I just posted a page listing most of my posts on “Feasts & Liturgy.” It is not a complete list and some posts should be edited. At times, music is removed from YouTube, which makes an update necessary. However, unless posts are listed, they are difficult to access. One needs a list, and it is under construction.
Polyphony
This list reflects knowledge and interest I acquired as a student of the history of music, or musicology. The Greeks developed polyphony or music in “parts,” but polyphony developed during the Middle Ages. At the moment, the main ‘parts’ are Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass (SATB). But, as polyphony developed certain composers divided music into a larger number of parts.
If the development of polyphonic music were to be given a location, one of its best lieux would be the Franco-Flemish lands, the cultural hub of Europe before the Renaissance, which began as of the Fall of Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire, on 29 May 1453. Although the Franco-Flemish lands produced fine composers of polyphonic music, it also developed in various European countries such as France, Italian city-states, Spain…
Liturgical and Secular Music
Polyphony developed in medieval Europe, but, as we have seen, it is an invention of the Greek and is called Western Music. Music composed elsewhere had one part and it is called monophonic. The birthplace of polyphony is, for the most part, the Church. Such music is called liturgical (or sacred music) and it encompasses Motets, Masses, Hymns and many other form. The Church needed music, hence the preeminence of liturgical music in the very Christian Middle Ages and its association with the history of music.
Yet, polyphony also has secular roots, the Madrigal, in particular, songs in the mother (madre) tongue.
Monophony
Monophonic music features one part: the melody. Gregorian chant is monophonic and it has its own notation. Troubadours (southern France, trouvères (northern France) and the Minnesang (Germany) composed monophonic secular songs.
Conclusion
I look forward to completing this list and writing more on Feasts, providing some details.
The seasonal antiphon is the Alma Mater Redemptoris. There are four Marian antiphons. The Alma Mater Redemptoris will be sung until 2 February or Candlemas. The best known Alma Mater Redemptoris was composed by Palestrina (c. 1525 – February 1594).
Love to everyone ♥
Palestrina: Alma Redemptoris Mater (Julian Podger, Monteverdi Choir) – YouTube (Julian Podger, Monteverdi Choir)
Mater Dolorosa by Carlo Dolci (25 May 1616 – 17 January 1686) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Marian Antiphons
The Marian year has its seasons and each season has its antiphon. There are four antiphons, one for each Marian season. Antiphons, sometimes called antiphonies, are a call and response hymn. (See Posts on Marian Hymnology.)
Last week, on Good Friday, the seasonal Marian antiphon became the Regina Cæli. It had been the Ave Regina Cælorum, which ends on Good Friday. Good Friday, or ‘holy’ Friday, is the day that commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus of Nazareth, also known as Christ, in whose name Christianity was founded.
As you may know, the growth of polyphony, music combining several voices, is linked to Sacred Music mainly. During the Middle Ages, the Church was the main patron of composers. Most composers therefore became Kappelmeisters. It was their profession.
However, composers such as Italian Luca Marenzio (18 October 1553 or 1554 – 22, August 1599) wrote madrigals, secular music. Marenzio worked for Italian aristocratic families: the Gonzaga, the Este, and theMedici. Madrigals became the leadinggenre during the Renaissance and could be called the secular birthplace of polyphony. The largely courtly madrigal was rooted in the medieval song or chanson.Trouvères (northern France), troubadours[1] (southern France), and Minnesingers (German-speaking lands) wrote and sang chansons.
Piazza San Marco, Venice (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Renaissance
The Renaissance began with the collapse of the Byzantine Empire (Greek), or Eastern Roman Empire. Constantinoplefell to the Ottoman Turks on 29 May 1453 and its Greek scholars fled to Italy. The Ottoman Empire’s Sultanate collapsed on 1 November 1922 and its Caliphate was abolished on 3 March 1924. (See The Last Crusades: the Ottoman Empire.) Constantinople became Istanbul in 1929 and is the largest city in Turkey. The arrival in Italy of Greek scholars escaping the Ottoman Turks would change western Europe profoundly. It ushered in a renaissance (rebirth).
In 1527, Netherlandish composer Adrian Willaert (c. 1490 – 7 December 1562)travelled to Venice, where he had been appointed maestro di cappella at San Marco and taught music. At St. Mark’s Basilica, he had the best of facilities and remained its maestro di cappella until his death in 1552.
Music for Easter
Two years ago, I posted an article entitledMusic for Easter (31 March 2013). That post featured the Regina Cæli, the Easter season’s antiphon. If you wish to listen to Michel Richard de Lalande‘s Regina Cæli, please click on Music for Easter. Music for Easter is a short post also featuring, as does this post, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi‘s (4 January 1710 – 16 March 1736) “Quando corpus morietur.” Pergolesi died at the age of 26, but had already composed several mature works. I love Pergolesi. His “Quando corpus morietur” is inspired music.
Giovanni Legrenzi
Giovanni Legrenzi[3] (baptized 12 August 1626 – 27 May 1690) was a 17th-century Italian composer. By the 17th century, western Europe had entered its Baroque period (1600 – 1750) and composers had started to write operas. However, Legrenzi was first employed as organist at Santa Maria Maggiore, in Bergamo, Italy. In the mid 1650’s, he was maestro di cappella at the Academy of the Holy Spirit in Ferrara. Later, he settled in Venice where he lived comfortably and was named maestro di cappella at San Marco, Venice’s splendid Basilica. In other words, the Church had remained an important employer of musicians.
Ave, Regína cælórum
Ave, Dómina Angelórum,
Sálve rádix, sálve, pórta,
Ex qua múndo lux est órta.
Gáude, Vírgo gloriósa,
Super ómnes speciósa ;
Vále, o valde decóra
Et pro nóbis Christum exóra.
