During the Medieval period from 500-1400 CE: - The Catholic Church was the dominant political and spiritual force in Europe and controlled education. Music was taught at cathedral schools and universities. - Most composers were members of the clergy or nobility and held additional roles like administrators or diplomats, as full-time musicians were rare. - The earliest notated music from this era was Gregorian chant, which was monophonic and lacked rhythm or meter notation. Major developments included the emergence of polyphony like organum in the Notre Dame school under composers Leonin and Perotin.

1. 17
Medieval Period ca. 500-14001
During the medieval period the Church was both the primary spiritual and political force
of Europe.2
It controlled how and to whom knowledge was taught. Cathedral schools and
universities like the one which emerged in Paris in the middle of the twelfth century,
functioned as important educational and religious institutions.
During this period, only a small number of people could read. Most of them were either
monks or clergy of the church or members of upper class families. Music was considered
an educated discipline, but even fewer people could read and write music.
Most composers of the Medieval period were not
full-time musicians as their education gave them
many skills in addition to music. This enabled
them to advance through the ranks of the church as
well as in the courts of noble families. They often
held posts as judges, secretaries, administrators,
and diplomats.
What we know about music from the ninth through
twelfth centuries has survived in manuscripts.
These manuscripts were preserved by monastic
communities and noble estates.
The earliest known written music (i.e. notated
music) in the medieval period is plainchant
(generically called Gregorian Chant). Monks
and nuns used plainchant to sing prayers. From
this written evidence scholars have concluded that
early plainchant had two main characteristics:
1) it was monophonic, meaning that there was
only one melodic line with no accompaniment, and
2) it was notated without rhythm or meter.
A Bit of Trivia on the Liberal Arts
The curriculum was centered on the Seven
Liberal Arts which were divided into two
branches: the trivium (literally “three roads”)
consisting of Grammar, Rhetoric, and Logic and
the quadrivium (“four roads”) consisting of
Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, and Astronomy.
These divisions have their roots in the
educational practices of the ancient Greeks.
Arithmetic was the study of number itself,
Geometry was the study of number in space,
Music was the study of number in time and
Astronomy was a combination of the study of
number in space and time.
In the ancient world of the Greeks, philosophy
(meaning “the love of wisdom”) was
represented in the image of a woman (named
Philosophia). Philosophia was the unifying
force which nourished all of the liberal arts.
When the Church adopted this imagery,
Philosophia became equated with the Virgin
Mary. The word ”liberal” incidentally derives
from the Latin word liber (“book”) which shares
its etymology with libera (“free”). Hence a liberal
education means a learned education.
Many plainchant performances are sung like this still. Whole choirs sing one melody in
unison and treat each note with the same rhythmic value. Of course, just because the
music was notated this way does not necessarily mean that it was sung this way.3
Early
monks may have had a rhythmic system which was transmitted orally but they did not
have a system to notate it. Therefore modern scholars are left to debate over the manner
in which chant was really performed.
1
Minnesota is world reknown for its dedication to Medieval research at HMML in Collegeville, MN,
Augsburg College’s BA program in Medieval Studies, and the Rose Ensemble.
2
Before Martin Luther and the Reformation (1517), Roman Catholicism, also referred to as The Church,
was the ONLY accepted Christian religion in Western Europe.
3
Reading and performing only what was written down is considered a “literal” or “strict” interpretation.
Music historians however, like literary and legal historians, understand that what was written down
provides only a hint of the original meaning. Therefore they engage in extensive research to understand the
culture which produced the manuscript, trying to find meaning through context. This scholarly pursuit is
not limited just to Medieval music, but is also significant in our understanding of more famous composers
like Mozart and Handel. This is why there are so many different recordings of Handel’s Messiah.

2. 18
Text/Music relations
Some useful definitions when describing a melody (chant or otherwise) are based upon how many
musical notes are applied per syllable of text. In general there are:
Syllabic – 1 note per syllable
Melismatic – roughly 5 or more notes per syllable
Neumatic – somewhere in between, but roughly 2-4 notes per syllable
Bear in mind, these definitions are generalizations and one really needs to look at a complete
melody before making a determination. A safe statement is, “The chant appears
predominately…such and such based upon this passage of chant…yaddah yaddah yaddah.”
The Mass
The Mass was an important musical event in the church service that was sung as plainchant. It
represents the central ritual that celebrates the Last Supper Jesus of Nazareth had with his
followers.
There are two types of texts used in the Mass. The first is called the Mass Ordinary. It consists
of five prayers sung at every Mass, regardless of the occasion. Hence, their texts never change.
These Mass movements are: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei.
The second type of text refers to the Mass Proper. The text of the Mass Proper is feast-specific,
that is it changes from service to service depending on the occasion. These texts include (but are
not limited to) Gospel readings, Epistle readings, the Offertory, the Gradual and the Alleluia.
Graduals and Alleluias tended to be the most musically elaborate parts of the Mass. They
occurred before the Gospel reading in order to create a sense of spiritual intensity.
There is no doubt that instrumental and popular forms of music existed at that time, but no
notation for such music has been found. Therefore modern scholars focus on drawings, written
records and treatises (a type of formal essay that discusses a certain topic in a systematic manner)
to make educated guesses as to how secular (non-religious) music was performed.4
Monastic Life
The Rule of St. Benedict was developed by the
monk St. Benedict around 520 C.E. This rule
provided the template for living in a monastic
community which emphasized obedience and
humility. The abbot was the ultimate human
authority within the community. The rule also
regulated the hours in the day to be devoted to
prayer, readings, singing of psalms, regulations,
manual work, penitential code, training of recruits
and vows. A new monk vowed to stay with the
monastery until his death. Monks also renounced
personal property and took on a vow of poverty.
Monasteries accepted any guest as if he were Christ
himself. It seems they were cut off from the rest of
the world, but nevertheless they accrued many gifts
and became repositories of great wealth while those
in the outside world lived at a level of subsistence.
The Legend of Pope Gregory I dictating plainchant to his scribes.
4
In preparing for mystery rounds, a good place to start is the radio program Harmonia. Full archived
programs can be downloaded at http://www.indiana.edu/~harmonia/index.html / other useful links are
http://www.hmml.org/ | http://www.roseensemble.com/ | http://www.augsburg.edu/medievalstudies/
| and many updated links found at the bottom of my own page: http://www.grianeala.com

