of a profound musical evolution of style throughout time. This development of Vivanco’s musical language, as many others throughout musical history, did not occur suddenly, but rather gradually.

This cd is an anthology, introducing you to the gradual changes of this period in music history.