Peter Martin Lefferts, The Motet in England in the Fourteenth Century (PhD, Columbia University, 1983)

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Abstract

The history of polyphonic music in late medieval England is difficult to reconstruct on account of the paucity of intact sources, the concomitant lack of a substantial number of complete pieces, and the difficulty with which the surviving repertoire can be associated with any specific institutions or social milieu. Nonetheless, there are significant scattered remains, and this study endeavors to examine in detail one important genre, the motet, in light of all surviving music, placing a great deal of weight on the analysis of fragments. The evidence suggests that the motet was cultivated for the larger abbeys and monastic cathedrals, primarily Benedictine, Cistercian, and Augustinian houses. It was a sacred genre, and in typical larger collections there was probably provision of a motet for all major feasts of the Temporale and Sanctorale, though the precise role of the motet in the liturgy, whether as an interpolation or as a direct substitute for ritual plainchant, is not yet established. The thesis is organized in four large chapters and two appendices. Chapter One discusses the validity of the temporal limits imposed on the thesis (ca.1300-1400) , the problems of the definition of the motet genre and its function, and the problem of establishing a chronology for sources and individual pieces. Chapter Two establishes a typology for motet structures; demonstrating that the English intensely cultivate a few clear archetypes for motet form in the earlier part of the century, producing pieces of high musical interest and fascinating detail, and showing also that indigenous features were not entirely eradicated under French influence in the latter half of the century. The third chapter reviews the notational systems that developed in England in the 14th century, both in relationship to earlier English mensural notations and also to contemporaneous continental systems. The fourth chapter discusses features of the motet texts, concentrating on subject matter, sources and models for text language, and certain aspects of versification. A lengthy first appendix contains critical reports, texts, and transcriptions for most of the 14th-century repertoire; a short second appendix lists the 13th-century English motet repertoire with two transcriptions.

Table of Contents

  • Prefacei
  • A Note to the Readeriv
  • Chapter I: Basic Issues1
    • Introduction1
    • Boundaries and Definition of the Motet as Genre6
      • The Function of the Motet16
      • Temporal Limits25
    • Chronology and Style27
      • Range33
      • Four-Part Writing39
  • Chapter II: Typology of Motet Structurs49
    • Introduction49
    • Isomelic Motets53
      • Motets With Strict Voice Exchange53
        • The 13th Century53
        • The 14th Century62
        • Large-Scale Sectional Voice Exchange70
      • Motets with Varied Voice Exchange79
        • The Caius Motets79
        • Other Varied Voice Exchange84
      • Strophic Repeat With Variation100
      • Refrain Motets104
    • Motets with Periodic Phrase Structures114
      • Motets Isoperiodic on Long and Breve119
      • The Duet Motets with Medius Cantus130
      • Other Motets Isoperiodic in B and S140
      • Other Periodicity142
    • Other Insular Motet Types143
      • Motets with Varied Rhythmic Patterning of the Tenor143
      • Petronian Motets151
      • The Remainder153
    • The Later 14th Century155
      • Ob 7 and DRc 20 Rear Leaves155
      • English Isorhythm170
      • The Indigenous Tradition178
    • Summary184
  • Chapter III: Motet Notations186
    • Introduction186
    • 13th-Century English Mensural Notations203
      • Conclusion216
    • Franconian Notation and the Semibreve216
      • Rhythmic Interpretation of Semibreve Groups225
        • Evidence of Musical Sources240
    • A Notational Complex246
      • The Notation of Triumphus patet259
      • The Signum Rotundum263
    • Breve-Semibreve Notation264
      • Motets in Breve-Semibreve Notation284
    • Binary Mensuration288
    • Other Insular Notational Peculiarities305
      • The Brevis Erecta305
      • The Notation of Rests306
    • Summary307
  • Chapter IV: The Texts of the Motets312
    • Introduction312
    • Motet Subject Matter314
      • The Saints344
      • External References in the Motet Texts349
    • Other Repertories354
      • Continental Motets356
      • The Carol and the Devotional Lyric359
    • Text Contents: Sources and Models367
      • Assonance378
    • Vernacular Texts382
    • Versification389
    • Conclusion
  • Bibliography416
  • Appendices (in a separate file)434
    • Introduction434
    • Appendix I: Critical Reports, Texts, Transcriptions447
    • Appendix II: 13-Century English Motet Repertoire964

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