3. 19
Ancient Era (500 BCE-500 CE) and the Medieval Period (500-1400 in the CE)
Date Event in Music Other Events in History
500 B.C.E. Greek lyric poetry and drama begins to
emerge (believed to be sung)
Euripides writes music and drama in
ancient Greece (408 BCE)
First Olympic Games held in Greece (776 BCE)
Pythagoras (mathematician/musician) teaches
in Greek Colony in southern Italy. (500 BCE)
300 B.C.E. Plato and Aristotle write about music Socrates is condemned to death by the Athenian
Council for getting people to think (399)
Ptolemy founds dynasty in Egypt (309)
100 B.C.E. Roman poet Vergil dies and leaves his
epic poem, Aeneid (unfinished, 19 BCE)
Octavius becomes first Roman Emperor and
changes name to Augustus (27 BCE)
0 C.E. Metamorphoses written by the Roman
poet Ovid (14 CE)
Death of Emperor Augustus Caesar (14 CE)
Crucifixion of Jesus (c.30 CE)
Temple of Jerusalem destroyed by Romans (70)
100 C.E. Teotihuacan civilization in Mexico flourishes
200 C.E. Roman citizenship extended to all freemen in
Roman Empire
Monasticism becomes popular (c.280)
300 C.E. Bishop Ambrose introduces responsorial
psalmody in Milan (386)
Constantine converts Roman Empire to
Christianity (312)
Roman empire splits into Eastern and Western
Empires (395)
400 C.E. Christian theology continues to be defined (410)
Romulus Augustulus is deposed as Roman
Emperor, Roman Empire “falls” (476)
500 C.E. Gregory the Great elected Pope (590-
604) he is believed to have developed
Gregorian Chant.
600 C.E. Mass liturgy (Ordo Romanus) is
developed
Boethius executed (c.525)
Rule of St. Benedict, (529)
Birth of Muhammad (c.570)
700 C.E. Charlemagne seeks to unify church
liturgical uses of music (789)
Charlemagne, King of the Franks (768)
800 C.E. Organum in parallel and oblique motion
appears in Musica Enchiriadis
Charlemagne is crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
Baghdad becomes intellectual center of Arab
world. Arabs develop astronomy, algebra, optics,
and medicine.
900 C.E. Vikings begin settlements in Greenland
1000 C.E. Four-line staff and Florid organum
appears in Guido d’Arezzo’s Mikrologus
(1025)
Leif Erickson lands in North America (1000)
Normans conquer England (1066)
First Crusade begins (1096)
1100 C.E Leonin active at Notre Dame begins first
compilation of Magnus Liber Organi
(1180s)
Second Crusade begins (1147)
Arab learning comes west (c. 1150)
Construction begins on Notre Dame (1163)
1200 C.E. Perotin edits the Magnus Liber, adding 3
and 4-voice organa. (1200-38)
Carmina Burana is compiled (1220-40)
Francis of Assisi founds Franciscan Order (1209)
Magna Carta signed in England (1215)
Marco Polo travels east (1271-95)
1300 C.E. Philippe de Vitry composes isorhythmic
motets, some of which appear in the
Roman de Fauvel. (1310)
de Vitry writes treatise Ars Nova (1322).
Dante writes the Divine Comedy (1307)
Clement V moves papal seat to Avignon (1309)
Papal schism begins leading to two Popes (1378)
Chaucer writes The Cantebury Tales (1386)

4. 20
Leonin & Perotin
Viderunt Omnes
Name: Leonin | | example 2: Perotin
Pronunciation: LAY-oh-nan | PAIR-oh-TAN
Dates: fl.1180-1200 | 1180?-1238
Nationality: French | French
Testable Title: Viderunt omnes for 2 voices | Viderunt omnes for 4 voices
Date Composed: late 12th
century | 13th
century
Genre: Notre Dame Organum (or Ars antiqua) | Notre Dame Organum
Instrumentation: 2 voices | 4 voices
Listen for: alternation between organum purum, discant, & copula
Pieces for Comparison: Tribum/Quoniam, O magnum mysterium
Leonin
Leonin was a priest, poet and composer who was active at Notre Dame in Paris during
the second half of the 12th
century. He earned the degree of Master (Latin magister) from
the university, and by the 1180s he worked at the cathedral as an administrator.
He is one of the earliest known composers of organum. Organum was an early type of
polyphony which was based upon plainchant and was usually applied to the most
melismatic chants.
Evolution of Early Polyphony
Nearly 400 years before Leonin, theorists described polyphonic organum as a second
voice added to existing monophonic chant. This second voice is called the organal voice
or duplum. Initially, this voice was placed a perfect fourth, fifth, or octave below the
principal plainchant voice, known as the tenor (from the Latin tenere because it “held”
the original chant). The duplum was sung in parallel motion (moves at the same rate and
at a constant interval) throughout. This is also referred to as discant organum.
By the 11th
century, the duplum became more independent. In addition, the two voices
switched places, so that the tenor became the lower voice. Also, the intervals between
both voices became more varied. The tenor and the duplum could move in parallel,
contrary (opposite directions), or oblique (one voice stays put the other moves) motion.
By the 12th
century, a new development in organum grew popular in France. It is called
florid organum because the duplum “flowed melodically” over a slower moving tenor.

