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

In considering the origins of the cyclic mass, scholars have suggested both liturgical and aesthetic considerations, although evidence suggests that the mass was liturgically unified before any attempts at musical unification took place. The growth in the popularity of the cantus firmus mass occurred as the popularity of tropes was decreasing, and it possible that the early cantus firmus served as a substitute for a trope, carrying with it a certain degree of meaning or symbolism similar to that of an added trope. Given the choice of cantus firmus in many early English cyclic masses, it appears that many were intended to be associated with the king and certain royal rituals. Following decades of problems plaguing the Papacy, a number of cantus firmus masses written in the mid-fifteenth century, including those with references to military symbolism, were likely written in support of recovering Papal power. With these allusions to current political and religious concerns, it is unlikely that these cyclic masses served purely liturgical purposes.

Works: Dunstable: Missa Rex saeculorum (256); Frye: Missa Flos regalis (256); Driffelde: Missa Eructavit cor meum (256); Anonymous: Missa Veterem hominem (256); Anonymous: Missa caput (256); Dufay: Gloria ad modum tubae (259), Missa Caput (259); Anonymous: Patrem tubula (261, 263, 264); Regis: Missa L'homme armé (262); Tapissier: Eia dulcis/Vale placens (264-5); Dufay: Missa L'homme armé (265), Missa Se la face ay pale (265).

Index Classifications: 1400s

Contributed by: Sherri Winks

By the end of the fifteenth century, composers using pre-existing material frequently treated that material as a point of departure rather than as a source on which to base an entire piece. This trend is evident in the group of compositions based on the chanson Allez regrets by Hayne van Ghizeghem. The three known intabulations based on this chanson all carefully follow the model with little structural deviation, although there is a great deal of elaboration in the borrowed melodic material. In the five chansons based on Allez regrets, each begins with a literal quotation from the superius and tenor of the model. Throughout the remainder of the new pieces, one voice is borrowed from the original and the others are freely composed, resulting in a greater amount of experimentation with the existing material than was found in the intabulations. Five known masses are based on Allez regrets, and employ a variety of techniques in using the borrowed material, including quotation, paraphrase, cantus firmus, and use of melodic material as points of imitation. These varying usages result in a wide range of resemblance to the model, and point to the potential of Allez regrets for use in many compositional contexts.

Works: Capirola: A les regres (165-68); Gerle: Ales regres (165-68); Kleber: Ales regres (165-68); Agricola: Allez regrets (169); Anonymous: Allez regrets (169); Organi: Allez regrets (170); Senfl: Allez regrets (170); Compère: Venes regretz (170-71), Missa Allez regrets (172-73); Bruhier: Missa Carminum (172); Anonymous: Missa Allez regrets (172); Prioris: Missa Allez regrets (172); Josquin: Missa Allez regrets (173-74); Scompianus: Missa Allez regrets (175).

Sources: Ghizeghem: Allez regrets.

Index Classifications: 1400s, 1500s

Contributed by: Sherri Winks

Fortuna desperata, one of the most popular chansons of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, survives in more than thirty sources and in thirty-one distinct settings. Although it has been attributed to Busnois, its strophic form and Italian text separate it from most of Busnois's other chansons, making this attribution doubtful. Of the twenty-four surviving cantus firmus settings of the chanson, two rather unusual practices occur with some frequency. The tenor is transposed from its original Lydian mode to Phrygian in five pieces, and the borrowed material from the chanson is combined with another pre-existent melody and/or text in thirteen pieces. Both of these practices may be explained by the application of symbolism related to the goddess Fortuna. Although Lydian is the mode most frequently associated with Fortuna, the transposition of the mode may reflect the image of Fortuna turning her wheel. In the pieces in which the Fortuna cantus firmus is combined with pre-existing material, there are strong correlations between the myth of Fortuna and the added (or implied) texts, and these added texts give further meaning to the new work. These new meanings, as well as the overall popularity of Fortuna desperata, provide examples of trends in late fifteenth-century humanist thought.

Works: Josquin: Fortuna d'un gran tempo (8); Martini: Fortuna desperata (9); Greiter: Passibus ambiguis (9, 13, 14, 17); Senfl: Fortuna ad voices musicales (9, 13, 17-18); Anonymous: Consideres mes incessantes (13, 15); Breitengraser: Fortuna desperata (13); Senfl: Nasci, pati, mori (15), Ich steund an einem morgen (15), Es taget vor dem Walde (15); Isaac: Bruder Conrat (15); Jachet: Ave mater (16); Senfl: Virgo prudentissima (16), Herr durch dein Blut (17); Isaac: Sancte Petre ora pro nobis (17); Anonymous: Zilbadone (17).

