The motet anthologies of Florido de Silvestris

Horsewood, Adrian (2026) The motet anthologies of Florido de Silvestris. Doctoral thesis, Birmingham City University.

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Abstract

Between 1643 and 1672 there appeared in print fifteen anthologies of small-scale, sacred, Latin-texted motets by different composers, compiled by Florido de Silvestris (1596–after 1676); he was a cleric, singer, composer, and author active in Rome. The anthologies contain over two hundred and thirty pieces by many of the leading Roman composers of the day, over half of which survive in no other print or manuscript source.

Although all of Florido’s anthologies were printed in or near Rome, they are dedicated to individuals and groups both in Rome and farther afield, and it is clear that through their circulation they influenced composers, performers, and printers right across Europe. The true chronological span of Florido’s motet anthologies must actually be at least sixty years,covering a period during which the motet became the most popular form of sacred music.

This trend was in no small part driven by one quintessential feature of the motet — namely, its non-specificity of text. In an age of substantial liturgical upheaval in the Roman Catholic church brought about by the Protestant Reformation and the subsequent Catholic Counter-Reformation, sacred motets were subjected to numerous restrictions regarding the sources from which their texts could be drawn. However, these rulings were soon and repeatedly broken in Catholic territories all over Europe, which is highlighted by the frequency with which increasingly stringent edicts were issued concerning permitted and prohibited textual sources during the seventeenth century. Furthermore, the time-period encompassed by the motets in Florido’s anthologies saw significant changes in musical notation, and we can often observe the same musical features notated in multiple ways.

This thesis considers the motet anthologies of Florido de Silvestris as a body of work and as individual publications, and also examines specific exemplars, in order to answer questions of bibliography, the circulation and influence of printed works, text-setting, and performance practice. It is supplemented by critical editions of a selection of motets.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Dates:	Date Event 9 September 2026 Accepted
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Florido de Silvestris, motet, Rome, seventeenth-century, sacred music, printing, patronage, print circulation, Latin, neo-Latin, liturgy, performance practice, notation
Subjects:	CAH25 - design, and creative and performing arts > CAH25-02 - performing arts > CAH25-02-02 - music
Divisions:	Doctoral Research College > Doctoral Theses Collection Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
Depositing User:	Louise Muldowney
Date Deposited:	15 Sep 2026 11:26
Last Modified:	15 Sep 2026 11:26
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/17242

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