5. 21
Notre Dame Organum
Notre Dame Organum is the style of organum associated with Leonin and his
successors at Notre Dame. This style is similar to the latter development of florid
organum but differs in that the tenor is slowed way down to extremely long note
durations. The duplum is the higher voice and moves at a quicker pace, sometimes as
many as 40 notes (melismatic) per every 1 note in the tenor – these instances are referred
to as organum purum (pure organum).
By slowing down the tenor, the melody of the plainchant is obscured because the ear
focuses on the quicker moving organal voice. Pay attention to how the different vowels
shape the resonant space. This is a very important aesthetic in this type of music.
But Leonin did not stop there. To provide contrast to organum purum, he added sections
of discant organum in which the duplum moves at a precise rhythm of 3 pulses to 1
tenor. It is believed that Leonin developed a system of six rhythmic modes. These
modes defined different rhythmic patterns similar to those found in metrical poetry and
were divisible by 3. These modes could be identified by the way notes were grouped
together. The groupings are called ligatures and they symbolize both pitch and rhythm.
This was a GIANT LEAP in musical notation of polyphonic music as measures and
meters had yet to be invented.
Magnus Liber Organi
The anonymous thirteenth-century English theorist aptly named “Anonymous IV”
credits Leonin with perhaps the greatest single achievement in the development of early
polyphony: the Magnus Liber Organi (The Great Book of Organum). This book,
designed for liturgical use, applied this new style of 2-part organum to the solo sections
of the Graduals and Alleluias during important feasts in the Church calendar.
One such famous example is Leonin’s treatment of the gradual Viderunt omnes.
Remember, Leonin did not write the chant, but he did write the organal voice and
determined how the chant would be treated.
Viderunt Omnes
Viderunt Omnes was performed as part of the Mass both on Christmas Day and during
the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ (which was celebrated on January 1st
). Leonin’s
Viderunt Omnes is an example of two-voice organum (or organum duplum).
Leonin set only the solo sections of this piece to polyphony. The two-voice texture occurs
during the intonation Viderunt Omnes. After this and the choir sings a section of the
chant monophonically before returning to Leonin’s polyphonic treatment [not on CD].
Sing the following over about 5 times until you are familiar with the pitches.
Now, listen how Leonin alternates between sections of florid and discant.

6. 22
Min:sec 0:00 0:24 0:37 0:45 0:59 1:10 1:34
texture organum purum discant organum purum
text Vi- de- runt (on a) (on c) om- nes
One thing which might jump out in the discant sections is that the initial harmonic
interval between the duplum for every note of chant begins with a perfect interval. We
are used to hearing the sweet sound of the imperfect 3rd and 6th
intervals (which were
introduced 200 years later by John Dunstaple around 1400).5
Interval P4 P1 P5 P5 P1 P5 P4 P5 P1 P4 P5
initial note in
duplum grouping
f d g e c g f g e g g
tenor at Om-nes c d c a c c c c e d c
North side of my town faced east and the east was facing south – “Substitute” by The Who
Throughout the 13th
century, Leonin’s successors wrote their own discant sections (called
clausulae) in place of his in “cut-and-paste” fashion. For instance, they would use what
Leonin had written from 0:00-0:58. Then at 0:59-1:09 they would cut out Leonin’s discant
and substitute their own, returning to Leonin’s version at 1:10. When these clausulae are
used in place of Leonin’s discant, they are called substitute clausula. By the mid-13th
century. These clausulae became free-standing compositions (not used in church but still
based upon a fragment of chant). They then added texts (either Latin or French) to the
upper voice(s). These became the first motets.
Perotin (1180?-1238) (CD1:3)
Assigning rhythm to notes was necessary in order for later composers to write organum
for three and four voices. Although not notated, these modes also serve to imply rests.
Perotin was a later editor of the Magnus Liber Organi and added such works to it,
including his own four-part version (or organum quadruplum) of Viderunt Omnes.
A striking difference aside from the additional voices, is that Perotin organized the upper
voices with each other and applied to them rhythmic modes in instances where Leonin
would have used organum purum.6
He often exchanged the same melodic fragments
between the upper voices often in canonic imitation (see Fugue and Canon chapter). to
create a sense of forward momentum. Although there is still debate over the exact
meaning of the term applied to this by 13th
century theorist Johannes de Garlandia, we
will simply refer to these sections as copula.
Min:sec 0:00 0:57 1:26 1:42 2:28 2:38 etc.
texture copula discant copula
text Vi- de- runt (on a) (on c) om- nes
5
For a satyrical description about organum and the importance of perfect intervals view this episode of
Kaamelott – The Perfect Fifth http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhHAojVyeG0
6
In a two voiced texture the cantor singing the duplum could groove any way he wanted, dig? But with
more parts it would just sound sloppy if everyone sang at their own rate.

