University of Wisconsin-Green Bay

Literature and Styles in Music I

Music of the Fourteenth Century

I The Ars Nova in France

A. "Ars Nova," a treatise by Philippe de Vitry (1291-1361) treatise, compares the "new path" of the first half of the 14th century with the Ars Antiqua of the 13th century

Ars Novae Musicae by Jean de Muris also celebrates the "new art" of the 14th century
Speculum Musicae ("The Mirror of Music," ca. 1325) by Jacob de Liege defends the "old" art of the late 13th century against the "modern" style
Roman de Fauvel: satirical manuscript containing a number of compositions by de Vitry and others

B. Innovations Associated with the Ars Nova

Notation: acceptance of duple (imperfect) division as well as with traditional triple division of units of measurement
Isorhythmic Motet
- New type of motet with tenor part organized in terms of talea and color
  - Talea = rhythmic pattern
  - Color = set of intervals
- Talea and color not always of the same length; often overlapping
- Isorhythm used as a tool of organization for long pieces
  - Generally only in tenor, but occas. other parts as well
- Abstract quality of concealed formal organization is typical of Medieval approach

II Guillaume de Machaut (1304-77)

A. Secretary to King John of Bohemia; also known as poet

B. Wide variety of genres: mass, motets, monophonic secular songs, polyphonic secular songs

C. Motets

Six large ceremonial motets in Latin
23 secular motets with instrumental tenor and two texts in French (courtly love tradition)
Tenors (borrowed from chant) organized in isorhythm
Upper voices occas. show rhythmic complexity, incl. "hocket" rhythms

D. Monophonic Songs (continuation of Trouvere tradition)

Frequently use "Fixed Forms"
- Lais (form like sequence: a bb cc dd x)
- Virelais (Chansons Balladees): A b b a

E. Polyphonic Secular Songs

Virelai (A b b a)
Rondeau (A B a A a b A B)
- some examples with complex counterpoint
Ballades (a a b C)
- quintessential example of "cantilena" or "ballade" style, e.g., solo voice with two supporting, slower moving instrumental parts
- new emphasis on lyricism of melodic line
- more "modern" sense of melodic order

F. Notre Dame Mass (Messe de Notre Dame)

One of first masses conceived as a cycle (cf. "composite" masses, e.g. "Mass of Tournai")
Larger scale than earlier masses
Relatively homogeneous mood and style; also unified to some extent by recurring motive
Some movements in declamatory style, e.g., Gloria and Credo
- texture is conductus-like (i.e., homophonic) with parallel progressions, chromatic chords
Some movements in motet style (i.e., freely polyphonic, with isorhythmic organization of tenor part)
- tenor and contratenor and occasionally upper parts are periodic, i.e., with cadences at regular intervals, giving more "sectional" quality that in secular motets
Performance practice: tenor and contratenor possibly instrumental, or instruments doubling voices
- some interludes for instruments alone
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