Chapter 8 English Music 15th C Flashcards
What was the Cantus-Firmus?
An existing melody often taken from a Gregorian chant on which a new polyphonic work is based. This is where the terms “bass” “alto” and “soprano” were created- composers needed more harmonic stability.
What three famous composers were thriving in this century and what styles of music did they write?
John Dunstable- three part sacred works and other biblical works
Binchois- chanson’s (love poems during this time) creating hemiola type feels
Guillaume du Fay- chansons with meter changes and rapid notes in various divisions, and many sacred works. Known to be the most famous composer of his time
What style was contenance angloise?
“English quality” consisted of the frequent use of harmonic thirds and sixths often in parallel motion resulting in pervasive consonance with few dissonances.
What is faburden?
Improvised polyphony in which plainchant in the middle voice was joined up an upper voice a perfect fourth above it and the lower voices a third below
What is Cantilenas?
More sophisticated genre of improvised polyphony with homorhythmic settings not based on chant
What is a carol?
A monophonic dance song with alternating solo and choral sections- all on religious subjects which consists of a number of stanzas and a refrain with its own musical phrase sung at the beginning then repeated after every stanza.
What is a paraphrase in English music?
A technique used by John Dunstable where the top voice is elaborated in chant. The melody is given a rhythm and ornamented by adding notes around the chant.
What is fauxbourdon?
A technique where only the tenor and the cantus were written out moving mostly in parallel sixths ending each phrase on an octave.
What is plainsong mass?
When a composer composes new music for a mass services and bases each movement off of a preexisting chant
What is a motto mass?
whats a motto you!?!?!
When a composer composes a piece for mass using the same thematic material in all movements and uses a head-motive at the beginning (beginning each movement with the same old melodic motive)
The addition of a fourth voice below the tenor was introduced by the anonymous English composer of the following mass:
Missa Caput
Before the 1440s, cantus-firmus masses were written for how many voices?
three voices
Recent scholarship suggests that the cantus-firmus mass was developed and gained widespread popularity because:
the use of a cantus firmus could refer to the saint to whom the mass was addressed or to the institution, family, or individual for whose benefit the mass was composed
The cantus-firmus mass usually derived its name from:
the borrowed melody
The following composer was employed by the court of Phillip the Good and was highly regarded for his chanson compositions:
Gilles de Bins
