Regina caeli [090]

Nicolas Gombert

Full title / Other titles

RC090 Regina caeli 12 vv ; 2.p. Resurrexit 12 vv

Type

Motet

Scores

[1] Regina caeli

Polyphonic ensemble SSSAATTTBBB

C I-C1; C II-C1; C III-C1; A I-C3; A II-C3; T I-C4; T II-C4; T III-C4; B IV-F3, B III-F4; B II-F4; B I-F4. Range of voices, F-d’’. A slightly embellished chant (App. 3) is relegated to T I as cantus firmus primarily in longae and breves. Anticipatory entries of “quia” and “ora” as well as statements of chant motives associated with “resurrexit,” “dixit” and the final “alleluia” permeate the dense imitative, contrapuntal texture. As an introduction, “Regina caeli” (mm. 1-10) comprises a choir of four sustained voices (C I, C II C III & B I) and a contrasting choir of 5 imitative voices (A I, A II,
T II, T III & B IV) with motivic material similar to the final “alleluia” (m. 120 ff.) that surround the cantus firmus (T I); two voices (B II &
B III) that share a countersubject complete the second choir. Antiphonal procedures involving changing voice groups characterize the antiphon (e.g., “quem meruisti,” mm. 37-41; “alleluia,” mm. 86-96; and the final “alleluia,” mm. 123-40). More than a third of the antiphon’s 143 mm. are fully voiced. A declamatory style prevails. Final F, b♭ signature.[1]

1. For additional information regarding Gombert’s Regina caeli for 12 voices, see B. A. Neal, “The Multivoice Sacred Music of Nicolas Gombert: A Critical Examination.” (Ph.D. diss. University of Pittsburgh, 2011), 117-24.
[2] Resurrexit

Polyphonic ensemble SSSAATTTBBB

Description

The use of twelve voices was most likely inspired by Revelation 12:1 that describes “a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars;…” “In the late Middle Ages this woman was accepted as an image of the Queen of Heaven. The apocalyptic crown became, consequently, one of Mary’s most frequently depicted attributes.” (Elders, 1994, p. 243). Elders provides additional comments about the work including its origin.


External link:
CPDL 58715 [Choral Public Domain Library]

1. Gombert’s Regina caeli, one of seventeen Marian antiphons included in Pierre Attaingnant’s print of 1535, was intended for use at Salve services in honor of the Virgin. Pierre Attaingnant’s print (1535|4) consists entirely of seventeen settings of three Marian antiphons, (2 Ave regina caelorum, 8 Regina caeli and 7 Salve regina). As its title indicates (“musicales ad virginem christiparam salutationes”), Attaingnant compiled these works for use at Salve services in honor of the Virgin. The seventeen antiphons, attributed to French and Franco-Flemish composers, include the respective chant quotations, often paraphrased, within an imitative, polyphonic texture. Only two of the antiphons had been published prior to Attaingnant’s Lib. Duodecimus: Josquin’s 5-voice Salve regina (SR128) and J. Richafort’s 5-voice Salve regina (SR230). Willaert’s 5-voice Regina caeli (RC222) first appeared in 1535|4, but was also published in subsequent printed editions. The remainder of the antiphons are available only in Attaingnant’s publication: M. Sohier, AC122; M. Georget, AC052; M. Sohier, SR237; M. Sohier, RC199; P. Moulu, RC148; J. Rousée, RC195; Gombert, RC090; P. Vermont, RC209; F. Bourguignon, RC035; A. De Silva, RC061; C. de Sermisy, SR236; J. Conseil, SR066; J. Lhéritier, SR148; and H. Barra, SR034.

Associated people

Nicolas Gombert - Composer

Creation place and date

No information.

Sung texts

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Regina caeli laetare, alleluia;
Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia,
Resurrexit, sicut dixit, alleluia,
Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.

***

The Trope:

Alle Domine nate matris Deus alme nobis confer praestaque vivere:
Quam [quoniam] te decet laus honor O Domine qui de morte surgebas rex pie:
Fac nos tecum surgere, alleluia.

Bibliography

Modern editions

[CMM 6 - X]

Gombert, N., 1975, Nicolas Gombert, Opera Omnia, Görg J. S. (éd.).
(n° 29)

[Smijers, 1934]

Smijers, A. (éd.), 1934, Treize Livres de Motets Parus Chez Pierre Attaingnant En 1534 et 1535, Paris and Monaco.
(n° 8)

References

[Symbolic Scores]

Elders, W., 1994, Symbolic Scores: Studies in the Music of the Renaissance.
(p. 243)

Contributors

Harry Elzinga - Project manager ; Scientific editor

Ailin Arjmand - Collaborative work

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Regina caeli [090], in RicercarDataLab [https://ricercardatalab.cesr.univ-tours.fr/works/1639/] (accessed 20 January 2026).

Last modification: Nov. 19, 2025