Ave regina caelorum [069]

Orlande de Lassus

Full title / Other titles

AC069 Ave regina coelorum 6 vv

Type

Motet

Scores

Ave regina coelorum

Polyphonic ensemble SSATTB

C I-C1; C II-C1; A-C3; T I-C4; T II-C4; B1-F4. Two C voices and two T voices, respectively, share similar ranges. No evidence of chant. Lasso delineates the structure of his setting through contrasting motivic material, texture and antiphonal effects. For “gaude” three upper voices are introduced in an imitative fabric of minums in contrast to the preceding lower four voices in semibreves. Antiphonal effects are used for “regina caelorum” and “salve” whereby the respective musical material for the four upper voices is restated an octave lower in the
four lower voices including the use of invertible counterpoint. The Pre-Tridentine text is set in a declamatory style with melismas for the salutations “ave,” “salve” and “gaude.” The “salve” motto (la-sol-la-re) from Salve regina chant occurs in the T B and C I with “salve radix.” To express “vale valde decora” a series of third-related chords (g, B♭, g, E♭, c, d, B♭) is employed. Final F, b♭ signature.

Description

External link:
CPDL 52218 & 26641 [Choral Public Domain Library]

Associated people

Orlande de Lassus - 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

[Lasso, 1894, vol. 13]

Lasso, O. di, 1894, Sämtliche Werke, F. Haberl et A. Sandberger (éd.), Leipzig.
(pp. 111-14)

[Lasso, 2005]

Lasso, O. di, 2005, The Complete Motets 13, Rebecca Wagner Oettinger (éd.), Madison.
(n° 2)

References

No information.

Contributors

Harry Elzinga - Project manager ; Scientific editor

Ailin Arjmand - Collaborative work

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Ave regina caelorum [069], in RicercarDataLab [https://ricercardatalab.cesr.univ-tours.fr/works/1385/] (accessed 20 January 2026).

Last modification: Dec. 11, 2025