Download 2. Middle Ages

Song and Dance
in the Early Middle Ages
Chant sung in Churches,
Monasteries and Nunneries
Chant and Chant notation taught in Church Schools
Few people could (or needed to)
read music outside the church,
and
secular music
was
rarely written
down…
…except
in elite circles
that valued secular
music.
What secular music survives in
notation?
Several hundred
monophonic songs
Lyrics for songs
whose melodies are lost
And a few dance tunes
We have…
descriptions of music-making,
illuminations of musicians
playing instruments,
and a few instruments
What was the Medieval World
that supported
SECULAR MUSIC?
CHARLEMAGNE
(742-814)
CHARLEMAGNE
(742-814)
Crowned Holy Roman Emperor
in 800
CHARLES le MAGNE
(742-814)
Unites Europe
and sponsors the Arts
creating the…
CAROLINGIAN
RENAISSANCE
Upon the death of his son LOUIS the PIOUS
(778-840)
Charlemagne’s empire divided
into geographical beginnings of
Modern Europe
Political centers developed, some of which nurtured the
development of secular music.
Regional nobility had
considerable political autonomy
and competed for artistic prestige
by hiring the best musicians
Western Europe saw remarkable
economic growth in 800-1300
Economy was largely agricultural
Most people lived in rural areas
By 1300, however, several cities had
populations over 100,000
There were three Social Classes Nobility
Clergy
Peasants
Doctors, Lawyers, Merchants, and Artisans formed a new “middle class”
in cities
Artisans—including musicians—
organized themselves into groups
called GUILDS to regulate their crafts
and protect their
interests
Cathedral schools
were established throughout
Europe
from 1050
to 1300.
Universities were founded in
Bologna, Paris, Oxford,
and other cities
Beginning in 1200, independent schools for laymen
were founded.
Educated people
spoke, wrote, and understood
LATIN
as well as vernacular languages
Poets wrote poetry in
LATIN
based on Roman models, but using Latin in a unique way.
Medieval Latin poetry treated
nonreligious subjects, and were often satirical,
moralizing about sex and love.
THE GOLIARDS,
wandering students and clerics, who composed many songs in the late tenth through thirteenth
centuries
Their texts are in Latin,
and topics include
religious themes and satire, and celebration of earthly pleasures,
such as eating and drinking.
PROFESSIONAL
MUSICIANS
BARDS in Celtic lands
sang epics at banquets,
accompanying themselves
on harp or fiddle
JONGLEURS
were traveling entertainers who
told stories and performed tricks in
addition to performing
music
jongleur = “juggler”
MINSTRELS
(Latin minister = “servant”)
By the 1200s MINSTREL
meant any specialized musician
Many were
highly paid, unlike the
jongleurs
Minstrels came from
many economic backgrounds,
and were on the payrolls of
courts and cities. The TROUBADOURS
and
TROUVÈRES The TROUBADOURS
and
TROUVÈRES Began around
1100
The root words trobar and trover
meant “to compose a song” Troubadour music has its origins in
three possible genres:
1. Arabic love songs from Iberia
2. Versus from Church music
3. Secular Latin songs (Goliards)
Courts supported songs
from these poet-composers in two
vernacular languages
In the south the language was Occitan
Langue d’Oc
and the poet-composers were
called TROUBADOURS
OCCITANIA
In the North,
the language was FRENCH
Langue d’Oïl
and the poet-composers were
called TROUVÈRES.
Troubadours and trouvères came
from many backgrounds,
and there were
female troubadours were called
TROBAIRITZ
Some were nobility,
such as
Guillaume IX
Duke of Aquitaine
(1071 –1126)
and
Beatriz,
Comtessa de Dia
(c. 1140 - c. 1200)
Some were from the servant class
such as
Bernart de Ventadorn
(c. 1130 - 1200)
They were all accepted into
aristocratic circles because of
their accomplishments and
demeanor
Many of their biographies, VIDAS
were written down and survive
“Bernard de Ventadorn was from the castle of
Ventadorn in Limousin. He was a man from a
poor family, the son of a servant who was an
oven-tender and heated the oven to cook the
bread for the castle. He grew handsome and
skilled, and knew how to compose and sing,
and he was courtly and
educated. The
Viscount Ventadorn [Eble
III], his lord, was
greatly pleased with him and his composing
and singing, and honored him greatly. Now,Viscount Ventadorn had a wife
[Marguerite de Turenne] who was beautiful
and gay, and young and noble, and she was
pleased with Bernard and his songs, and she
fell in love with him, and he with her, so that
he made his poems and songs about her, the
love that he had for her and her noblesse.
Their love lasted for a long time. And when
the viscount caught on, he distanced himself
wife under guard.
from Bernard shut in his
Then he had the lady dismiss Bernard, and
made him agree to leave and depart from the
district. So Bernard left, and went to the Duchess of
Aquitaine, who was young and of great
nobility, and well-versed in worthiness and
honor and eulogy. And she was most pleased
with Bernard’s poems and songs, so she
received, honored, and supported him and
gave him many great favors.
He was at the
court of the duchess for a long time and he fell
in love with her and she with him, so Bernard
made many good songs about it. But King Henry II of England took her to wife
and took her from Normandy to England. Sir
Bernard stayed behind, sad and ailing, and he
left Normandy and went to the good count
Raimon V of Toulouse, and was with him at
his court until the count died. And when the
count was dead, Sir Bernard abandoned the
world and composing,
and entered the order
And all that I have
of Dalon and died there.
told you about him was told to me by
Viscount Eble of Ventadorn, who was the son
of the Viscountess Bernard loved so much.”
Castle of Ventadorn
Bernart de
Ventadorn
Guillaume IX
Beatriz de Dia
TROUBADOUR SONGS
LOVE SONGS predominate.
Other songs are on political, moral, and
literary topics. Some are dramatic
ballads and
dialogues, and dance songs
TROUBADOUR SONGS
The poems of the troubadours and
trouvères are some of the finest of
Western vernacular
poetry, notable
for their elegance,
and intricacy.
TROUBADOUR SONGS
Influence all of Western poetry
through DANTE, PETRACH
TROUBADOUR SONGS
The central theme was
FIN’ AMORS (Occitan) = “courtly love” or, more precisely, “refined love”
FIN’ AMORS
Love from a distance, whose object
was a real woman, usually another man’s wife.
The woman was unattainable,
making unrewarded yearning a
major theme FIN’ AMORS
Tristan and Iseult
TROUBADOUR CHANSONS
There are several genres types, the ALBA (dawn-song),
song), and CANSO (love
TENZO (debate-song)
TROUBADOUR CHANSONS
Most song lyrics are strophic.
Dance songs often
include a refrain
TROUBADOUR SONGS
Around 2,600 Troubadour lyrics
survive, one-tenth survive with
melodies.
Around 2,100 Trouvère lyrics
survive, and two-thirds survive
with melodies.
TROUBADOUR SONGS
Songs are strophic, with stanzas
set to the same melody
Text-setting
is syllabic, with occasional melismas on a
line’s penultimate syllable.
TROUBADOUR SONGS
The vocal range is narrow,
usually not over a ninth.
Melodic motion
is mostly
stepwise.
TROUBADOUR SONGS
Plainchant modal theory was
NOT part of mindset,
troubadours’
yet most melodies fit the theory TROUBADOUR SONGS
Mode I (D-Dorian) and
Mode VII (G-Mixolydian)
used most
frequently TROUBADOUR SONGS
Like plainchant, the rhythm is not indicated by the
notation
TROUBADOUR SONGS
Some scholars believe melodies
were sung with each syllable
receiving the same
duration,
while others interpret the songs with
a meter corresponding to poetry.
TROUBADOUR SONGS
Dance songs were mostly likely sung metrically, and serious love
songs may have
been sung more freely.
Bernart de Ventadorn
Can vei la lauzeta mover Can vei la lauzeta mover
De joi sas alas contral rai,
Que s’oblid’ es laissa chazer
Per la doussor c’al cor li vai,
Ai! Tan grans enveya m’en
ve
De cui qu’eu veya jauzion,
Meravilhas ai, car desse
Lo cor de dezirer nom fon.
When I see the lark spread its wings
for joy and fly towards the sun,
Forget itself, and fall
In the bliss that rushes to its heart,
Alas! A great envy comes to me
Of those that I see filled with joy,
I am amazed that my heart
not instantly melt with desire.
Does
Beatriz de Dia
A chantar m’ er de so A chantar m’ er de so qu’ eu no volria,
I must sing of that which I would rather not
Tant me rancur de lui cui sui amia;
So rancorous I am towards him who is my
lover
Car eu l’ am mais que nuilla ren que sia:
For I love him more than anyone
Vas lui nom val merces ni cortezia
My kindness and courtesy make no impression
on him
Ni ma beltatz ni mos pretz ni mos sens;
Nor my beauty, my virtue,
or my intelligence,
C’ atressi.m sui enganad’ e trahia
So I am deceived and betrayed,
Com degr’ esser, s’ eu fos dezavinens.