7. 23
The Carmina Burana
Olim Sudor Herculis
Name: Carmina Burana
Pronunciation: CAR-mee-na bur-AH-na
Nationality: German
Testable Title: Olim Sudor Herculis / The Labors of Hercules
Date Compiled: 1220-1230
Genre: Song
Instrumentation: Voice
Listen for: monophony, repeating melody in verses
Pieces for Comparison: Viderunt Omnes, Tribum/Quoniam
CHANTS vs. SONGS
In the Church, chants were either liturgical or sacred. A liturgical chant is a work that
was performed during the official liturgy or celebration of the Mass. Sacred chants were
those which dealt with sacred subjects but were not celebrated as part of a church service.
Another musically related genre found in and around churches and monasteries was that
of the Latin song. The Latin song was a secular poem written in rhythmical and rhyming
Latin. The most famous collection of such poems known to us today is the collection
called Carmina Burana.
Carmina Burana
Cover page of the Carmina Burana
-Codex 4660 Bayerische
Staatsbibliothek
The Carmina Burana is a collection of 320 Latin songs &
poems (a few are in German) named after the manuscript
discovered in 1803 at the monastery of Benedikt Beuren in
southwestern Germany. Carmina Burana is translated as
Songs of Beuren, although they were most likely not written
there. Its contents vary from moralistic songs, dedications to
Christ, love songs, elegies to the seasons, to satires about
unscrupulous priests, and drinking songs. Carl Orff famously
set a few of these poems for chorus and orchestra in 1937.
Vagrant Scholars
No one knows who actually wrote the songs in the Carmina
Burana manuscript, but prevailing research indicates that they
were probably written in the twelfth century by the goliards.
Goliards were scholars, poets, vagrant clerics and students
who wandered from town to town rather than remaining tied
to a particular institution monastery, or court.
Modern scholars believe they began “wandering” due to an oversupply of clerics and not
enough jobs to go around. Other goliards may have left their studies due to a lack of
funds to pay for their education. The goliards were not enemies of the church, but they
were often subject to their criticism. This is chiefly because they were scholars who did
not pay taxes, were not required to military service and did not obey the vow of chastity.
They also could not be turned away from boarding at any monastery due to the Rule of

8. 24
St. Benedict. I tend to imagine goliards as a cross between the character of Friar Tuck in
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood and Otter from Animal House.
Neumes and Staff-less Notation
One of the difficulties with the Carmina Burana (as well as many other sources of early
music) is that it is written for someone who already knew the tune but needed to “jog
their memory.” The melody is not written on a staff but instead there are little
“squiggles” called neumes (pronounced “nyooms”) written above the text of each word.
These neumes do not indicate pitch or rhythm but instead indicate the overall upward or
downward contour and how many notes are to be sung per syllable. This means that any
performance of the original Carmina Burana is the product of an educated guess based
upon what we know of other church music, modes, rhythms, early theoretical writings
and poetry.
Example of text with staff-less neumes (not from Carmina Burana)
Olim Sudor Herculis
Olim Sudor Herculis is the classical story about the Greek hero and demi-god Herakles
(the Romans named him Hercules). He was the son of Zeus and was endowed with
superhuman strength that rivaled even the gods. You might remember a TV show a few
years back starring Minnesota native Kevin Sorbo in the title role. In this song, the
narrator recounts the virtue of Hercules’ heroic labors: defeating the Hydra, taming the
lion, combat with Antaeus, etc. but then warns against the pitfalls of love as Hercules
becomes weakened in the embrace of Iole. The refrain and the final verse reflect the
narrator’s own desire to be stronger than Hercules by remaining chaste.
When performers attempt to put rhythm to songs from the Carmina Burana collection
they usually rely on the natural accent of each word and the overall meter of the poem.
In Olim sudor Herculis (“Once the sweat of Hercules”) the opening lines follow this
pattern.
Meter Long – Short Long – Short – Long – Short – Long
Text O - lim su - dor Her- cu- lis

9. 25
Also notice that the first and fourth stanzas rhyme as do the second and third.
Text of Olim Sudor Herculis
Latin
Verse 1a
Olim sudor Herculis
monstra late conterens,
pestes orbis suferens.
Claris longe titulis
enituit; sed tandem defloruit
fama prius celebris cecis clausa tenebris
Yoles illecebris Alcide captivato.
English Translation
Verse 1a
Once the sweat (labors) of Hercules
Crushing monsters far and wide,
Removing plagues of the world
Shone afar with illustrious reknown;
But finally the former celebrated
fame withered Cut off by dark shadows,
when Alcides (Hercules) was captured by the charms of Iole.
Verse 1b
Hydra damno capitum
Facta locupletior,
Omni peste sevior,
Redere sollicitum
Non potuit, quem puella domuit
Lugo cessit Veneris vir, qui maior superis
Celum tulit humeris Atlante fatigato.
Verse 1b
Hydra, by the loss of heads
Is made richer
And returns more savage
than all other pests,
Could not make him anxious whom a girl tamed.
The man yielded to the yoke of Venus who, greater than the gods
above, bore heaven on his shoulders when Atlas tired.
Refrain
Amor fame meritum deflorat
Amans tempus perditum non plorat
Sed temere diffluere sub Venere laborat
Refrain
Love withers the merit of glory.
The lover does not regret lost time
But labors rashly to be dissolute in the power of Venus
Verse 4a
Sed Alcide fortior agredior
Pugnam contra Venerem.
Ut superem hanc, fugio;
In hoc enim prelio
Fugiendo fortius et melius pugnatur
Sicque Venus vincitur; dum fugitur, fugatur.
Verse 4a
But stronger than Hercules, I undertake
The fight against Venus
So that might overcome her, I flee;
For this battle
is more bravely and better fought by fleeing.
And thus Venus is conquered; when she is fled, she is eluded
Verse 4b
Dulces nodos Veneris et carceris
Blandiseras resero, de cetero
Ad alia dum traducor studia.
O Lycori, valeas et voveas quod vovi;
Sicque Venus vincitur; dum fugitur, fugatur.
Verse 4b
The sweet bonds of Venus and of the prison
I unlock. For the rest,
While I am drawn to other endeavors.
O Lycoris, farewell and may you vow what I vowed.
And thus Venus is conquered; when she is fled, she is eluded.
--
For more information you can check out either Bischoff’s introduction to the Codex 4660 facsimile,
writings by Peter Dronke, or this brief synopsis on identifiable poets at:
http://www.athenapub.com/14carmina.htm
also if you are really into medieval german lanugage stuff, you can find a public domain copy at Google
Books by Joseph Wright, to get started. (Of course the above text is in Latin but probably informed by a
native German speaker).
http://books.google.com/books?id=66sBAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=middle+high+german&as
_brr=1#PPP7,M1

