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TONE AND MODE IN THE POLYPHONIC MAGNIFICAT CYCLE ca. 1530-1552 by Andrew Simmons Thesis presented for the degree of Master of Philosophy in the Faculty of Music of the University of Edinburgh, July 1995. CONTENTS page number List of Tables iii Abstract vii Acknowledgements viii Introductory Notes ix Introduction 1 Chapter One The Polyphonic Magnificat and its Structural Basis Chapter Two Mode and Polyphony 15 Chapter Three· Analytical Method 24 Chapter Four Magnificats Based on Tones 1 and 2 35 Chapter Five Magnificats Based on Tones 3 and 4 61 Chapter Six Magnificats Based on Tones 5 and 6 82 Chapter Seven Magnificats Based on Tones 7 and 8 117 Summary and Conclusion 146 Appendices 151 Bibliography 157 ii List of Tables Table 2.1 Pontio's Cadence Pitches for Free Polyphony 18 Table 4.1 Tonal Types of Protus-mode Polyphony from 35 Modally-ordered Collections Table 4.2 Vocal Ranges in D-final and G-final 36 protus-mode Polyphony Table 4.3 Tonal Types of Tone 1and2 Magnificats 37 Table 4.4 Opening Pitches in G-final Tone 1 Magnificats 41 Table 4.5 Opening Pitches in D-final Tone 1 Magnificats 41 Table 4.6 Cadence Plan: Festa Tone 1 Magnificat, 44 Quiafecit Table4.7 Cadence Plan: Gombert Tone 1 Magnificat, 45 Et exultavit Table 4.8 Cadence Plan: Carpentras Tone 1 Magnificat (2), 46 Quiafecit Table 4.9 Cadence Plan: Clemens Tone 1 Magnificat (B), 48 Esurientes Table 4.10 Cadence Plan: Gombert Tone 1 Magnificat, 49 Quiafecit Table 4.11 Opening Pitches in G-final Tone 2 Magnificats 50 Table 4.12 Opening Pitches in Clemens' A-final Tone 2 50 Magnificat Table 4.13 Cadence Plan: Clemens Tone 2 Magnificat (L), 54 Et exultavit Table 4.14 Cadence Plan: Festa Tone 2 Magnificat, 55 F ecit potentiam Table 4.15 Cadence Plan: Carpentras Tone 2 Magnificat, 56 Quia respexit Table 4.16 Cadence Plan: Carpentras Tone 2 Magnificat, 58 Esurientes Table 4.17 Cadence Plan: Carpentras Tone 2 Magnificat, 59 Gloria Patri 111 Table 5.1 Tonal Types of Deuterus-mode Polyphony from 63 Modally-ordered Collections Table 5.2 Tonal Types of Tone 3 and 4 Magnificats 64 Table 5.3 Opening Pitches in Tone 3 Magnificats 66 Table 5.4 Cadence Plan: Carpentras Tone 3 Magnificat (2), 71 Deposuit potentes Table 5.5 Cadence Plan: Morales Tone 3 Magnificat, 72 Sicut erat Table 5.6 Cadence Plan: Carpentras Tone 3 Magnificat (1), 73 Sicut locutus est Table 5.7 Cadence Plan: Festa Tone 3 Magnificat, 74 Sicut locutus est Table 5.8 Cadence Plan: Gombert Tone 3 and 8 Magnificat, 75 F ecit potentiam Table 5.9 Opening Pitches in Tone 4 Magnificats 76 Table 5.10 Cadence Plan: Gombert Tone 4 Magnificat, 80 Et exultavit Table 5.11 Cadence Plan: Carpentras Tone 4 Magnificat (2), 81 Gloria Patri Table 6.1 Tonal Types of Tritus-mode Polyphony from 83 Modally-ordered Collections Table 6.2 Vocal Ranges in F-finaI tritus-mode Polyphony 84 Table 6.3 Tonal Types of Tone 5 and 6 Magnificats 84 Table 6.4 Cadence Plan: Clemens Tone 5 Magnificat (B), 94 Esurientes Table 6.5 Cadence Plan: Carpentras Tone 5 Magnificat, 96 Sicut erat (first setting) Table 6.6 Cadence Plan: Carpentras Tone 5 Magnificat, 97 F ecit potentiam Table 6.7 Cadence Plan: Carpentras Tone 5 Magnificat, 98 Esurientes Table 6.8 Cadence Plan: Festa Tone 5 Magnificat, 100 Sicut erat IV Table 6.9 Cadence Plan: Gombert Tone 5 Magnificat, 105 Sicut locutus est Table 6.10 Cadence Plan: Carpentras Tone 6 Magnificat, 110 Quiafecit Table 6.11 Cadence Plan: Clemens Tone 6 Magnificat (L), 111 Sicut locutus est Table 6.12 Cadence Plan: Morales Tone 6 Magnificat, 112 Gloria Patri Table 6.13 Cadence Plan: Festa Tone 6 Magnificat, 113 Quia respexit Table 6.14 Cadence Plan: Festa Tone 6 Magnificat, 113 Et misericordia eius Table 6.15 Cadence Plan: Gombert Tone 6 and 1 Magnificat, 114 Esurientes Table 6.16 Cadence Plan: Gombert Tone 6 and 1 Magnificat, 115 Sicut erat Table 7.1 Tonal Types of Tetrardus-mode Polyphony from 118 Modally-ordered Collections Table 7.2 Vocal Ranges in G-final Tetrardus-mode Polyphony 118 Table 7.3 Tonal Types of Tone 7 and 8 Magnificats 120 Table 7.4 Opening Pitches in Tone 7 Magnificats 123 Table 7.5 Mid-verse Cadence Pitches in Tone 7 Magnificats 126 Table 7.6 Cadence Plan: Festa Tone 7 Magnificat, Quia fee it 128 Table 7.7 Cadence Plan: Gombert Tone 7 Magnificat, 132 Quiafecit Table 7.8 Cadence Plan: Clemens Tone 7 Magnificat (B), 136 Quiafecit Table 7.9 Cadence Plan: Carpentras Tone 7 Magnificat, 