As I should be if I were unattractive.
A
A
A
A chantar m’er de so qu’eu no volria,
Tant me rancur de lui cui sui amia;
A
A
A
Car eu l’am mais que nuilla ren que sia:
Vas lui nom val
merces ni cortezia
B
B
A
B
Ni ma beltatz ni mos pretz ni mos sens;
C’atressim sui enganad’ e trahia
Com degr’ esser, s’eu fos dezavinens.
FORMES FIXES
AAB = Bar form
FORMES FIXES
Troubadour and Trouvère poetry
written in certain poetic forms
reflected in musical setting
Virelai, Ballade, Rondeau
END of TROUBADOURS
Albigensian Crusade, declared by
Pope Innocent III in 1208,
destroyed the culture
and courts
France.
of southern
END of TROUBADOURS
Troubadours dispersed, spreading their influence to
countries
neighboring
MINNESINGERS
Knightly poet-musicians who
wrote in German, and modeled
themselves on the troubadours.
MINNESINGERS
Knightly poet-musicians who
wrote in German, and modeled
themselves on the troubadours.
Minne (Gr.) = fin’ amors
CANTIGAS de SANTA MARIA
King Alfonso el Sabio CANTIGAS de SANTA MARIA
Over four hundred songs in
Gallican-Portuguese
in honor of the
Virgin Mary
CANTIGAS de SANTA MARIA
King Alfonso el Sabio [The
Wise] of Castile and Léon in
northwest Spain ordered the
compilation of
these songs in
about 1270–1290.
CANTIGAS de SANTA MARIA
In the Christian Church,
the Virgin Mary increasingly
became the focus of veneration
from around
1100
CANTIGAS de SANTA MARIA
Cantigas survive in four beautifully illuminated
manuscripts
CANTIGAS de SANTA MARIA
Songs praise the Virgin Mary,
and describe miracles
performed by her
After every 9
story songs
is a cantiga of praise
CANTIGAS de SANTA MARIA
The songs all have refrains, And in performance, group singing of the refrains
might have alternated
with a
soloist singing the verses.
CANTIGAS de SANTA MARIA
Refrain = A
Most verses are in bba form.
Refrain
Verse
Refrain
A
bba
A
CANTIGAS de SANTA MARIA
Accompanied by Instruments?
CANTIGAS de SANTA MARIA
CANTIGAS de SANTA MARIA
CANTIGAS de SANTA MARIA
CANTIGAS de SANTA MARIA
CANTIGAS de SANTA MARIA
CANTIGAS de SANTA MARIA
CANTIGAS de SANTA MARIA
Churches started installing organs by ca.
1100, and became common in cathedrals by
1300
Organs small enough to be carried Right hand played the keys, left worked the
bellows.
“Positive organ” placed (positum) on a table
CANTIGAS de SANTA MARIA
DANCE MUSIC
Estampie
Triple-meter multi-part dance
with
ouvert [“open”]
and clos [“closed”]
endings
for each
secion
La quarte estampie royal
c. 1250-70
7 sections with ouvert and clos endings
La quarte estampie royal
c. 1250-70
7 sections with ouvert and clos endings
EARLY POLYPHONY
(800-1250)
POLYPHONY
poly = “many”
phonos= “sound/voice”
!   With polyphony Western music
takes a different turn away from
the monophonic traditions of
most of the worlds’ music.
!   Early polyphony probably
improvised
!   May have roots in Magadizing
(singing in octaves)
!   Polyphony is a kind of musical
troping, an addition to existing
chant
TROPING
!   Chant is sacred—you can’t
rewrite it; you can only embellish
or add to it by…
!   TROPING (adding and
interspersing)
TEXTUAL TROPING
!   Interspersing text between lines
!   Adding texts to melismas, such
as to the jubilus of an Alleluia
Kyrie eleison,
Kyrie eleison,
Kyrie eleison.
Kyrie eleison,
Cunctopotens genitor,
Kyrie eleison,
Kyrie eleison.
Kyrie eleison,
Cunctopotens genitor,
Kyrie eleison,
Kyrie eleison.
And by textually troping this piece, we
have turned part of the Ordinary into
something that is “Proper.”
MUSICAL TROPING
!   Adding or inserting new musical
to a piece horizontally…
MUSICAL TROPING
!   Adding or inserting new musical
to a piece horizontally…
MUSICAL TROPING
!   Adding or inserting new musical
to a piece “horizontally”…
MUSICAL TROPING
!   Adding or inserting new musical
to a piece horizontally…
MUSICAL TROPING
!   Adding new musical material
VERTICALLY
or
POLYPHONY
What was early polyphony?
!   Two-part polyphony (2 melodies)
!   Polyphony in solo sections of
chant (i.e responsorial chants)
Ways to Perform Chant
!   DIRECT = All sing
!   RESPONSORIAL = soloist with
choir responding
!   ANTIPHONAL = back and
forth between choirs
Ways to Perform Chant
!   RESPONSORIAL = soloist with
choir responding
!   Troping was an innovation of the
9th century (800s)
!   The Abbeys at St. Gall and St.
Martial became important
centers of troping.
NOTATION
!   Troping developed at the same
time as the earliest fragments of
Western notation (neumes) in
800…
!   Leading to full-blown notation
by 850
POLYPHONY
!   Western polyphony begins with
ORGANUM (late 800s)
!   Means “organized”
ORGANUM
!   Earliest details are in two
treatises:
!   Musica Enchiriadis (“Music
Handbook”) (c. 850-900)
!   Scolica Enchiriadis (c. 850-900), a
commentary on the Musica
Enchiriadis
ORGANUM
!   Musica Enchriadis and Scolica
Enchiriadis give directions on how
to IMPROVISE polyphony
ORGANUM
!   The chant in organum is the Vox
Principalis (“principle” voice)
!   The added voice is the Vox
Organalis (“planned” voice)
ORGANUM
CHANT is ABOVE
ADDED VOICE is BELOW
ORGANUM
!   Consonances are:
!   Octave, fifth, fourth, second
ORGANUM
!   Consonances are:
!   Octave, fifth, fourth, second
Remember that these intervals
are considered “perfect” because
of the whole number ratios that
create them
ORGANUM
!   Strict “parallel” organum, with
the voices moving in parallel
motion at the fifth
ORGANUM
ORGANUM
!   Parallel organum at
fourth might
encounter the
tritone (the diabolus
in musica)…
ORGANUM
!   Guido d’Arezzo devises rules to
avoid the tritone…
(And he dislikes strict parallel
organum)
!   Starts unison;
!   Organal voice stays on the
starting pitch until the Principle
voice moves a fourth above, then
both proceed in parallel motion
at the fourth;
!   Organal voice returns to unison
at penultimate pitch in the
occursus (“meeting”)
ORGANUM
Diagram of Rex caeli domine in modified parallel organum from the Musica Enchiradis
ORGANUM
Principal
(Chant)
Voice
Organal Voice
Occursus
ORGANUM
This type of organum is called
“oblique organum” or
“modified parallel organum”
St. Martial School, Limoges
(c.930-1130)
St. Martial School, Limoges
(c.930-1130)
!   Center of development of “Free”
Organum
!   Composed rather than
improvised polyphony
St. Martial School, Limoges
(c.930-1130)
!   Written out IN SCORE
!   NO indication of rhythm
St. Martial School, Limoges
(c.930-1130)
!   Voice parts can cross
!   2 voices now referred to as
!  TENOR (chant voice) from
“tenere” = to hold
!  DUPLUM (“second” voice).
St. Martial School, Limoges
(c.930-1130)
VOX
ORGANALIS
VOX
PRINCIPALIS
DUPLUM
TENOR
St. Martial School, Limoges
(c.930-1130)
2 Distinct Styles
!
Melismatic (“florid”) organum where the
duplum voice has many notes to that of
the tenor. Also called the “sustained note”
style in reference to the long held notes of
the tenor.
!
Discant organum, a syllabic note-againstnote style that evolves into a neumeagainst-neume style
St. Martial School, Limoges
(c.930-1130)
Ad Organum Faciendum
(“How to Make Organum”) c1100
SCHOOL of
NÔTRE-DAME
Late 1100-1200s
(Twelfth-Thirteenth centuries)
!   Composer-Musicians associated
with the Cathedral and
University of Nôtre-Dame de
Paris
Nôtre-Dame
in 1630,
On the Île-de-la-Cité
!
!   The cathedral is one of the
grandest cathedrals in the Gothic
style and took almost a century
to complete
!   Foundations for the cathedral
were laid in 1160
!   The first Mass was celebrated in
1183
!   The façade was completed in
1250
!   The School of Nôtre-Dame’s
polyphonic decoration of the
Chant paralleled the intricate
decoration of the cathedral
!   The new repertory was the first
as a whole to be composed and
read from notation rather than
improvised.
