Polyphony in Medieval Paris
The Art of Composing with Plainchant

Redefines musical analysis for a period that marks the beginnings of composition as we know it now.

Catherine A. Bradley (Author)

9781108418584, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 9 August 2018

298 pages, 4 b/w illus. 20 tables 61 music examples
25.3 x 18 x 1.9 cm, 0.77 kg

'… this remarkable study … constitutes an undeniably important contribution to the revival of musicological thought on the motet of Ars Antiqua … the reader will be rewarded by the beautiful immersion it offers in the workshop polyphonic writing of the thirteenth century, and the spectacle offered by the richness and virtuosity of its composition processes.' Gaël Saint-Cricq, translated from Revue de musicology

Polyphony associated with the Parisian cathedral of Notre Dame marks a historical turning point in medieval music. Yet a lack of analytical or theoretical systems has discouraged close study of twelfth- and thirteenth-century musical objects, despite the fact that such creations represent the beginnings of musical composition as we know it. Is musical analysis possible for such medieval repertoires? Catherine A. Bradley demonstrates that it is, presenting new methodologies to illuminate processes of musical and poetic creation, from monophonic plainchant and vernacular French songs, to polyphonic organa, clausulae, and motets in both Latin and French. This book engages with questions of text-music relationships, liturgy, and the development of notational technologies, exploring concepts of authorship and originality as well as practices of quotation and musical reworking.

List of figures
List of tables
List of musical examples
Acknowledgements
Manuscript sigla
Abbreviations
A note on transcriptions and numbering systems
Introduction
1. Plainchant in polyphony: the gradual Propter Veritatem in organa, clausulae and motets
2. Mini clausulae and the Magnus Liber Organi
3. Texting clausulae: repetition and regularity on the Regnat tenor
4. Transcribing motets: vernacular refrain melodies in Magnus Liber clausulae
5. Framing motets: quoting and crafting refrains against plainchant tenors
6. Intertextuality, song and female voices in motets on a Saint Elizabeth of Hungary tenor
7. From Florence to Fauvel: re-reading musical paradigms through a long-lived Iohanne motet
8. Conclusions
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Medieval history [HBLC1], Musical scores, lyrics & libretti [AVQ], Medieval & Renaissance music [c 1000 to c 1600 AVGC2], Music reviews & criticism [AVC]