MUSC 752 Lecture 13: The Development of Polyphony

I. Polyphony - Early stages

A. Vertical troping

1. Between 515 and 900, monks or priests began improvising second

line above or below chant lines

2. First mention in theoretical treatise by Regino of Prumn (c. 870)

a. Uses term organum

b. To describe sounding of more than 1 line of music at once

B. First examples Musica et Schola Enchiriadis (c. 890)

1. Exs. of strict (parallel) organum

a. New voice added below chant, at parallel 4th, 5th, or 8ve

b. Try from Te Deum p. 196, 3rd line

c. Ex. – See page 339 in text: Te Deum

2. Also explains composite organum

a. As above, but then each voice doubled at octave

i. principales – chant line

ii. organales – added line

b. Fuller sound

c. Ex. p. 339 Sit Gloria Domini

3. Free organum or modified parallel organum described in Musica

Enchiriadas

a. Voices begin on unison

b. Move to parallel 4ths through oblique or contrary motion

c. Proceed in parallel 4ths until approaching end of phrase

d. Then collapse back to unison

e. Exs. 8-3 and 8-4 page 340: Sequence Rex Caeli

4. NB: All improvised practices – extant “pieces” are illustrations

C. Also some examples in Micrologus of Guido of Arezzo (see Yudkin p. 341)

1. Strict organum still in use

2. Guido concentrates more on free organum

a. Vox organales allowed to cross principales

b. Parallel, oblique, and contrary motion

c. Cadences via convergence to unison

d. One note in organales to several in principales permitted

e. Sing Veni ad docendum

D. Early composed polyphony in manuscripts

1. Winchester Troper (c. 1025)

a. Added parts actually separate in mss.

b. Mostly settings of Alleluia, responsories, sequences

c. Added voice below chant

d. mostly note v. note

e. Voice crossings

f. See example from facsimile

aa. non-diastematic notation

bb. Almost impossible to decipher

g. Ex: See pp. 342-243 polyphonic alleluia

i. Note qualities mentioned above

ii. And regularity of cadences

iii. How are they constructed?

2. Chartres fragments

a. Several Alleluia settings

b. Acceptable intervals expanded to 6th

c. Added voice like independent melody

d. Only solo portions of chants set as organum

E. Theoretical treatises of time describe division of styles

1. Older, note v. note style of polyphony = discant

2. Newer - organum

a. Added vs. has short melismas against single notes of chant

b. aka melismatic organum

3. Organum also used to describe entire body of polyphonic song

F. Ad Organum Faciendum (c. 1100) - "How to do Organum"

1.  Vox principales BELOW organales

2.  Becomes the method for creating polyphonic music for next 200 years

3. Ex: p. 345 Example 8-8

a. What are the "rules" of composing polyphony at this time, based on the

example?

b. What intervals are acceptable?

i. 8ve, 5th, 4th

ii. 3rds and 6ths

iii. 2nds if expanding from or contracting to unison

c. How many notes in organales to each note in principales?

i. Several notes in added voice to 1 in chant line

c. Only solo portions set polyphonically

i. Why?

ii. Practicality - coordination of parts

4. Examples suggest that they were composed on paper, rather than improvised

and then written down

G. 12th century sources

1. Aquitanian (St. Martial) Polyphony

a. From Southern France - duchy of Aquitaine

b. Show facsimile of notation

i. Again, notated in parts rather than score

c. More varied items set polyphonically than in Winchester Troper

i. Tropes and sequences

ii. But also sacred, but probably non-liturgical, songs

d. Displays clear division between discant and organum

i. Organum often on penultimate syllables

ii. Neume v. neume

iii. Sounds both more controlled and less rigid

e. What else is different?

i. Greater variety of intervals employed

ii. Many approached by leap, not step

2. Codex Calixtinus

a. Santiago de Compostela

b. Mostly settings of responsories for mass and office of feast of St. James

Benedicamus, sacred songs

i. Though are other items

ii. See Example 8-10 on page 352

iii. Polyphonic setting of Kyrie trope we looked at last time –

Kyrie Cunctipotens genitor

c. Choice of styles depending on piece, ex:

i. Responsories = organum

ii. Sacred songs = discant

d. Though distinction between styles sometimes not clear

i. See Example 8-11 Nostra Phalans (show facsimile?)

aa. Versus sung by pilgrims en route (probably)

bb. Both voices seem to be newly composed

ii. Note:

aa. Great variety of intervals used - some incidental 2nds

and 7ths

bb. Balance of contrary and parallel motion, but more use of

the former

iii. Listen

H. Limitations of organum

1. One of the two voices had to remain pretty simple to coordinate voices

2. Realistically, only 2 people could sing

a. Coordination of vcs.

b. So could only set solo portions of chants

3. Something had to give

a. Need way to have notation convey rhythmic, as well as pitch

values, before rhythms can get more complicated

b. Earliest surviving examples seem to indicate that this happened

at Notre Dame in Paris