Sources: Busnois(?):Fortuna desperata (7-8).

Index Classifications: 1400s, 1500s

Contributed by: Sherri Winks

Although Palestrina wrote his two L'homme armé masses nearly a century after the majority of masses in this tradition were written, it is clear that he was consciously looking to this tradition for guidance in his own compositions, perhaps as an act of emulation. The influence of the L'homme armé masses of Josquin and Morales is evident, and evidence confirms that Palestrina would have been familiar with these works. Palestrina further followed earlier traditions in his choice of mode, prolation, and notation. It has been suggested that Palestrina chose to use the L'homme armé melody to prove he could equal Josquin's earlier achievements, although this is likely not the sole reason. In acknowledging the practices of the past, it is possible that Palestrina was trying to create a place for himself not only within the L'homme armé tradition, but within the revered traditions associated with composition and the Capella Sistina.

Works: Palestrina: Missa L'homme armé [1570], Missa L'homme armé [1582].

Sources: Josquin: Missa L'homme armé sexti toni (192), Missa L'homme armé super voces musicales (192, 197); Morales: Missa L'homme armé [1540] (192-94), Missa L'homme armé [1544] (192-94); De Orto: Missa L'homme armé (199-200).

Index Classifications: 1500s

Contributed by: Sherri Winks

In contrast to the long-held view that the cyclic mass originated in polyphonic settings, it has recently been demonstrated by Leo Schrade that unified cycles of plainchant masses existed for several hundred years before the first documented polyphonic mass. The argument can be strongly made, however, that these early plainchant masses were unified far more by liturgical considerations than by musical ones. An exception to this may be six plainchant masses found in the Cypriot manuscript, in which each mass is unified by general similarities of melodic style and use of a single mode. Although this concept may not have originated with these works, if the 1413 dating of the Cypriot manuscript is correct, then these six masses predate any known complete polyphonic mass cycles.

Index Classifications: 1300s, 1400s

Contributed by: Sherri Winks

Obrecht's Missa Sicut spina rosam occupies an unusual place in the composer's output in that its cantus firmus is taken from the final portion of the respond from the Responsory Ad nutum Domini, rather than from the beginning of the chant. Also unusual is the very free treatment of the cantus firmus during the course of the mass, recalling procedures more closely associated with Ockeghem than with Obrecht. The attribution to Obrecht, however, is strengthened by the clear phrases, active rhythms, and carefully prepared cadences found throughout the mass. It seems, then, as if Obrecht was consciously alluding to Ockeghem's style, even quoting portions of his Missa Mi-Mi, though his reasons for doing so are uncertain. If one allows that Obrecht's mass was composed in the 1490s, then a likely motivation for composition was Ockeghem's death in 1497, making the Missa Sicut spina rosam one of several works written to commemorate the elder composer's death.

Works: Obrecht: Missa Sicut spina rosam (3-13).

Sources: Gregorian Chant: Ad nutum Domini (4); Ockeghem: Missa Mi-Mi (5).

Index Classifications: 1400s

Contributed by: Sherri Winks

Despite clear similarities in the evolution of the Neoclassical styles of Schoenberg and Stravinsky, comparisons often prove more insightful when used to highlight their differences. Both composers felt a strong need to reconcile current compositional trends with those of the past, and attempted this partially through borrowing from the established classical tradition, as seen in Stravinsky's use of established forms in non-conventional ways. Stravinsky's tendency to use existing music as musical material to be manipulated is evident in the third movement of his Piano Sonata, which is clearly based on Beethoven's Sonata in F Major, Op. 54. While there is a clear relationship between these pieces, Stravinsky's use of the material completely reconceives Beethoven's ideas of form and harmony, a trait common to many of Stravinsky's recompositions.

Works: Stravinsky: Piano Sonata (541), Octet for Winds (541-42).

Sources: Beethoven: Piano Sonata in F Major, Op. 54 (541).

