This motet
Déploration sur la mort de Claudin de Sermisy is written by Pierre Certon at the occasion of the death of
Claudin de Sermisy (c. 1490-1562) who died in 1562 in Paris.
The term Déploration is international accepted to define compositions inspired on the death of a composer. Certon was a French composer who lived in Paris.
We saw and already mentioned in this Requiem-survey site several lament/deploration settings: Josquin des Prez for Ockeghem (1497) ; Nicolas Gombert (c.1521), Jheronymus Vinders, for Josquin (1521) ; Baston for Johannes Lupi (1539) ; Jacob Vaet for Jacobus Clemens (1556) ; Jacob Regnart for Jacob Vaet (1568) and there are others not mentioned falling out of the scope of this Requiem site.
This motet is set for six voices (CTTTTB). Certon used five lower voices to colour this composition more dark. In this 6-part lamentation on the death of de Sermisy the sexta pars (T) the lowest Tenor-voice repeats in exclamation the Gregorian Introit wording “Requiem aeternam, dona eis Domine” three times with different counterpoints.
Certon uses in a certain affinity to the Office of the Dead the cantus firmus melody from the third antiphon of the Lauds from this Services. The melody of the introit plainchant Requiem is in some way hidden outlined but present in the Superior ( bars 43 and 45 ) and in the Tenor (bar 44 ). From bar 43 up to the end each six parts quotes “Requiem aeternam Domine” in a free version. Certon’s piece is contrapuntal and there are some few moments of true homophony in it. Especially when the name from Claudin is mentioned in bars 26-27as “c’est l’excellent Claudin” first by Contratenor, Quinta pars, Tenor and Bassus together and repeated in the following bar by Contratenor, Quinta pars and Tenor.
This composition contains 51 bars and is only published in “Les meslanges de maistre Pierre Certon “ in Paris by Nicolas du Chemin, 1570.
♫ Déploration sur la mort de Claudin de Sermisy
© Psalmus PSAL 020