SCHOOL of NÔTRE-DAME
! Nôtre-Dame composers
important for the notational
development of the Rhythmic
Modes
!   In the 1200s composers begin to
write in rhythmic modes
SCHOOL of NÔTRE-DAME
!   Described in a thirteenth-century
treatise attributed to Johannes de
Garlandia
SCHOOL of NÔTRE-DAME
!   Based on poetry—quantitative
meter, i.e. longs and shorts
LONGA and BREVIS
SCHOOL of NÔTRE-DAME
“Arma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab oris
Italiam, fato profugus, Laviniaque venit”
—Opening lines of Virgil’s Aeneid
SCHOOL of NÔTRE-DAME
“Arma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab oris
Italiam, fato profugus, Laviniaque venit”
“Virgilian” hexameter
SCHOOL of NÔTRE-DAME
!   Mode I: Trochee—long short
!   Mode II: Iamb—short long
!   Mode III: Dactyl—Long, short long
!   Mode IV: Anapest—short, long, Long
!   Mode V: Spondee—Long, Long, Long
!   Mode VI: Pyrrhic—short short short
SCHOOL of NÔTRE-DAME
!   Based on a triple-meter system as
symbol of perfection
!   The basic time unit (a sort of
protos chronos) is the tempus, pl.
tempora
SCHOOL of NÔTRE-DAME
SCHOOL of NÔTRE-DAME
!   Each rhythmic mode is signaled
by a starting and ending group of
neumes…
SCHOOL of NÔTRE-DAME
Mode I
3 – 2 ( - 2)
Mode II
2 – 2 ( - 3)
Mode III
1 – 3 ( - 3)
Mode IV
3 – 3 ( - 2)
Mode V
1 – 1 ( - 1)
Mode VI
4 – 4 ( - 3)
Starting group
Ending
group
SCHOOL of NÔTRE-DAME
Modal rhythm gives the
non-metrical neumes of chant
rhythmic value
SCHOOL of NÔTRE-DAME
The system also included
signs for rests
SCHOOL of NÔTRE-DAME
!   Phrases of a particular rhythmic
mode are organized into a group
(ordo)
SCHOOL of NÔTRE-DAME
!   The ordo is number of times a
pattern is done uninterrupted
!   The end of an ordo is signaled by
a rest.
SCHOOL of NÔTRE-DAME
!   A treatise from about 1285 by an
author known as Anonymous IV
names two musicians associated
with creating Nôtre-Dame
polyphony
SCHOOL of NÔTRE-DAME
!   LEONINUS (1150–ca. 1201)
Canon at Nôtre-Dame affiliated
with a nearby monastery of
St.Victor
SCHOOL of NÔTRE-DAME
!   Anonymous IV credits
Leoninus with compiling a
“great book of polyphony”
used at Nôtre-Dame
MAGNUS
LIBER
ORGANI
“The Great Book
of Organum”
MAGNUS LIBER ORGANI
!   The “great book” no longer
exists.
!   Its contents survive in several
later manuscripts.
MAGNUS LIBER ORGANI
!   The MLO contained two-voice
organum settings of the solo
sections in responsorial chants
for great feast days
MAGNUS LIBER ORGANI
Organum in the style of Leoninus
Only the solo portions of
responsorial chant set
polyphonically.
The choir sang the remaining
portions in unison.
MAGNUS LIBER ORGANI
Organum in the style of Leoninus
Responsorial Chant
MAGNUS LIBER ORGANI
Organum in the style of Leoninus
Polyphonic sections features
two types of polyphony:
discant and organum purum
MAGNUS LIBER ORGANI
ORGANUM PURUM
The tenor sustains the chant melody
in long notes
The duplum, sings expansive melismas,
moving mostly stepwise.
MAGNUS LIBER ORGANI
ORGANUM PURUM
Cadences arrive on an octave, fifth, or
unison, and are followed by a rest.
Dissonances sometimes occur and are
even prolonged by the duplum.
MAGNUS LIBER ORGANI
ORGANUM PURUM
The notation doesn’t suggest any
rhythmic mode, but some performers
and scholars have tried to apply the
rhythmic modes to this style.
MAGNUS LIBER ORGANI
DISCANT
Discant style is generally composed on
the long melismas of source chant.
Tenor and Duplum move in modal
rhythm (neume against neume)
MAGNUS LIBER ORGANI
LEONIUS, Viderunt Omnes
Organum duplum
setting of gradual
MAGNUS LIBER ORGANI
MAGNUS LIBER ORGANI
CLASULA
Clasula (pl. clasulae) = “Phrase”
MAGNUS LIBER ORGANI
CLASULA
Clasula (pl. clasulae) = “Phrase”
Sections of discant polyphony
MAGNUS LIBER ORGANI
CLASULA
A clasula was a self-contained section
of discant organum that closed with a
cadence.
MAGNUS LIBER ORGANI
CLASULA
Substitute clausulae replaced one
polyphonic settings of a segment of
chant with another polyphonic setting-a substitute clasula…
MAGNUS LIBER ORGANI
CLASULA
MAGNUS LIBER ORGANI
CLASULA SETTINGS
The tenor repeats a short rhythmic
motive based on a rhythmic mode.
The tenor may also repeat the
melody
MAGNUS LIBER ORGANI
CLASULA
PEROTINUS edited the Magnus Liber
Organi and according to Anonymous
IV “made many better clausulae.”
PEROTINUS
!   Perotinus and his
contemporaries created
organa for three or even four
voices.
PEROTINUS
!   Organum duplum = 2-voice
!   Organum triplum = 3-voice
!   Organum quadruplum = 4-voice
PEROTINUS
!   Voice names in ascending score
order from the tenor
QUADRUPLUM (4)
TRIPLUM (3)
DUPLUM (2)
TENOR (Chant)
PEROTINUS
!   All upper voices use rhythmic
modes, enabling exact
coordination among them.
!   They move in similar ranges,
crossing repeatedly
PEROTINUS
Viderunt omnes
Organum quadruplum
setting of gradual
PEROTINUS
Anonymous IV attributes this work to
Perotinus
And an 1198 letter from bishop of
Paris requests a four-voice organum for
the Feast of the Lord’s circumcision
(January 1).
PEROTINUS
Begins with organum style
The tenor sustains very long notes.
The upper voices move in modal
rhythm.
Passages in discant style (tenor moving
quickly) alternate with sections of
organal style (tenor moving slowly)
PEROTINUS
•  Repeated phrases, with restated
phrases at different pitch levels
•  Voice exchange (trading places)
•  Complementary phrases
•  Dissonances precede consonances
•  Each section uses distinct
techniques.
PEROTINUS
•  Organum at Nôtre-Dame performed
from memory
•  Upper parts (Duplum, Triplum,
Quadruplum) performed 1-voice per
part
•  Tenor = 2-3 voices
PEROTINUS
•  Organum at Nôtre-Dame performed
from memory
•  Upper parts (Duplum, Triplum,
Quadruplum) performed 1-voice per
part
•  Tenor = 2-3 voices
MOTET
Motets originally consisted of newly written Latin words added to the upper voices of discant clausulae.
The earliest texts were often a textual tropes (replacing or inserting texts)
of clausulae.
MOTET
The French word for “word” MOT
inspired the name for the genre.
MOTET
The Thirteenth-Century Motet is a polyphonic works with
one or more texted voices added to a pre-existing tenor,
which is set in a modal rhythm.
MOTET
Motets are identified by a
compound title
comprising the first words of each voice from
highest to lowest.
MOTET
Motets are identified by a
compound title
comprising the first words of each voice from
highest to lowest.
Factume est salutare / Dominus
MOTET
The motet became the leading polyphonic
genre
for both
sacred and secular music.
EARLY MOTET
Based on the discant clausula
EARLY MOTET
Based on the discant clausula
The new text tropes the original chant text
Phrasing of original clausula
shapes = phrases of added text
MOTET
Sung during the Mass or as independent entertainment
MOTET
2.0 These existing motets were reworked
New texts added to duplum
in the Latin or French language
no longer linked to liturgical context
MOTET
These existing motets were reworked
New texts added to duplum
in the Latin or French language
no longer linked to liturgical context
Other voices (triplum) added
with texts of their own
MOTET
Early Motets (to ca. 1250)
Double Motet: a motet with two added
texts above the tenor
(Double motet = three voices)
MOTET
Early Motets (to ca. 1250)
Triple motet: a motet with three added
texts above the tenor (Triple motet = four voices)
MOTET
The “Additive” Motet Original kept, original duplum discarded, and
another one (or more) voices composed.
