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Views from the Choir Loft

Rehearsal Videos • Victoria’s “Ave Maria” (SATB)

Jeff Ostrowski · December 10, 2015

942 IMAGE AVE MARIA Tomás Luis de Victoria SATB EOPLE ENJOYED the “O Magnum Mysterium” rehearsal videos, so I went ahead and created individual practice videos for the SATB “Ave Maria” attributed to Tomás Luis de Victoria:

* *  PDF Download • “Ave Maria” (SATB)

EQUAL VOICES : YouTube   •   Mp3 Audio

SOPRANO : YouTube   •   Audio

ALTO : YouTube   •   Audio

TENOR : YouTube   •   Audio

BASS : YouTube   •   Audio

These videos are intended to help amateur choirs learn. When you’re listening, please remember that I’m a tenor! (I do my very best with the other voice parts.)

FOR YEARS, WE HAVE BEEN TOLD that T. L. de Victoria (d. 1611) did not write this piece. Many believed that Karl Proske wrote it under a false name, publishing it in his 1854 collection. But consider these original manuscripts shared by my friend Nancho Alvarez. If Nancho reads this article, perhaps he can let me know the date of these manuscripts—they do not seem like something Proske would write. 1

939 AVE MARIA Tomás Luis de Victoria SATB 940 AVE MARIA Tomás Luis de Victoria SATB 941 AVE MARIA Tomás Luis de Victoria SATB

I’m not so sure Victoria—toward the very end of his life—could not have written this piece. Here are six reasons why:

(1) The music is of a very high quality.

(2) The Tenor and Bass lines in measures 14-16 remind me of a section in Victoria’s “Domine non sum dignus.”

(3) The 3/4 section toward the end is reminiscent of pieces by Victoria and other composers of that time, such as Jacobus Handl-Gallus.

(4) The incipit at the beginning is certainly something Victoria would have done, and comes directly from the Gregorian version. In fact, if you carefully examine the Gregorian melody—such as the phrase “Sancta Maria”—you’ll see that many melodies are based on the plainsong. As a Roman Catholic priest, Victoria loved to use the plainsong melodies in his polyphonic compositions.

(5) The composer says “JESUS CHRISTUS” instead of “Jesus,” which reminds me of what was done to the Holy Name in Victoria’s “O Magnum Mysterium.”

(6) Victoria did not compose a 4-voice AVE MARIA, except for this one. Therefore, it fills a lacuna in his repertoire.

In addition, the use of chromaticism seems—in my humble opinion—to match what was being done circa 1605AD.

 


NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Part books had generally fallen out of fashion by the 19th century. The entire 1854 collection by Carl Proske—called “Musica Divina”—can be downloaded HERE.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 16, 2023

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “What Martin Luther Said…”
    My pastor asked me to write little columns for the bulletin each week. The article for 20 July 2025 has been posted, and it’s called: “What Luther Said…” Martin Luther (an ex-priest and apostate) was an infamous heretic whose ignorance of JESUS CHRIST was only exceeded by his filthy and disgusting vulgarity.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“It is true that I have a preference for those who are discarded,” said Francis, for he is a humble man and would be the first to admit it.

— Tim Stanley, writing for “The Telegraph” on 13 March 2023

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