Soggetto cavato ([sodˈdʒɛtto kaˈvaːto]) is an innovative technique of Renaissance composer Josquin des Prez that was later named by the theorist Zarlino in 1558 in his Le istitutioni harmoniche as soggetto cavato dalle vocali di queste parole, or literally, a subject 'carved out of the vowels from these words.'
Guido of Arezzo, an eleventh-century monk, proposed a set of syllables for teaching singers how to sight sing.
The syllables, ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, were used to help the singers remember the pattern of whole tones and semitones.
It seems that his patron, Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, temporarily financially strapped, put off the composer's requests for payment with a reassuring "Lascia fare a me" (Leave it to me), whereupon Josquin's friend, the Renaissance poet Serafino d’Aquila, translated the remark into its musical equivalent and incorporated it into a sonnet addressed to the composer.
And finally, his motet Illibata Dei virgo uses Josquin own name as an acrostic in a poem concerning the Virgin Mary.
In fact, Duke Ercole II of Ferrara had five such masses dedicated to him: two by Cipriano de Rore, one by Lupus, one by Maitre Jan and one by Jacquet of Mantua.
In addition to his Hercules Mass, he wrote another soggetto cavato dedicated to Emperor Charles V entitled Missa Carolus Imperator Romanorum Quintus.
Costanzo Festa's variations on La Spagna include a movement incorporating the names "Ferdinando" and "Isabella."