139 Quiafecit v Table 7.10 Cadence Plan: Carpentras Tone 7 Magnificat, 140 Deposuit potentes Table 7.11 Cadence Plan: Morales Tone 7 Magnificat, 140 Quia respexit Table 7.12 Opening Pitches in Tone 8 Magnificats 141 Table 7.13 Cadence Plan: Morales Tone 8 Magnificat, 144 Sicut erat vi ABSTRACT This thesis is an examination of six Magnificat cycles by five composers active in continental Europe during the middle part of the sixteenth century. The composers are: Carpentras, Festa, Gombert, Morales and Clemens. The aim is to explore the differences and similarities in melodic and cadential structure between polyphonic Magnificats and free polyphony written in the equivalent modes. The melodic nature of the eight reciting tones on which the polyphonic settings are based makes makes this a particularly interesting e'xercise. The reason for this concerns the position these reciting tones occupy within the plainchant repertory. As short melodic fragments designed for the recitation of various liturgical texts, they display a sense of intrinsic rather than fully-fledged modality, and become tonally coherent only in their liturgical context (where they are framed by a plainchant antiphon). However, the extent to which the concepts of mode and tone are bound up is evident in the structural importance given by theorists to the reciting notes of the tones as an element of the modal repercussion (commonly stressed intervals in plainchant melodies). In polyphonic contexts as well, both concepts were closely related: Piere Pontio, for example, suggests that knowledge of the reciting tones is useful in differentiating between authentic and plagal modes in polyphony which does not use the reciting tones as a structural basis. Renaissance theorists discuss various ways in which reciting tones are used as a structural basis. In the context of melodic structure, one of the most common is for the Magnificat intonation to generate the initial imitative arrangement. In cadential structure, the mediation and termination finals are recommended as cadence pitches. Thus in cases where there are discrepancies in opening and closing pitches between the reciting tone and the equivalent modal final, these are also reflected in the melodic structure and cadence distribution of the polyphonic version. Further differences arise in certain cases as the mediation-final of the reciting note is not always a structurally important cadence pitch in free polyphony. Analysis of melodic structure and cadence distribution in the settings under discussion shows that in some cases, the basic outline of the Magnificat tone is closely reflected in the polyphony: the exordium of the verse is generated by the Magnificat intonation and the mediation and termination finals are the only cadence pitches. In other cases, this is varied or even ignored, and the setting displays structural characteristics more typical of those found in free modal polyphony. In most instances, these structural features are those typically found in equivalent-mode polyphony, though it is intriguing that in some cases, this is not the case, and the Magnificats display characteristics of polyphony written in other modes. After introductory material, in chapters four to seven, typical features of each of the four pairs of polyphonic modes are discussed. Information on this is taken from Bernhard Meier's The Modes of Classical Vocal P{)lyphony and Harold S. Powers' Tonal Types and Modal Categories in Renaissance Music. Against this background, the equivalent Magnificat settings are discussed. In some cases, differences in approach to composition require each composer's setting(s) to be discussed separately; in others, similarity in approach means that it would be repetitive and time-consuming to do this. The results of the analysis help to underline the unique position of polyphonic Magnificats within the overall corpus of Renaissance polyphony. Like the monophonic reciting tones, they are intrinsically rather than actually modal, though attempts are clearly made in certain cases to realize this potential more fully. vii Acknowledgements The most important acknowledgement I have to make is to the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, who have funded my studies as a graduate student for the full duration of my studies. Without the Trust's assistance, I would have been unable to undertake the research presented here.