L.L. Philippe de Vitry-Gratissima Virginis Species

Philippe de Vitry was an accomplished French composer, poet, and music theorist. Aside from all of his other innovations, he is accredited with being the author of the Ars Nova treatise.

The song is about a man seeking to find the perfect woman, who is pure, caring, beautiful and strong. There is a subtle tone of reference to the virgin Mary, but the text is not religious until the very last stanza, when the singer begs for god to grant unto him the status of the immortals through a kiss.

This piece is extremely rhythmic with dotted patterns throughout. A sense of joy and fulfilled longing and relief works well with the text. The piece is performed by the British early music group called, "Gothic Voices," which was founded in 1981 by Christopher Page.