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European politics and the distribution of music in the early fifteenth century

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2008

Reinhard Strohm
Reinhard Strohm
Affiliation:
King's College, University of London
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Extract

Early-fifteenth-century music seems to be different from that of previous ages not only in that it contains new stylistic elements, but also in the way in which its novelty was brought about. Perotinus composed in a more advanced style than Leoninus, Philippe de Vitry superseded Petrus de Cruce: in such cases a renewal takes place within a tradition, or even a ‘school’, which may be unrelated to the state of music-making in other areas. The novelties introduced in the music of certain centres (which were emphasised by the musicians who belonged to these centres), could then spread to other areas and affect more traditionally minded musicians elsewhere. A distinction between ‘centre’ and ‘periphery’, between ‘creation’ and ‘distribution’ can be suggested, although it may have to be modified by assuming polycentrism, that is, several centres, and several networks of distribution.

Type
Research Article
Information
Early Music History , Volume 1 , October 1981 , pp. 305 - 323
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1981

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References

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26 It is increasingly difficult to define the social status of travelling musicians as the fifteenth century proceeds. Apart from ‘diplomatic’ missions, or combined with them, the minstrels often attended ‘schools’ such as the one in Bruges visited by Aragonese minstrels, see Greene, G., ‘The Schools of Minstrelsy and the Choir-School Tradition’, Studies in Music, 2 (1977), pp. 31–40Google Scholar; Reaney, G., ‘A Postscript to the Manuscript Chantilly, Musée Condé 1047’, Musica Disciplina, 10 (1956), pp. 57fGoogle Scholar. The Bruges ‘school’ may have been supervised by the Carmelite friars, see Gilliodts-van Severen, L., Les ménestrels de Bruges, Essais d'Archéologie Brugeoise 2 (Bruges, 1912), p. 31Google Scholar.

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30 Angerer, op. cit., pp. 89f. This is of course only a minor detail within the wider context of liturgical reform.

31 Angerer, op. cit., pp. 113ff; besides the Faenza codex (see note 28), which is an impressive document for organ music in a Carmelite monastery, see also Göllner, T., ‘Notationsfragmente aus einer Organistenwerkstatt des 15. Jahrhunderts’, Archiv für Musikwissenschaft, 24 (1967), pp. 170–7CrossRefGoogle Scholar (on a manuscript of Augustinian provenance).

32 As, for example, were the Chartreuse de Champmol, near Dijon, for the Dukes of Burgundy (see Wright, , Music at the Court of Burgundy, pp. 6fGoogle Scholar); the Carmelite church in Straubing for the Dukes of Bavaria-Straubing; and the Benedictine monastery of Santa Giustina in Padua for the Carrara dynasty (see, for the pre- and post-reform history of the house, contributions by Gallo, F. A. and Cattin, G. in Annales Musicologiques, 7 (Monaco, 1978)Google Scholar (offprints)).

33 Smijers, A., ‘De Illustre Lieve Vrouwe Broederschap te 's-Hertogenbosch’, Tijdschrift van der Vereeniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis, 11 (1925), 12 (1926–1928), 13 (1929–1932), 14 (1932–1934)Google Scholar, also published separately (Amsterdam, 1932). For a random example of a manuscript with polyphonic music originating in a religious confraternity, see Rajeczky, B., ‘Ein neuer Fund zur mehrstimmigen Praxis Ungarns im 15. Jahrhundert’, Studia Musicologia, 14 (1972), pp. 147–68CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

34 For an interesting survey of the importance of various social groups for a particular case of musical distribution, see Scott ‘English Music in Modena, Biblioteca Estense, α.x.1,11’, pp. 145ff.

35 Cobin, ‘The Compilation of the Aosta Manuscript’.

36 For example in Bruges, see Gilliodts-van Severen, Les ménestrels. The Florentine merchants of the Arte di Calimala and Arte della Lana must have used their trade connections in order to supply Florence Cathedral with musicians, see D'Accone, F., ‘Music and Musicians at Santa Maria del Fiore in the early Quattrocento’, Scritti in onore di Luigi Ronga (Milan, 1973), pp. 99–126Google Scholar.

37 One of many instances is quoted in Burch, C. E. C., Minstrels and Players in Southampton 1428–1635 (Southampton, 1969), p. 9Google Scholar.

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44 Cohen, J., The Six Anonymous L'homme armé-Masses in Naples, Biblioteca Nazionale, Ms vi e 40, Musicological Studies and Documents 21 (n.p., 1968)Google Scholar.

45 For a general introduction to this subject, see Harthan, J., Books of Hours (London, 1977)Google Scholar.

46 Paoli, M., ‘Di un messale romano con miniature francesi del primo Quattrocento’, La Bibliofilia, 80/2 (1978), pp. 105–22Google Scholar.

