Description
This book dispels the mystery surrounding the fifteenth century motet and its use in ceremonial contexts. It covers four areas of intense compositional activity - England, the Veneto, Bruges and Cambrai - with reference to the works of Dunstaple, Forest, Ciconia, Grenon and Du Fay. In every documented instance, motets functioned as ceremonial vehicles, whether voiced in procession through the streets of a city or the chapel of a king, at the guild chapel of a parish church or the high altar of a cathedral. The motet was an entirely vocal genre that changed radically during the period from 1400 to 1475.
The first full-length study of how motets were used and performed in the fifteenth century, this book dispels the mystery surrounding these outstanding works of vocal polyphony. It covers four areas of intense compositional activity: England, the Veneto, Bruges and Cambrai, with reference to the works of Dunstaple, Forest, Ciconia, Grenon and Du Fay. In every documented instance, motets functioned as ceremonial vehicles, whether voiced in procession through the streets of a city or the chapel of a king, at the guild chapel of a parish church or the high altar of a cathedral. The motet was an entirely vocal genre that changed radically during the period from 1400 to 1475. Robert Nosow outlines the motet's social history, demonstrating how the incorporation of different texts, musical dialects, cantus firmus materials and melodic styles represents an important key to the evolution of the genre, and its adaptability to widely variant ritual circumstances. Review: 'Informative, thoroughly researched, and skillfully presented.' Choice '... the study enlarges our understanding of music's role in ritual and broadens our view of the individuals involved in every musical enterprise.' Renaissance Quarterly 'This book is a wonderful contribution to musicological scholarship that has the potential to move the discourse on late medieval music forward in interesting and productive ways.' Elizabeth Randell Upton, The Medieval Review
Related Products