MOTET
“Original” Motets composed “from scratch”
Chant tenor melisma set in modal rhythm
Duplum / Triplum added above tenor
MOTET
on “Dominus” of
“Viderunt omnes”
MOTET
melisma
MOTET
Motets in later thirteenth century
By 1250 three voices are typical
Upper voices with texts in Latin
or French, or French & Latin
MOTET
By 1270 the TENOR is now called the
CANTUS FIRMUS
=
A pre-existing melody
Melody predominantly CHANT
FRANCONIAN NOTATION Franco of Cologne
Ars Cantus Mensurabilis (c. 1280)
Innovations in notating RHYTHM
FRANCONIAN NOTATION Noteshape signifies relative duration
FRANCONIAN NOTATION Noteshapes are:
+ Double long
FRANCONIAN NOTATION The tempus (pl. tempora) is still the basic unit
Long = 2 or 3 tempora
Breve = 2 or 3 tempora
Franconian system included signs for rests
FRANCONIAN NOTATION FRANCONIAN NOTATION FRANCONIAN NOTATION With Franconian notation
score notation not needed
voices written in parts rather than score format
FRANCONIAN NOTATION DUPLUM
TRIPLUM
TENOR
FRANCONIAN MOTETS Motets written in Franconian Notation
Written in style made possible by Franconian Notation
Each voice has distinctive rhythm
Rhythm no longer shaped by Modal Rhythm
FRANCONIAN MOTETS Harmony allows thirds and other dissonances
P4 now being treated like a dissonance
Cadences still demand “perfect” consonances
Cadence patterns developing
ROTA
English culture was tied to that of France after
the Norman Conquest in 1066
Although they adopted French culture,
English musicians created a distinct musical style
ROTA
Prominent “imperfect consonances” Improvised partsinging in close harmony
documented as early as 1200
ROTA
Prominent “imperfect consonances” Improvised partsinging in close harmony
documented as early as 1200
Emphasis on
harmonic thirds and triads
including the final sonority
ROTA
Voice-exchange evolved into elaborate
techniques
The RONDELLIUS
two or three phrases
are heard simultaneously,
with each voice
singing each one in turn
ROTA
Rondellus
Triplum: a b c
Duplum: c a b
Tenor: b c a
ROTA
A ROTA is a perpetual canon
or round at the unison
ROTA
Sumer is icumen in Two voices sing a voice-exchange pes (Latin for “foot” or “ground”).
Four upper voices in canon
producing alternating triadic sonorities of
F–A–C and G–B-flat–D
POLYPHONY
By 1300, “composition” meant creating
polyphony, not monophony.
POLYPHONY
Writing down music of multiple parts in
coordinating vertical sonorities to create a
sense of direction that would be a hallmark of Western
tradition and set it apart from almost all other
musical traditions.
FOURTEENTH CENTURY
Difficult conditions in Europe
FOURTEENTH CENTURY
Difficult conditions in Europe
“Mini Ice Age”
Floods
FOURTEENTH CENTURY
Difficult conditions in Europe
“Mini Ice Age”
Floods
The BLACK DEATH
FOURTEENTH CENTURY
BUBONIC PLAGUE
killed one third of the Europe’s population
1347-1350
FOURTEENTH CENTURY
BUBONIC PLAGUE
killed one third of the Europe’s population
1347-1350
Victims died within days
Survivors fled urban areas
FOURTEENTH CENTURY
GREAT SCHISM
1378-1417
King Philip IV of France French Pope in Avignon
Corrupt clergy bureaucracy
FOURTEENTH CENTURY
SCIENCE & SECULARISM
William of Ockham (c.1285-1349)
Knowledge from experience and the senses
Eyeglasses, Mechanical clocks, Magnetic compass
FOURTEENTH CENTURY
compass
William of Ockham
FOURTEENTH CENTURY
VISUAL ARTS
The Florentine painter GIOTTO achieved more
naturalistic representation and a sense of depth and symmetry
PERSPECTIVE
FOURTEENTH CENTURY
VISUAL ARTS
Giotto, Arena Chapel, Padua
FOURTEENTH CENTURY
LITERATURE
Increased literacy led to
more literature in the vernacular.
Dante Alighieri and Giovanni Boccacio in Italian
Geoffrey Chaucer in English
FOURTEENTH CENTURY
MUSIC
Increased attention to secular song, though much sacred music continued
to be composed.
ARS NOVA
Philippe de Vitry (1291-1361)
Ars Nova (c. 1320)
“This completes the ars nova of Magister
Philippe de Vitry”
ARS NOVA
Philippe de Vitry (1291-1361)
Ars Nova (c. 1320)
“This completes the ars nova of Magister
Philippe de Vitry”
Vitry compositions among the 169 pieces of
music in Fauvel
FOURTEENTH CENTURY
ROMAN de FAUVEL
Flatterie (Flattery)
Avarice (Greed)
Villanie (Villany)
Variété (Fickleness)
Envie (Envy)
Lâcheté (Cowardice)
FOURTEENTH CENTURY
ROMAN de FAUVEL
Flatterie (Flattery)
Avarice (Greed)
Villanie (Villany)
Variété (Fickleness)
Envie (Envy)
Lâcheté (Cowardice)
ROMAN de FAUVEL
Flatterie (Flattery)
Avarice (Greed)
Villanie (Villany)
Variété (Fickleness)
Envie (Envy)
Lâcheté (Cowardice)
Fond Français 146, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale
ARS NOVA
MENSURATION SIGNS
MODE = Division of the Long
TIME = Division of the Breve
PROLATION= Division of the Semibreve
Major / Minor
ARS NOVA
Shifting emphasis to duple meters was criticized
by Jacque de Liège
“Perfection [triple] is brought low, and
imperfection [duple] exalted.”
ISORHYTHM
Motets of Philippe de Vitry some of the earliest
uses of ISORHYTHM
Rhythmic structure of the tenor of motet ISORHYTHM
TALEA
“cuttings” (pl. taleae) Rhythmic pattern
COLOR
“color” (pl. colores)
The melodic notes of the tenor
ISORHYTHM
TALEA
“cuttings” (pl. taleae) Rhythmic pattern
The tenor is laid out in segments of identical
rhythm.
ISORHYTHM
TALEA
“cuttings” (pl. taleae) Rhythmic pattern
Taleae in tenors in 1200s = short patterns Taleae in tenors in 1300s = longer patterns
ISORHYTHM
TALEA
“cuttings” (pl. taleae) Rhythmic pattern
The slow pace of the tenor makes it less a
melody and more of a foundational structure.
ISORHYTHM
COLOR
“color” (pl. colores)
The melodic notes of the tenor
The color and may repeat,
but not necessarily with the rhythm.
ISORHYTHM
“In arboris / Tuba sacre fidei / Virgo sum” attributed to Vitry
The tenor includes
two statements of the color
6 repetitions of the talea
ISORHYTHM
“In arboris / Tuba sacre fidei / Virgo sum” attributed to Vitry
Coloration indicates changes from duple to triple
Introitus
HOCKET
“Hiccup” Two voices alternating in rapid succession,
each resting while the other sings
The device was developed in the thirteenth
century
ARS NOVA HARMONIC PRACTICES
Greater prominence of “imperfect” consonances
Cadences required perfect consonances,
but their resolution could be sustained
Parallel octaves and fifths continued to be used
GUILLAUME de MACHAUT
(c. 1300-1377)
GUILLAUME de MACHAUT
(c. 1300-1377)
The leading composer of the French Ars Nova
Born in northeastern France, middle-class family
Educated as a cleric and took Holy Orders
GUILLAUME de MACHAUT
(c. 1300-1377)
1323–1340, worked as secretary for John
of Luxembourg, King of Bohemia,
Resided in Reims after 1340
Royal patrons supported him, including the
kings of Navarre and France
GUILLAUME de MACHAUT
(c. 1300-1377)
First composer to compile his complete works
and to discuss his working method
He wrote his poems first, then the music
GUILLAUME de MACHAUT
(c. 1300-1377)
First composer to compile his complete works
and to discuss his working method
He wrote his poems first, then the music
Liked music “sweet and pleasing”
GUILLAUME de MACHAUT
(c. 1300-1377)
He paid for the preparation of several
illuminated manuscripts of his works
He composed many major musical works and
numerous narrative poems
GUILLAUME de MACHAUT
(c. 1300-1377)
23 motets, most from early in his career
20 are isorhythmic, 3 which use
secular songs as tenors.
Often include hockets
GUILLAUME de MACHAUT
(c. 1300-1377)
Messe de Nostre Dame
“Mass of Our Lady”
GUILLAUME de MACHAUT
(c. 1300-1377)
Probably the earliest polyphonic setting of the
Mass Ordinary to be composed by a single
composer and conceived as a unit
Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Santus, Agnus Dei
&
Ite missa est
GUILLAUME de MACHAUT
(c. 1300-1377)
In the fourteenth century, anonymous
composers in France, England, and Italy
set individual movements polyphonically.
A few mass “cycles” were assembled from
individual movements
GUILLAUME de MACHAUT
(c. 1300-1377)
Composed for the cathedral in Reims
Performed at a Mass for the Virgin Mary
celebrated every Saturday
After Machaut’s death, an oration for
Machaut’s soul was added to the service,
and performed until fifteenth century
GUILLAUME de MACHAUT
(c. 1300-1377)
UNIFYING DEVICES
Recurring motives
Tonal focus on D in the first three
movements and on F in the last three
GUILLAUME de MACHAUT
(c. 1300-1377)
UNIFYING DEVICES
All six movements are for four voices,
including a contratenor (“against the tenor”)
that moves in the same range as the tenor.
