Any study of musical borrowing in the early fifteenth century can be useful in its ability to highlight both preferred compositional practices and possible biographical connections between composers. The musical and textual parallels between Power's motet Anima mea liquefacta est and its model, Binchois's chanson De plus en plus, show a careful integration of pre-existing musical material into a new musical context. Power's adaptation of the chanson melody ranges from nearly literal quotation to extensive paraphrase, and includes large-scale structural modeling. Textual similarities between these two works suggest that it may have been the text, more than any musical considerations, which prompted Power to choose De plus en plus as his model, and a recognition of these textual correlations is necessary for a full appreciation of Anima mea.

Works: Power: Anima mea liquefacta est (55-72).

Sources: Binchois: De plus en plus (55-72).

Index Classifications: 1400s

Contributed by: Sherri Winks