10. 26
Philippe de Vitry
Tribum que/Quoniam secta/Merito hec patimur
Name: Philippe de Vitry
Pronunciation: Fih-LEEP duh Vee-TREE
Dates: b. October 31, 1291 – d. June 9, 1361
Nationality: French
Testable Title: Tribum/Quoniam (TREE-boom QUO-nee-ahm)
Date Composed: early 14th
century
Genre: Isorhythmic Motet (eye-so-RIH-thmik mo-TET)
Instrumentation: 3-voices
Listen for: color, talea independent french texts.
Pieces for Comparison: Viderunt Omnes; Terzetto (Mozart)
Philippe de Vitry
Philippe de Vitry was a composer, music theorist, poet, bishop, diplomat and a leading
intellectual figure in and around Paris, France during the middle of the fourteenth
century. His work and influence was praised by his contemporaries who included
astronomers, mathematicians, philosophers, theologians, humanists, and literary authors.
His friend Petrarch, the famous Italian poet whose works became the model texts for
madrigals in the next two centuries, considered de Vitry ‘the only true poet among the
French.’7
De Vitry worked for the royal family in Paris and from 1346 to 1350 and also served in
the army of the Duke of Normandy. He was later appointed bishop of Meax in 1351 by
Pope Clement VI where he spent the last ten years of his life.
The New Art
One of de Vitry’s great accomplishments in music theory was his treatise Ars Nova,
translated as the “New Art.” This was an important text which expanded the rhythmic
options available to composers. The result was that in polyphonic music, different
melodic lines could be given their own rhythm, independent from each other. In the old
way of performing polyphonic music (Ars Antiqua), there was little rhythmic
independence between voices. With this new rhythmic art, composers such as de Vitry,
Machaut and Dufay could explore new roads of melodic and contrapuntal invention.
Isorhythmic Motet
The most notable form to grow out of the French Ars Nova was the Isorhythmic Motet.
Isorhythm appealed to the mathematically charged philosophy of the late medieval period
because it allowed tighter control of organization for larger compositions. This was done
by organizing notes of the tenor voice into rhythmic patterns. This is different from
Notre Dame Organum where the tenor was merely slowed down while the other voices
received rhythmic treatment.
7
Petrarch is also the one who invented that horribly prejudicial term “Dark Ages” Expressing that
EVERYTHING between the so-called “Fall” of Rome and his time was not worthy of study! Too bad,
cause he is such a good poet! You can find his work here: http://www.petrarch.freeservers.com/

11. 27
In order for a motet to be considered isorhythmic, two principal elements must be applied
to the tenor. These elements are called color and talea (TAH-lee-ah). Color is the term
applied to a repeating series of pitches and talea (TAH-lee-ah) is the repeating series of
rhythms. The really cool thing about this is that if a composer chose a color and talea of
different lengths, the patterns of pitch and rhythm would overlap each time they met.
Soon composers found that they could double (augment) or halve (diminish) the
duration of the rhythms in the talea. As the popularity of the isorhythmic motet grew,
composers began applying the principles of color and talea to the upper voices as well.
What is perhaps his important innovation with long lasting significance is the
development of metrical divisions of music. He introduced note values divisible by the
imperfect 2 in addition to the already established perfect 3 pulses. In effect he created a
way of notating metrical feel which correspond roughly with our modern 9/8, 3/4, 6/8,
and 2/4 time signatures.8
With this kind of mathematical rigor, it is little wonder that de
Vitry’s contemporaries likened him to Pythagoras.
De Vitry’s genius, however, did not stop with music alone. As mentioned above he was
well regarded as a poet and is presumed to have written the texts for his motets. The
interesting thing about isorhythmic motets is that not only do they have their own
independent melodic lines, but they also have their own texts! This feature, known as
polytextuality was yet another level of complexity which would have appealed to the
medieval scholars penchant for hidden meanings. This kind of complexity did not come
into vogue again until the early 20th
century and remains to this day a source of musical
inspiration.
Tribum que/Quoniam secta/Merito hec patimur
This motet is one of five motets attributed to de Vitry which appear in the Roman de
Fauvel (The Romance of Fauvel). This is a manuscript (ca.1310-14) which included
satirical poems as well as both polyphonic and monophonic works which were critical of
political and church authorities. It was kind of the 14th
century equivalent to the political
humor seen on Saturday Night Live.
Margaret Bent, a famous musicologist who specializes in early music, wrote that even
though motets used different texts simultaneously, they usually had some contextual
relationship with the plainchant on which the tenor was based. In Tribum/Quoniam, she
8
de Vitry’s system utilized circles for perfect and half-circles for imperfect time. We still use his symbol
“C” in place of 4/4 – it does not originate from the initial C as in Common Time.
Motet ‘fun’ facts
The tenor (from the Latin tenere – ‘to hold’) is the lowest voice of the motet. It is a quoted fragment from a plainchant
as the whole chant is not used nor is the text of the tenor sung. The motetus (or duplum) is the next to lowest line.
The triplum is the third lowest line. In the case of a four-voiced motets, the top line is called the quadruplum.
The term motet itself is derived from the Old French word “mot” meaning word.
Why do isorhythmic motets have long titles?
Isorhythmic motets are given long three part titles such as the one on the listening example, Tribum que non
abhoruit/Quoniam secta latronum/Merito hec patimur. This is because each motet is named after the three different
texts used. The first part is named for the opening text in the upper most voice, the middle part for the middle voice and
the last part is named for the opening text of the tenor or the original plainchant. To make things easier, we often
abbreviate motet titles to just the first word of the first two texts: i.e. Tribum/Quoniam

