The Classical Music Book

28

TO SING

IS TO PRAY

TWICE

MAGNUS LIBER ORGANI (c.1170),

LÉONIN

T

he development of

polyphony (richly layered

music for multiple voices)

in the mid-12th century is closely

linked to Notre Dame in Paris,

the lavish new cathedral built by

Maurice de Sully when be became

Bishop of Paris in 1160. Around

this time, a French composer

called Léonin was creating fresh

embellishments for two voices, in

order to enhance the traditional

plainchant. Under the patronage of

the cathedral, Léonin and a number

of other innovative composers

formed what later became known

as the Notre Dame School.

Composing organa

There are no records of Léonin

until nearly a century after he

was active, when an Englishman

studying in Paris (known to

musicology as “Anonymous IV”)

wrote about Master Léoninus.

IN CONTEXT

FOCUS

The rise of vocal harmony

BEFORE

c.1000 More than 160 organa,

probably written by Wulfstan,

the Cantor of Winchester

Cathedral, are collected in

the Winchester Troper.

c.1140 The Codex Calixtinus

mentions a certain Magister

Albertus Parisiensis as

composer of the first notated

work for three voices.

AFTER

c.1200 Pérotin improves and

expands on Léonin’s work in

the Magnus liber organi.

US_028-031_Leonin.indd 28 26/03/18 1:00 PM