The literature that considers the development of the genre of French polyphonic song around 1300 overlooks a collection of motets built on French tenors in the Montpellier Codex (F-MOf H 196), the Turin motet book (I-Tr vari 42), and the Roman de Fauvel (F-Pn fr. 146). Rather than following the style of polyphonic chanson by composers like Adam de la Halle, which includes the near homophonic setting of a single text in all voices, composers of these motets took their ideas from the compositional practices of the early motet, including the conventional treatment of overlapping musical phrases and a polytextual setting. In addition to these features, the upper voices of these motets mirror the structure of their borrowed tenors in a variety of ways and to varying degrees. Throughout this body of motets, two techniques are prominent. The first includes the adopting of the repetitive structure of the tenor in the upper voices, both musically and textually. The second prominent technique composers use to reflect the structure of the tenor in the upper voices is to retain the conventional overlapping of phrases between voices while creating song structures in all three parts.

Works: Anonymous: Tout solas et toute joie/Bone amour/Ne me blasmes (374-80); Anonymous: Dame bele et avenant/Fi, mari/Nus n’iert (380); Anonymous: Par une matinee/O clemencie/D’un joli dart (381-82); Anonymous: Entre Copin et Bourgeois/Je me cuidoie/Bele Ysabelos (382-85); Anonymous: Amours m’a pris/Bien me maine/Riens de vous vaut (382-86); Anonymous: En mai, quant rosier/L’autre jour/Hé, revelle toi (386-87); Anonymous: Au cuer ai un mal/Ja ne m’en repentiray/Jolietement (387-90); Anonymous: Au tans nouvel/Chele m’a tollu ma joie/J’ai fait tout nouvelement (391-93); Anonymous: S’on me regarde/Prennés i garde/Hé, mi enfant (391-98); Anonymous: Je voi douleur/Fauvel nous a fait present/Autant (398-400).

Sources: Anonymous: Ne me blasmes (374-80); Adam de la Halle: Fi, mari (380); Anonymous: O clemencie (381-82); Anonymous: Bele Ysabelos (382-85); Anonymous: Riens de vous vaut (383-86); Anonymous: Hé, revelle toi (386-87); Anonymous: Jolietement (387-90); Anonymous: J’ai fait tout nouvelement (391-93); Anonymous: Hé, mi enfant (391-98).

Index Classifications: Polyphony to 1300, 1300s

Contributed by: Daniel Rogers