12. 28
discovered that de Vitry adapted some text from the Roman poet Ovid, and a responsory
(a type of plainchant) sung during 3rd
Sunday of Lent for the tenor. In this way, anyone
familiar with the tune of the plainchant might also recall its meaning and thus the overall
concept of the motet might be understood.
The imagery used in the text: gallos (literally translated as roosters) is a pun on the word
Gaul which is another name for the French. The fox (vulpes) is an evil power hungry
man who was hanged at the pillory when his crimes became known. The blind lion is
Philip IV, the good king who was blind to the troubles around him.
Text of the triplum
Tribum que no abhorruit
indecenter ascendere
furibunda non metuit
Fortuna cito vertere
dum duci prefate tribus
in sempiternum speculum
parare palam omnibus
non pepercit patibulum.
Populus ergo venturus
si trans metam ascenderit,
quidam forsitan casurus
cum tanta tribus ruerit
sciat ediam quis fructus
delabi sit in profundum.
Post zephyros plus ledit hyems, post gaudia luctus;
unde nihil melius quam nil habuisse secundum.
Translation of the triplum
Furious Fortune did not fear
to turn quickly against the tribe
that did not recoil from a shameless rise [to power]
when she did not spare the governing leader of the tribe from
the pillory,
to be established as an eternal public example.
Therefore let future generations know that someone who
ascends through fear may perhaps fall, as such a tribe has
fallen.
As for him whose prosperity has sunk to the depth:
Winter coming after warm west winds hurts all the more; after
rejoicing, lamentation is the more painful, whence there is
nothing better than to have had no success.
Text of the duplum
Quoniam secta latronum
spelunca vispilionum
vulpes que Gallos roderat
tempore quo regnaverat
leo cecatus subito
suo ruere merito
in mortem privatam bonis
concinat Gallus Nasonis
dicta que dolum acuunt:
omnia sunt hominum tenui pendencia filo
et subito casu que valuere ruunt.
Translation of the duplum
Since with the plots of thieves and
the den of shady dealers
the fox, which gnawed at the roosters
in the time when the blind lion reigned,
has suddenly been hurled down
to his reward in death and deprived of property,
the rooster sings the sayings of Ovid
which hammer home the point:
All human things hang on a fine thread, and when it breaks
suddenly, they collapse.
Tenor
Merito haec patimur.
Tenor
Justly we suffer these things.

13. 29
Notice that even though this isorhythmic motet begins with the triplum followed in
imitation by the duplum, it is still the tenor [Merito hec patimur] which provides the
overall structural interest. The color of the tenor is taken from the notes of the chant
itself:
Sing this over about 5 times until are familiar with the pitches.
The talea de Vitry used is very simple the rhythmic ratio is short-long-short followed by
a long rest. This is transcribed in our modern 3/2 meter as:
Clap this rhythm out about 5 times (one / one-two / one / rest-two)
When the talea is applied to the color the following tenor is the result.
The whole tenor repeats beginning at 0:55.
Notice also that despite its structural importance, the tenor is not always the “lowest”
pitched voice as in what we expect from the bass in modern harmony.
The history of polyphonic music from organum to the isorhythmic motet marks the
beginning of notated counterpoint, the technique essential to music of the Renaissance
and the Baroque, such as canons and fugues. Counterpoint is the art of composing music
that is created by playing two or more different melodies at the same time.9
Bear in mind
that the theory of harmony (i.e. chord progressions) was not created until the 18th
century.
Up until that time, composition was conceived contrapuntally where “right and wrong”
notes were determined by what order intervals sounded consonant or dissonant.
9
The term counterpoint comes from the Latin puncta contra puncta (literally: “point against point” or
“note against note”).

