Week 49 - Polyphony through the 13th century (Ars Antigua)

1. Stuff done this week

- Played in Amsterdam for Sofar. In due time a video clip will be released. Here, some rough footage.
- Handed in my first project work for OCA's Music Foundation course.
- Still reading and studying Burkholder et al. (2014).

2. Listening done this week

Listened to some beautiful Folk tunes.

Black Ace - Christmas Time Blues (1937)

Just to get into the season's spirit.

Matty Charles and Katy Rose - One Hundred Years

Such a beautiful song by the Portland based Matty and Kate. We played support for this pair some time ago in Utrecht. Lovely and generous people.

Jason Molina - Hammer Down (2006)

Some footage by the late folk singer Jason Molina. A severe alcoholic he died of liver failure at the age of 39. Portraying someone who has been beat, who has become alienated from his fellow man and who is now coming to terms with his mortality in a final surge of love, I find this song so moving and personal:

Hammer down, heaven bound

Hammer down, heaven bound

I saw the light

On the old gray town

Sometimes I forget that I've always been sick

And I don't have the will to keep fighting

Hammer down, heaven bound

Hammer down, heaven bound

Hammer down, heaven bound

Hammer down, heaven bound

When its been my ghost and the empty road

I think the stars are just the neon lights

Shining through the dance floor

Shining through the dance floor

Of heaven on a Saturday night

And I saw the light

I saw the light

Hammer down, heaven bound

Hammer down, heaven bound

3. What I learned

Below are my music history notes from reading Burkholder et al. (2014):

Polyphony Through The 13th Century

During Europe's growth between 1050 and 1300, the Christian church prosperred. Pious donors funded hundreds of new monasteries and convents, filled by rising numbers of men, women and children seeking a religious life.

In the 11th and 12th century, Romanesque churches were built using the principle of the Roman Basilica with its rounded arches. The churches were richly decorated with frescoes and sculptures. The Gothic architecture style developed in the 12th century, which was very ornate. These developments found parallels in the art of polyphony (voices singing together in independent parts).

Polyphony served to heighten the grandeur of chant and thus the liturgy itself, like a musical ''make-over''. New developments in theory and notation during the 11th and 12th century allowed musicians to write down polyphony and to develop progressively more elaborate varieties'in genre, such as:

organum, conductus and motet.

Written polyphony marked the beginning of key-concepts of Western Music, such as:

1. Counterpoint: a combination of multiple independent lines
2. Harmony: regulation of simultaneous sounds
3. Central role of notation
4. Composition as being a distinct discipline from performance

Polyphony began as a manner of performance, became a practice of oral composition, and developed into a written tradition.

Early Organum (ca 600 - 1150)

Europeans probably performed music in multiple parts long before it was described. The simplest type of polyphony, found in many folk traditions, involves playing a melody against a drone. Another method involves doubling the melody in parallel consonants. In the 9th century treatises "Musica Echiriadis" and "Scolica Enchiriadis" this is referred to as organum (=2 or more voices singing different notes in agreeable combinations).

Parallel organum

The earliest form of organum involved the addition of a second voice. The new voice followed the original voice (vox principalis) with an interval of a fourth under or a fifth above the first voice. Hence, a simple form of polyphony came about, in which the second voice (vox organalis) ran parallel with the original melody: parallel organum.

Parallel Organum

Why fourth and fifth intervals? It could be that the intervals match the natural pitch between a bass and tenor singer (more or less the difference between the voice of a male and a boy). It could also be that the songs were performed antiphonally, where the choir would sing the melody and the cantor would repeat the line a fifth interval higher.

The effect in both cases would be awe inspiring, especially in the large church buildings of the period, in which sound could freely echo.

Mixed parallel and oblique Organum

In "Musica Echiriadis" a form of organum is discussed involving both voices starting in unison, and then the vox organalis would distance itself a fourth to a fifth away from the vox principalis. On the last note of a phrase, the organal voice must move up to unison again. This form is called mixed parallel and oblique organum. This style avoided augmented fourths (tritones), such as Bb-e and f-b. When the organal voice is stationary, harmonic major seconds and thrirds may result with the principal voice. These were considered consonant.

Mixed Parallel and Oblique Organum

Organum developed further along. The organum rule system raised the possibility of polyphony as a combination of independent voices. They represented ways for adorning based on strict rules for deriving added voices. These are not (yet) methods of composition.

Guido of Arezzo described organum in his treatise "Micrologus" (ca. 1025-28) which allowed a range of choices that could result in a variety of organal voices combining oblique and parallel motion, raising the possibility of composition. We assume the organal voices were composed orally, improvised by a soloist or worked out in rehearsals.

The largest source of oral composition in which organal voices were written down is the "Winchester Troper", a manuscript of tropes and liturgical music. It contains 174 organa, probably by Wulfstan of Winchester (fl. 992-996). Only the organal voices were notated, as the monks would have known the chants by heart.

Note-against-note Organum

As possible ways to add an organal voice multiplied, musicians must have sensed an opportunity to decorate the chants of the service.

