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45-533: The Magnus Liber organi most likely to have originated in Paris and is known today from only a few surviving manuscripts and fragments, and there are records of at least seventeen lost versions. Today its contents can be inferred from the three surviving major manuscripts: These three manuscripts date from later than the original Magnus Liber, but careful study has revealed many details regarding origin and development. "Evidence of lost Notre Dame manuscripts, including

90-635: A "coup" or a "conspiracy" legitimizes Piero's de facto and hereditary (but wholly unconstitutional) status as leader of the city. In 1467, Piero had to face a war against the Republic of Venice prompted by the Florentine support given to Galeazzo Maria Sforza , the new duke of Milan . However, the Venetian army under Colleoni was defeated at the Battle of Molinella by a league of Florence, Naples ,

135-439: A cappella style, basso continuo , with instruments playing colla parte , several of them composed for funerals. The first five, for double chorus, are almost certainly composed by Bach and are written in a cappella style, though strings and oboes appear to have accompanied colla parte . Lobet dem Herrn is for SATB with basso continuo . The funeral cantata O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht , BWV 118 (1736–37?)

180-1127: A cappella and some, such as Edward Elgar 's three motets Op. 2, are accompanied by organ. In the 20th century, composers of motets have often consciously imitated earlier styles. In 1920, Ralph Vaughan Williams composed O clap your hands , a setting of verses from Psalm 47 for a four-part choir, organ, brass, and percussion, called a motet. Carl Nielsen set in Tre Motetter three verses from different psalms as motets, first performed in 1930. Francis Poulenc set several Latin texts as motets, first Quatre motets pour un temps de pénitence (1938). Maurice Duruflé composed Quatre Motets sur des thèmes grégoriens in 1960, and Notre Père in 1977. Other examples include works by Richard Strauss , Charles Villiers Stanford , Edmund Rubbra , Lennox Berkeley , Morten Lauridsen , Edward Elgar , Hugo Distler , F. Melius Christiansen , Ernst Krenek , Michael Finnissy , Karl Jenkins and Igor Stravinsky . Arvo Pärt has composed motets, including Da pacem Domine in 2006, as have Dave Soldier (Motet: Harmonies of

225-495: A financial overview prepared. The results led him to call up a number of long-standing loans, many to various Medici supporters, which his father had let stand. This immediately drove a good number of the merchants involved into bankruptcy and added to the ranks of those who opposed the Medici. Although not as brilliant a banker as his father, he was able to keep things running smoothly during his tenure. His time as leader of Florence

270-565: A road-block set up by the conspirators to capture Piero in his trip toward the Medici Villa di Careggi ; he was not recognized and was able to warn his father. The coup failed, as did an attempted repeat backed by Venice , using troops commanded by Bartolomeo Colleoni . It has been argued that the "coup" was in fact a legitimate attempt to limit the power of the Medici faction and restore a system of government in keeping with Florence's traditional republican ideals, and that to refer to it as

315-512: A transitional time for Western culture. This time of change coincided with the architectural innovation that produced the structure of the Cathedral itself (earliest start of construction in 1163). A handful of surviving manuscripts demonstrate the evolution of polyphonic elaboration of the liturgical plainchant that was used at the cathedral every day throughout the year. While the concept of combining voices in harmony to enrich plainsong chant

360-635: Is bathed in the sacred font, and the Christian is dedicated to Christ.") In France, Pierre Robert (24 grands motets), Henry Dumont (grands & petits motets), Marc-Antoine Charpentier (206 different types of motets), Michel-Richard de La Lande (70 grands motets), Henry Desmarest (20 grands motets), François Couperin (motets lost), Nicolas Bernier , André Campra , Charles-Hubert Gervais (42 grands motets), Louis-Nicolas Clérambault , François Giroust (70 grands motets) were also important composers. In Germany, too, pieces called motets were written in

405-523: Is regarded as a motet, though it has independent instrumental parts. The motet Sei Lob und Preis mit Ehren , BWV 231 is an arrangement of a movement from Bach's Cantata 28, and the authenticity of the arrangement is not certain. For a few more motets, such as Ich lasse dich nicht , BWV Anh 159 , Bach's authorship is debated. Later 18th-century composers wrote few motets. Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach composed an extended chorale motet Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme , combining Baroque techniques with