GUILLAUME de MACHAUT
(c. 1300-1377)
UNIFYING DEVICES
Kyrie, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, and
Ite, missa est are isorhythmic.
GUILLAUME de MACHAUT
(c. 1300-1377)
KYRIE
Chant Kyrie Cunctipotens Genitor
GUILLAUME de MACHAUT
(c. 1300-1377)
KYRIE
TENOR: 28 notes (color) of chant, 4-note talea (rhythmic pattern) x 7
GUILLAUME de MACHAUT
(c. 1300-1377)
KYRIE
TENOR: 28 notes of chant, 4-note talea x 7
Contratenor also isorhythmic
GUILLAUME de MACHAUT
(c. 1300-1377)
KYRIE
TENOR: 28 notes of chant, 4-note talea x 7
Contratenor also isorhythmic
Upper voices partially isorhythmic
GUILLAUME de MACHAUT
(c. 1300-1377)
Kyrie I: Polyphony, Chant, Polyphony
Christe: Chant, Polyphony, Chant
Kyrie II: Polyphony, Chant, Polyphony
GUILLAUME de MACHAUT
(c. 1300-1377)
Polyphonic songs (chansons, “songs”)
in the trobadour formes fixes
GUILLAUME de MACHAUT
(c. 1300-1377)
“Treble-dominated” songs major
innovation of the Ars Nova The treble or cantus carries the text
Slower untexted tenor supports the cantus.
A contratenor may be added,
Triplum in same range as cantus
GUILLAUME de MACHAUT
(c. 1300-1377)
RONDEAUX Two musical phrases ( A and B) Text includes a “refrain” (AB)
Form: ABaAabAB
GUILLAUME de MACHAUT
(c. 1300-1377)
RONDEAUX “Rose, liz, printemps, verdure”
A
B
a
A
a
b
A
B
Rose, liz, printemps, verdure, Fleur, baume et tres douce odour, Bele, passés en douçour, Et tous les biens de Nature, Avez dont je vous aour. Rose, liz, printemps, verdure, Fleur, baume et tres douce oudour. Et quant toute creature Seurmonte vostre valour, Bien puis dire et par honnour: Rose, liz, printemps, verdure, Fleur, baume et tres douce oudour, Bele, passés en douçour.
ARS NOVA … ARS SUBTILIOR
Composers at the court of the Avignon pope
across southern France and northern Italy
cultivated complex secular music.
ARS NOVA … ARS SUBTILIOR
ARS SUBTILIOR a continuation of Ars Nova
in
secular polyphonic songs in the formes fixes
and
developing the complexities of Ars Nova notation ARS NOVA … ARS SUBTILIOR
Love songs intended for an elite audience
Pieces notated in fanciful shapes
Rhythmically complex
“Belle, bonne, sage”
Baude Cordier
“Tout par compas”
Baude Cordier
Performing Fourteenth-Century Music
There was no uniform way to perform
polyphonic music.
Pictorial and literary sources indicate vocal,
instrumental, and mixed groups.
All vocal performance were common.
INSTRUMENTS
Instruments separated into 2 categories:
HAUT and BAS
INSTRUMENTS
HAUT (“high”) instruments were loud,
for outdoors and dancing.
Cornetts
Trumpets
Shawms
Sackbuts
INSTRUMENTS
BAS (“low”) instruments were soft in volume
and were played indoors
Stringed instruments: harps, lutes, and vielles
Portative organs
Transverse Flutes
Recorders
INSTRUMENTS
Percussion instruments were common in all
kinds of ensembles
“FALSE MUSIC”
MUSICA FICTA, or Chromatic Alterations
“FALSE MUSIC”
Raising or lowering a note by a half-step
to avoid the tritone
Pitches altered to make a smoother melodic line,
especially at cadences.
“FALSE MUSIC”
Raising or lowering a note by a half-step
to avoid the tritone
Pitches altered to make a smoother melodic line.
The resulting pitches lay “outside the gamut” and
were thus “false” or ficta
“FALSE MUSIC”
Medieval singers were trained to recognize
situations in which a ficta were needed,
so accidentals were rarely notated. (Modern editions ficta accidentals above the staff,
to indicate editorial intervention)
WHITE NOTATION
White Notation uses a five-line staff,
and three clefs—G, C, and F. Usually the only accidental notated as a ‘key’
signature is B-flat, though later composers
experimented with more WHITE NOTATION
MEASURES AND BARLINES
There are no barlines or measures
But the length of the breve
usually acted as a time unit
analogous to the modern concept of a measure WHITE NOTATION
NOTE VALUES and RESTS
WHITE NOTATION
MENSURATION
Mensuration deals with the
division of the Breve (called Tempus or “time”) and the Semibreve (Prolationis Species or
“prolation”)
WHITE NOTATION
MENSURATION
Breve divisions (Tempus) are either
“perfect” (division into 3s) or “imperfect (division
into 2s). Semibreve divisions (Prolation) are either
“major” (3) or “minor” (2)
WHITE NOTATION
MENSURATION
A line through the mensuation symbol indicates
that all note values are cut in half (alla breve). WHITE NOTATION
COLORATION
The value of a note in a mensuration can be
changed by coloring in the white space of breve,
semibreve, or minim and by dotting. In determining a note’s value, coloring is
calculated before dotting.
WHITE NOTATION
In Perfect Time
—where a breve has the value of 3 semibreves—
coloring a breve will subtract a 1/3 or its value
and imperfects its value and makes a breve equal
to 2 semibreves (a duplet) WHITE NOTATION
In Imperfect Time
—where a breve has the value of 2 semibreves—
coloring 3 consecutive semibreves creates a triplet
and perfects their value, momentarily making 3
semibreves equal the value of 1 breve WHITE NOTATION
Josquin uses coloration for all the notes in his
lament on the death of Ockeghem, Nymphes des Bois
to create “eye music”
where the blackened notes indicate mourning. WHITE NOTATION
Josquin uses coloration for all the notes in his
lament on the death of Ockeghem, Nymphes des Bois
to create “eye music”
where the blackened notes indicate mourning. In doing so, Josquin limits himself to longs,
breves, semibreves, and minims, since semiminim
and fusa values are already “black WHITE NOTATION
LIGATURES
White Notation is complicated by several factors,
one of them being the continued use of the
LIGATURES (multiple-note units)
and the conventions associated with their use
carried over from neumes. WHITE NOTATION
“BREVE” ligatures
At the tempus level, each two-note ligatures has
the value of a breve followed by a long (indicated
by the downward tail).
WHITE NOTATION
“BREVE” ligatures
WHITE NOTATION
“BREVE” ligatures
WHITE NOTATION
“SEMIBREVE” ligatures
The two-note ligatures that begin with an upward tail are semibreves, and each two-note pes or clivis has the value of
two semibreves,
both the square or oblique forms.
WHITE NOTATION
“SEMIBREVE” ligatures
WHITE NOTATION
CANONS WHITE NOTATION
In his Missa ‘L’homme armè’
Dufay writes “Cancer eat plenus et redeat medius” (Let the crab proceed full, and let it return by half)
in the tenor part of the third section of the
“Agnus Dei.” WHITE NOTATION
WHITE NOTATION
This indicates that the singers
perform this part retrograde
(crabs where thought of as walking “backwards”)
with full rhythmic value,
and then forward (or “returning” for the crab)
with the notes at half value. WHITE NOTATION
Dufay composes his motet “Nuper rosarum flores”
as an isorhythmic motet, built on two tenors WHITE NOTATION
Dufay composes his motet “Nuper rosarum flores”
as an isorhythmic motet, built on two tenors WHITE NOTATION
Dufay notates each tenor part with
four mensuration signs and a repeat, indicating that each performer plays their tenor
line four times, each time with a different
mensuration WHITE NOTATION
Dufay notates each tenor part with
four mensuration signs and a repeat, indicating that each performer plays their tenor
line four times, each time with a different
mensuration WHITE NOTATION
The numerical value of the breve changes from 6 : 4 : 2 : 3
WHITE NOTATION
The numerical value of the breve changes from 6 : 4 : 2 : 3
WHY?
WHITE NOTATION
Dufay wrote this motet for the consecration of the
Duomo in Florence.
WHITE NOTATION
WHITE NOTATION
Filippo Brunelleschi
(1377-1446)
S. Maria del Fiore, begun 1296
Dome (1420-1436)
consecrated by Pope Eugenius IV on
March 25, 1436
WHITE NOTATION
WHITE NOTATION
WHITE NOTATION
WHITE NOTATION
The numbers refer to the dimensions of
Solomon’s temple described in the Third Book of
Kings, 6:1-20
(reduced to their lowest common denominators).
WHITE NOTATION
2 And the house, which king Solomon built to the
Lord, was threescore (60) cubits in length, and
twenty cubits in breadth, and thirty cubits in
height…
16 And he built up twenty cubits with boards of
cedar at the hinder part of the temple, from the
floor to the top: and made the inner house of the
oracle to be the holy of holies.
