9.4 Key composers and works of the Ars Antiqua period

The Ars Antiqua period saw major musical innovations at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Composers like Léonin and Pérotin pioneered new polyphonic techniques, creating complex works with multiple vocal lines. Their efforts laid the groundwork for Western classical music.

Key developments included the Magnus Liber Organi, a collection of two-voice liturgical settings, and new musical forms like the motet. Theorists also made strides in rhythmic notation, allowing for more precise and varied compositions. These advances shaped music for centuries to come.

Notre Dame School and Key Composers

Influential Composers of the Notre Dame School

Top images from around the web for Influential Composers of the Notre Dame School

• 

  Category:Notre Dame school – Wikimedia Commons View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Musiqueando en el cole: HISTORIA DE LA MÚSICA View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Medieval Musical Genres | Music Appreciation 1 View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Category:Notre Dame school – Wikimedia Commons View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Musiqueando en el cole: HISTORIA DE LA MÚSICA View original

  Is this image relevant?

1 of 3

Top images from around the web for Influential Composers of the Notre Dame School

• 

  Category:Notre Dame school – Wikimedia Commons View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Musiqueando en el cole: HISTORIA DE LA MÚSICA View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Medieval Musical Genres | Music Appreciation 1 View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Category:Notre Dame school – Wikimedia Commons View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Musiqueando en el cole: HISTORIA DE LA MÚSICA View original

  Is this image relevant?

1 of 3

• Léonin pioneered the Magnus Liber Organi (Great Book of Organum) around 1160-1180
• Pérotin further developed polyphonic techniques introduced by Léonin
  • Added third and fourth voices to existing two-voice compositions
  • Composed landmark four-voice organa (Viderunt omnes, Sederunt principes)
• Petrus de Cruce innovated rhythmic notation in the late 13th century
  • Introduced subdivision of the breve into more than three semibreves
  • Developed a system of dots to indicate rhythmic groupings

Notre Dame School and Its Significance

• Notre Dame School flourished in Paris from 1160 to 1250
• Centered around the Notre Dame Cathedral
• Revolutionized Western music through advancements in polyphony
• Magnus Liber Organi served as a comprehensive collection of organa
  • Contained two-voice settings of the entire liturgical year
  • Became a model for subsequent polyphonic compositions

Theoretical Contributions

• Franco of Cologne wrote Ars cantus mensurabilis (c. 1280)
  • Standardized rhythmic notation system
  • Introduced the concept of perfect and imperfect tempus
  • Established rules for consonance and dissonance in polyphony

Musical Forms and Styles

Evolution of Organum

• Organum developed from early parallel motion to more complex forms
• Discant style emerged as a faster-moving upper voice against a slower tenor
  • Utilized note-against-note counterpoint
  • Often employed contrary motion between voices
• Clausula represented a self-contained polyphonic section within larger organa
  • Usually set melismatic portions of chant
  • Served as a basis for the development of the motet

Rise of the Conductus and Motet

• Conductus originated as a processional song with Latin text
  • Featured newly composed melodies rather than existing chant
  • Typically employed syllabic text setting
  • Could be monophonic or polyphonic (up to four voices)
• Motet evolved from the clausula in the 13th century
  • Initially retained the tenor voice from the original chant
  • Added new text to upper voices (often in different languages)
  • Developed into complex structures with multiple texts and rhythms

Other Notable Works and Composers

Landmark Compositions

• Sumer is icumen in represents an important early English canon
  • Composed around 1260 in Reading Abbey
  • Features a four-voice perpetual canon over a two-voice pes
  • Demonstrates advanced compositional techniques for its time
• Adam de la Halle contributed significantly to secular music
  • Composed the earliest known polyphonic settings of French poetry
  • Created Le Jeu de Robin et Marion, an early form of comic opera
  • Bridged the gap between trouvère tradition and Ars Nova style

Influence on Later Music

• Sumer is icumen in foreshadowed the development of catch and round forms
  • Influenced English pastoral music for centuries
• Adam de la Halle's works paved the way for future developments in secular music
  • Inspired later composers to explore vernacular poetry in polyphonic settings
  • Contributed to the growth of dramatic music forms