Fragments of a newly discovered English manuscript contain a portion of the Agnus Dei from Dufay's Missa Caput, as well as portions of a different cyclical Mass. This new discovery strengthens the probability that Dufay borrowed the tenor of his Missa Caput from another unknown Caput Mass by an English composer. Several stylistic differences between the Mass of the manuscript and Dufay's Missa Caput exist as evidence of Dufay's English influence. These include: (1) the presence of a fourth voice acting as bass; (2) the bipartite division of each movement; (3) contrasting of parts by means of triple and duple meter; (4) introductory duets in each part; and (5) imitations between the free voices. Evidence also suggests that Dufay composed the Kyrie of the Missa Caput approximately ten years after the rest of the mass. This includes stylistic differences between the Kyrie and the other movements, an entry in the Cambrai archives which notes the copying of "'les kyriels' of the Caput Mass" into choirbooks, and the fact that the English cyclical Mass, which Dufay adopted, typically omitted the Kyrie.

Index Classifications: 1400s

Contributed by: Brian Phillips