ABSTRACT
The repertory of petits motets composed for the Maison royale de Saint-Louis comprises more than 200 works, most of which are by Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers and Nicolas Clerambault. A study of the Maison's repertory will identify the role played by petits motets within the liturgy celebrated at Saint-Cyr. The growth in the number of motets and their compositional differences across the history of the institution is traced through an examination of the musical sources grouped by time period. Motets were sung in other parts of the mass as well, including O sacramentum pietatis at communion in the earliest version of the repertory. The vast majority of the motets in the Saint-Cyr repertory are short pieces composed for one or two soloists with a one- or two-voice chorus, accompanied by the organ as basse continue. More than 200 motets survive in the sources from Saint-Cyr, generally in manuscripts and prints that also transmit the plainchant liturgy.