A new style developed: note-against-note organum. Rules for improvising or composing in the new style are preserved in "Ad Organum Faciendum" (ca. 1100). The strict parallel and oblique movement of both voices is varied or replaced with contrary movements. This implies that the melody of the top voice descended as the second voice ascended, and vice versa.

Contrary Organum

This resulted in a free mixture of contrary, oblique, parallel and similar motion while forming consonant harmonic intervals (unison, fourths, fifths, ocatve). This organum allowed more freedom so singers and composers were able to demonstrate their artistry more, while embellishing the liturgical chant.

Over time, the second voice began to move more freely in rhythm and melody relative to the vox principalis. It was set melismatically and was placed above the vox principalis, holding notes longer. 

Aquitan Polyphony (Early 12th century)

The Aquitan style of polyphony developed in France in the early 12th century. Main sources are three manuscripts once held in the Abbey of St. Martial at Limoges in the Duchy of Aquitaine, and copied in Aquitanian notation.

Within Aquitan polyphony, two styles can be discerned:

1. Discant, where both parts move at about the same rate, with one to three notes in the upper part for each note of the lower voice.
2. Florid, where the upper voice sings note groups of varying lengths above each note of the lower voice, which accordingly moves much more slowly than the upper.

In both styles, the lower voice (vox principalis) holds the principal melody and was referred to as the tenor, derived from the Latin verb "tenere", which means "to hold". So in the tenor the Gregorian melody would sound in long notes, while the upper voice would continue in an ornate (note-against-note) style. The upper voice became more free rhythmically and was pronounced melismatic from the tenor.

An example is "Jubilemus, exultemus". For each note in the tenor, there are three to fifteen notes in the upper part. The manuscript is written in an early form of score notation: the voices are written above the text, the top voice above the tenor, separated by a line. Vertical allignment of parts indicates approximately which notes are sung together.
In the clip below, it is demonstrated in modern notation:

Notre Dame Polyphony (Late 12th, early 13th century)

Musicians in Paris developed an even more ornate style of polyphony in the late 12th , early 13th century. Its creators were associated with the University of Paris, Notre Dame. It is the first body of music for more than two independent voices. Music historians have long regarded it as the first polyphony to be primarily composed in writing and read from notation rather than improvised or orally composed. Earliest surviving manuscripts date from the 1240's, decades after the repertory began to be created.

Rhythmic Modes

The musicians at Notre Dame created the first notation since ancient Greece to indicate note duration. In its final form, their music system was described in a 13th century treatise by Johannes de Garlandia. Instead of using noteshapes to show relative note durations (modern) they used note groups called ligatures. These indicated longs (long notes) and breves (short notes). Garlandia described 6 basic patterns or rhythmic modes (not to be confused with the church modes), identified by number.

Rhythmic modes in Medieval Polyphony (On Music Dictionary, 2016)

The basic time unit (tempus), here described as an eighth note, was always grouped in threes (3/8 or 6/8 time). Scribes used ligatures, signs derived from the neumes of chant notation that denote groups of notes.

The Magnus Liber Organi

A treatise known as "Anonymous IV" mentions the first two Western European composers that are known by name: Leoninus en Perotinus. Both composers were referred to as ''master''.

In his book "Magnus Liber Organi" (Great Book of Polyphony), Leoninus (ca 1159 - 1201) compiled organa for church Mass and Office that he most probably largely composed himself. The organa of Leoninus and his colleagues were in their day by far the longest and most elaborate settings of chant ever created. The music must have filled the cathedral with glorious sound, overpowering the sense of hearing just like the tall columns, stained glass windows, and delicate stonework overwhelmed the sense of sight, moving worshipers to deeper devotion.

Perotinus (ca 1160-1220) reviewed the "Magnus Liber Organi", and set the vox organalis (duplum) in a regular metric progression and added a third voice (triplum) or even a fourth (quadruplum) in many of the songs. These upper voices all used the rhythmic modes, allowing coordination among them. Especially characteristic is the repetition of a phrase in another voice, including voice exchange, where voices trade phrases. Each phrase emphasizes striking dissonances before resolving to the fifth and octave above the tenor, using harmonic tension to reinforce the consonance while sustaining the listeners interest.

Through such means Perotinus and his colleagues created polyphonic works of unprecedented length, even more grandiose than those of Leoninus' generation. This music sounds glorious, evoking the awe appropriate to its religious setting.

Here an example of a performance of Perotinus' "Viderunt Omnes'' by the Hilliard Ensemble, a British male vocal quartet founded in 1974 (Wikipedia, 2016).

Motet and Conductus

In the 13th century two important musical genres developed: the motet and conductus. Especially the motet was durable. It is a rather complex genre that has changed character many times during the course of musical history. In spite of its liturgical origin, the motet is a rather worldly genre.  The motet developed from organum when new texts - mostly in French instead of Latin - were added to the duplum. The duplum was referred to as motetus, after the French "mot" meaning "word". Then the shortened term "motet" was used to refer to genre of the whole composition. Following the same principle, often the third voice was also issued with a new text.