450-537: Is unknown whether the Magnus Liber had one sole contributor, though it is noted by scholars that large parts were composed by Léonin (1135–c.1200) and this conclusion is drawn from the writings of Anonymous IV.  Though it is a controversial topic among scholars, some believe parts of the Magnus Liber organi may have been revised by Pérotin (fl. 1200), while others such as Heinrich Husmann note that

495-626: The Papal States and Milan. Piero also continued the family's tradition of artistic patronage, including Gozzoli 's fresco Procession of the Magi in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi (in which are also present both of Piero's sons, Lorenzo and Giuliano , as well as Piero himself). His taste was more eclectic than that of his father, extending to Dutch and Flemish artworks. Piero continued to collect rare books, adding many to

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540-418: The cantus firmus —which did not necessarily coincide with repeating melodic patterns. Philippe de Vitry was one of the earliest composers to use this technique, and his work evidently had an influence on that of Guillaume de Machaut , one of the most famous named composers of late medieval motets. Other medieval motet composers include: The compositional character of the motet changed entirely during

585-426: The clausula . This is born out by the differing versions of the discantus parts".  Husmann also notes that a comparison of the repertory contained in the three manuscripts shows there "are a great many pieces common to all three sources" and that "the most reasonable attitude is obviously to consider the pieces in common to all three sources as the original body, consequently as the true Magnus Liber organi". It

630-871: The galant style . Mozart's Ave verum corpus (K. 618) is this genre. Rameau , Mondonville and Giroust also wrote grands motets. In the 19th century, some German composers continued to write motets. Felix Mendelssohn composed Jauchzet dem Herrn, alle Welt , Denn er hat seinen Engeln befohlen and Mitten wir im Leben sind . Johannes Brahms composed three motets on biblical verses, Fest- und Gedenksprüche . Josef Rheinberger composed Abendlied . Anton Bruckner composed about 40 motets , mainly in Latin, including Locus iste . French composers of motets include Camille Saint-Saëns and César Franck . In English similar compositions are called anthems . Some later English composers, such as Charles Villiers Stanford , wrote motets in Latin . Most of these compositions are

675-666: The polychoral motet, in which two or more choirs of singers (or instruments) alternated. This style of motet was sometimes called the Venetian motet to distinguish it from the Netherlands or Flemish motet written elsewhere. " If Ye Love Me " by Thomas Tallis serves the demand of the Church of England for English texts, and a focus on understanding the words, beginning in homophony . In Baroque music , especially in France where

720-527: The 13th century from the organum tradition exemplified in the Notre-Dame school of Léonin and Pérotin . The motet probably arose from clausula sections in a longer sequence of organum . Clausulae represent brief sections of longer polyphonic settings of chant with a note-against-note texture. In some cases, these sections were composed independently and "substituted" for existing setting. These clausulae could then be "troped," or given new text in

765-448: The 2016 television series Medici: Masters of Florence . An older Piero is portrayed by Julian Sands in the first two episodes of the second season, Medici: The Magnificent . Motet In Western classical music , a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music . According to

810-474: The English musicologist Margaret Bent , "a piece of music in several parts with words" is as precise a definition of the motet as will serve from the 13th to the late 16th century and beyond. The late 13th-century theorist Johannes de Grocheo believed that the motet was "not to be celebrated in the presence of common people, because they do not notice its subtlety, nor are they delighted in hearing it, but in

855-574: The Gouty ( Italian : Piero "il Gottoso" ), (1416 – 2 December 1469) was the de facto ruler of Florence from 1464 to 1469, during the Italian Renaissance . Piero was the son of Cosimo de' Medici the Elder and Contessina de' Bardi . During his father's life, he did not play an extensive role due to his perpetual poor health, the source of his nickname. His brother Giovanni

900-636: The Magnificent and Giuliano de' Medici . All his family is likely portrayed in the famous painting by Botticelli known as the Madonna of the Magnificat , in which Lucrezia Tornabuoni appears as the Virgin Mary. In all, Lucrezia gave birth to at least six children: Before his marriage, Piero had an illegitimate son by an unknown woman: A young Piero is portrayed by Alessandro Sperduti in

945-585: The Medici collections. With a strong interest in humanism, he commissioned Marsilio Ficino to translate Plato and other classical works. Ficino dedicated several books to him, such as De Sole . Piero died in 1469 as a result of gout and lung disease. He is buried in the Church of San Lorenzo , next to his brother Giovanni . The tomb, created by Andrea del Verrocchio , was commissioned by his sons Lorenzo and Giuliano. On 3 June 1444, Piero married Lucrezia Tornabuoni (1427–1482). Their children include Lorenzo

