The Classical Music Book

31

Pérotin, called Perotin Magister

(“Pérotin the Master”) by Anonymous

IV, is believed to have lived from

c.1160–1230. He is pictured here with

church bells at Notre Dame de Paris.

French sources a few decades

after Sancte Bonifati martyr, gives

a snapshot of monastic musical

life in England prior to the Norman

Conquest. Although the second

volume contains 174 organa

(making it the first substantial

corpus of composed polyphony),

the notation assumes that the

singer already has some knowledge

of the repertoire. The unstaffed

neumes do not give a precise

indication of pitch, either of the

original chant melody or in the

harmonizing vox organalis, making

accurate transcription of these

pieces difficult.

A century after the Winchester

Troper, The School of St. Martial of

Limoges explored polyphony in 90

pieces in four French manuscripts

(c. 1120–1180), and the Codex

Calixtinus (c. 1140) from Santiago

de Compostela, in northwest Spain.

The notation of this “Aquitanian

polyphony” was less ambiguous in

pitch than the Troper and suggests

that most of the repertoire was

sung to a rhythm. The pieces are

mostly for two singers in a more

melismatic style, in which the

upper voice sometimes has many

notes, sung over a less active lower

voice. The Codex Calixtinus

contains what may be the first

composition notated for three

voices, the Congaudeant Catholici.

The Notre Dame School

As the Cathedral of Notre Dame

rose up on the Île de la Cité in Paris,

the discant style emerged, which

allowed the upper voice of organa

more freedom. The roles of the two

singers diverged into that of the

florid soloist and an accompanying

voice holding long notes. This

distinction was reflected in the

new titles of tenor (“one who holds”)

and duplum (“second voice”).

At this time, Léonin introduced

a greater degree of rhythmic

organization to his compositions,

regulating the flow of the meter in

an early form of “modal rhythm.” In

its mature iteration, modal rhythm

sets the line in motion according

EARLY MUSIC 1000–1400

to one of six metrical patterns

(trochaic, iambic, and so forth, akin

to Classical poetic meter). These

are indicated by two note shapes,

longa and brevis (long and short),

the duration of the note depending

on context. Léonin’s development of

organum in the discant style owed

much to this innovation.

Pérotin, Léonin’s successor in

the Parisian style of discant, went

one better, composing organum

triplum, and even organum

quadruplum, for three and four

voices respectively. Proclaiming

their magnificence, the Bishop of

Paris decreed in 1198 that Pérotin’s

four-voice works Viderunt omnes

and Sederunt principes should be

performed on Christmas Day,

St. Stephen’s Day (December 26),

and again on New Year’s Day. ■

Organum:

Addition of a second

voice at a different

octave paralleling

the first voice.

Development of

vocal harmony

Plainchant:

A single unaccompanied

vocal line in free rhythm,

like speech.

Counterpoint:

The interweaving of

simultaneous playing or

singing. Also known as

contrapuntal.

Harmony:

Three or more musical notes

sung simultaneously to

create a chord.

[Pérotin] notated his books

very faithfully according to

the use and custom of his

master, and even better.

Anonymous IV

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