Chapter 5 Flashcards
Cantus Firmus
(fixed song) new name for tenor in a Motet. In a motet, Tenor (cantus firmus) lost its identity as chant and became raw musical material
Choirbook format
Began with motets. Motets were printed in large choirbooks to be read by multiple people at once. Some parts on left page, some on right.
Clausula
Section in a larger polyphonic work in discant style (i.e. the tenor
is also moving!)
* Usually in modal rhythm
* From Latin word for “clause” or “phrase”
Polyphonic Conductus
Piece for 2-4 voices on rhymed, metrical strophic poems in Latin, usually on a sacred or serious topic but not Biblical.
* Newly composed tenor
* Homorhythmic (all voices sing together in same rhythm)
* Primarily syllabic, with some melismatic portions, esp. at
beginning and end.
Counterpoint
Multiple independent lines working together
Discant (note against note)
A type of organum. Note-against-note or 1-3 notes to each tenor note
Drone
earliest polyphony from folk, other traditions: melody against
sustained pitch (final of mode or 5th above)
Duplum
Often called motetus in a motet. The first voice above the tenor.
Franconian Notation:
A type of early rhythmic notation. double long, long, breve, semibreve
free or florid organum
free or florid organum: upper
voice has many more notes
than the lower, usu. 3-15 notes
per tenor note (also called
“double organum” or “pure
organum”) this became the
more common style
homorhythmic
All voices sing together in the same rhythm. A characteristic of polyphonic conductus.
Leonin
Cathedral of Notre Dame. Leoninus (fl. 1150s-ca. 1201)
compiled book of two-voice
polyphony called Magnus liber
organi.
Magnus liber organi (Great
Book of Organum)
book of two-voice
polyphony called Magnus liber
organi compiled by Leoninus (fl. 1150s-ca. 1201)
Motet
This genre originated as a clausula and became an
independent piece.
* Latin or French words added to upper voices (compound title); sacred
and/or secular; layers of meaning. different words at the same time
* Melismatic polyphonic style; rhythmic patterns (but not rhythmic modes)
* 2 to 4 voices
* Duplum is often called the “motetus”
* ***Tenor (borrowed chant) is now called “cantus firmus” (fixed song)
Motetus
Duplum voice in a motet.
motion: parallel, contrary,
oblique, similar
Types of motion in an organum.
Parallel: two voices moving in the same direction by the same interval
contrary: two voices moving in opposite directions
oblique: one voice drones / repeats while the other voice changes
similar: same direction, different intervals
Musica enchiriadis (Music
Handbook)
Book in which polyphony was first described (9th c)
Notre Dame
Notre Dame, a gothic cathedral in
Paris, was associated with
polyphonic music of the late 12th and
early 13th centuries. Leoninus and Perotinus
Oblique organum
Oblique organum: organal voice moves below original chant with a different
melody; several different intervals (including dissonances) may be used
organum
polyphonic composition based on chant, another vocal line is
added beneath the original chant (9th c. onward).
Early organum
Two types:
Parallel - organal voice added a 5th (or 4th) below original chant, moves parallel to chant
Oblique - organal voice moves below original chant with a different
melody; several different intervals (including dissonances) may be used
Mature Organum
after 1100. Discant (1-3 notes per tenor note) or Florid (3-15 notes per tenor note) Organums.
Perotinus
Cathedral of Notre Dame. Perotinus (fl. 1200-1230)
expanded Leoninus’s book,
expanded organum from two to four
voices.
Polyphony
Polyphony: 2+ independent melodies together.
Started as a manner of
performance, became standard
oral composition (improvised
tradition)
* First described in Musica
enchiriadis (Music Handbook, 9th c)
* Added voice could provide
commentary (gloss) on chant (like
a trope)
* 11th to 13th c: developed into written
tradition; new developments in
theory and notation
Quadruplum
The fourth voice in a chant. Organum quadruplum has 4 voices
Rhythmic modes
the rhythmic modes were set patterns of long and short durations (or rhythms).
Tenor
Lower voice now is called “tenor” after tenere which means “to hold” in Latin. Formerly called principal or chant voice. the foundation for composition in an organum.
early organum: chant (tenor) is above organal voice.
mature organum: chant (tenor) is below organal voices
Triplum
The third voice in a chant. Organum triplum has 3 voices.