Hail, Queen of the Heavens!
Hail, ruler of the angels!
Hail, root of Jesse! Hail, portal from whom light has shone to the world!
Hail, Virgin most glorious,
Beautiful above all!
Farewell, O most comely,
And pray to Christ for us. (Courtesy of Notre-Dame de Paris)
This post was published mistakenly a few minutes after I started writing it. The “publish” button is next to the “save draft” button. This morning, I realized that my image of San Marco was missing. I decided to insert it, but pressed on the “draft” button instead of the “pending review” button. The post is now dated 5 April 2015.
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.
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.
Students of musicology smile or laugh when they hear the onomatopoeic effects of Clément Janequin‘s Le Chant des oyseaulx.
composer: Clément Janequin (c. 1485 – 1558)
work: Le Chant des oyseaulx
performers: Ensemble Clément Janequin
director: Dominique Visse
Dominique Visse (countertenor), Michel Laplénie (tenor), Philippe Cantor (baritone), Antoine Sicot (bass), Claude Debôves (lute)
1)
Reveillez vous, cueurs endormis/ Le dieu d’amour vous sonne.
À ce premier jour de may/ Oyseaulx feront merveilles/ Pour vous mettre hors d’esmay. / Destoupez vos oreilles./ Et farirariron, Et farirariron, Et farirarison,/
ferely, ioly, ioly, ioly, ioly, ioly,/ Et farirariron, farirariron, ferely, ioly/ Vous serez tous en joye mis,/ Car la saison est bonne.
Awake, sleepy hearts,/ The god of love calls you./ On this first day of May,/ The birds will make you marvel./ To lift yourself from dismay,/ Unclog your ears./ And fa la la la la (etc…)/ You will be moved to joy,/ For the season is good.
2)
Vous orrez, à mon advis,/ Une doulce musique,/ Que fera le roy mauvis,/ D’une voix authentique :/Ti, ti, pi-ti (etc…)/ Rire et gaudir c’est mon devis,/ Chacun s’i habandonne.
You will hear, I advise you,/ A sweet music/ That the royal blackbird will sing/ In a pure voice./ Ti, ti, pi-ti (etc…)/ To laugh and rejoice is my device,/ Each with abandon.
3)
Rossignol du boys joly,/ À qui la voix resonne,/ Pour vous mettre hors d’ennuy
Votre gorge iargonne:/ Fuyez, regretz, pleurs et soucy,/ Car la saison l’ordonne.
Nightingale of the pretty woods,/ Whose voice resounds,/ So you don’t become bored,/ Your throat jabbers away:/ Frian, frian (etc…)/ Flee, regrets, tears and worries,/ For the season commands it.
4)
Arrière; maistre coucou,/ Sortez de no chapitre,/ Chacun vous donne au hibou /
Car vous n’estes qu’un traistre,/ Car vous n’estes qu’un traistre,
Coucou, coucou, coucou, coucou,/ Par tra-i-son,/ en chacun nid,/ Pondez sans qu’on vous sonne,/ Reveillez vous, cueurs endormiz, reveillez vous, / Le dieu d’amours vous sonne.
Turn around, master cuckoo/ Get out of our company./ Each of us gives you a ‘bye-bye’/ For you are nothing but a traitor./ Cuckoo, cuckoo (etc…) / Treacherously in others’ nests,/ You lay without being called./ Awake, sleepy hearts,/ The god of love is calling you.
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There are several versions of Le Chant des oyseaulx. I used the lyrics provided by l’Ensemble Clément Janequin on YouTube. I believe our version has four stanzas. In order to look at various versions of Le Chant des oyseaulx, and translations into English, simply click on lyrics.*
Clément Janequin (c. 1485 – 1558) was born in Châtellerault, near Poitiers, and was a French composer of the Renaissance. Clément Janequin’s music is programmatic[i] in that it has an extra-musical narrative, the singing of birds. Janequin’s main musical challenge was polyphony, mixing voices, an art that was developing in his era and was a challenge to all composers. At times, Le Chant des oyseaulx sounds like a canon and is just that, a canon.
By and large, Janequin held positions that earned him a meagre income, a matter he mentions in his will. He was a clerk to Lancelot du Fau the future Bishop of Luçon until the bishop’s death in 1523. He then held a similar position with the Bishop of Bordeaux. During that period of his life, he also became a priest and held appointments in Anjou.
His lifestyle improved after he met Jean de Guise and Charles de Ronsard, Pierre de Ronsard‘s brother. Pierre de Ronsard (11 September 1542 – 28 December 1585), the “Prince of Poets,” was the leader of an informal académie known as La Pléiade, named after the Alexandrian Pleiad, 3rd century BCE.
Clément Janequin was a very prolific songwriter. Guise and Ronsard helped him secure a position as curate at Unverre, near Chartres. At that point, he started to live in Paris and his chansons were extremely popular. In fact, Pierre Attaingnant[ii] (c. 1494 – late 1551 or 1552) printed five volumes of Janequin’s chansons. In Paris, Janequin also became “singer ordinary” of the King’s Chapel and later “composer ordinary.” Janequin composed very few sacred works.
Clément Janequin is best-known for Le Chant des oyseaulx and La Bataille, but also composed love songs, some of which are quite explicit. In fact, Le Chant des oyseaulx is a love song.
[i] As opposed to “absolute” music, which is self-referential.
[ii] Significant figures in music printing are Ottaviano Petrucci, Pierre Attaingnant and, it would appear, John Rastell. In 1591, Petrucci (18 June 1466 – 7 May 1539) published a book of chansons entitled Harmonice Musices Odhecaton. Grigory Sokolov – Jean-Philippe Rameau ‘Le Rappel des oiseaux’ – YouTube
