3 motets:
I Hic vir despiciens mundum
II Iste sanctus pro lege Dei
III Estote fortes in bello
Clefs
Treble, bass
Meters
¢
Key signatures
1b, None
Range
Horn 1: bb - g2
Horn 2: d - g2
Horn 3: f# - d2
Horn 4: c - d2
Creator's Comments
I. HIC VIR DESPICIENS MUNDUM
“This man, despising the world and all earthly things, has triumphed, and has laid up treasuers in heaven with his deeds and his words.”
II. ISE SANCTUS PRO LEGE DEI
“That man is holy who has fought for the law of God even unto death, and has not been afraid of the words of the unrighteous: for he was founded upon a firm rock.
III. ESTOTE FORTES IN BELLO
“Be ye strong in war and do battle with the ancient serpent; and ye shall receive the eternal kingdom. Alleluja, Alleluja.”
If multiple horns are available, these motets sound glorious with 2 or 3 on a part. The tendency to bog down must constantly be fought; keep moving. All dynamics are mine and are intended to reconcile the original text’s phrasing with modern horn characteristics.
Performance Notes
Thomas (or Tomas) Luis de Victoria (or Vittoria) lived from 1548 to 1611, and is considered the “Spanish Palestrina”. A composer of the late Renaissance (like Palestrina and Lasso), he took part in the Counter-Reformation, and was therefore mainly a composers of sacred music
The three motets are contrapuntal works with mainly individual moving parts forming harmonies as the go along. There is only one clear homophonic section, four bars in the middle of the first motet.
The parts are distributed in the traditional quartet style (1-2-3-4), with, in this kind of music, interchangeable 2nd and 3rd parts (their tessituras alternate). The outer parts don’t go into the extremes, and the tempi are all in 2, but moderato, so technically the motets are not difficult to play. From an ensemble point of view it is important to count the bars, and trust one’s rhythm, as most of the time nobody else is playing anything remotely similar. Those that have gotten lost in a Palestrina or Gabrieli work (and probably never found back) know what this means.
In regards to quartet transcriptions, this music lends itself best to be adapted for the horn. Without the technical challenges of say, Bach, but with more interesting parts than a completely homophonic work, the Three motets are a good choice for any concert program, and also recommended for improving the ensemble playing in a beginner’s quartet.