Although Orlandus Lassus was never in imperial service, the close relationship between Maximilian and the Dukes of Bavaria, Lassus’s employers, meant that there was a frequent and cordial exchange of music between the two courts.
Pacis amans was composed in celebration of Maximilian’s crowning as King of Bohemia in 1562. It displays many of the characteristics that made Lassus the most popular and widely disseminated composer of the century, including his mastery of text setting and ability to create musical ebb and flow around Latin verse, as well as his innovative and varied approach to harmonic writing.
from notes by Stephen Rice © 2007