47 Hamm, C. and Scott, A. B., ‘A Study and Inventory of the Manuscript Modena, Biblioteca Estense, α.x.1,11 (ModB)’, Musica Disciplina, 26 (1972), pp. 101–43Google Scholar; Scott, ‘English Music in Modena, Biblioteca Estense, α.x.1,11’, pp. 145–60.

48 Modena, Biblioteca Estense e Universitaria, MS α.x.1.11.

49 Trent, Castello del Buon Consiglio, Biblioteca della soprintendenza, MS 92 [Trent 92]. See Ward, ‘The Structure of the Manuscript Trent 92/i’.

50 Trent, Castello del Buon Consiglio, Biblioteca della Soprintendenza, MS 87. See Cobin, ‘The Compilation of the Aosta Manuscript’.

51 Chew, G., ‘The Early Cyclic Mass as an Expression of Royal and Papal Supremacy’, Music and Letters, 53 (1972), pp. 254–69CrossRefGoogle Scholar; H. Besseler, ‘Dufay in Rom’, pp. 6ff.

52 Unless, of course, one regards parts of the Aosta manuscript as Italian.

53 Lucca, Archivio di Stato, MS 184. See Clercx, S., ‘Johannes Ciconia et la chronologie des manuscrits italiens Mod. 568 et Lucca (Mn)’, Les colloques de Wégimont ii – 1955: L'ars nova: Recueil des etudes sur la musique du XIVe siècle (Paris, 1959), pp. 115ffGoogle Scholar.

54 Facsimile in Dèzes, ‘Der Mensuralkodex’, p. 100.

55 Nuremberg, Stadtbibliothek, MS lat. 9 (fragment). See Reaney, G., ‘New Sources of Ars Nova Music’, Musica Disciplina, 19 (1965), pp. 53–67Google Scholar.

56 On Louis de Male's musicians, see Wright, , Music at the Court of Burgundy, pp. 19–22Google Scholar.

57 London, British Library, Additional MS 57950.

58 Fallows, ‘Robert Morton's Songs’, pp. 309ff.

59 This could well apply to, for example, the parody movements by A. Zacara da Teramo and some of his contemporaries; the ballate Rosetta che non cangi mai colore and Un fior gentil appear symbolic or heraldic, and several other model pieces for parodies are unidentified or extremely cryptic. Ciconia's motet Regina gloriosa could be taken as topical–political. I suggest a connection between the text symbolism of the models and their use for Mass music. See also von Fischer, K., ‘Kontrafakturen und Parodien italienischer Werke des Trecento und frühen Quattrocento’, Annales Musicologiques, 5 (1957), pp. 43–60Google Scholar.

60 Johannes Ockeghem en zijn tijd, Oudheidkundige kring van het land van Dendermonde, Buitengewone uitgaven 24 (Dendermonde, 1970), p. 34Google Scholar.

61 Pietzsch, , Zur Pflege der Musik, p. 97Google Scholar.

62 As were the statutes of the Ordre de la Toison d'Or, see Strohm, R., ‘Die Missa super “Nos amis” von Johannes Tinctoris’, Die Musikforschung, 32 (1979), p. 38, n. 13Google Scholar. The chapter meetings of this order, founded by Philip the Good in 1430, were regularly celebrated with a festal Mass in polyphony. One of these works – which are apparently all lost or so far unidentified – a Missa de vello aureo, was composed by the preceptor of Arnulphus Gilardi, for the ‘Dux Belgarum’, see Hothby, , Dialogus de arte musica, ed. Seay, , p. 75Google Scholar.

63 Pirro, A., La musique à Paris sous le règne de Charles 1380–1422 (2nd edn, Strasbourg, 1958)Google Scholar; Pirro, A., Histoire de la musique de la fin du XIVe siècle à la fin du XVIe (Paris, 1940), p. 82Google Scholar; Wright, , Music at the Court of Burgundy, pp. 134ffGoogle Scholar.

64 Fallows, ‘Robert Morton's Songs’, pp. 300ff.

65 This chanson, Amis, vous n'estes pas, is in the Reina codex (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, nouv. acqu. fr. 6771) between two early Dufay chansons, see Strohm, ‘Die Missa super “Nos amis”’, p. 38.

66 Very close in literary style and musical setting to Giustiniani/Ciconia's O rosa bella is the anonymous ballata Mercè o morte, o dolce anima bella in Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria MS 2216. See Plamenac, D., ‘Faventina’, Liber amicorum Charles van den Borren (Antwerp, 1964), pp. 145ffGoogle Scholar.

67 Fallows, ‘Robert Morton's Songs’, p. 306.

68 Strohm, ‘Die Missa super “Nos amis”’, p. 39. Here too, topical (?political) or symbolic Mass tenors seem to cause derivative settings.