14. 30
The Renaissance (1400-1600)
The term Renaissance (which means “re-birth”) was coined by 19th
century scholars to
set it apart from Petrarch’s biased appellation “Dark Ages.”10
According to conventional
history textbooks, the Renaissance was an age of discovery and humanism. There was a
revived emphasis in the culture of the ancient classical ages of the Greeks and Romans.
The “re-discovery” of their art influenced sculptors and painters, and the re-discovery of
their literary works became models for poets and writers. Books, which were before a
highly prized possession and available only to the wealthy and monasteries, were no
longer a rarity thanks to Guttenberg’s printing press. Copies of works of classical
authors, covering everything from medicine and astronomy to politics and philosophy,
became widely distributed. Because of this push toward literacy, people began to
question the accepted intellectual authority of the Church.
The Reformation
What is considered by many to be the most significant event in the Renaissance is the
Reformation. The Reformation began as an accident. It started when a former German
law student turned devout monk and theology professor named Martin Luther (1483-
1546) grew frustrated at what he saw as corruption in Church practices. In an act of
protest, he wrote 95 statements (theses), pointing out what he saw as inconsistencies in
doctrine, and nailed them to the front door of the church at Wittenberg. 11
He wanted the
Church to correct the practice of selling indulgences (i.e. allowing people to purchase
their way into Heaven).12
He ended up being condemned for heresy.
On Luther’s side however, were the printers, the German language, and the German
nobles, who in this age of newfound literacy and humanism, no longer feared the threat
of the Pope.13
They broke ties with the Church and began to call themselves Lutherans.
Soon other Protestant groups began to emerge and they began creating their own
liturgical practices in music using vernacular languages instead of Latin! Luther himself
was a musician, wrote hymns and highly regarded the music of Josquin.
Musical Renaissance
Musicians wanted to get in on the act of reviving ancient culture too, but nothing existed
except for a few writings about music. In the 15th
century a theorist named Tinctoris
remarked that nothing before John Dunstaple was worth studying. In the middle of the
16th century, an Italian theorist named Zarlino thought that the music written in his day
surely must be just as good as that of the ancient Greeks and singled out the composer
Adrian Willaert and compared him to Pythagoras. Zarlino then wrote a treatise called
10
Terry Jones’ 8-part BBC documentary and book, Medieval Lives really helps set Petrarch’s
conventional record straight for the non-medievalist. Check it out from your local library.
11
Before he became entered the priesthood, Luther was a law student. If anything, the power of his
language alone makes the 95 Theses (Oct. 31, 1517) a good read and preparation for good debate. I hold it
up with the Declaration of Independence (1776) as two of the most important documents of the past 1,000
years. Tremendous value the power of language to shake up the political system of the modern world
12
Actually I am reminded of the 95 Theses every time I have a student who slacked off a course but then is
shocked when he received a “D.” He’d usually state something like, “Yeah…well I am paying for my
education therefore I deserve an A.” – Ah yes. The Power and Efficacy of Grade Inflation.
13
History has demonstrated that the Papacy and European nobility almost always fought each other!

15. 31
Le istitutioni harmoniche (The Harmonic Foundations) that dealt with how to set the
words of a text to music in the most effective and expressive manner. This work
influenced the polyphony of composers such as Palestrina and Victoria. (see below)
Some Characteristics of Renaissance Music
In the Renaissance, the term motet took on a WHOLE NEW MEANING. After 1400
motet refers to any polyphonic setting of a sacred Latin text. Practically all of the major
composers of the period wrote motets.
Imitation is an important compositional trait of the motet. It means that a short melodic
or rhythmic idea introduced in one vocal part is successively repeated in the remaining
voices. These short melodic or rhythmic ideas are called motives or subjects. Motives
can be anywhere from 2 to 8 notes long. Sometimes the imitation of motives begins on a
different pitch than the original. It also might not accurately reproduce the intervallic
relationships or rhythms of the original but it will sound close enough for it to be
considered imitation. After the motive has “run its course” through all voices, the vocal
line has two options: 1) It could drop out until its next entrance, or 2) it could continue
with free counterpoint until it reaches a cadence. Free counterpoint is music without
defined a theme.
Renaissance composers were also very fond of text-music relationships. For example if
the text was about rising up to the heavens, the music would rise to the upper registers.
This procedure is called “word-painting”, and was specifically mentioned by Zarlino as
a characteristic of good music.
Later Renaissance composers such as Carlo Gesualdo and Thomas Weelkes took word-
painting to extremes and made full use of dissonances when they wrote their madrigals in
the later part of the Renaissance.
Counter-Reformation
Compelled to act on the reform movements begun by Martin Luther, leaders of the
Catholic Church meet from 1545 to 1563 to address these problems. This was known as
the Council of Trent. As music was a big part of the Catholic worship service, the
Council also discussed concerns with music which had arisen over the past few hundred
years. Four of the major complaints were:
• The use of secular melodies as cantus firmus in sacred works. – This would be
comparable to taking a melody from Led Zeppelin and turning it into a Mass.
(Don’t worry, I do it all the time for my class examples as in Missa Gradus ad caelum ;-)
• Complex polyphony made it impossible to understand the words. – As we
have discovered with the isorhythmic motets.
• An Irreverent attitude of church musicians – some musicians thought of
church music as just another paying “gig” (…and this has changed, how?!?)
• Inappropriate use of instruments – certain instruments were not deemed
appropriate for use in church (like electric guitars and drums before 1990).
Zarlino’s treatise seemed to solve some of these issues, as we shall see with the next
composer.