WHITE NOTATION
2 And the house, which king Solomon built to the
Lord, was threescore (60) cubits in length, and
twenty cubits in breadth, and thirty (30) cubits in
height…
16 And he built up twenty (20) cubits with boards
of cedar at the hinder part of the temple, from the
floor to the top: and made the inner house of the
oracle to be the holy of holies.
WHITE NOTATION
2 And the house, which king Solomon built to the
Lord, was threescore (60) cubits in length, and
twenty cubits in breadth, and thirty cubits in
height…
16 And he built up twenty cubits with boards of
cedar at the hinder part of the temple, from the
floor to the top: and made the inner house of the
oracle to be the holy of holies.
WHITE NOTATION
6 : 4 : 2 : 3
6 (the Temple’s total length) 4 (the length of the nave)
2 (the length of the sanctuary and width of the
building)
3 (the height of the building)
WHITE NOTATION
6 : 4 : 2 : 3
6 (the Temple’s total length) 4 WHITE NOTATION
!
6 : 4 : 2 : 3
6 (the Temple’s total length) 4 (the length of the nave)
2 (the length of the sanctuary and width of the
building)
3 (the height of the building)
INFLUENCE of ENGLISH MUSIC
Kings of England held territory in northwest
and southwest France.
Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453): England
and France fighting for control of France.
English rulers traveled with English musicians
especially to Flanders and Burgundy.
England
Flanders
England
Flanders
CONTENANCE ANGLOISE
(“English guise” or “quality”)
French poet Martin Le Franc used this phrase
to describe the pleasing sound of English music
about 1440
CONTENANCE ANGLOISE
(“English guise” or “quality”)
Le Franc praises Guillaume Du Fay and Binchois
for creating beautiful music influenced by the English sound
as heard in the music of John Dunstable CONTENANCE ANGLOISE
(“English guise” or “quality”)
CONTENANCE ANGLOISE
(“English guise” or “quality”)
Theorist Tinctoris,
writing a generation later,
looked to these three composers as creators of
a NEW ART
CONTENANCE ANGLOISE
Characteristics of the English sound
Frequent use of harmonic thirds and sixths,
often in parallel motion (Fa-Burden)
Few dissonances
Simple melodies
Syllabic text setting
Homophonic textures
CONTENANCE ANGLOISE
Characteristics of the English sound
Chant voice in the middle of texture
Lowest voice a third below
Top voice a parallel fourth above the chant
Stream of parallel “6-3” sonorities.
CONTENANCE ANGLOISE
FABURDEN
Practice of improvised “6-3” sonorities
JOHN DUNSTABLE (c.1390-1453) The most highly regarded English composer of
the first half of the fifteenth century
Served many noble patrons, including the Duke of
Bedford, who was Regent of France in 1422
Probably spent part of his career in France
JOHN DUNSTABLE (c.1390-1453) The English composer most often cited as
influencing continental composers
His compositions are preserved chiefly in
manuscripts copied on the continent.
His works include settings of the Mass,
isorhythmic motets, and other sacred works JOHN DUNSTABLE (c.1390-1453) His most numerous and important works are
his three-part sacred pieces
Some have a cantus firmus in the tenor, serving as
the foundation for the other voices
JOHN DUNSTABLE (c.1390-1453) Others elaborate the cantus firmus in the top
voice using paraphrase technique.
Chant (cantus firmus) is placed in the top voice.
Cantus firmus is given a rhythmic structure
and melodically ornamented by adding notes
around those of the chant.
JOHN DUNSTABLE (c.1390-1453) “Quam pulchra es”
Marian Motet
JOHN DUNSTABLE (c.1390-1453) Freely composed, not based on an existing melody
The three voices nearly equal in importance.
Homorhythmic
The form is based on the phrases of the text.
Naturalistic rhythmic declamation
Faburden appears in a few phrases, leading to
cadences.
MOTET 2.0
Previously in the Ars Nova:
any work with different texted
voices above about an cantus firmus
MOTET 2.0
The Ars Nova Isorhythmic motet
Old-fashioned by ca. 1400
Disappeared by ca. 1450
MOTET 2.0
New definition by 1450:
Any musical setting of a
sacred extra-liturgical text,
whether an original chant was used or not
MOTET 2.0
From 1500 onwards:
Any sacred polyphonic Latin-texted piece
Sometimes also applied to religious music using
texts in other languages
MUSIC in BURGUNDIAN LANDS
The duke of Burgundy’s influence was
equal to that of the king of France.
From 1419–35 Burgundy was allied with
England during the Hundred Years’ War.
Burgundy held many territories, including
Flanders and northeastern France.
England
Flanders
MUSIC in BURGUNDIAN LANDS
Dukes also formed the Band of Minstrels
Instrumentalists imported from France, Italy,
Germany, Portugal
Instruments included trumpets, shawms,
vielles, drums, harps, organ, and bagpipes
MUSIC in BURGUNDIAN LANDS
Philip the Bold (r. 1363–1404), the first duke of
Burgundy, established a chapel in 1384.
By 1445 the chapel had 23 singers under Philip
the Good (r. 1419–67).
Most of the singers came from Flanders
Philip the Bold
(r. 1363–1404)
Philip the Good
(r. 1419–67)
MUSIC in BURGUNDIAN LANDS
Four principal types of genres:
1. Secular chansons
2. Motets
3. Magnificats (Vespers)
4. Mass Ordinary
BINCHOIS & the BURGUNDIAN CHANSON
CHANSON in the fifteenth century
1. Any polyphonic setting of a
French secular poem
2. Stylized love poems in the courtly tradition
3. Rondeau (ABaAabAB)
was the most popular form.
CONTENANCE ANGLOISE
(“English guise” or “quality”)
BINCHOIS & the BURGUNDIAN CHANSON
Gilles de Bins (ca. 1400–1460) Known as “Binchois”
In the service to the English occupying forces Worked for Philip the Good at the Burgundian
court, 1427–1453
BINCHOIS & the BURGUNDIAN CHANSON
His works include mass movements and motets,
but best-known for his chansons
His works were widely copied
and imitated by other composers
BINCHOIS & the BURGUNDIAN CHANSON
“De plus en plus”
[“More and more”]
Composed around 1425
BINCHOIS & the BURGUNDIAN CHANSON
6/8 meter that employs a hemiola
Neumatic cantus, with melismas near cadences
Tenor forms a counterpoint thirds and sixths.
The disjunct contratenor fills in harmony
1450-1520
FRANCE
Defeated England in the Hundred Years’ War
The duchy of Burgundy came under control of
the king of France.
By 1525, France was a strong,
centralized state.
1450-1520
SPAIN
Expel Jews from Spain
Sponsor Columbus’s journey, beginning
the era of European colonization
1450-1520
HAPSBURG EMPIRE
German lands united with Spain through
marriage in the sixteenth century
Ruled Austria, the Low Countries,
southern Italy, Spain, and Spanish America
1450-1520
ITALY
Invaded by France in 1494
Continued to be composed of independent citystates and dominated by foreigners until the
nineteenth century
Wealthy Italian courts continued to hire
musicians trained in the north.
JOHANNES OCKEGHEM
(c. 1420-1497)
Sang in the Antwerp cathedral choir
Served Charles I, duke of Bourbon
Served the kings of France from the 1450s to
his retirement
JOHANNES OCKEGHEM
(c. 1420-1497)
Traveled, and had contact with
Du Fay and Binchois,
but was not as cosmopolitan as Du Fay
JOHANNES OCKEGHEM
(c. 1420-1497)
Composed relatively few works:
Masses, motets, chansons
Developed his own style, synthesizing past,
present, and his own style elements
Known for his unique masses
JOHANNES OCKEGHEM
MASSES
Ockeghem influenced by Dufay
Bassus lower than in Dufay
All voices span range of a twelfth or thirteenth.
Exploits contrast of 2-, 3-, and 4-voice textures
Phrases are long, with few cadences
JOHANNES OCKEGHEM
MASSES
Missa Cuiusvis Toni
“Mass in any mode”
Written without clefs
Can be sung in all Authentic Modes: 1, 3, 5, 7
by inflecting with musica ficta
JOHANNES OCKEGHEM
MASSES
Missa Prolationum: Kyrie
“Prolation Mass”
Chi
JOHANNES OCKEGHEM
MASSES
Missa Prolationum
“Prolation Mass”
Technical tour-de-force
JOHANNES OCKEGHEM
MASSES
Notated as two voices, but sung by four
CANTUS
Imperfect Time
Minor Prolation
ALTUS
Perfect Time
Minor Prolation
JOHANNES OCKEGHEM
MASSES
KYRIE
Two simultaneous
2-voice canons at the unison
Uses four mensuration signs,
a different one for each voice
JOHANNES OCKEGHEM
MASSES
Superius and Altus sing the same melody but
in different meters
Tenor and bass sing another melody, also in
different meters.
