ABSTRACT
Josquin des Prez’s motet Virgo salutiferi (NJE 25.13) has been dated to Josquin’s year in Ferrara at the Este court, 1503–4. It features densely imitative counterpoint for three lower voices singing a text by Ercole Strozzi, aristocratic friend of Lucrezia Borgia after her 1502 marriage to Alfonso d’Este, son and heir of duke Ercole, with the chant “Ave Maria” sung in canon by tenor and discantus. Guided by the tenor, the discantus part is presented like a gem mounted in a filigree setting. Could Josquin have written the motet to provide Lucrezia herself with the opportunity to sing polyphony?
