January 15, 2014
Music Manuscripts 12th to the 14th Century
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Manuscripts from the 12th-14th centuries NEED TO KNOW THE NAMES OF THESE
MANUSCRIPTS
12th Century
o Gothic: music associated with the cathedrals in the 12th and 13th centuries
o Vertical Ideas
 Tall spires, steeply sloped roofs, flying buttresses
 Tall, thin windows
 Ornate details
 Same applies to music of this time
The Magnus Liber Organi
o Latin for “Great Book of Organum”
 Organum: means multiple voices(aka polyphony)
 Not written at the same time
 Started as a book of chants for religious services at the Notre Dame
cathedral
 Over time, masters added chants and more voices to the book
 Evolved over time
 Started in the 11th Century and edited across centuries
 Associated with year 1300
o Notre Dame cathedral was one of the great cathedrals of Europe
 Why we have a knowledge of medieval music today
 Because they wrote down all the music performed in the services
 It’s an institutional memory
 We have no knowledge of music outside of church services
o Gregorian chant
 Called for the Great Pope Greggory (Saint Greggory I)
 Didn’t write the music, but wrote it down as the word of God.
 By definition, chants are believed to be the word of God
o Excerpt from the organi
 3 staves
 Lowest voice has 4 lines on the staff
 Two higher voices have five lines
 Lower voice doesn’t need five lines because it come from
Gregorian chant (the range doesn’t span enough lines)
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Upper voices are added in the 13th century when ranges are larger
and therefore need 5 lines
 Lower voice is the Tenor
 Voice that carries the chant will be called the tenor
 Not the same Tenor as we know it today
o From latin “Tenere” which means to carry
 Middle voice is the Duplum
 Top voice is called the Triplum
 If 4 voices, 4th is the quadruplum
 Composition process:
 Originally the Gregorian chant
 Years later, the duplum will be added, then the triplum, etc…
 Voices are melismatic
 There is a very accurate representation of pitch in this diestymatic
notation
 However, there is still not an indication of rhythm
 Modal rhythm: just set rhythmic patterns that are known
 Perotin:
 We say he is the “composer” of the work, when in reality he
ascribed the upper voices
 “Alleluia nativitas” - name of the excerpt
 Organum from the Notre Dame cathedral will always be the easiest to
identify
 1st note of chant sung for a few seconds by all voice groups
 Then the triplet-like rhythm begins for the upper voices
o A lilting kind of repetitive rhythm
 If you hear this, the excerpt will be from the Magnus Liber Organi
 Upper voices are composed against the tenor with no consideration for
how they work together or our modern conceptions of counterpoint
 If voices cross, they cross, if there are dissonances, there are
dissonances
o Notre Dame Cathedral is an institution for Men
The Codex Las Huelgas
o Spain
o Music in the codex comes from the 13th century
o Is a Nunnery/Convent
o Excerpt is Damaged- looks like post-notation
 However they will repair a rip/hole and write around it because they
didn’t want to waste velum
 Large initial: will always cover the beginning staves
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In this excerpt the initial covers two staves, so we know there are
two voices
 This excerpt does not have a Tenor line-aka no voice that stays put
 This one has two equal voices
 We assume the original chant is in there somewere, however it is
not apparent on the page
 Manuscripts for Women singing tend to have a bit wider range than
others written for men
 Much-less professionally written compared to the Notre Dame Organum
 Note the similarities between the Notre Dame excerpt and the Las
Huelgas:
 Have the same sustained note at the beginning before beginning a
lilting rhythm
The Montpellier Codex
o Montpellier, France
 Important because it is a secular manuscript, NOT sacred
 336 pieces from the late 13th-century
 Likely compiled around 1300
o Contains:
 Triple motets
 Historiated Manuscript
 Lots of love songs
 Excerpt:
 2 Historiated initials, One larger initial
o 3 voice parts:
 Secular manuscripts tend to keep voices not scored
up, saves room on the page
 Unlike sacred texts, this page the voice parts are
vertical
 However, the look of the page is very long, very
Gothic
 Performance practice plays a large role in the recording of the music from
the manuscripts
 The manuscripts do not give specific directions to performance
 A lot is open to interpretation
 It is all about how you communicate to everyone the first pitch of
the pieces