Course Packet - 15th Century Flashcards
Political Background
Period (about 1350-1450) of Hundred Years’ War. This conflict between France and England fought on French soil brought English composers and their style onto the continent. John Dunstable (c. 1385-1453) was the composer to the English Duke of Bedford, who was the regent of France for several years.
Features of the English Style
Use of tertian harmonies, English discant and its continental counterpart, Fauxbourdon: parallel movement of the voices in 1st inversion ⁶₃ chords. This style was practiced as an actual technique and also was introduced into other works.
Example: Quam pulchra es
Contenance Angloise
The theorists of the time recognized the English influence of tertian harmonies, English discant and termed it the “Contenance Angloise”.
(The English “face” or “countenance”.)
French court
One of the principal musical centers on the continent.
Employed the composer, Johannes Ockeghem (1410-1497)
Burgundian Court
Under the Dukes of Burgundy (e.g., Philip the Good, 1419-1467) the court supported the arts extensively: artists included Jan van Eyck and Hans Memling.
Burgundy included most of eastern France and present-day Belgium and Flanders.
Centers: Dijon (primary capital); Brussels, Ghent, and Bruges (in present-day Belgium).
Musicians associated w/ Burgundian Court
Guillaume DuFay (c. 1400-1474)
Most important composer of the first half of the century
Served at Cambrai, spent most of his career in Italy.
Official employment at Burgundian court not actually documented, but generally counted among the composers of this group
- Resvellies vous* - ballade
- Se la face ay pale*
- Missa Se la face ay pale*: Cantus Firmus mass based on tenor of the chanson
Gilles Binchois (c. 1400-1460)
Served at Burgundian court from 1430-1460
Italian court
Most important: various North-Italian city states such as Ferrara, Venice, Florence, Milan, etc. Also Papal court which was at times in Rome and other times temporarily in northern Italy.
Musicians working in Italy:
Guillaume DuFay, Jacob Obrecht (1450-1505), Josquin des Prez (1445-1521)
Cantus Firmus Mass
Development of cyclic cantus-firmus Mass. DuFay generally credited with this achievement
Definition: Five part Ordinary of the Mass set polyphonically, each movement unified by use of common cantus firmus melody in tenor.
**Sources of Cantus Firmi: **
Gregorian chant melodies (usually associated with the propers rather than the Ordinary of the Mass).
Secular melodies taken from chansons by the composer himself.
Other types of masses
Missa Choralis: appropriate cantus firmus for each movement, i.e., Kyrie melody employed as C.F. in Kyrie, Gloria melody in Gloria, etc. (Note: an example of this would be the Machaut Mass.)
Motto Mass: each movement begins with same Head motive.
Paraphrase Mass: Cantus firmus employed freely as the melodic source for the various voice parts, i.e. the Cantus firmus is “paraphrased.”
Chansons
continuation of the tradition of secular poloyphonic French song.
So-called “Burgundian Chansons”
*Forms: * principally the Formes fixes
Rondeau, Ballade, Virelai
Mainly three parts texture
Style: combination of gracefully moving polyphonic lines, some homophonic, fauxbourdon-influenced writing.
Bass part begins to become more functional
Superius becomes more predominant in some.
Composers of Chansons: DuFay, Binchois, Ockghem, Jacob Obrecht, Josquin, etc.
Odhecation
Collection of approximately 100 chansons of various composers;
First printed collection of polyphonic music
Ottaviano Petrucci, 1501 Venice
Process involved multiple impressions.
Motet
A polyphonic setting of a sacred Latin text
During this period the practice of isorhythmic motet faded away.
Under hands of Josquin the motet style changed and became standardized for the entire sixteenth century:
Form and approach: each phrase of text provided with own musical motive, presented in imitation in each voice in turn; each phrase moves towards cadence, but cadence are overlapped with beginning of next point of imitation (dovetailing). Example: Ave Maria….Virgo serena
Musica ficta
The practice of adding accidental inflections in performance which are not actually notated in the music. Continues practice established earlier to avoid tritones (melodic or harmonic), create leading tones, and make half step relation above the “la” step in the hexachord
Style features of Guillaume DuFay
- Generally non-imitative polyphony
- Parts beginning to spread apart in range.
- Superius comes to be more differentiated from other parts.
- Generally strict use of cantus firmus in tenor.
- Use of canonic practice: retrograde and metric relations
- Use of head motives to unify successive movements of the mass.
Style features of Johannes Ockeghem
- Similar to that of DuFay
- Long phrases, rather dense texture, further spreading of range (particularly the bass goes lower).
- Relatively few cadences.
- Tendency for rhythmic activity leading up to cadence.
- Generally non-imitative