JOHANNES OCKEGHEM
MASSES
CHRISTE Duet
which is repeated a tone higher
“Pausans ascendit per unum tonum”
JOHANNES OCKEGHEM
MASSES
KYRIE (2) 4 different mensurations of Kyrie 1 plus…
two different clefs, resulting in canons at the third
JOHANNES OCKEGHEM
MASSES
KYRIE (2) 4 different mensurations of Kyrie 1 plus…
two different clefs, resulting in canons at the third
RENAISSANCE
The Renaissance “Rebirth” of Classical Culture
(1855, French historian Michelet) Different times for different aspects
Renaissance culture
1300s-1500s
RENAISSANCE
An international style developed due to
composers from northern Europe working in
Italy
New rules for counterpoint controlled
dissonance and elevated thirds and sixths in
importance
The predominant textures were
imitative counterpoint and homophony.
RENAISSANCE
Printing made notated music available to a
wider public, including amateurs.
The Reformation generated changes in music
for both Protestant and Catholic churches.
RENAISSANCE
The Great Schism in the church ended in 1417
The Hundred Years’ War concluded in 1453
RENAISSANCE
Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks,
ending the Byzantine Empire in 1453
Turks conquered the Balkans and Hungary.
The Reformation splintered the Roman
Church.
RENAISSANCE
Columbus’s 1492 trip led to Spanish and
Portuguese colonies in the Americas, followed
by colonies established by other countries
HUMANISM
Byzantine scholars fled to Italy from Ottoman
attacks, taking ancient Greek
writings with them
Italian scholars learned Greek and
translated Greek texts into Latin
The works of Plato and the Greek plays
and histories became available to Western
Europeans for the first time
HUMANISM
Humanism
(from the Latin studia humanitatis,
“the study of the humanities,”
things pertaining to human knowledge)
HUMANISM
Humanism
(from the Latin studia humanitatis,
“the study of the humanities,”
things pertaining to human knowledge)
MUSIC
Expansion of range, allowing contrast between
high and low registers and fuller textures
Clarity of musical structure
through frequent cadences and stylistic contrasts
MUSIC
Focus on a single tonal center
Interest in individuality is reflected in unique
personal styles and memorial works.
MUSIC
Rulers, aristocrats, and church leaders had their
own chapel musicians on salary
Musicians worked for the ruler, not the
Church, they could be called upon for secular
entertainment as well as sacred functions.
Most musicians had other duties as servants,
administrators, clerics, or church officials
MUSIC
Most prominent composers of the fifteenth
century came from northern Europe, which was
home to the most renowned centers for musical
training: Cambrai, Bruges, Antwerp, Paris, and
Lyons
In the sixteenth century, Rome and Venice
became centers of musical training, and
more composers were Italian
MUSIC
Women in convents received
musical instruction
Instrumentalists were trained in the
apprentice system
MUSIC
English, French, and Italian styles merged into
one international style in the fifteenth century
Composers were able to compose in regional
vernacular song styles because of their travels
MUSIC
Thirds and sixths, now seen as consonances,
required new approaches to counterpoint
All voices became equal by the second half of
the fifteenth century.
Composers stopped basing works on the cantustenor relationship and began composing
all voices
MUSIC
Two textures emerged:
imitative counterpoint and homophony
Imitative Counterpoint
Voices echo each other,
repeating a motive or phrase.
MUSIC
Two textures emerged:
imitative counterpoint and homophony
Homophony
All voices move together in essentially the same
rhythm.
The lower parts accompany the cantus line
with consonant sonorities.
MUSIC
The Pythagorean ratio for a major third 5:4 (80:64)
shifting to 81:64
MUSIC
The formes fixes fell out of fashion;
texts became more varied
Composers paid increasing attention to accents
and meter in setting texts
MUSIC
Heinrich Glareanus (1488–1563) Swiss theorist
adds four new modes in his book
Dodekachordon (The Twelve-String Lyre, 1547).
Aeolian and Hyperaeolian, with the final on A
Ionian and Hypoionian with the final on C
MUSIC
Printing from movable type began around 1450
for text and in the 1450s for chant notation
Pieces of type contained the printed staff,
notes, and the text together
JOSQUIN DES PREZ
(c. 1450-1521)
JOSQUIN DES PREZ
Most influential composer of his time
His given name was Josquin Lebloitte
“des Prez” was a nickname.
Probably born in northern France
JOSQUIN DES PREZ
Served in the chapel of the duke of Anjou
in the 1470s
Ca. 1484–89: singer in the duke’s chapel
in Milan
1489–95 or later: singer for the Sistine Chapel
in Rome JOSQUIN DES PREZ
(c. 1450-1521)
JOSQUIN DES PREZ
1501–03: worked in France, possibly for King
Louis XII
1503: appointed maestro di cappella in Ferrara
earned the highest salary in that court’s history
1504: Provost at the
church of Notre Dame at Condé-sur-l’Escaut,
where he remained until his death.
JOSQUIN DES PREZ
WORKS
Around eighteen masses
Over fifty motets
Sixty-five chansons (ten instrumental)
JOSQUIN DES PREZ
FAME
Martin Luther called him “Master of Notes” Composers emulated his style, and his works
were performed for almost a century after his
death.
Publishers falsely attributed works to him in order
to boost sales of their books.
JOSQUIN DES PREZ
FAME
Martin Luther called him “Master of Notes” Composers emulated his style, and his works
were performed for almost a century after his
death.
Publishers falsely attributed works to him in order
to boost sales of their books.
JOSQUIN DES PREZ
STYLE
Texts drawn from Mass Proper or other sources
Music freely composed
Clarity in phrasing, form, and total organization
Textures include imitation and monophony
Careful declamation of text
JOSQUIN DES PREZ
STYLE
Text depiction and expression
Josquin was the
first major composer to use music to depict the
meaning of the text
JOSQUIN DES PREZ
Ave Maria . . . virgo serena
motet
One of his earliest motets (1485)
and one of his most popular
JOSQUIN DES PREZ
Ave Maria . . . virgo serena
Opens with several overlapping points of
imitation.
Variety is created through changing the number
of voices
Homophonic passages alternate with imitation.
JOSQUIN DES PREZ
Ave Maria . . . virgo serena
Each segment of the text is given a unique
musical treatment that concludes with a
cadence on the tonal center C (Ionian)
Words are declaimed naturally
JOSQUIN DES PREZ
Ave Maria . . . virgo serena
Each segment of the text is given a unique
musical treatment that concludes with a
cadence on the tonal center C (Ionian)
Words are declaimed naturally
Intercessory close
POINTS of IMITATION
Polyphonic compositions, including 16th-century
motets, are fashioned as Points of Imitation,
which are usually formed with voices that present
a soggetto SOGGETTI
A soggetto is a melodic subject for a point of
imitation and the basis of a module (harmonic
relationship between two voices). In a motet
soggetti usually take their impetus from each
phrase or line of text. MODULES
Periodic entries (P-En)
usually consist of 3 or more voices that enter in
succession with the subject
MODULES
Periodic entries (P-En)
usually consist of 3 or more voices that enter in
succession with the subject
MODULES
Imitative Duos (ID) A duo may be imitative (con fuga): imitative
duos (ID) will have staggered entrances of the
subject between 2 voices as in P-En, but only two
voices
MODULES
Imitative Duos (ID) A duo may be imitative (con fuga): imitative
duos (ID) will have staggered entrances of the
subject between 2 voices as in P-En, but only two
voices
MODULES
Non-Imitative Duos (N-Im) A duo may be nonimitative duo (sin fuga) (NIm), i.e. a melody with a countermelody. “Non-imitation” refers to the relationship between
two voices in the duo, not duo’s relationship to
other duos. Thus a nonimitative duo may be
imitated by another nonimitative duo.
MODULES
Non-Imitative Duos (N-Im) MODULES
Free Polyphony (FP)
Free polyphony (FP) is also used, many times at
phrase or cadential extensions. Free polyphony
may be use some kind of imitation, usually
without the formal entries of Periodic Entries, or
may be without imitation.
MODULES
Free Polyphony (FP)
MODULES
Homorhythm (Hom-R)
Homorhythm (Hom-R) is used to stress textually
important material in polyphonic compositions
MODULES
Homorhythm (Hom-R)
Homorhythm (Hom-R) is used to stress textually
important material in polyphonic compositions
JOSQUIN Des PREZ
Mille Regretz
Josquin’s Motets
Ave Maria gratia plena Dominus tecum
Virgo serena
Periodic Entry
Periodic Entry
Periodic Entry
Free Polyphony (Cadence)
Josquin’s Motets
Ave, cuius Conceptio
Solemni plena gaudio
Caelestia, Terrestria
Nova replet laetitia.
Non-Imitative Duos
Homorhythm
Free Polyphony
Free Polyphony
Josquin’s Motets
Ave, cuius Nativitas
Nostra fuit solemnitas Ut lucifer lux oriens
Verum solem praeveniens.
Imitative Duo
Imitative Duo
Periodic Entry
Free Polyphony
Josquin’s Motets
Ave pia humilitas Sine viro fecunditas
Cuius Annuntiatio Nostra fuit salvatio.
