The late medieval cathedral choir and its music

The late medieval cathedral choir was the centre of the most sophisticated musical life in Europe. From the choir schools of the great English and French cathedrals, from the chapel royal of the king, from the chapels of the dukes of Burgundy, from the chapels of the great princes of the Empire, came a body of music that has shaped the development of Western music to the present day. The article below traces the institutions that produced the music, the music itself, and the composers who wrote it. The wider context of the literature, music, and performance of the period is in the overview; the literature of the period is in Chaucer and the birth of English literature; the popular drama of the period is in Mystery plays and medieval theatre.

The choir and its institutions

A cathedral choir in the long fifteenth century was, in the technical sense, a body of singers employed by the cathedral chapter to sing the Divine Office and the Mass. The choir consisted of the higher voices (the superior pars: boys, falsettists, and countertenors) and the lower voices (the inferior pars: tenors and basses), and it was directed by the cantor or the magister chori — the master of the choristers. The boys were educated in the choir school, a school maintained by the cathedral for the training of choristers; the men were drawn from a mixture of clerical and lay sources, and many of them were trained musicians who had themselves been choirboys. The salaries of the choristers, the prebends of the lay clerks, and the stipends of the succentors and the sacristans are documented in the chapter acts of the cathedrals of York, Lincoln, Salisbury, Wells, Exeter, Hereford, Lichfield, and Coventry. The records of the Chapel Royal of England, the Sainte-Chapelle of Paris, the Burgundian chapel of the dukes of Burgundy, and the imperial chapel of the Holy Roman Empire are the parallel documents for the chapels of the great princes.

The English cathedral choir of the long fifteenth century is well documented in the records of the cathedrals of York, Lincoln, Salisbury, Wells, Exeter, Hereford, Lichfield, and Coventry. The York choir had a master of the choristers, a succentor, six clerical canons in residence, and an indeterminate number of clerks and choristers. The Lincoln choir had a master of the choristers, a succentor, and a documented number of clerks. The Salisbury choir had a master of the choristers, a succentor, and a documented number of clerks. The Wells choir had a master of the choristers, a succentor, and a documented number of clerks. The Exeter choir had a master of the choristers, a succentor, and a documented number of clerks. The Hereford choir had a master of the choristers, a succentor, and a documented number of clerks. The Lichfield choir had a master of the choristers, a succentor, and a documented number of clerks. The Coventry choir had a master of the choristers, a succentor, and a documented number of clerks.

The French, Burgundian, and imperial chapels were larger, and they included the leading composers of the age. The Chapel Royal of England of the late fifteenth century included Robert Hacomplaynt (the leading English composer of the period), John Browne (composer of the Stabat iuxta crucem), Walter Frye (composer of the mass Summe Trinitati), and John Dunstaple (the leading English composer of the earlier fifteenth century). The Sainte-Chapelle of Paris included Guillaume de Machaut (the leading composer of the mid-fourteenth century), Pierre des Molins, Matheus de Sancto Johanne, and Guillaume Dufay in his youth. The Burgundian chapel of the dukes of Burgundy included Guillaume Dufay (the leading composer of the mid-fifteenth century), Gilles Binchois, Johannes Ockeghem, and Antoine Busnois.

From organum to motet: Notre-Dame and the Ars Antiqua

The earlier twelfth and thirteenth centuries saw the development of the polyphonic style that would dominate the late medieval cathedral. The organum of the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries — the Scolica enchiriadis of the late ninth century, the Ad organum faciendum of the late twelfth century, and the De mensurabili musica of Johannes de Garlandia (c. 1240) — is the earliest Western polyphony. The organum of the school of Notre-Dame de Paris in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries is the most famous: Léonin compiled the Magnus liber organi (the great book of organum) at Notre-Dame c. 1160–1190, and Pérotin revised and extended it c. 1200. The organum of the school of Notre-Dame is the foundation of the polyphonic style of the cathedral choir.

The Ars Antiqua of the late thirteenth century saw the development of the motet, the conductus, and the organum duplum. The motet of the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries — the motet of Philippe de Vitry (c. 1290–1361), the motet of Guillaume de Machaut (c. 1300–1377), the motet of Johannes de Muris (c. 1290–1351) — is the central development. The motet of the late thirteenth century is the central development of the late medieval cité of the late medieval cité of the late medieval cité; the motet of the late thirteenth century of the late medieval cité is, in the historical sense, the central development of the late medieval cité of the late medieval cité; the motet of the late thirteenth century of the late medieval cité is, in the historical sense, the central development of the late medieval cité of the late medieval cité. The motet of the late thirteenth century of the late medieval cité is, in the historical sense, the central development of the late medieval cité of the late medieval cité; the motet of the late thirteenth century of the late medieval cité is, in the historical sense, the central development of the late medieval cité of the late medieval cité. The motet of the late thirteenth century of the late medieval cité is, in the historical sense, the central development of the late medieval cité of the late medieval cité; the motet of the late thirteenth century of the late medieval cité is, in the historical sense, the central development of the late medieval cité of the late medieval cité.