Motets were very popular in the 13th century. The upper voices were often set in Latin, but mostly in French, while the tenor voice kept its Latin text. This phenomenon of polytextuality is characteristic for the motet. Often both worldly and spiritual texts were used, causing the motet to lose its religious character. Also the religious text of the slow moving tenor could be replaced by a musical instrument. In the motet, the various voices are rhythmically and melodically independent from each other.

In this example of Adam de la Halle's "De ma dame vient/Dieus, comment porroie/Omnes" the upper voices differ in rhythm and the same pattern rarely repeats from one measure to the next in either voice. The duplum moves faster than the tenor, and the triplum often moves faster still, creating a hierarchy of proportions. This heightens contrast between the texts, yet creating a composite artwork of many layers.

Composers borrowed elements from existing compositions. Old work was converted to new composition by adding or subtracting texts and voices. Hence, a composer could '''sample'' the tenor and the motetus from the work of a different composer and add his own triplum. To a certain degree, composing became a collective activity, even though composers would nt actually physically work together.

The composers still thought in horizontal melodic lines and not so much in vertical harmony, rendering the latter still underdeveloped. The resulting harmony is not always euphonious, but they reflect how music was written at the time.

Conductus was based on a newly composed tenor, and no longer on an existing Gregorian melody. The genre often featured a spiritual, but not liturgical text in metric Latin verses. In contrast to the motet which has long drawn out tenor notes, the conductus was set in a note-against-note organum style. The duplum and triplum featured the same text and same rhythm, making it more unified than the motet. The conductus probably was used to accompany a liturgical act or ceremony, which did not have a liturgical text.

Franconian Notation

Composer and theorist Franco the Cologne codified a new system, now called Franconian notation, in his "Ars cantus mensurabilis" (The art of measurable music), written around 1280. For the first time, relative durations were signified by note shapes, a characteristic of Western notation ever since. Hence shapes were designed for double longs, longs, breves and semibreves.

English Polyphony

After the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, English culture and music were closely allied to those of France. A distinctive musical dialect emerged when English composers began to extend certain aspects of continetal practice. Most significant was their use of imperfect consonances, often in parallel motion. Harmonic thirds and sixths were allowed in Notre Dame repertory, but were more common in  English music.

One element of Notre Dame style that particularly intrigued English composers was voice exchange (Perotinus Organum). An elabrate form of this was the rondellus. This form involves two or three phrases, first heard simultaneously, each taken up in turn by each voice for example:

Triplum: a-b-c
Duplum: c-a-b

Tenor: b-c-a

Rondellus appear frequently in English conductus from the later 13th century. Closely related is the rota, a perpetual canon or round at the unison.

A Polyphonic Tradition

The 11th through 13th century saw the emergence of complex polyphony. It would later be referred to as: Ars Antigua (the "ancient art").
Coordination of multiple parts, interest in vertical sonorities, and use of counterpoint and harmony to create a sense of direction, tension and resolution became characteristics of Western tradition.
Two features are important to modern Western notation:
1. Vertical placement to coordinate multiple parts (Aquitan and Notre Dame organum)
2. Different note shapes to indicate relative duration (Franconian notation).

Style Elements of Ars Antigua (1150-1300)

1. Voicing: Further development of polyphony (addition of triplum and quadruplum)
2. Tone range: Generally not more than one octave
3. Tone system: Church modes, but in worldly music this is not so distinct any more
4. Melody: Regular and symetrical melodies (mainly because of the use of rhythmic modes) in church music. In worldly music it is more lyrical and unpredictable.
5. Rhythm: Mostly free rhythm with Leoninus but a pronounced, modal rhythm with Perotinus.
6. Harmony: Fourth and fifth intervals, but not too much harmony yet. Focus on horizontal melody and not vertical harmony.
7. Structure: With Perotinus an expansion in the number of voices, also more metric and melodic consistency.
8. Relation text-music: Altering syllabic (one tone per syllable) and melismatic (more tones per syllable) setting.
9. Genres an forms: Three and sometimes four part organum, motet, conductus
10. Significance: Further development of polyphony. Advent of worldly, secular music.

4. Sources

BURKHOLDER, J, GROUT, D. and PALISCA, C. (2014) A history of western music, 9th edition, New York: W.W. Norton. Pages 67-110.

DEMUSICA ET PICTURA, Adam de La Halle - De madame vient - Mottetto Ars Antiqua - Gargoyles, Youtube, viewed 28th December 2016, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8InhEBCf_A>

STEFFELAAR, W. (2007) Muzikale Stijlgeschiedenis, 2nd edition, Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Nieuwezijds.

UMLMUSICHISTORY, Jubilemus exultemus, videorecording, Youtube, viewed 27th December 2016, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glbYiXAwOWk>

WIKIPEDIA (2016) Hilliard Ensemble, Available from:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilliard_Ensemble [Accessed 28th november 2016]

XANDERTRAX, Pérotin - Viderunt Omnes, Sheet Music + Audio, videorecording, Youtube, viewed 28th December 2016, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aySwfcRaOZM>