Gaude Virgo

Gaude Virgo by Pierre de la Rue is a non-liturgical, devotional work which survives uniquely in Brussels, Biblioteque Royal, MS 9126. This manuscript was copied, apparantly, by the master scribe Martin Bourgeois for Philip the Handsome and his wife Juana of Castile around the year 1505. Since La Rue was a leading compmoser at Philip's court, it seems likely that Gaude Virgo was part of the repertory of the "Burgundian" chapel at Malines. It shows a rich variety of textures from four-part imitation to dynamic ostinato sections.