Tota pulchra es - Clemens non Papa, Jacobus

"This motet is an enigma. The setting is from the Song of Solomon, against which the Quintus part is given an intercession to Saint Margaret (probably either of Antioch, or of Scotland). This intercession is a cantus firmus iterated in the first section, and reversed in the second. The retrograde movement is labelled with a disconcerting quip: "secunda pars supra primam partem vade retro Satanas" which manages not only to prompt associations with the ritual of exorcism but to remind one of the twentieth-century craze, particularly amongst heavy-metal bands, for backmasking."

⌛ Period → Renaissance ◈ Genre / Form → Motets

♯ Key G major

♬ Voicing → SATTB,ATTTB

◆ Difficulty

Intermediate (Grade 4-5)

↕ Range F#2 – D5

¶ Language → Latin

Measures 113

Texture mixed texture

Parts 4

Instruments A cappella

Pages 7

CPDL # 84444

Editor Christopher Shaw

Posted 2025-04-07

License Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike

♫Pitch Ranges

Superius (G2)

C4 – D5

Contratenor (C2)

C3 – G4

Tenor (C3)

C3 – E4

Bassus (F3)

F#2 – A3

¶Lyrics / Text

Tota pulchra es, amica mea, et macula non est in te. Veni sponsa, veni chara coronaberis. Surge, propera, amica mea, formosa mea, columba mea, veni, coronaberis. Sancta Margareta, ora pro nobis

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