Polyphony in the Middle Ages

What is “Organum”?  Polyphonic music based on monophonic chant  Developed in the 11 th century as a way to decorate chant  Uses between 2 and 4 voices

How is organum created?  Often use a chant as the principal voice- the “melody”  Other voices are called the organal voices- the “harmony”  Originally written in parallel motion- voices remain at a constant interval  Organal voices can be above or below the principal voice

Types of Organum  Florid Organum- Organal voices sing four or more notes per note of the principal voice  Discant Organum- Organal voices sing one to three notes per note of the principal voice  Organum Duplum- Two voices  Organum Quadruplum- Four Voices

The Notre Dame School  Not a “school” in the physical sense  A style of writing organum developed by composers at the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris  Earliest surviving polyphony that is composed and read from notation and contains more than two voices  Two famous composers came from this school- Léonin and his student Pérotin

Léonin  Credited with compiling the Magnus Liber Organi- The Great Book of Polyphony  Uses all styles of Organum  Florid sections sound like a series of drones with elaborate passages on top  Uses discant organum where the chant is most melismatic  Changes organum style where the original chant changed it’s style

Alleluia Pascha Nostrum  Uses Florid Organum and plainchant  Hear the drone-like sounds underneath the organal voices  How many voices do you hear?  Only a few dissonances heard through out the piece

Pérotin  Wrote Organum Duplum, triplum, and quadruplum  Organal voices are very rhythmic  Used techniques such as voice exchange where voices trade phrases  Longer and grander than Léonin’s pieces, but served the same purpose

Sederunt  More rhythmic  Long Drone notes underneath  Voice exchange prominent throughout- probably can only tell from looking at the music  Portion of a longer piece  What happens at the end? Is it still polyphonic?