A Discussion of form in 22 individual motets; general evaluation of standard theories about the origin of the genre and its modal rhythm. (förf.).

Redefines musical analysis for a period that marks the beginnings of composition as we know it now.

Spanning a millennium of musical history, this monumental volume brings together nearly forty leading authorities to survey the music of Western Europe in the Middle Ages. All of the major aspects of medieval music are considered, making use of the latest research and thinking to discuss everything from the earliest genres of chant, through the music of the liturgy, to the riches of the vernacular song of the trouvères and troubadours. Alongside this account of the core repertory of monophony, The Cambridge History of Medieval Music tells the story of the birth of polyphonic music, and studies the genres of organum, conductus, motet and polyphonic song. Key composers of the period are introduced, such as Leoninus, Perotinus, Adam de la Halle, Philippe de Vitry and Guillaume de Machaut, and other chapters examine topics ranging from musical theory and performance to institutions, culture and collections.

It has become widely accepted among musicologists that medieval music is most profitably studied from interdisciplinary perspectives that situate it within broad cultural contexts. The origins of this consensus lie in a decisive reorientation of the field that began approximately four decades ago. For much of the twentieth century, research on medieval music had focused on the discovery and evaluation of musical and theoretical sources. The 1970s and 1980s, by contrast, witnessed calls for broader methodologies and more fully contextual approaches that in turn anticipated the emergence of the so-called 'New Musicology'. The fifteen essays in the present collection explore three interrelated areas of inquiry that proved particularly significant: the liturgy, sources (musical and archival), and musical symbolism. In so doing, these essays not only acknowledge past achievements but also illustrate how this broad, interdisciplinary approach remains a source for scholarly innovation.

Known as "La Chièvre de Reims," Robert de Reims was among the earliest trouvères--poet-composers who were contemporaries of the troubadours, but who wrote their works in the northern dialects of France. This critical edition provides new translations into English and Modern French of all the songs and motets attributed to him, along with the original texts, the extant melodies, and a substantive introduction. Active sometime between 1190 and 1220, Robert de Reims was an influential figure in the literary circles of Arras. There are thirteen compositions set to music attributed to him, including nine chansons (songs) and four polyphonic motets that show broad dissemination in the thirteenth century and beyond. Robert's work is exceptional on a number of fronts. His poetry is known for acoustic luxuriance and expertise in rhyming, grounded in the play of echoes and variations. He is the earliest trouvère known to have composed a sotte chanson contre Amours (silly song against Love), and his lyrics feature the first specimens of intensive echo rhyming. Located clearly at the nexus of monophonic song and polyphony, Robert's corpus also poses the intriguing question of trouvère participation in the development of the polyphonic repertory. The case of Robert de Reims jostles and tempers the standard history of the chanson and the motet. Accessible and instructive, this trilingual critical edition of his complete works makes the oeuvre of this innovative and consequential trouvère available in one volume for the first time.

Through forty-five creative and concise essays by an international team of authors, this Cambridge History brings the fifteenth century to life for both specialists and general readers. Combining the best qualities of survey texts and scholarly literature, the book offers authoritative overviews of central composers, genres, and musical institutions as well as new and provocative reassessments of the work concept, the boundaries between improvisation and composition, the practice of listening, humanism, musical borrowing, and other topics. Multidisciplinary studies of music and architecture, feasting, poetry, politics, liturgy, and religious devotion rub shoulders with studies of compositional techniques, musical notation, music manuscripts, and reception history. Generously illustrated with figures and examples, this volume paints a vibrant picture of musical life in a period characterized by extraordinary innovation and artistic achievement.

This book focuses on the literary artistry of the texts of Old French and bilingual motets, notably the special feature of motets that distinguished them from other medieval lyric forms: the phenomenon of polytextuality.