Music 3802
Study Guide #3
The Beginnings of Polyphony and the Music of the Thirteenth Century

Assignment: Grout and Palisca, Chaper 3
            Read: 72-93
            Skim: 94-96
            Read: 96-97

Study Questions:

1. What significant changes in the history of music occurred around the 11th cen-
      tury?--p. 73-74

2. What are the Musica enchiriadis and the Scolica enchiriadis? What is the
      meaning of organum?--p. 75

3. What types of early organum are described in the Enchiriadis treatises?--p. 75

4. What advances were made in organum during the 11th century? What are the
      consonant intervals at this time?--p. 76

5. What is the Winchester Troper? Why is it not possible to transcribe it with accu-
      racy?--p. 76

6. Which chants received polyphonic settings in the 11th century?--p. 76*

7. What is the style of late 11th-century polyphony?--p. 76 (and NAWM 14)

8. What are the new characteristics of 12th-century Aquitanian or St. Martial po-
      lyphony (florid organum)?--p. 77

9. What is the origin of the term tenor?--p. 77

10. What is the distinction between organum purum and discant?--p. 77

11. What is versus? In what way is Congaudeant catholici typical and in what ways
      is it unusual?--p. 77 (and NAWM 15)**

12. Know the six rhythmic modes. How are these patterns made more flexible?--p. 79-80

13. What is a perfectio? What is the modern metrical equivalent of all 13th-century
      polyphony?--p. 80

14. In general (not in detail) how were the rhythmic modes notated?--p. 80

15. Where did the entire art of polyphonic composition center from the 12th to the
      mid-14th century?--p. 80

16. Who were Léonin and Pérotin?--p. 80

17. What is the Magnus liber organi? How many voice parts does this work con-
      tain?--p. 81

18. Be able to describe the difference between organum duplum and discant in the
      two-voice style of Léonin--p. 81-85 What is the controversy over the rhythm of
      the duplum style?--p. 83 What is a clausula?--p. 83

19. How does the style of Pérotin differ from that of Léonin with regard to rhythm,
      number of voice parts, and phrase structure?--p. 85-86 What is a substitute
      clausula?--p. 85

20. What are the characteristics of the text of a conductus?--p. 87

21. What are two important identifying characteristics of the conductus?--p. 88***

22. What is "conductus style"?--p. 89

23. How did the motet evolve from the substitute clausula?--p. 89****

24. What three modifications of the motet occurred by c. 1250?--p. 90

25. What changes occurred in the rhythm of motets during the second half of the
      13th century (i.e., in the Franconian and Petronian motets)?--p. 91-93*****

26. What were the consonant intervals at the end of the 13th century? What were the
      standard cadences?--p. 93

*The claim here that only solo sections were set polyphonically applies only to responsorial chant (i.e.,
      those chants that have solo sections), primarily the Proper chants mentioned. Other chants (the Ordi-
      nary, for example) were set polyphonically throughout. Later, at Notre Dame, we will find polyphonic
      settings only for responsorial chants, and this statement will then be universally valid.

**The most unusual, in fact, unique feature is the presence of three voice parts. All other surviving exam-
      ples of Aquitanian polyphony (florid organum) are for two voices.

***Line 4 on p. 88 should read "fairly long untexted passages" (as in the previous edition).

****Note that the Latin term motetus has a secondary meaning as the name for the duplum voice in a mo-
      tet.

*****The change involving the upper voices is much more significant than that involving the tenor.