Non-Imitative Duo
Non-Imitative Duo
Non-Imitative Duo
Non-Imitative Duo
Josquin’s Motets
Ave vera virginitas
Immaculata castitas
Cuius Purificatio Nostra fuit purgatio
Homorhythm
Homorhythm
Homorhythm
Homorhythm
Josquin’s Motets
Ave, praeclara omnibus
Angelicis virtutibus
Cuius Assumptio Nostra fuit glorificatio
Non-Imitative Duo
Non-Imitative Duo
Non-Imitative Duo
Non-Imitative Duo
Josquin’s Motets
O Mater Dei
Memento mei
Amen
Homorhythm
Homorhythm
Homorhythm
JOSQUIN Des PREZ
Mille Regretz
New post -1470s Chanson style
Uses strophic texts
No forme fixes
4-5 voices, all sung
Equal Parts
Mixture of contrapuntal and homophonic textures
JOSQUIN Des PREZ
Mille Regretz
Style c. 1520
Each line receives its own treatment
JOSQUIN Des PREZ
Mille Regretz
Style c. 1520
Each line receives its own treatment
MUSIC in BURGUNDIAN LANDS
The duke of Burgundy’s influence was
equal to that of the king of France.
From 1419–35 Burgundy was allied with
England during the Hundred Years’ War.
Burgundy held many territories, including
Flanders and northeastern France.
England
Flanders
MUSIC in BURGUNDIAN LANDS
Dukes also formed the Band of Minstrels
Instrumentalists imported from France, Italy,
Germany, Portugal
Instruments included trumpets, shawms,
vielles, drums, harps, organ, and bagpipes
MUSIC in BURGUNDIAN LANDS
Philip the Bold (r. 1363–1404), the first duke of
Burgundy, established a chapel in 1384.
By 1445 the chapel had 23 singers under Philip
the Good (r. 1419–67).
Most of the singers came from Flanders
Philip the Bold
(r. 1363–1404)
Philip the Good
(r. 1419–67)
MUSIC in BURGUNDIAN LANDS
Four principal types of genres:
1. Secular chansons
2. Motets
3. Magnificats (Vespers)
4. Mass Ordinary
BINCHOIS & the BURGUNDIAN CHANSON
CHANSON in the fifteenth century
1. Any polyphonic setting of a
French secular poem
2. Stylized love poems in the courtly tradition
3. Rondeau (ABaAabAB)
was the most popular form.
CONTENANCE ANGLOISE
(“English guise” or “quality”)
BINCHOIS & the BURGUNDIAN CHANSON
Gilles de Bins (ca. 1400–1460) Known as “Binchois”
In the service to the English occupying forces Worked for Philip the Good at the Burgundian
court, 1427–1453
BINCHOIS & the BURGUNDIAN CHANSON
His works include mass movements and motets,
but best-known for his chansons
His works were widely copied
and imitated by other composers
BINCHOIS & the BURGUNDIAN CHANSON
“De plus en plus”
[“More and more”]
Composed around 1425
BINCHOIS & the BURGUNDIAN CHANSON
6/8 meter that employs a hemiola
Neumatic cantus, with melismas near cadences
Tenor forms a counterpoint thirds and sixths.
The disjunct contratenor fills in harmony
WHITE NOTATION
White Notation uses a five-line staff,
and three clefs—G, C, and F. Usually the only accidental notated as a ‘key’
signature is B-flat, though later composers
experimented with more WHITE NOTATION
MEASURES AND BARLINES
There are no barlines or measures
But the length of the breve
usually acted as a time unit
analogous to the modern concept of a measure WHITE NOTATION
NOTE VALUES and RESTS
WHITE NOTATION
MENSURATION
Mensuration deals with the
division of the Breve (called Tempus or “time”) and the Semibreve (Prolationis Species or
“prolation”)
WHITE NOTATION
MENSURATION
Breve divisions (Tempus) are either
“perfect” (division into 3s) or “imperfect (division
into 2s). Semibreve divisions (Prolation) are either
“major” (3) or “minor” (2)
WHITE NOTATION
MENSURATION
A line through the mensuation symbol indicates
that all note values are cut in half (alla breve). WHITE NOTATION
COLORATION
The value of a note in a mensuration can be
changed by coloring in the white space of breve,
semibreve, or minim and by dotting. In determining a note’s value, coloring is
calculated before dotting.
WHITE NOTATION
In Perfect Time
—where a breve has the value of 3 semibreves—
coloring a breve will subtract a 1/3 or its value
and imperfects its value and makes a breve equal
to 2 semibreves (a duplet) WHITE NOTATION
In Imperfect Time
—where a breve has the value of 2 semibreves—
coloring 3 consecutive semibreves creates a triplet
and perfects their value, momentarily making 3
semibreves equal the value of 1 breve WHITE NOTATION
Josquin uses coloration for all the notes in his
lament on the death of Ockeghem, Nymphes des Bois
to create “eye music”
where the blackened notes indicate mourning. WHITE NOTATION
Josquin uses coloration for all the notes in his
lament on the death of Ockeghem, Nymphes des Bois
to create “eye music”
where the blackened notes indicate mourning. In doing so, Josquin limits himself to longs,
breves, semibreves, and minims, since semiminim
and fusa values are already “black WHITE NOTATION
LIGATURES
White Notation is complicated by several factors,
one of them being the continued use of the
LIGATURES (multiple-note units)
and the conventions associated with their use
carried over from neumes. WHITE NOTATION
“BREVE” ligatures
At the tempus level, each two-note ligatures has
the value of a breve followed by a long (indicated
by the downward tail).
WHITE NOTATION
“BREVE” ligatures
WHITE NOTATION
“BREVE” ligatures
WHITE NOTATION
“SEMIBREVE” ligatures
The two-note ligatures that begin with an upward tail are semibreves, and each two-note pes or clivis has the value of
two semibreves,
both the square or oblique forms.
WHITE NOTATION
“SEMIBREVE” ligatures
WHITE NOTATION
CANONS WHITE NOTATION
In his Missa ‘L’homme armè’
Dufay writes “Cancer eat plenus et redeat medius” (Let the crab proceed full, and let it return by half)
in the tenor part of the third section of the
“Agnus Dei.” WHITE NOTATION
WHITE NOTATION
This indicates that the singers
perform this part retrograde
(crabs where thought of as walking “backwards”)
with full rhythmic value,
and then forward (or “returning” for the crab)
with the notes at half value. WHITE NOTATION
Dufay composes his motet “Nuper rosarum flores”
as an isorhythmic motet, built on two tenors WHITE NOTATION
Dufay composes his motet “Nuper rosarum flores”
as an isorhythmic motet, built on two tenors WHITE NOTATION
Dufay notates each tenor part with
four mensuration signs and a repeat, indicating that each performer plays their tenor
line four times, each time with a different
mensuration WHITE NOTATION
Dufay notates each tenor part with
four mensuration signs and a repeat, indicating that each performer plays their tenor
line four times, each time with a different
mensuration WHITE NOTATION
The numerical value of the breve changes from 6 : 4 : 2 : 3
WHITE NOTATION
The numerical value of the breve changes from 6 : 4 : 2 : 3
WHY?
WHITE NOTATION
Dufay wrote this motet for the consecration of the
Duomo in Florence.
WHITE NOTATION
WHITE NOTATION
Filippo Brunelleschi
(1377-1446)
S. Maria del Fiore, begun 1296
Dome (1420-1436)
consecrated by Pope Eugenius IV on
March 25, 1436
WHITE NOTATION
WHITE NOTATION
WHITE NOTATION
WHITE NOTATION
The numbers refer to the dimensions of
Solomon’s temple described in the Third Book of
Kings, 6:1-20
(reduced to their lowest common denominators).
WHITE NOTATION
2 And the house, which king Solomon built to the
Lord, was threescore (60) cubits in length, and
twenty cubits in breadth, and thirty cubits in
height…
16 And he built up twenty cubits with boards of
cedar at the hinder part of the temple, from the
floor to the top: and made the inner house of the
oracle to be the holy of holies.
WHITE NOTATION
2 And the house, which king Solomon built to the
Lord, was threescore (60) cubits in length, and
twenty cubits in breadth, and thirty cubits in
height…
16 And he built up twenty cubits with boards of
cedar at the hinder part of the temple, from the
floor to the top: and made the inner house of the
oracle to be the holy of holies.
WHITE NOTATION
2 And the house, which king Solomon built to the
Lord, was threescore (60) cubits in length, and
twenty cubits in breadth, and thirty cubits in
height…
16 And he built up twenty cubits with boards of
cedar at the hinder part of the temple, from the
floor to the top: and made the inner house of the
oracle to be the holy of holies.
WHITE NOTATION
6 : 4 : 2 : 3
6 (the Temple’s total length) 4 (the length of the nave)
2 (the length of the sanctuary and width of the
building)
3 (the height of the building)
WHITE NOTATION
6 : 4 : 2 : 3
6 (the Temple’s total length) 4 WHITE NOTATION
!
6 : 4 : 2 : 3
6 (the Temple’s total length) 4 (the length of the nave)
2 (the length of the sanctuary and width of the
building)
3 (the height of the building)