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990-466: The Renaissance tradition of semi-secular Latin motets in works such as Plaude Laetare Gallia , written to celebrate the baptism of King Louis XIV 's son; its text by Pierre Perrin begins: Plaude laetare Gallia Rore caelesti rigantur lilia, Sacro Delphinus fonte lavatur Et christianus Christo dicatur. ("Rejoice and sing, France: the lily is bathed with heavenly dew. The Dauphin

1035-489: The beginning of "measured time" in music, organizing lengths of pitches within plainchant and later, the motet genre. In the organi of the Magnus Liber, one voice sang the notes of the Gregorian chant elongated to enormous length called the tenor (from Latin 'to hold'), but was also known as the vox principalis. As many as three voices, known as the vox organalis (or vinnola vox , the "vining voice") were notated above

1080-417: The emerging Gothic style of architecture; just as ornate cathedrals were built to house holy relics , organa were written to elaborate Gregorian chant , which too was considered holy. The innovations at Notre Dame consisted of a system of musical notation which included patterns of short and long musical notes known as longs and breves . This system is referred to as mensural music as it demonstrates

1125-601: The finding is from 'the rather slim report of Anonymous IV' and that 'as for its connections with Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, the name of Pérotin alone is adduced' in connection with his books having only been used . This 'by no means confirms that Pérotin himself was active at Notre Dame, or anywhere else in Paris for that matter'. The music from the Liber has been published in modern times by William Waite (1954), Hans Tischler (1989),  and by Edward Roesner (1993–2009). The early music of Notre Dame cathedral represents

1170-399: The flowering of the form. The Renaissance motet is polyphonic , sometimes with an imitative counterpoint, for a chorus singing a Latin and usually sacred text. It is not connected to a specific liturgy , making it suitable for any service. Motets were sacred madrigals and the language of the text was decisive: Latin for a motet and the vernacular for a madrigal. The relationship between

1215-539: The forms is clearest in composers of sacred music, such as Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina , whose "motets" setting texts from the Canticum Canticorum are among the most lush and madrigal-like, while his madrigals using Petrarch 's poems could be performed in a church. Religious compositions in vernacular languages were often called madrigali spirituali , "spiritual madrigals". These Renaissance motets developed in episodic format with separate phrases of

1260-503: The most common genres in the Magnus Liber is the clausula , which are "sections where, in discant style, the tenor uses rhythmic patterns as well as the upper part". These sections of polyphony were substituted into longer organa. The extant manuscripts provide a number of notational challenges for modern editors since they contain only the polyphonic sections to which the monophonic chant must be added. Piero di Cosimo de%27 Medici Piero di Cosimo de' Medici , known as Piero

1305-643: The motet was very important, there were two distinct, and very different types of motet: petits motets , sacred choral or chamber compositions whose only accompaniment was a basso continuo ; and grands motets , which included massed choirs and instruments up to and including a full orchestra. Jean-Baptiste Lully , Michel Richard de Lalande , Marc-Antoine Charpentier were important composers of this sort of motet. Their motets often included parts for soloists as well as choirs; they were longer, including multiple movements in which different soloist, choral, or instrumental forces were employed. Lully's motets also continued

1350-481: The name describes the movement of the different voices against one another. Today, however, the French etymology is favoured by reference books, as the word "motet" in 13th-century French had the sense of "little word". The troped clausulas that were the forerunner of the motet were originally called motelli (from the French mot , "word"), soon replaced by the term moteti . The earliest motets arose in

1395-503: The names of their owners, is plentiful indeed", tracing back to year 1456 when manuscript F first appeared in the library of Piero de' Medici . Of the two others, referred to as W1 & W2 , both in the Herzog August Bibliothek (Ducal Library) , the first is thought to have originated in the cathedral priory of St Andrews, Scotland, and less is known about W2. Catalogues referring to other lost copies attest to

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1440-603: The new musical languages of the Baroque. Heinrich Schütz wrote many motets in series of publications, for example three books of Symphoniae sacrae , some in Latin and some in German. Hans Leo Hassler composed motets such as Dixit Maria , on which he also based a mass composition. Six motets attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach and catalogued BWV 225–230 are relatively long pieces combining German hymns with biblical texts, several of them composed for funerals. Mostly written in

