Songs without words: the motet as solo instrumental music after Trent

Motet intabulations for organ and lute printed during the second half of the sixteenth century are a barometer of their longevity. More than simply exemplifying instrumental performance practice, they attest to musical fashion and the life of liturgical works beyond their strictly ecclesiastical context. The study shows a continued veneration of older motets from the first half of the century as as models of refined polyphonic elegance completely independent of their liturgical function. Whether embellished for virtuosic display or kept unadorned, older motets proliferated alongside works by Lasso and his contemporaries seemingly impervious to the liturgical reforms of the times.