Regina caeli [163]

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

Full title / Other titles

RC163 Regina coeli 4 vv ; [2.p.] Quia quem meruisti 4 vv ; [3.p.] Resurrexit 8 vv

Type

Motet

Scores

[1] Regina coeli

Polyphonic ensemble SSAB

Two contrasting choirs. Choir I: [C I]-C1; [C II]-C1; [A]-C3; [B]-F4; Range, c-d’’. Choir II: [A]-C3; [T I]-C4, [T II]-; [B]-F4. Range, F-g’. Chant (App. 3), usually presented in semibreves and breves, permeates the predominantly imitative contrapuntal texture. Structurally comparable to RC163, the first two textual phrases are respectively assigned to Chr. I and Chr. II. Antiphonal treatment of the two remaining phrases involves alternating statements of textual phrases and varied repetition of “alleluia,” the latter in homorhythmic style. “Alleluia” sections conclude with tutti statements. Palestrina substantially extends treatment of “ora…Deum” first by an antiphonal setting that includes chant in an imitative texture (mm. 67-76) and later a homorhythmic setting devoid of chant (mm. 91-6); thus, this portion of the antiphon constitutes more than a third of the composition. Choirs are harmonically independent. Final F, b♭ signature.
[2] Quia quem meruisti

Polyphonic ensemble ATTB

[3] Resurrexit

Polyphonic ensemble SSAATTBB

Associated people

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina - Composer

Creation place and date

No information.

Associated sources

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

[Palestrina, 1987, vol. 34]

Palestrina, G. P. da, 1987, Le opere complete, Casimiri R. (éd.), Rome.
(n° 2)

[Pierluigi da Palestrina's Werke 6]

Palestrina, P. da, 1968, Pierluigi da Palestrina’s Werke, Haberl F. X. et Espagne F. (éd.), Leipzig.
(n° 13)

References

No information.

Contributors

Harry Elzinga - Project manager ; Scientific editor

Ailin Arjmand - Collaborative work

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Regina caeli [163], in RicercarDataLab [https://ricercardatalab.cesr.univ-tours.fr/works/1712/] (accessed 09 March 2026).

Last modification: Nov. 21, 2025