Seminar in Medieval and Renaissance Music - Four early Ars nova motets: a new source

Please note: this seminar will be held at the earlier time of 4pm.

This seminar will be held on Zoom. To register, please use this form. Please make sure to register at least a week in advance of the seminar you wish to attend. For further information about the procedure for joining, please see the series termcard.

The seminar will address issues regarding the discovery of musical fragments in BnF NAF 934, fols. 79–80 (reported on https://www.diamm.ac.uk/search/?q=934; images on Gallica). Two three-voice and two four-voice motets survive, all of them unica. On the basis of notation and style, the repertory slightly postdates Fauvel. Each motet has a different form. The first utilizes a notational trick that prefigures Machaut’s M6. The second is the only isoperiodic motet, with an early, special use of red coloration in the lower voice pair. A third combines two chants, a freely rhythmized Kyrie tenor with an ostinato contratenor. The final motet is based on a Fauvel ballade.