The Motet In The Age Of Du Fay

This page intentionally left blank The Motet in the Age of Du Fay During the lifetime of Guillaume Du Fay (c. 1400–1474) the motet underwent a profound transformation. Because of the protean nature of the motet during this period, problems of definition have always stood in the way of a full understanding of this crucial shift. Through a comprehensive survey of the surviving repertory, Julie Cumming shows that the motet is best understood on the level of the subgenre. She employs new ideas about categories taken from cognitive psychology and evolutionary theory to illuminate the process by which the subgenres of the motet arose and evolved. One important finding is the nature and extent of the crucial role that English music played in the genre’s transformation. Cumming provides a close reading of many little-known pieces; she also shows how Du Fay’s motets were the product of sophisticated experimentation with generic boundaries.   .  is Associate Professor of Music at McGill University, Montreal. The Motet in the Age of Du Fay Julie E. Cumming           The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom    The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia Ruiz de Alarcón 13, 28014 Madrid, Spain Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town 8001, South Africa http://www.cambridge.org © Cambridge University Press 2004 First published in printed format 1999 ISBN 0-511-03782-1 eBook (Adobe Reader) ISBN 0-521-47377-2 hardback ISBN 0-521-54337-1 paperback Contents List of tables List of musical examples Acknowledgments Notes to the reader page vii ix xi xiii Introduction 1 Part I Models and methods 5 1 Approaches and analogies 2 Subgenre, interpretation, and the generic repertory 3 Fifteenth-century uses of the term “motet” Part II Motets in the early fifteenth century: the case of Bologna Q15 4 5 6 7 The motet section of Bologna Q15 and its ramifying roots A new hybrid subgenre: the cut-circle motet Other new hybrid subgenres The motet in the early fifteenth century: evolution and interpretation Part III Motets in the mid-fifteenth century: the case of the Trent Codices 8 Motets in the Trent Codices: establishing the boundaries 7 24 41 63 65 99 125 147 165 167 v Contents 9 10 11 12 English and continental cantilena-style motets Motets with a tenor cantus firmus c. 1430–1450 Freely composed four-voice writing in transition The four-voice motet c. 1450–1475 185 206 228 254 Conclusion 288 Appendix: Widely disseminated motets Notes Bibliography of books and articles Modern editions of music Sources and sigla Notes on the index of works Abbreviations for subgenre identifications Index of works General index 304 306 357 374 379 382 382 384 400 vi Tables 12.1 Relative voice ranges for the motet and their generic associations pages 30 13.1 Settings of antiphon texts in Modena X.1.11 50 13.2 Fifteenth-century manuscripts containing more than five motets 56–7 14.1 Subgenres of the