MCE 06-06 O Maria clausus hortus

Edition

Motet

See the general ‘Evaluation of the sourcesʼ at the level of the cycle.

Text (ed. by Eva Ferro)

Edition	English translation
O Maria, clausus^[1] hortus^[i], Naufragantis mundi portus, Placa^[2] nobis, qui te fecit, Matrem sibi quam elegit.	O Mary, enclosed garden, harbour for the shipwrecked world; placate for us the one who formed you, and chose you as his mother.
Audi, virgo glorifica, Post filium spes unica. Clemens^[3] et imperiosa, Nostra^[4] dele maculosa. Accepta nostra cantica^[5], Impetra pulchra^[ii] caelica.	Hear us, glorious virgin, only hope after your son. Gracious and imperious, wipe out our stains (of sin). Accept our songs, obtain by prayer (for us) the things of heaven.
Ave, decus virgineum, Ave, iubar aethereum, Nobis^[6] praesens^[7] solemnitas Adsit^[8]^[iii] perpes iucunditas. Tua namque veneratio Summis est^[9] gratulatio.	Hail, virginal beauty, hail, celestial light, may this present solemnity be a perpetual enjoyment for us. For your veneration is thanksgiving in the eyes of the highest beings.

^[1] clausus] clausa Librone 1, C; clasus Librone 1, T

^[2] placa] plaga Librone 1, C

^[3] clemens] Librone 2, B added iubar et

^[4] nostra] no Librone 2, C

^[5] cantica] Librone 1, B wrote candica

^[6] nobis] assit Librone 2, C B

^[7] praesens] preces Librone 1, T

^[8] adsit] nobis Librone 2, T

^[9] est] Librone 1, B wrote et

^[i] hortus] ortus Librone 1, C T

^[ii] pulchra] pulcra Librone 1, A T

^[iii] adsit] assit Librone 1, A T

This edition is based on Librone 1, ff. 139v–140r and Librone 2, ff. 50v–51r (both copied by Scribe A). Both sources present some mistakes as well as phonetic variants: in Librone 1 the Cantus has ‘clausa’ and the Tenor ‘clasus’ for clausus. The inverted position of ‘adsit’ and ‘nobis’ in Librone 2 is also notable: ‘Adsit praesens solemnitas / Nobis perpes iucunditas’. In some cases the variant readings were created through a change of consonant, for instance in Librone 1, A, placa is written as ‘plaga’, and in Librone 1, B, we find ‘candica’ instead of cantica. Possibly these variants follow a phonetic pattern and are not genuine semantic readings. In the last two verses of the last stanza (‘Tua namque veneratio / Summis est gratulatio’) the word ‘summis’ could be understood as an erroneous copying of summa (indeed, this reading is also the most frequently attested; see AH 5, no. 12, p. 47), but it was not felt warranted to intervene in such an extensive manner in the transmitted text, and the reading ‘summis’ can be accommodated. The English translation (‘For your veneration is / thanksgiving in the eyes of the highest beings’) thus reflects the actual manuscript reading.
The topic of Marian devotion that characterizes the complete cycle continues in the text of this motet, which incorporates three stanzas of a rhymed office for the feast of the Conception (AH 5, no. 12, pp. 47–50 De conceptione BMV): Stanza 1 (‘O Maria, clausus hortus ... elegit’) corresponds to the third antiphon at First Vespers, stanza 2 (‘Audi, virgo glorifica ... caelica’) is the antiphon for the third Nocturn at Matins and is found only in monastic breviaries, while stanza 3 (‘Ave, decus virgineum ... gratulatio’) is the Magnificat antiphon at First Vespers.

