Download Le contenance anglois

March 5, 2014
Le contenance anglois
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An English style that comes into being in the 15th Century
Focuses on the vernacular of the Reniasance
o Big focus on language group and musical styles that arise within those groups
o Sometimes referred to as “National groups” this is a misnomer
 Basically Italian music, German music, French music
Martin le Franc
o Commit manuscript to memory for exam 3
o Famous quote: “For thiers is a new practice ofmaking elegant concord in loud and soft music
with ficta (that is, musica ficta) with rests and with mutation and they have taken of the English
manner and followed Danstable, wherey wondrous pleasure makes their music joyous and…”
 Music ficta- performance practice, “false music” whereby you add sharps or flats to
music, even when not indicated in the music,
 Performers just know how to do because they know counterpoint
Music theorist Johannes Tinctores
 Identified John Danstable as the composer of a new style music
 Said: From that point, only the last 30 years of composed music is good music
 Anything before that, is not worth listening to
o The technical features:
 1. Full traids, regularly including the third
 2. Block chords
 Homophony, voices moving together at the same time
 Singing the same syllables and things (like a hymnal)
 3. Sound palate that is overwhelmingly consonant with spare use of dissonance
 No dissonance on strong beats
o “quam pulchra es”
 Overwhelmingly consonant: called panconsonance ”consonance everywhere”
 Very little dissonance
 Each voice is given the same weight
 No longer like medieval chant
 Homorhythmic texture
 Aka homophonic
 There is a bit in the music that is not homophonic, called animated homophony
 Overall texture is overall homophonic, but at cadence points, texture will break
up into non-homophonic.
 Note: none of the voices in the texture are based on Gregorian chant
 Not a requirement of this type of music, but over the course of the 15 th century
the style of using chant as the basis for the song dies off
 New meanings for composers
 Compositional weight is placed at the beginning of phrases
 Open fifth and octave still the final indication of rest
 Under 3rd cadence
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o Top voice goes from b natural, down to the a and then up a 3 rd to the
final c.
 Middle voice
o Cadence notated as f natural leading to final g
o However, as a performer, you would know to add the sharp leading tone
to the final g and example of musica ficta
 Listening:
 Music for this piece on site is #17 in youtube playlist
 There are notations (sharps or flats above the staff) in the music that is an
editor’s mark as an indication of musica ficta to help people like us read it
 Cadence at the end of the 2nd page
o To mark cadences that are not final cadences, also look for a 6 th moving
to an octave
o Middle voice keeps it moving by introducing the 3rd
o Things that draw away from strength
 Occurs during the middle, not on downbeat
 Middle voice keeps melody moving so it isn’t a complete resting
point
 Second listening:
 “Se la lace ay”
 Not as homophonic as the 1st piece
 Tenor voice is no longer on the bottom, it is now in the middle
o Tenor still defines the cadence,
o Voice below is the countertenor, compliments the tenor
Faburden/ Faux bourdon
o English improvised singing
o Uppervoice is the improvised voice in Faburden
 Faux bourdon, middle voice is improvised
o Burden: carries the preexisting plainchant in Faburden
 Called bourdon in Faux bourdon
 Carries ornamentation
 Not just the plain original Gregorian chant
 Lowest voice is the tenor because we are back in the realm of chant
 Superious/cantus is the upper voice
o Look on wordpress for more info.