Guillaume Dufay's Motet in Honor of St. Nicholas: the Bologna Connection
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Guillaume Dufay's Motet in Honor of St. Nicholas: The Bologna Connection Herbert C. Turrentine The late medieval isorhythmic motet was a form usu ally composed to celebrate important occasions, such as the consecration of a cathedral, the wedding of a prince, or a saint's feast day. The incomparable fifteenth-cen tury Burgundian composer, Guillaume Dufay wrote the first of his thirteen isorhythmic motets in 1420, I while the last was probably written in 1446.2 All but two have been related to speCific events, personages or places. 0 gemma, lux et speculumlSacer pastor Barensium is one of the unidentified motets,3 even though the text clearly honors St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, patron of Bari, Italy.4 It has been suggested by Guillaume de Van that since Dufay composed the ballade C'est bien raison de devoir essaucier in honor of Nicholas III, marquis of Ferrara,5 he was, perhaps, also commissioned by this tyrant to cel ebrate his patron saint.6 To suggest, however, that Dufay paid tribute to this murderer and lifelong adul terer7 in an intellectually-fashioned motet seems incon gruous with Dufay's spiritual and creative life. Moreover, it is noteworthy that none of the several exist ing epitaphs praising Nicholas III make any reference to his interest in the arts or letters.8 Although Guillaume de Van offers only internal evi dence, he states that "it can be safely said that the motet was composed before 1436."9 David Fallows IO and Charles Hamm II are more precise in assigning the work 2 Explorations In Renaissance Culture to the 1420s. And Heinrich Besseler in the foreword to his edition of Dufay's motets states that "Nos. 8 and 9 were certainly composed between 1420 and 1426 ....,,12 (In this edition, 0 gemma, lux et speculum is No.9.) Despite the fact that there has been considerable speculation as to Dufay's whereabouts in the year 1426, we have documentary evidence dating from April of 1427 that establishes his place of residence at that time. Two letters that were recorded in the chapter acts of the parish church of St. Gery reveal that Dufay was living at that time in Bologna. Cardinal Louis Aleman, the papal legate to Bologna, had written to St. Gery on the 12th of April on Dufay's behalf requesting privileges of absence from his diaconate held at the altar of St. Gery in the chapel Salve of that church. 13 A year later on the 24th of March, 1428, Cardinal Aleman wrote again, this time describing Dufay, not as a deacon, but as a priest. 14 Further evidence of Dufay's association within Cardinal Aleman's circle is confirmed by his motet in honor of St. James the Greater, Rite majorem Jacobum canamus, which contains the acrostic Robertus Auclou Curatus Jacobi. The acrostic identifies Robert Auclou, a secretary to Aleman in Bologna, and the motet is thought to date from 1426-27. 15 Alejandro Planchart has presented evi dence which indicates that Dufay wrote his Missa Sancti Jacobi for San Giaccomo il Maggiore in Bologna, possi bly in 1425. 16 It should be noted that Louis Aleman received his Cardinal hat in 1426. Of the ten new cardinals whose names were officially published on May 24 of that year, three were French Oean de la Rochetailles, Raymond Mairose,17 and Louis Aleman), and three were Italian (Antonio Cassini, Ardicino della Porta, and Niccolo AI bergati, Bishop of Bologna).18 It is this writer's argu ment that Dufay's motet in honor of St. Nicholas was written to celebrate the elevation to Cardinal of this last cited figure, Niccolo Albergati. 19 .