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Sherri Winks

Despite Stravinsky's claim that his goal was to remain faithful to "the theme as a melody," the degree of relationship to the original melody varies widely in his variation works. While the melody itself is generally recognizable, his treatment of other musical elements is nearly unlimited in its freedom and flexibility. Though his variation works are dominated by free variation techniques, there are examples of clear influence from variation practices dating from the sixteenth century through the nineteenth century. Stravinsky's use of variations frequently creates sharp contrasts of mood within a piece, while maintaining cohesion through the use of repetitive figuration and ostinato figures. Considered as a group, Stravinsky's variations are clearly linked to the traditions of the past while making use of progressive compositional techniques.

Works: Stravinsky: Pulcinella (61), Octet for Wind Instruments (61-63, 64, 69, 70, 71), Concerto for Two Pianos (61-63, 68-69, 70, 71), Jeu de cartes (61-63, 65-66, 71-72), Danses concertantes (61-62, 63, 65, 66-67, 70-71, 72), Sonata for Two Pianos (61-62, 63, 65, 68, 70-71, 72), Ebony Concerto (61-62, 63, 65, 66-67, 72), Septet (61-62, 63, 64-65, 70, 72).

Sources: Haydn: Variations in F minor, Hob. XVII:6 (63); Byrd: John come kisse me now (64); Scheidt: Christe, qui lux es et dies (64); J. S. Bach: Von Himmel hoch, da komm' ich her, BWV 606 (65), Christ, der du bist der helle Tag, BWV 766 (67); Ebner: Variations on an Air (69); Beethoven: Thirty-Three Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli,Op. 120 (71); Schumann: 12 Etudes Symphoniques, Op. 13 (71).

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Sherri Winks

Though Cavazzoni's canzona for keyboard entitled Plus ne regres has been previously connected to Josquin's Plus nulz regretz, a stronger case can be made that this piece was actually based on Josquin's Plusieurs regretz. In his version, Cavazzoni preserves the opening points of imitation and overall structure of the piece, using this as a point of departure for the composition. The melodic material in the opening is ornamented but clearly recognizable. This is clearly not a mere intabulation for keyboard, but a paraphrase or parody of Josquin's work.

Works: Cavazzoni: Plus ne regres.

Sources: Josquin: Plusieurs regretz.

Index Classifications: 1500s

Contributed by: Sherri Winks

Many of the works of Pierre de la Rue have been mistakenly ascribed to Josquin des Prez. A comparison of key compositional techniques in their four-voice masses may reveal why this error occurred so frequently. Few differences in cantus firmus treatment can be found between the composers, with both using the borrowed material fairly literally, in extended note values, as the basis for an ostinato pattern, or as a basis for melismatic elaboration. Both composers make frequent use of the motto technique as a means of unification within masses. In their early parody masses, both composers tended to borrow from individual voices rather than an entire polyphonic source, although La Rue borrowed more heavily from all voices later in his career. Since their treatment of borrowed material is similar in many cases, an examination of differences in melodic development is more useful for distinguishing between the styles of these two composers.

Works: Josquin: Missa L'homme armé (370, 371), Missa L'homme armé super voces musicales (370, 371): La Rue: Missa L'homme armé (370, 371), Missa Cum jucunditate (371, 373), Missa Puer natus (371), Missa Nunqua fué pena maior (371, 372): Josquin: Missa Allez regretz (371), Missa Ave maris stella (371), Missa Ad fugum (371), Missa Di dadi (371), Missa L'ami Baudichon (371), Missa Malheur me bat (372), Missa Fortuna desperata (372), Missa Mater patris (372), Missa Hercules Dux Ferrariae (372), Missa La sol fa re mi (372), Missa Faisant regretz (372); La Rue: Missa Incessament (372), Missa Ave sanctissima Maria (372, 375), Missa Almana (373, 374).

Sources: Hayne van Ghizeghem: Allez regretz (371); Ockeghem: Malheur me bat (372); Busnois: Fortuna desperata (372).

Index Classifications: 1400s, 1500s

Contributed by: Sherri Winks

Although evidence suggests that the pairing of sacred works by Tudor composers was a popular compositional practice, the extensive loss of music from this period makes it difficult to discern to what degree this actually occurred. Of the surviving works that have been paired according to musical or textual similarities, a large number appear to have been written for specific liturgical or government-related celebrations. The sacred works involved in these groupings include cyclic masses, votive antiphons, and Magnificats, and it is the mass-antiphon pairs that have survived in greatest number. The degree to which each pair is related varies greatly, from a pair sharing the same cantus firmus, to a pair containing extensive cross-quotation, to a pair in which the similarities are vague enough to be considered coincidental. A more thorough investigation of techniques and purposes for the grouping of sacred works is needed to determine the historical importance of this practice.