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Measure	Voice	Source	Category	Comment	Image
		I-Mfd1	designation of voices	–, Contra Altus, Tenor, Contra bassus
		I-Mfd2	designation of voices	–, [A]ltus, [T]enor, [B]assus
		I-Mfd1; I-Mfd2	clefs	original clefs: g2, c2, c3, c4
2-4	3	I-Mfd2	pitch and rhythm	c' Sb instead of two Mi
8-9	4	I-Mfd2	ligatures	lig. between g and f
10	2	I-Mfd2	pitch and rhythm	d' Br instead of two Sb
11	4	I-Mfd2	pitch and rhythm	g dotted Sb instead of Sb+Mi
15	1	I-Mfd2	pitch and rhythm	d' Sb+Mi instead of dotted Sb
16	2	I-Mfd2	pitch and rhythm	d' Br instead of two Sb
21-22	2	I-Mfd2	pitch and rhythm	g' Br+Sb instead of dotted Sb+Sb+Mi
22	1	I-Mfd2	pitch and rhythm	b' Sb+two Mi instead of dotted Sb+Mi
22	4	I-Mfd2	pitch and rhythm	g Sb+two Mi instead of dotted Sb+Mi
22-25	4	I-Mfd2	text underlay	clemens iubar et imperiosa
23	1	I-Mfd2	pitch and rhythm	b' Sb+Mi instead of dotted Sb
25	1	I-Mfd2	accidentals	sharp before the Br f' added later
27	1	I-Mfd2	text underlay	dele no[stra]
28-29	4	I-Mfd2	pitch and rhythm	Sb g, Mi c and e, Sb g and d instead of dotted Sb g, Mi c, e and g, Sb d
32	3	I-Mfd1	pitch and rhythm	superfluous Br rest erased before the Mi rest	Show
35	2	I-Mfd2	pitch and rhythm	a' dotted Sb+Mi instead of Sb+two Mi
35	4	I-Mfd2	pitch and rhythm	d dotted Sb+Mi instead of Sb+two Mi
36	3	I-Mfd2	pitch and rhythm	d' Sb+two Mi instead of dotted Sb+Mi
39	2	I-Mfd1	pitch and rhythm	b' dotted Sb'+Mi instead of Sb+two Mi
41	1	I-Mfd2	pitch and rhythm	f' dotted Mi + e' Sm instead of f' Sb
41	2	I-Mfd2	pitch and rhythm	d' Br instead of two Sb
42-44	1 4	I-Mfd2	text underlay	adsit praesens solemnitas
44-46	2 3	I-Mfd2	text underlay	nobis perpes iucunditas
44-45	2	I-Mfd2	clefs	the clef at the beginning of the fourth stave (corresponding to the passage between mm. 44 and 45 in the edition) has wrongly been written a third above, then erased and written in the right position
44-45	2	I-Mfd2	key signatures	the flat at the beginning of the fourth stave (corresponding to the passage between mm. 44 and 45 in the edition) has wrongly been written a third above, then erased and written in the right position
47	2	I-Mfd2	pitch and rhythm	d' dotted Sb+Mi instead of Sb+two Mi
51-52	1	I-Mfd2	pitch and rhythm	a' Sb+two Mi+dotted Sb instead of Sb+Mi+Sb+two Mi
51-52	2	I-Mfd2	pitch and rhythm	f' dotted Sb+Mi+dotted Sb instead of Sb+Mi+Sb+two Mi
51-52	3	I-Mfd2	pitch and rhythm	d Sb+two Mi+Sb instead of Sb+Mi+Sb+Mi
52-53	1	I-Mfd2	pitch and rhythm	b' and a' Mi instead of b' dotted Mi and a' Sm
55	2	I-Mfd2	accidentals	e' Sb without flat
56	1 2 3 4	I-Mfd1	pitch and rhythm	last note Mx instead of Lo

Edition	English translation
O Maria, clausus hortus, Naufragantis mundi portus, Placa nobis, qui te fecit, Matrem sibi quam elegit.	O Mary, enclosed garden, harbour for the shipwrecked world; placate for us the one who formed you, and chose you as his mother.
Audi, virgo glorifica, Post filium spes unica. Clemens et imperiosa, Nostra dele maculosa. Accepta nostra cantica, Impetra pulchra caelica.	Hear us, glorious virgin, only hope after your son. Gracious and imperious, wipe out our stains (of sin). Accept our songs, obtain by prayer (for us) the things of heaven.
Ave, decus virgineum, Ave, iubar aethereum, Nobis praesens solemnitas Adsit perpes iucunditas. Tua namque veneratio Summis est gratulatio.	Hail, virginal beauty, hail, celestial light, may this present solemnity be a perpetual enjoyment for us. For your veneration is thanksgiving in the eyes of the highest beings.

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