Having been a chorister at St Paul’s, Peter Philips, like so many other Catholics at that time, left England for the European continent. He travelled around Europe, including Madrid and Paris, and settled in Antwerp. He was a prolific composer, particular of keyboard music and sacred motets and secular madrigals for choirs.
Today’s choice, the communion motet Salve salutaris victimae for 5 voices comes from the 1612 publication ‘Cantiones sacrae quinis vocibus’. It opens with a chordal texture in the lower voices, including some quite scrummy suspensions. Typical of music from this time, it stars with longer note values before using shorter values. Listen out for the plainsong cantus firmus in the second section, sung by the tenors.
A translation of the text is:
Salve salutaris victima
Hail, saving Victim,
pro me et omni humano genere
for me and for the whole human race
in patibulo crucis oblata.
offered on the gibbet of the cross.
Salve nobilis et pretiose sanguis,
Hail, noble and precious blood,
de vulneribus crucifixi
flowing from the wounds of
Domini mei Jesu Christi profluens
my crucified Lord Jesus Christ
et peccata totius mundi abluens.
and washing away the sins of the whole world.
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