Salve sancta parens

Salve sancta parens is a puzzle canon by Ludwig Senfl. It is found in the Liber selectarum cantionum, printed in 1520.
==On the Puzzle Canon==
On the last of the printed pages of the Liber selectarum cantionum there is a full-page, black and white woodcut. At the bottom on the left and on the right corner, the coats of arms of Sigmund Grimm and Markus Wirsung are displayed in whose office the book was printed. The satyrs playing horns are possible meant to be parodying depictions of these printers. The plaque placed between them shows “M. D. XX.” , a reference to the year 1520 in Roman numerals in which the book was published.
The puzzle canon in the narrower sense takes up most of the page and serves as conclusion to the book. It consists of a grid of 6 × 6 rectangles that look similar to a magic square. Each rectangle contains two breves and two syllables. There are, however, some exceptions to this rule and instead display four brevis symbols. In these cases two subsequent breves each have another brevis printed at different pitch above them. Notating notes in this way suggests that they are meant to be performed by two voices. The squares in the upper left and lower right corners include the word “Salve”. Because these are the only words starting with a capital letter they must mark the beginnings of the four voices.
Originally, the term “canon” refers to any kind of instruction to the performers, often employing brevity and a degree of obscurity on the part of the composer. A “puzzle canon” centers around a riddle by giving an instruction that is intentionally worded in a cryptic fashion and, in many case, also by presenting the musical notation in an unusual manner. The aim of this was entertainment since you had to try several approaches to interpret the instruction until you found the correct solution. In the work at hand the instruction is as follows: “Notate verba, et signate mysteria”. Translated into English this means: “Take note of the words and uncover the secret.” If you solve the canon correctly (as seen in the picture) the text results in this sentence: “Salve sancta parens dulcis amor meus virgo pia salus mundi coeli porta.” This translate to: “Hail sweet Mother, my sweet love, pious virgin, salvation of the world, heaven’s gate.”
According to one interpretation, the puzzle canon is meant to bring mazes in to mind which used to be a popular metaphor in 15th and 16th century theology. The singers start at the corners of the canon and must find the exit in the center of the piece. In a similar manner pious Christians seek to find the right way of living their lives while the material world tempts them in various manners. If they stay true to their faith, heaven and eternal life will await them in the end. Fittingly, the center of the grid features the word “coeli porta”, i. e. “heaven’s gate”.
The puzzle canon can also been analyzed from the perspective of Renaissance occultism which was wide-spread in the 16th century. According to Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim’s De occulta philosophia (written c. 1510) there is a connection between a matrix of 6 × 6 squares and the sun. If you can win the favor of the sun you will achieve glory and esteem resembling that of a king. Marsilio Ficino states in his De vita libri tres, published in 1489, that music is one way you can influence the planets to your own advantage. In the case of the sun this requires a simple and dignified kind of music; this description matches the style of the rather plain Salve sancta parens. The construction of the puzzle canon and its musical style seems to attempt to exert influence on the sun to direct its advantages toward oneself. Since the Liber selectarum cantionum is dedicated to Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg this attempt is probably undertaken to benefit him.
Category:Renaissance music
Category:1520s in music
Category:Vocal musical compositions
Category:Early music
Category:Woodcuts