Guillaume Du Fay’s L’Homme armé

02 Friday Apr 2021

Posted by michelinewalker in Music, polyphony, The Church

Tags

L'Homme armé, Liturgical Music, madrigals, music, polyphony, Sacred & Secular, the Franco-Flemish School, the Venetian School

*L’homme armé* in the *Mellon Chansonnier*, c. 1470

In the 15^th century, musical compositions, both liturgical and secular, often blended several independent voices. Such compositions are labelled polyphonic. Polyphony is a musical texture blending independent voices as do Barbershop quartets.

Secular madrigals, songs in the mother (madre, Spanish) tongue, had been monophonic (one voice), but they were a form used in the development of polyphonic music. So was the Motet, liturgical music. Polyphony could at times blend more than the soprano, alto, tenor and bass (SATB), the four voices we are most familiar with. But more importantly, a Mass by Guillaume Du Fay combined the sacred and the secular. The Ordinary of the Mass was set to L’Homme armé (the armed man) a secular theme. A Mass’ permanent components constitute the Ordinary of the Mass.

Guillaume Du Fay (5 August 1397 – 27 November 1474), the most prominent composer of the 15^th century, was associated with the Burgundian School. The Burgundian School was a close predecessor to the Franco-Flemish School. In the 15^th century and during most of the 16^th century, the Netherlands were the cultural hub of Europe. For instance, Adrian Williaert (c. 1490 – 7 December 1562), of the Franco-Flemish school, would be a teacher in Venice. He founded the Venetian School.

L’Homme armé (Wikipedia) was a very popular tune. “Over 40 settings of the Ordinary of the Mass using the tune L’Homme armé survive from the period between 1450 and the end of the 17^th century.” (See L’Homme armé, Wikipedia.)

Du Fay set the Missa L’Homme armé to a cantus firmus “a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition” (Wikipedia). However, the pre-existing melody was L’Homme armé, the armed man.

Composers still write sacred music. Examples are Benjamin Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) and John Rutter (b. 1945). Earlier, Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) wrote his Grande Messe des morts or Requiem.

In fact, L’Homme armé is still used. Pieces on L’Homme armé are listed in its Wikipedia entry. British composer Peter Maxwell Davies composed “a parody mass Missa super L’Homme armé (1968, revised 1971).” Canadian pianist and composer Marc-André Hamelin (b. 1961) wrote Toccata on “L’Homme Armé” “on commission by the Van Cliburn Foundation for the Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Every competitor was required to perform it in the preliminary stage of the competition.” (See L’Homme armé, Wikipedia.)

I should also mention rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, with music by Andrew Lloyd-Webber (b. 1948) and lyrics by Tim Rice (b. 1944). The rock opera does not use L’Homme armé, but it is a theater musical based on a Christian theme.

One never forgets L’Homme armé.

RELATED ARTICLES

Feasts & Liturgy (page)

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Love to everyone 💕

L’Homme armé de Guillaume Du Fay

Marc-André Hamelin performs his Toccata on “L’Homme armé”

Du Fay (left), with Gilles Binchois in a c. 1440 Illuminated manuscript copy of Martin le Franc’s *Le champion des dames*^{[n 1]} (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Posts on the Mass as a Musical Form

07 Wednesday Jan 2015

Posted by michelinewalker in Feasts, Liturgy, Mass

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Canonical Hours, Liturgical Music, polyphony, Second Vatican Council, the Divine Office, the Mass, the Ordinary, the Proper

Decorated_Incipit_Page_-_Google_Art_Project_(6850309)

Decorated Incipit (the beginning words) page to the Gospel of Matthew, 1120–1140 (Caption and photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Mass

Musicologists study liturgical music. Lay music has existed for a long time. There have been troubadours, trouvères and minnesinger who wrote and sang humble songs. However, the development of polyphony, intertwined voices, was achieved by the composers of madrigals and sacred music. These compositions are the birthplace of harmony and counterpoint.

The Mass, or Eucharist, is the “central act of worship” (see Mass, Wikipedia) in the Catholic Church. But Monks living in monasteries also observe the Canonical Hours as determined in the Rule of Benedict, which has now been used for 1,500 years.

The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), convened by Pope John XXIII, introduced the use of the vernacular in Mass, formerly said in Latin. Benedictines, the order founded by Benedict of Nursia (c. 480 – 543 or 547 CE), were not affected by this change. It was decided that they would continue to use the Liber Usualis, a book of Latin-language Gregorian chant, compiled by the monks of the Abbey of Solesmes, France, during the 19th century.

Monks celebrate Mass, but they also observe the liturgy of the Hours, called Canonical Hours, or the Divine Office. (See Canonical Hours or the Divine Office in RELATED ARTICLES.)

The Ordinary and the Proper

Mass has components used every day. These constitute the “ordinary” of the Mass. Masses, however, may also include the “proper,” components added on special days or occasions, such as a Requiem Mass, a Mass for the Dead.

RELATED ARTICLES

Epiphany: Balthasar, Melchior & Gaspar (6 January 2013)
Liturgy as a Musical Form: the Hours and the Mass (7 December 2012)
Components of the Mass as a Musical Form (19 December 2011)
Liturgy as a Musical Form (15 December 2011)
Canonical Hours or the Divine Office (19 November 2011)

Epiphany

Yesterday was Epiphany, the twelfth day of Christmas. Epiphany commemorates the visit in Bethlehem of the kings of Orient.

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The above posts were updated, but the links do not always lead to the correct site. Would that links did not disappear. Videos are sometimes removed, but links should remain.

There is a degree of repetition in the above-listed posts. I try to write my posts as though no one had read former posts on the same subject and therefore repeat what was said earlier.

Wishing all of you a fine weekend.

Agnus Dei, by Samuel Barber