oa The Elevation as Liturgical Climax in Gesture and Sound: Milanese Elevation Motets in Context

Elevation motets have been considered a peculiar feature of the Milanese motetti missales. Yet an exploration of elevation prayers and their circulation makes it possible to contextualize the Milanese transmission of elevation motets in a wider liturgical and musical practice. After discussing the liturgical significance and function of the elevation, with its rich gestural symbolism, this study focuses on the peculiarities of the Milanese elevation motets in comparison with other elevation pieces. The ‘loco Sanctus’ motets of the Milanese Libroni were intended to surround the elevation ritual with music, and also include a part to be sung before the elevation took place. In this regard the Milanese elevation motets show a more direct connection with the mass ritual than other motets ‘de corpore Christi’. Mapping the elevation motet texts reveals significant connections in particular between O salutaris hostia and the liturgical uses of the regions in northern France and Flanders from which Galeazzo Maria Sforza recruited his singers. Although our knowledge of the use of motets and of related practices in those regions is incomplete, this nonetheless suggests narrower ties than have typically been supposed between the Milanese elevation sections and Franco-Flemish singing traditions related to the elevation at mass.