Clemens non Papa, Videte miraculum
Videte miraculum is a Magnificat antiphon for the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The feast is generally known as Candlemas and is celebrated in many denominations on February 2.
Professor Carol has written about celebrating Candlemas here and here.
I can’t think of a composer other than Jacob Clemens (c. 1510 to 1515 — c. 1555 or 1556) who is universally known by a nickname: Clemens non Papa (Clemens, not the pope). Some speculate that his publisher added non papa to distinguish him from Pope Clement VII (r. 1523-1534), and others point to the contemporary Dutch poet Jacobus Clemens, but no one knows for sure.
Clemens was a very prolific composer in his relatively short life. His published works include 15 Masses, 15 Magnificats, 233 motets, and more than 100 secular works. Virtually all are choral works and some 80 percent are sacred.
He lived in Flanders and, unlike many of his contemporaries, did not travel to Italy or absorb Italian influences. He is best known for his Souterliedekens, a polyphonic setting all of the Psalms in the Dutch language. The 5-voice motet Videte miraculum was published in 1553.
| Videte miraculum matris Domini: concepit virgo virilis ignara consortii, stans onerata nobili onere Maria; et matrem se laetam cognoscit, quae se nescit uxorem. | Behold the miracle of the mother of the Lord: a virgin has conceived though she knows not a man, Mary, who stands laden with her noble burden; knowing not that she is a wife, she rejoices to be a mother. |