motet notes - Lassus

Orlando di Lassus [1530/32-1594] was a Flemish composer of over 2,000 works whose music stands at the apex of the Franco-Netherlanidish style that dominated European music of the Renaissance. "Adoramus te, Christe," a text which Lassus set six times (three in three parts, two in four, and one in five), is a simple prayer asking for mercy. Today’s motet, the only setting for four mixed voices, shows a combination of Renaissance elements: text declamation and proportionality; and mannerist elements: unexpected turns of harmony; as an element of variety, even of surprise.

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