Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T05:33:56.704Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

36 - The fifteenth-century motet

from Part IX - Genres

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2015

Anna Maria Busse Berger
Affiliation:
University of California, Davis
Jesse Rodin
Affiliation:
Stanford University, California
Get access

Summary

A new theoretical clarity for the motet arose not from its musical-compositional features, but rather from its textual dimension. In the early fifteenth century, an author of probably German origin attempted to define the motet as a "cantus ecclesiasticus" based solely on the status of its texts. A motet's "function" is largely determined by the circumstances of its commissioning: the institution, occasion, performance conditions, ritual context, and compositional standards. These factors comprise the so-called "complex of expectations" of a particular work. The compositional pluralization of the motet in the fifteenth century was initially focused on this complex of expectations. The early fifteenth century saw a late flourishing of the isorhythmic motet. The growing number of collections that combine Ordinary cycles and motets in the second half of the century testifies to an increasing sacralization of the genre. Psalm composition is inextricably tied to the antiphon, even though this tradition derives from non-psalmic Marian antiphons of the mid-fifteenth century.
Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2015

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×