Missa ave maris stella

Scholars often divide Josquin’s works into three periods: early, middle, and late—another parallel with Beethoven. The Missa Ave maris stella comes from his mature middle period (roughly 1485-1505), during which time Josquin was employed at the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Although portions of the liturgy had been sung as polyphonic music for several generations before Josquin, the ordinary mass (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei) was still chanted monophonically until the early 15th century. Steps toward a fully polyphonic mass were taken during the lifetime of Guillaume Dufay (1398-1474) and further consolidated by Josquin. Ave maris stella is a paraphrase mass, meaning that the melodic figure occurring at the start of the separate movements is a quotation from an existing plainchant.
The Gloria opens with canonic imitation in two highest parts, while the lower voices are reserved for a later entrance. This allows the listener to get an obstructed view onto the plainchant foundation. For the “Amen” at the close of the movement, Josquin carries the concluding sentiment of the text, “In Gloria Dei,” over into an incredible, moto perpetuo melisma for all parts. The beginning of the Sanctus is no less remarkable. Josquin peels the voices apart one by one, starting from a unison G for soprano and alto. These lines proceed outward in contrary motion to an octave D, at which point the basses enter at the peak of their range in unison with the altos. It’s a stunning bit of additive construction that allows the texture to expand from one to three parts almost imperceptibly. Finally, the tenors enter with the plainchant in long note values, fulfilling their traditional role as the sustained, chant-based core of polyphonic composition (“tenor” derives from the Latin tenere = “to hold”). This Sanctus also includes two solo sections, the first a trio (“Pleni sunt . . .”) and the second a duo (“Benedictus”).

The Agnus Dei opens like the Gloria with a canonic duet between soprano and alto. That texture returns for the middle section, but Josquin introduces the full ensemble for the movement’s concluding portion. Apart from the occasional cross-rhythm (two-against-three), the careful listener may also note the affective coloration of the final plagal cadence. Into his G modality Josquin inserts the darkening tinge of E flat, which makes a striking contrast with the chant theme’s prominent E naturals.