Most Highly Favored Lady
Music associated with the Annunciation is not as familiar as is the music linked with the narrative of the Nativity, so the musical compositions of the two seasons are frequently conflated. During the Advent and Christmas seasons, texts that recount Gabriel's startling announcement to the young Virgin Mary are often sung in conjunction with texts about the manger, the shepherds, and the angels. Hymnals that include Sabine Baring-Gould's translation of the traditional Basque carol, "The angel Gabriel from heaven came," may designate it as a hymn to be sung on March 25th. But that carol is probably more commonly heard around December 25th, via recordings of Christmas music rather than congregational singing.
Many such recordings also feature performances of the thirteenth-century carol "Angelus ad Virginem," sometimes sung in English translation as "Gabriel from Heaven-King." The first three stanzas of this five-stanza carol (which is mentioned in "The Miller's Tale" in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales)are a fairly straightforward paraphrase of St. Luke's account in his Gospel. Then the fourth stanza sweeps swiftly past the story of the birth, even bypassing the earthly life of Jesus, to bring us straight to Calvary:
The angel disappeared, and at once the girl's womb swelled up by the power of the birth of Salvation. He, having been contained in the womb for nine months, came out from it and entered the conflict, taking on his shoulder the Cross, by which he gave the blow to the mortal enemy.
No overbooked inn, no shepherds, no cattle lowing here. The angel present at the Annunciation is conceptually linked more with the angelic witness at the empty tomb than with the heavenly host appearing in the skies above Bethlehem.
A Delicate Snapshot
Musical settings of the astonishing exchange between the angel and the Virgin often take their titles from the Latin of the opening words of the story, either Missus est angelus Gabriel, or Missus est Gabriel angelus, or Missus est Gabriel archangelus: The angel Gabriel was sent. The presence of the verb at the beginning of the Latin sentence alerts us to the missional purpose and divine origin of this encounter. The miracle of the virgin's pregnancy is a vivid corporeal prologue to the overarching miracle of Redemption's fulfillment in history.
The brief motet Missus est Gabriel archangelus by Josquin des Prez (c. 1450–1521) uses a significantly abbreviated summary of the encounter at the Annunciation. Gabriel, quickly introduced, greets and blesses Mary. Finis. As listeners, we—like Elizabeth—know why Mary is "blessed among women." Josquin's motet is a delicate snapshot of the first moments of this momentous meeting; his listeners can fill in the rest. Even though the text he sets doesn't include the substantive dialogue between Gabriel and Mary, Josquin's gentle polyphony implies an interaction as he evocatively interweaves original melodic elements with the traditional plainchant of the Ave Maria. Recent recordings of this lovely motet by Alamire and by the Brabant Ensemble convey a sense of tenderness and wonder.
Some might think that the announcement of the presence of the long-awaited Messiah deserves a bigger stage, a louder fanfare. But the initial heralding of the King of kings is as intimate, quiet, and humble as is his arrival nine months later. The cosmic mystery of the Incarnation can't cancel or obscure the personal character of salvation, quintessentially displayed in the conversation between Gabriel and Mary.
Comforting Antiphon
Several decades after Josquin's setting of this encounter was composed, Orlande de Lassus (1532–1594) presented St. Luke's account of the Annunciation in his Missus est Angelus Gabriel. The work is dramatically structured in four separate parts, each with a different vocal texture. First, the historical setting and Gabriel's puzzling and disturbing greeting (Luke 1:26–29), then the comforting words of Gabriel (vv. 30–33), then Mary's "How can this be?" and Gabriel's explanation (vv. 34–37), and finally Mary's acceptance of her high vocation (v. 38).
The second "movement" of Lassus's work begins with the words of Gabriel from Luke 1:30: "Ne timeas, Maria." The angelic assertion that there is no need to fear may well have reminded Mary of the words from Isaiah: "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." Ne timeas, Maria is one of the antiphons traditionally sung at vespers on the Feast of the Annunciation. Settings by Tomás Luis de Victoria, Peter Philips, and Philippe de Monte are worth repeated—and comforting—hearings.
Ken Myers is the host and producer of the Mars Hill Audio Journal. Formerly an arts editor with National Public Radio, he also serves as music director at All Saints Anglican Church in Ivy, Virginia. He is a contributing editor for Touchstone.
A Journal of Mere Christianity—Delivered to Your Door
- Essays on theology, culture, and the Church
- Contributors from across the Christian traditions
Six print issues (one year) of Touchstone, plus full online access and PDF downloads for only $39.95.
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95.
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more from the online archives
19.1—January/February 2006
on Death & Seven of the Last Words of Socrates by Graeme Hunter
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
