Ave regina caelorum [039]

Guillaume Du Fay

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AC039 Ave regina caelorum 4 vv ; [2.p.] Gaude gloriosa 4 vv

Type

Motet

Scores

[1] Ave regina caelorum

Polyphonic ensemble STBX

[S]-C1; Ct-C3; T-C3; B-C5. Du Fay’s Ave regina coelorum is the only seasonal Marian antiphon to include a uniquely personal trope. He had requested that the singers of the Cambrai cathedral sing this setting as he lay dying, but that could not be done; the antiphon was sung at his funeral ceremony. The T carries the chant (App. 2) though it is assimilated rhythmically and melodically with the other voices, features common to late 15th-century motets. Anticipatory motivic chant material introduces each of the four textual sections; the lengthy introduction to the antiphon comprises the first textual phrase in two-voice passages (S/Ct and Ct/B) with the ornamented chant in the upper voice of each pairing. Of particular interest are the bi-textual sections (see textual diagram below) and the affective musical setting of the trope for “Miserere, miserere supplicanti Dufay.” The two partes are rhythmically distinct shifting from ternary to binary mensuration. Final C.

Ave regina coelorum
Ave domina angelorum
Ave regina coelorum Miserere tui labentis Dufay
Ave domina angelorum Ne peccatorum ruat in ignem fervorum.

Salve radix sancta,
Ex qua mundo lux est orta.
Miserere, miserere, genitrix Dufay,
Ex qua mundo lux est orta. Ut pateat porta coeli debili.

Gaude gloriosa,
Miserere, miserere supplicanti Dufay,
Super omnes speciosa. Sitque in conspectus tuo mors ejus speciosa.

Vale, valde decora,
Et pro nobis semper
Christum exora.
Valde decora In excelsis ne damnemur, miserere nobis
Et juva, ut in mortis hora
Et pro nobis semper Nostra sint corda decora.[1]
Christum exora.

1. Have mercy on your dying Dufay, or as a sinner, he will be cast down into the fires of hell.
Have mercy, Mother of God, so that the gate of heaven is open to the weak.
Have mercy on your supplicant Dufay, and may you see beauty in his death.
Have mercy on us, so that we are not damned on high; and help us at the hour of death, so that we feel peace in our hearts.
[2] Gaude gloriosa

Polyphonic ensemble STBX

Description


- CMM 1 Vol. 5. No. 51 [Dufay, Guillaume. Opera omnia. Edited by Heinrich Besseler. Corpus Mensurabilis Musicae 1. Rome: AIM, 1966.]
- CPDL 17011 [Choral Public Domain Library]

Associated people

Guillaume Du Fay - Composer

Creation place and date

No information.

Associated sources

Sung texts

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Ave, regina caelorum,
Ave, domina angelorum:
Salve, radix, salve, porta,
Ex qua mundo lux est orta:

Gaude, virgo gloriosa,
Super omnes speciosa,
Vale, o valde decora,
Et pro nobis Christum exora.

***

Pre-Tridentine version:

Ave regina coelorum,
Ave, domina angelorum,
Salve radix sancta
Ex qua mundo lux est orta:

Gaude gloriosa,
Super omnes speciosa:
Vale, valde decora,
Et pro nobis semper Christum exora.
Et pro nobis Christum exora.

***

Tridentine version:

Ave regina coelorum
Ave, domina angelorum,
Salve radix, salve porta
Ex qua mundo lux est orta:

Gaude virgo gloriosa,
Super omnes speciosa:
Vale, o valde decora,
Et pro nobis Christum exora.

Bibliography

Modern editions

[Monuments of Renaissance Music 12]

Gerber, R. L. (éd.), 2007, Sacred music from the Cathedral at Trent: Trent, Museo provinciale d’arte, codex 1375 (olim 88), Chicago.
(n° 51)

References

No information.

Contributors

Harry Elzinga - Project manager ; Scientific editor

Ailin Arjmand - Collaborative work

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Ave regina caelorum [039], in RicercarDataLab [https://ricercardatalab.cesr.univ-tours.fr/works/1355/] (accessed 21 January 2026).

Last modification: Dec. 10, 2025