Works: (listed as pairs or groupings): Aston: Missa Te matrem Dei and Te matrem Dei (9, 11); Taverner: Missa Mater Christi and Mater Christi (9, 12), Small Devotion Mass and O Christe Jesu (9, 12); Fayrfax: Missa Albanus and O Maria Deo grata (9, 11); Tallis: Missa Puer natus and Suscipe quaeso (9,12); Fayrfax: Missa O bone Jesu and O bone Jesu (antiphon and Magnificat) (10, 11), Missa Regali ex progenie, Gaude flore virginali, and Regale (10, 11); Tye: Missa Euge bone and Quaesumus omnipotens (10, 12); Ludford: Missa Inclina and Ave Maria ancilla Trinitatis (11), Missa Bendicta et venerabilis and Benedicta (11); Pashe: Missa Christus resurgens and Magnificat (11-12); Tallis: Missa Salve intemerata and Salve intemerata (12).

Index Classifications: 1500s

Contributed by: Sherri Winks

A number of surviving manuscripts contain masses with a motet based on the same musical material included at the end of the cycle. While it is easy to assume that these masses are merely parody masses based on the accompanying motet, it appears instead that these are examples of masses and motets conceived simultaneously. Unity is achieved primarily through the use of a common tenor and/or head motive that occurs throughout, with similarities in remaining voices varying greatly from one example to another. The six positively identified examples of the mass-motet cycle all exist in manuscripts located in southern Germany, and many of the compositional traits in each mass suggest the influence of the continental English composers working in Germany in the first half of the fifteenth century. Given the few extant examples of the mass-motet cycle, it is likely that its popularity was limited due to the lack of liturgical function associated with the motet.

Works: Anonymous: Missa O rosa bella, O pater eterne (303-5); Philipus: Missa Hilf und gib rat, O gloriosa mater cristi maria (305-6); Anonymous: Missa Esclave puist yl, Gaude maria virgo (307-8); de Rouge: Missa Soyez aprantiz (309-10); Anonymous: Stella coeli extirpavit (309-10); Anonymous: Missa Meditatio cordis, Gaude maria virgo (309); Frye: Missa Summe trinitati (310); Anonymous: Salve virgo mater pia (310).

Sources: Dunstable: O rosa bella (303); Binchois: Esclave puist yl (307); Frye: So ys emprentid (309); Gregorian Chant: Meditatio cordis (309), Summae trinitati (310).

Index Classifications: 1400s

Contributed by: Sherri Winks

A Missa De tous biens plaines, one of six mass settings based on Hayne's chanson of the same name, is found in five sources with conflicting attributions. The cantus firmus is quoted almost literally throughout, varying only at approaches to a cadence, and phrases taken from the chanson are frequently split in the middle of a phrase, rather than at a cadence. While this technique is unusual in fifteenth-century practice, it can be found in several masses by Compère. A comparison of this work to Compère's masses, and specifically to his Missa Ominum bonorum plena, reveals additional similarities in compositional approach. Besides being based on the same chanson, both the Missa De tous biens plaines and the Missa Ominum bonorum plena feature a simplicity of cantus firmus setting not found in Compère's other masses, and both have distinctly Marian associations. These similarities suggest that the two masses were composed at approximately the same time, and that both can be convincingly attributed to Compère.

Works: Compère: Missa De tous biens plaine (437-54), Missa Alles regrets (448-50), Missa L'homme armé (448-49), Missa Ominum bonorum plena (448-54).

Sources: Hayne van Ghizeghem: De tous biens plaine (438).

Index Classifications: 1400s

Contributed by: Sherri Winks

The Missa Je ne seray is clearly based on Philipet des Pres's Je ne seray plus vert vestus, using the superius of the chanson as the basis for the cantus firmus of the mass. During portions of the mass in which the cantus firmus is not present, other voices of the model are borrowed as melodic material. Comparisons to Obrecht's Missa Fors seulement reveal striking similarities in cantus firmus treatment, quotation of voices other than the cantus firmus, use of ostinato figures, and use of unusual cadential figures. These parallels in compositional approach, especially in the use of the borrowed material, provide strong evidence for the addition of Missa Je ne seray to a list of Obrecht's works.

Works: Obrecht: Missa Je ne seray (102-8), Missa Fors seulement (104-6).

Sources: Philipet des Pres: Je ne seray plus vert vestus (102).

Index Classifications: 1400s

Contributed by: Sherri Winks