1485-511: The presence of the educated and of those who are seeking out subtleties in the arts". In the early 20th century, it was generally believed motet came from the Latin movere (to move), though a derivation from the French mot ("word", or "phrase") had also been suggested. The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum , and the Italian mottetto was also used. If the word is from Latin,

1530-410: The surrounding multi-voice counterpoint, adopting a technique of contemporary 'tenor masses'. This obscured the cantus firmus rhythm more than in medieval isorhythmic motets. Cascading, passing chords created by the interplay of voices and the absence of an obvious beat distinguish medieval and renaissance motet styles. Motet frequently used the texts of antiphons and the Renaissance period marked

1575-422: The tenor, with quicker lines moving and weaving together, a style also known as florid organum . The development from a single line of music ( monophony ) to one where multiple lines all carried the same weight ( polyphony ) is shown through the writing of organa. The practice of keeping a slow moving "tenor" line continued into secular music, and the words of the original chant survived in some cases as well. One of

1620-403: The term "motet" could in fact include certain brief single-voice songs. The texts of upper voices include subjects as diverse as courtly love odes, pastoral encounters with shepherdesses, political attacks, and many Christian devotions, especially to the Virgin Mary. In many cases, the texts of the upper voices are related to the themes of the chant passage they elaborate on, even in cases where

1665-424: The text given independent melodic treatment and contrapuntal development. Secular motets, known as "ceremonial motets", typically set a Latin text to praise a monarch, music or commemorate a triumph. The theme of courtly love , often found in the medieval secular motet, was banished from the Renaissance motet. Ceremonial motets are characterised by clear articulation of formal structure and by clear diction, because

1710-411: The texts would be novel for the audience. Adrian Willaert , Ludwig Senfl , and Cipriano de Rore are prominent composers of ceremonial motets from the first half of the 16th century. The motet was one of the preeminent forms of Renaissance music . Important composers of Renaissance motets include: In the latter part of the 16th century, Giovanni Gabrieli and other composers developed a new style,

1755-421: The transition from medieval to Renaissance music , as most composers abandoned the use of a repeated figure as a cantus firmus . Guillaume Dufay was a transitional figure in this regard, writing one of the last important motets in the medieval, isorhythmic style, Nuper rosarum flores , in 1436. During the second half of the fifteenth century Motets stretched the cantus firmus to greater lengths compared to

1800-427: The upper part(s), creating motets. From these first motets arose a medieval tradition of secular motets. These were two- to four-part compositions in which different texts, sometimes in different vernacular languages, were sung simultaneously over a (usually Latin-texted) cantus firmus usually adapted from a melismatic passage of Gregorian chant on a single word or phrase. It is also increasingly argued that

1845-546: The upper voices are secular in content. Most medieval motets are anonymous compositions and significantly re-use music and text. They are transmitted in a number of contexts, and were most popular in northern France. The largest surviving collection is in the Montpellier Codex . Increasingly in the 14th and 15th centuries, motets made use of repetitive patterns often termed panisorhythmic ; that is, they employed repeated rhythmic patterns in all voices—not only

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1890-443: The wide diffusion through Western Europe of the repertoire later called ars antiqua . Heinrich Husmann summarizes that "these manuscripts, then, do not represent any more the original state of the Magnus Liber, but rather enlarged forms of it, differing from each other. In fact, these manuscripts embody different stylistic developments of the Magnus Liber itself, particularly in the field of composition mentioned by Anonymous IV,

1935-487: Was marked by an attempted coup led by Luca Pitti , Niccolò Soderini, Diotisalvi Neroni , Angelo Acciaiuoli and his cousin Pierfrancesco de' Medici , who used troops provided by Borso d'Este , Duke of Modena and Reggio , and commanded by his brother Ercole d'Este , planned for 26 August 1466. Piero was warned by Giovanni II Bentivoglio and was able to escape the coup, in part because his son Lorenzo discovered

1980-534: Was named as Cosimo's executor, but predeceased his father. In 1461, Piero was the last Medici elected to the office of Gonfaloniere . His gout often kept him confined to bed. This meant that his bedroom effectively became his office, where he would conduct political meetings. This led to the Medici palace becoming the seat of government in Florence. Upon taking over the Medici bank from his father, Piero had

2025-400: Was not new, there lacked the established and codified musical theory techniques to enable the rational construction of such pieces. The Magnus Liber represents a step in the development of Western music between plainchant and the intricate polyphony of the later thirteenth and fourteenth centuries (see Machaut and Ars Nova ). The music of the Magnus Liber displays a connection to

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