#musiquemédiévale

[tarukosensei]

À l'heure où le ciel se pare de pourpre

[deborahdeshoftim5779]

The pure sound of the French Middle Ages, as epitomised by Philippe de Vitry. Here is Tribum, que non abhorruit/quonam secta latronum/merito hec patimur. 

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Gace Brulé (1160-1213): Quant voi la flour boutener

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Another medieval composer who is new to me as of today, a Jehan de Lescurel- Abundance de felonnie. If that translates the way it sounds, then one can hardly be surprised, since de Lescurel was also a thief and suspected murderer (though this may be inaccurate). Jokes aside, this entertaining piece is offset by wonderful illuminated calligraphy. 

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Guillaume de Machaut- J’aim sans penser

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Guillaume de Machaut- Tres douce dame que j’aour

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A new medieval composer I discovered today by virtue of the Youtube Autoplay function. Gace Brulé (ca. 1160- after 1213). Apparently he was a prominent poet and landowner from Champagne. This is Li consirrers de mon païs. 

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Guillaume de Machaut- Amours me fait désirer et amer

[deborahdeshoftim5779]

Messe de Nostre Dame, by Guillaume de Machaut

Although Guillaume de Machaut (1300- c.1377) wasn’t the first composer to complete settings for the Mass, he may have been the first to compile all parts into one. This is therefore the earliest known setting of the Ordinary Mass to music. In this great work (filled out by Gregorian Chant by this particular choir), Machaut combines isophony, polyphony, chant, and dissonance. 

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Anonymous: Tourdion: Quand je bois du vin clairet. 

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Lais et Virelais de Guillaume de Machaut. 

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Guillaume de Machaut- Esperance Qui M’Asseüre

A haunting 2-way ballade in which Machaut the importance of hope in love. 

[deborahdeshoftim5779]

Guillaume de Machaut- Puisque ma dolour

One of my favourite Virelais by Guillaume de Machaut, with evocative words about the sweetness of pain in love. 

[deborahdeshoftim5779]

Guillaume de Machaut, Ma fan est mon commencement et mon commencement est ma fin. 

This clever rondeau involves a theme which is then sung backwards in isorhythm. Evidently, the art of writing musical palindromes preceded Bach by centuries! 

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Anonymous music from the 9th Century: Muspilli- Fragment

[deborahdeshoftim5779]

Listened to «Messe de Tournai» this morning while completing my Writing Sprint. Asides from the beauty and purity of this music and its being the genesis of Western musical history, it struck me that this was the template of French poet-composer Guillaume de Machaut (1300- ca.1377). When listening to the Credo, I was struck by passages which are similar to the Credo inside Machaut’s «Messe de Nostre Dame». 

And so I realised that de Machaut would have learned from these works, which seems strange, given that Machaut’s music is over 800 years old. But every composer learned from another, and de Machaut certainly wasn’t the first composer to write a Mass. An excellent explanation of “Organum” is available here. The most famous proponents were Léonin, Pérotin, and L’École de Notre-Dame. An important section from the Britannica is this:

More likely, however, melismatic organum reflected the free melodic flow of Oriental music with which crusaders in particular must have been thoroughly familiar. Characteristically, Léonin’s two-part compositions were quickly superseded by the rhythmically solid three- and four-part organa of his successor Pérotin, or Perotinus.

I have often noted a great similarity between the Eastern style chant, most notably in Eastern Orthodox liturgy, and the beginnings of Western polyphonic chant. This link between East and West thoroughly shatters the stereotype that medieval people were ignorant about the world, or that Europe was “backwards”. In fact, I was astonished to learn in this documentary that the Normans controlled lands such as Sicily in which they were familiar with the Eastern religion of Islam during the Middle Ages. (Documentary is in French). So it makes sense that musical styles combined during this time. Personally, I believe that the true root of Western Christian polyphony comes from Jewish liturgy and I have many examples to support this. Someone ought to study that link, if it has not been done already. 

But the work of Léonin, Pérotin, and L’École de Notre-Dame (many composed anonymously) has really expanded my understanding of Western music history as a whole. Highly recommended video.