New Senfl Edition (NSE), vol. 3: Motets for five voices

Ludwig Senfl (c.14901543) is a key figure in the Central European musical world between the time of Heinrich Isaac (1450/51517) and Orlando di Lasso (1532?94). In both of his positionsat the imperial court of Maximilian I, where he launched his career as a singer and composer, and in Munich, where he worked from 1523 as court composer for Wilhelm IV of Bavariahe was greatly involved in the musical developments of his time. Although the extraordinary quality of Senfls music has been acknowledged since the dawn of musicology, the major part is still inaccessible in an edition and therefore only inadequately studied by scholars and performers alike. The New Senfl Edition (NSE) aims to fill this gap by publishing Senfls uvre in a critical edition that will provide a comprehensive overview of the composers work based on up-to-date research. In comparison to earlier, unfinished editions, the NSE offers numerous advantages: the repertoire to be edited is organised systematically according to number of voices and alphabetically, and the transcriptions as well as the critical apparatus are conceived according to uniform, up-to-date editorial guidelines. Works surviving only in fragmentary form along with works whose authorship remains uncertain have been included in the edition to complete the picture, whereas clearly misattributed works are not edited. The second volume of the NSE issues all five-voice motets and issues many Marian motets, among them Senfls famous Ave, Rosa sine spinis and Mater digna Dei / Ave, sanctissima Maria, which was composed for Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria. Furthermore, editions for many of Senfls highly estimated psalm motets are presented, such as De profundis clamavi, Miserere mei, Domine, as well as the expanded version of Nisi Dominus. The volume, however, also provides editions for many hitherto unknown compositions: the large-scale Te Deum, whichdue to the difficult source situation represented a particular challenge for the editors, or the three-part Si enim credimus, which possibly served as the introit for Senfls lost Requiem mass. The critical reports, which come along the musical material, provide information on each motet with regard to the texts set to music, the pre-existent plainchant material, an evaluation of the sources, as well as contextual and historical information. The edition thus provides philologically reliable musical texts, along with extensive scholarly research on each individual composition. In order to help emancipate Senfls work from narrowly conceived, nationalist historiographies of music, the NSE will be published in English. The published volume (in print and online, open access) forms part of the renowned series Denkmäler der Tonkunst in Österreich which ensures the international dissemination of Senfls music. This enables a comprehensive explorationscholarly and practical alikeof one of the most prominent composers of the first half of the sixteenth century.