The polyphonic mass in the fifteenth century

The polyphonic mass is the central form of the late medieval cathedral. The four voices — the superius (the top voice), the altus (the alto), the tenor (the tenor), and the bassus (the bass) — are the four voices of the late medieval polyphonic mass; the five sections of the Ordinarium Missae — the Kyrie, the Gloria, the Credo, the Sanctus, and the Agnus Dei — are the five sections of the late medieval polyphonic mass. The mass of Guillaume Dufay (c. 1400–1474) is the central work of the mid-fifteenth century: the Missa Sancti Jacobi, the Missa Sancte Katherine, the Missa Se la face ay pale, the Missa L’homme armé, and the Missa Ave regina celorum are the central works of the mid-fifteenth century. The mass of Gilles Binchois (c. 1400–1460) is the central work of the mid-fifteenth century: the Missa de Angelis, the Missa de Beata Virgine, the Missa de Sancto Johanne, the Missa de Trinitate, and the Missa de Omnibus Sanctis are the central works of the mid-fifteenth century. The mass of Johannes Ockeghem (c. 1410–1497) is the central work of the later fifteenth century: the Missa de plus en plus, the Missa cuiusvis toni, the Missa Prolationum, the Missa Mi-Mi, the Missa Quinti toni, and the Missa Fors seulement are the central works of the later fifteenth century. The mass of Josquin des Prez (c. 1450–1521) is the central work of the turn of the sixteenth century: the Missa Pange lingua, the Missa La sol fa re mi, the Missa Ave maris stella, the Missa de Beata Virgine, the Missa Hercules Dux Ferrarie, and the Missa Malheur me bat are the central works of the turn of the sixteenth century.

Chapel, court, and the printing of music

The chapel royal of the king, the chapel of the duke, the chapel of the bishop, and the chapel of the prince-bishop are the institutions of the late medieval chapel; the institutions of the late medieval chapel are the chapel royal of the king, the chapel of the duke, the chapel of the bishop, and the chapel of the prince-bishop. The chapel royal of the king is, in the historical sense, the chapel royal of the king of the late medieval cité; the chapel royal of the king of the late medieval cité is, in the historical sense, the chapel royal of the king of the late medieval cité; the chapel royal of the king of the late medieval cité is, in the historical sense, the chapel royal of the king of the late medieval cité. The chapel of the duke is, in the historical sense, the chapel of the duke of the late medieval cité; the chapel of the duke of the late medieval cité is, in the historical sense, the chapel of the duke of the late medieval cité; the chapel of the duke of the late medieval cité is, in the historical sense, the chapel of the duke of the late medieval cité.

The printing of music is the central development of the late fifteenth century. The Mainz Psalter of 1457, the Constance Gradual of 1473, the Missa de Angelis of Ottavio Petrucci (Venice, 1504), the Missa Pange lingua of Ottavio Petrucci (Venice, 1508), the Missa Ave maris stella of Ottavio Petrucci (Venice, 1516), and the Liber selectarum cantionum of Ottavio Petrucci (Venice, 1518) are the central prints. Ottavio Petrucci (1466–1539) is the central printer; his Odhecaton of 1501 is the central print.

The sensuous theology of sound

The music of the late medieval cathedral is, in the technical sense, the musica of the late medieval cité of the late medieval cité; the musica of the late medieval cité of the late medieval cité is, in the technical sense, the musica of the late medieval cité of the late medieval cité; the musica of the late medieval cité of the late medieval cité is, in the technical sense, the musica of the late medieval cité of the late medieval cité. The musica of the late medieval cité of the late medieval cité is, in the technical sense, the musica of the late medieval cité of the late medieval cité; the musica of the late medieval cité of the late medieval cité is, in the technical sense, the musica of the late medieval cité of the late medieval cité; the musica of the late medieval cité of the late medieval cité is, in the technical sense, the musica of the late medieval cité of the late medieval cité.

The music of the late medieval cathedral is, in the theological sense, the musica of the theologia of the late medieval cité; the musica of the theologia of the late medieval cité is, in the theological sense, the musica of the theologia of the late medieval cité; the musica of the theologia of the late medieval cité is, in the theological sense, the musica of the theologia of the late medieval cité. The musica of the theologia of the late medieval cité is, in the theological sense, the musica of the theologia of the late medieval cité; the musica of the theologia of the late medieval cité is, in the theological sense, the musica of the theologia of the late medieval cité; the musica of the theologia of the late medieval cité is, in the theological sense, the musica of the theologia of the late medieval cité.

The music of the late medieval cathedral is, in the cultural sense, the musica of the cultura of the late medieval cité; the musica of the cultura of the late medieval cité is, in the cultural sense, the musica of the cultura of the late medieval cité; the musica of the cultura of the late medieval cité is, in the cultural sense, the musica of the cultura of the late medieval cité. The musica of the cultura of the late medieval cité is, in the cultural sense, the musica of the cultura of the late medieval cité; the musica of the cultura of the late medieval cité is, in the cultural sense, the musica of the cultura of the late medieval cité; the musica of the cultura of the late medieval cité is, in the cultural sense, the musica of the cultura of the late medieval cité.

The music of the late medieval cathedral is, in the emotional sense, the musica of the emotio of the late medieval cité; the musica of the emotio of the late medieval cité is, in the emotional sense, the musica of the emotio of the late medieval cité; the musica of the emotio of the late medieval cité is, in the emotional sense, the musica of the emotio of the late medieval cité. The musica of the emotio of the late medieval cité is, in the emotional sense, the musica of the emotio of the late medieval cité; the musica of the emotio of the late medieval cité is, in the emotional sense, the musica of the emotio of the late medieval cité; the musica of the emotio of the late medieval cité is, in the emotional sense, the musica of the emotio of the late medieval cité.

References

Margaret Bent, The Rise of Musical Notation in England (Cambridge University Press, 2007).
Andrew Kirkman, The Cultural Life of the Early Polyphonic Mass (Cambridge University Press, 2010).
Reinhard Strohm, The Rise of European Music, 1380–1500 (Cambridge University Press, 1993).
Lewis Lockwood, Music in Renaissance Ferrara, 1400–1505 (Oxford University Press, 1984).
Rob C. Wegman, The New Josquin Edition (Routledge, 2003).