Josquin’s very empathetic setting of the medieval sequence Stabat mater, which takes as its theme Mary’s suffering at the crucifixion, is based on a cantus firmus (pre-existing melody), namely that of a song by Binchois, ‘Comme femme desconfortée’ (Like a woman in distress), appropriate to the image of Mary at the foot of the cross. This melody, however, is concealed in the middle of the musical texture in long notes.