Haec dies (Organum)

Question 1

Haec dies (Organum) background information

Answer 1

• organum (Notre Dame style)
• anonymous (in the style of Léonin)
• composition date: ca 1175
• source of text: Old Testament-Psalms
• Latin
• soloist and chorus
• polyphonic texture with monophonic sections
• two voices

Question 2

Haec dies (Organum) essay sections

Answer 2

(none)

Question 3

Haec dies (Organum) essay

Answer 3

• lower voice (tnor) contains the borrowed melody (cantus firmus) drawn from the original Haec dies chant
• upper voice is newly composed and is more rhythmically active than the cantus firmus
• organal style, discant style, and monophonic sections alternate
• most common harmonic intervals b/t voices are perfect fourths. fifths, and octaves
• rhythmic modes are employed in discant sections
• clausulae on “Domino” and “quoniam”

Question 4

How do the organal style, discant style, and monophonic sections alternate in Haec dies (Organum)?

Answer 4

1. organl style on “Haec dies”
2. monohponic texture on “quam fecit Dominus, exsultemus et laetemur in ea”
3. organal style on “Confitemini”
4. discant style on “Domino quoniam”
5. organal style on “bonus quoniam”