16. 32
Timeline of the Renaissance Period ca. 1400-1600
Date Event in Music Other Events in History
1400 CE End of Papal Schism (1417)
1430 CE Nuper rosarum flores by Dufay is
performed at the dedication of the Dom
in Florence (1436)
Joan of Arc is executed (1431)
1450 CE Gutenberg prints Bible from movable type (1454)
1470 Tinctoris writes on the Art of
Counterpoint (1477)
Henry Tudor defeats Richard III and becomes Henry VII
of England (1485)
1490s Missa L'homme arme super voces by
Josquin des Prez
Columbus first voyage across Atlantic (1492)
1500 Compositions by Josquin, Obrecht and
Isaac published in print.
Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa (1503)
Henry VIII becomes King of England (1509)
1510 Adrian Willaert composes at San
Marco’s Basilica in Venice (1527)
Early Italian Madrigal (1529)
Martin Luther’s 95 theses criticizing the Church
begins the Reformation (1517)
Rome sacked by Reformers (1527)
Henry VIII splits from Catholic church marries Anne
Boleyn (1533)
1540 Dodekachordon written by the theorist
Glarean increases number of modes
from 8 to 12.
Tomas Luis de Victoria is born (1548)
Nicolaus Copernicus publishes Concerning the
Revolutions of the Orbs in the Heavens (1543) This is
‘revolutionary’ work which moved the center of the
Universe from the Earth to the Sun.
Counter-Reformation begins at Council of Trent
(1546-1563).
1550 Pope Marcellus Mass by Palestrina
(1555)
Zarlino writes a landmark text on
contrapuntal composition – it
influences composers of theCounter-
Reformation.
Victoria writes O Magnum Mysterium
(1572)
England struggles with Reformation:
Edward VI rules 1545-1552 (Protestant)
Mary I rules 1553-1558 (Catholic)
Elizabeth I rules 1558-1603 (Protestant)
In Paris, Protestants are massacred (1572)
Irish Catholics massacred by English, English begin
Protestant settlements of Northern Ireland. (1579)
1580 Italian madrigals come to England in the
publication Musica Transalpina (1588)
Ballet emerges in France (1589)
Spain occupies Portugal (1580)
Mary Queen of Scots is executed (1587)
English defeat the Spanish Armada (1587)
1590 Deaths of composers Palestrina and
Orlando di Lassus (1594)
Shakespeare writes Romeo and Juliet (1594)
Giordano Bruno is burnt at stake for his theory of the
universe; similar to the Copernican theory (1599)

17. 33
Tomas Luis de Victoria
O magnum mysterium
Name: Tomas Luis de Victoria
Pronunciation: toe-MAHS loo-EES deh veek-TOE-ree-ah
Dates: b. 1548; d. August 20, 1611
Nationality: Spanish
Testable Title: O magnum mysterium / O Great Mystery
2nd
piece: Missa O magnum mysterium / O Great Mystery Mass
Date Composed: 16th
Century
Genre: Renaissance Motet | Counter-Reformation Mass
Instrumentation: Voices
Listen for: paired imitation of voices, word painting, uses of chromaticism, text
Pieces for Comparison: Viderunt Omnes, Tribum/Quoniam, Crucifixus
Tomas Luis de Victoria
Tomas Luis de Victoria is considered to be the greatest Spanish composer of the High
Renaissance. He lived in Rome for over 20 years where he served as organist and
choirmaster in the Jesuit Collegio Germanico before joining the Order of Oratorians. In
1587 he returned to Spain and served in the private chapel of the Dowager Empress
Maria, sister of King Philip II.
The Palestrina Style
Throughout the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, Spanish and Roman composers
had close ties because Spain and Rome were loyal to the Catholic Church. It is assumed
that while he was in Rome, Victoria studied with another giant of the Counter-
Reformation, Giovani Pierluigi da Palestrina.
Some of the features of the Palestrina Style include:
• Diatonic melodies that move stepwise in an arched line. (i.e. connecting the notes
going up C-D-E-F-G- then back down G-F-E-D-C), very little chromaticism
• Careful control of consonances and dissonances. (based on Zarlino’s treatise)
o Dissonances (i.e. seconds, fourths, and sevenths) are introduced on weak
beats and must resolve to a consonance.
o Consonances (i.e. intervals of unisons, thirds, and sixths) usually occur on
strong beats.
The works of Palestrina later influenced the contrapuntal writing of Baroque and
Classical Era composers. The are also utilized by modern educators when teaching four-
part chorale writing. Today, when one speaks of the Palestrina Style, it is usually meant
as a general term referring to all polyphonic church music.
O Magnum Mysterium
Victoria’s four voiced motet, O Magnum Mysterium was performed during the Feast of
the Circumcision (January 1st
). Victoria later used the opening motive as the cantus
firmus of his mass Missa O magnum mysterium.

18. 34
Victoria developed a style which combines Palestrina’s Roman qualities with his own
Spanish sensibility of drama. He adopted Palestrina’s polyphonic style, but added
chromatic notes. Another characteristic feature of Victoria is his use of melodic “leaps.”
He demonstrates this in the opening of the motet. The melody leaps down an interval of
a 5th
and then leaps back to its original pitch. Palestrina would have returned to the first
pitch using a stepwise melodic line linking “ma-” to “-gnum” (i.e. D-E-F-G-A)
Notice also the word-painting here. Victoria sets a mysterious mood by opening with a
whole note on the word “O” then makes a ‘great’ leap down and back up on the word
magnum (Latin for “great”). The composer thus draws attention to the significance of the
“great mystery” of the birth of Jesus Christ.
The opening of this work is also a great example of paired imitation. Paired imitation
occurs when two voices enter in close proximity to each other using the same motive. It
is worth noting that the 2nd
voice enters on D, not on A, meaning that it imitates a 5th
below the original. This becomes a staple feature of fugues in the following centuries.
Victoria only wrote sacred music. These included over twenty settings of the Mass, a
number of Magnificats, Lamentations, responsories, anthems, psalms, motets and hymns.
Text of the Motet
O magnum mysterium, et admirabile
Sacramentum, ut animalia
Viderent Dominum natum,
Iacentem in praesepio.
O beata Virgo,
Cuius viscera meruerunt portare
Dominum Iesum Christum. Alleluia.
Translation
O great mystery and wondrous
Sacrament, that the animals
Should see the Lord newly born,
Lying in a manger.
O blessed Virgin,
Whose womb was worth of delivering
The Lord Jesus Christ. Alleluia.
Text of the Mass
Kyrie eleison
Christe eleison
Kyrie eleison
Translation
Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy
Mass Titles
Because Masses all used the same text (the ordinaries from the Mass) they are named after the
chant used for the cantus firmus. For example, Missa L’homme Arme is translated as Mass - The
Armed Man. The Armed Man was a popular secular tune during the Renaissance.