Download MHST 752: The Isorhythmic Motet

MUSC 752: The Isorhythmic Motet
I. The Early 14th century motet
A. Shift of focus from interrelationship of texts to architecture of piece
1. Very careful structuring of tenor voice
2. Basic principle: treating melody and rhythm as separate elements
a. Each can be manipulated independently of other
b. Called isorhythm
c. Basically, melodic ostinato and rhythmic ostinato that function
independently of each other
i. Melodic ostinato = color
ii. Rhythmic = talea
d. Fairly long patterns
e. Don’t necessarily coincide
i. i.e.: takes more than one repetition of talea to cover all
notes of the color
ii. Mathematical relationships between the two parts of
interest
aa. Would audience hear?
bb. Doubtful
cc. But interesting for composers and theorists
dd. And provides structural foundation
I. Ex.: Douce Playsense/Garison Selon nature/Neuma Quinti Toni (p. 465)
1. From famous satirical poem by Gervais de Bus called Roman de Fauvel
(Story about Fauvel)
a. On corruption of royal court and church
b. Fauvel - allegorical character (an ass) representing six vices
i. Flattery, avarice, untruthfulness, villainy, envy, laziness
ii. Essentially turns world upside down
aa. Knights sworn to do good, do evil
bb. Church is corrupt
cc. King and pope fawn over him
iii. Stroking his ears, brushing (or currying) his coat to suck up
iv. Ever hear the expression “To curry favor”???
v. Fauvel rises to highest levels of power
vi. Marries the lady Pride in lavish ceremony, and their offspring
rule the world
c. NOT a play
i. Idea that it was conceived of as a play quite old
ii. Based on illumination on page 461
iii. Shows actors and musicians, and Fauvel at top, but this doesn’t
mean that Fauvel, ipso facto, is a play
d. One surviving manuscript contains musical interpolations into text –
Paris, BN, Fonds Fr. Ms. 146
i. 50 monophonic songs
aa. Some liturgical
ii. 34 motets
aa. Five of motets identified as deVitry’s
i. Really no evidence,
ii. except that deVitry cites several of these motets
in Ars Nova
iii. And manuscript source of music for
Fauvel compiled in 1316, acc’d
rubric
iv. pre-dates Ars Nova by about 5 years
bb. He didn’t, as your book suggests, help to write it
cc. In fact, we’re not sure what the collection means
iii. Majority in duple mensuration
aa. Suggests that once possibility defined as practical
bb. Became widely used
iv. Such musical interpolations not unheard of – other exs.
aa. This music either composed to be associated with text
bb. Or “Fauvelized”
v. This source contains not only music, but about 3000 additional
lines of poetry, thought to be by Chaillou de Pesstain.
Administrative official of Royal court
2. Isorhythmic motet
a. See how talea and color laid out (465-472; do together)
b. Color 4x as long as talea - has to be repeated 4x