Salve regina [267]

Tomás Luis de Victoria

Full title / Other titles

SR267 Salve regina 6 vv ; 2.p. Ad te suspiramus 6 vv ; 3.p. Et Jesum 4 vv ; 4.p. O clemens 6 vv

Type

Motet

Scores

[1] Salve regina

Polyphonic ensemble SSAATB

C I-G2; C II-G2; A I-C2; A II-C2; T-C3; B-F3. High clefs. Entire range, G-g’’. Two ostinato cantus firmi establish an intricate structural foundation for pars 1 and 2. Introduced by “salve” motto statements (T, A I, C I), the first cantus firmus in C II consists of 6 repetitions of the “salve” motto (d’’, c’’, d’’, g’) in breves beginning in measure 7 with subsequent reiterations separated by a systematic decrease in lengths of silence (i.e., 3 breves, 2 ½ breves, 2 breves, etc.). For pars 2 Victoria presents 8 reiterations of the motto within a symmetrical pattern that begins after 12 measures of silence with two breves of rest consistently separating motto statements; in 2.p. alternating motto statements entail a transposed motto (g’’, f♯’’, g’’, c’’), previously intimated in measure 2 of pars 1, and the original motto on d. The second ostinato cantus firmus, relegated to A II, has the text “mater misericordiae,” the concluding words of verse 1 (“mater” does not appear in other voices). Like the “salve” motto, this 4 ½ measure motive also spans the interval of a fifth (g’, c’, g’, f’, e’, d’) but is not related to chant. The first of five statements in 1.p. coincides with the final syllable of the “salve” motto (m. 9); subsequent motive statements alternate between a transposed version a step higher on a and the original one on g separated by the identical decreasing lengths of silence (i.e., 3 breves, 2 ½ breves, etc. For 2.p. the first of four “mater misericordiae” motives enters 3 ½ measures prior to the “salve” motto; subsequent statements appear on g’ as well as transpositions on a’ and c’’ (g’, a’, c’’, g’, a’, c’’, g’)[1] with varying lengths of silence (1 semibreve to 4 1/1 breves) separating reiterations. The imitative, contrapuntal fabric of the four surrounding voices complements the complex interaction between two motives that entail transposition, varying lengths of silence between reiterations and their changing juxtaposition. “Et Jesum” motive introduces pars 3 within an imitative texture: however, a homorhythmic texture devoid of chant (App. 4) defines “nobis…ostende,” measures 125-34. Antiphonal treatment contrasting upper (C I, C II, A I) and lower voices (A II, T, B) initiates verse 7 (4.p.), the first of the three acclamations. Final g, (1.p., 2.p., 4.p.), d (3.p.), b♭ signature.

1. The seven repetitions of “mater misericordiae” as well as the fourteen (two times seven) statements of “salve” in pars 1 and 2 could symbolize the seven joys and sorrows of Mary. Similarly, the twelve iterations of “mater misericordiae” in partes 1 and 2 may symbolize Mary, the woman lauded in Revelations 12:1: “a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.”
[2] Ad te suspiramus

Polyphonic ensemble SSAATB

[3] Et Jesum

Polyphonic ensemble

[4] O clemens

Polyphonic ensemble SSAATB

Description

External link:
CPDL 08194 [Choral Public Domain Library]

Associated people

Tomás Luis de Victoria - Composer

Creation place and date

No information.

Associated sources

Sung texts

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Salve, regina, mater misericordiae;

Vita, dulcedo et spes nostra, salve.

Ad te clamamus exsules filii Hevae.

Ad te suspiramus gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle.

Eia ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte.

Et Jesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.

O clemens,

O pia,

O dulcis virgo Maria.

Bibliography

Modern editions

[Thomae Ludovici Victoria Abulensis]

Victoria, T. L. de, 1911, Thomae Ludovici Victoria Abulensis :  opera omnia, Pedrell F. (éd.), Lipsiae.
(n° 112-19)

[Victoria, 1965, vol. 26]

Victoria, T. L. de, 1965, Opera omnia (Victoria, Tomás Luis de), Anglès H. et Pedrell F. (éd.), Roma.
(n° 20)

References

No information.

Contributors

Harry Elzinga - Project manager ; Scientific editor

Ailin Arjmand - Collaborative work

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Salve regina [267], in RicercarDataLab [https://ricercardatalab.cesr.univ-tours.fr/works/2216/] (accessed 22 January 2026).

Last modification: Dec. 3, 2025