Pérotin
Encyclopedia
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, believed to be French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, who lived around the end of the 12th and beginning of the 13th century. He was the most famous member of the Notre Dame school
Notre Dame school
The group of composers working at or near the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris from about 1160 to 1250, along with the music they produced, is referred to as the Notre Dame school, or the Notre Dame School of Polyphony....
of polyphony
Polyphony
In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
and the ars antiqua
Ars antiqua
Ars antiqua, also called ars veterum or ars vetus, refers to the music of Europe of the late Middle Ages between approximately 1170 and 1310, covering the period of the Notre Dame school of polyphony and the subsequent years which saw the early development of the motet...
style. He was one of very few composers of his day whose name has been preserved, and can be reliably attached to individual compositions; this is due to the testimony of an anonymous English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
student at Notre Dame
Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris , also known as Notre Dame Cathedral, is a Gothic, Roman Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. It is the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Paris: that is, it is the church that contains the cathedra of...
known as Anonymous IV
Anonymous IV
Anonymous IV is the designation given to the writer of an important treatise of medieval music theory. He was probably an English student working at Notre Dame in Paris, most likely in the 1270s or 1280s. Nothing is known about his life, not even his name...
, who wrote about him and his predecessor Léonin
Léonin
Léonin is the first known significant composer of polyphonic organum. He was probably French, probably lived and worked in Paris at the Notre Dame Cathedral and was the earliest member of the Notre Dame school of polyphony and the ars antiqua style who is known by name...
. Anonymous IV called him "Magister Petronius" ("Pérotin the Master"). The title, employed also by Johannes de Garlandia
Johannes de Garlandia (music theorist)
Johannes de Garlandia was a French music theorist of the late ars antiqua period of medieval music...
, means that Perotinus, like Leoninus, earned the degree magister artium, almost certainly in Paris, and that he was licensed to teach. The name Perotinus, the Latin diminutive of Petrus, is assumed to be derived from the French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
name Pérotin, diminutive of Pierre. The diminutive was presumably a mark of respect bestowed by his colleagues. He was also designated "magnus" by Anonymous IV, a mark of the esteem in which he was held, even long after his death.
Musical forms and style
Pérotin composed organaOrganum
Organum is, in general, a plainchant melody with at least one added voice to enhance the harmony, developed in the Middle Ages. Depending on the mode and form of the chant, a supporting bass line may be sung on the same text, the melody may be followed in parallel motion , or a combination of...
, the earliest type of polyphonic
Polyphony
In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
; previous European music, such as Gregorian
Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...
and other types of chant
Chant
Chant is the rhythmic speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes to highly complex musical structures Chant (from French chanter) is the rhythmic speaking or singing...
, had been monophonic
Monophony
In music, monophony is the simplest of textures, consisting of melody without accompanying harmony. This may be realized as just one note at a time, or with the same note duplicated at the octave . If the entire melody is sung by two voices or a choir with an interval between the notes or in...
. He pioneered the styles of organum triplum and organum quadruplum (three and four-part polyphony); in fact his Sederunt principes and Viderunt omnes are among only a few organa quadrupla known.
A prominent feature of his compositional style was to take a simple, well-known melody and stretch it out in time, so that each syllable was hundreds of seconds long, and then use each note of the melody (the tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
for "holder", or cantus firmus
Cantus firmus
In music, a cantus firmus is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition.The plural of this Latin term is , though the corrupt form canti firmi is also attested...
) as the basis for rhythmically complex, interweaving lines above it. The result was that one or more vocal parts sang free, quickly moving lines ("discant
Discant
Discant was a style of liturgical setting in the Middle Ages, associated with the development of the Notre Dame school of polyphony. It is a style of organum that includes a plainchant tenor part, with a "note against note" upper voice, moving in contrary motion...
s") over the chant below, which was extended to become a slowly shifting drone
Drone (music)
In music, a drone is a harmonic or monophonic effect or accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout most or all of a piece. The word drone is also used to refer to any part of a musical instrument that is just used to produce such an effect.-A musical effect:A drone...
.
Works
Works attributed to Pérotin include the four-voice Viderunt omnes and Sederunt principes; the three-voice Alleluia, Posui adiutorium, Alleluia, Nativitas, and nine others attributed to him by contemporary scholars on stylistic grounds, all in the organumOrganum
Organum is, in general, a plainchant melody with at least one added voice to enhance the harmony, developed in the Middle Ages. Depending on the mode and form of the chant, a supporting bass line may be sung on the same text, the melody may be followed in parallel motion , or a combination of...
style; the two-voice Dum sigillum summi Patris, and the monophonic Beata viscera in the conductus
Conductus
In medieval music, conductus is a type of sacred, but non-liturgical vocal composition for one or more voices. The word derives from Latin conducere , and the conductus was most likely sung while the lectionary was carried from its place of safekeeping to the place from which it was to be read...
style. (The conductus sets a rhymed Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
poem called a sequence
Sequence (poetry)
A sequence is a chant or hymn sung or recited during the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist for many Christian denominations, before the proclamation of the Gospel. By the time of the Council of Trent there were sequences for many feasts in the Church's year.The sequence has always been sung...
to a repeated melody, much like a contemporary hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
.)
Pérotin's works are preserved in the Magnus Liber
Magnus Liber
The Magnus Liber or Magnus Liber Organi is a compilation of the medieval music known as organum. The whole name of the work is Magnus liber organi de graduali et antiphonario pro servitio divino...
, the "Great Book" of early polyphonic church music, which was in the collection of the cathedral of Notre Dame
Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris , also known as Notre Dame Cathedral, is a Gothic, Roman Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. It is the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Paris: that is, it is the church that contains the cathedra of...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. The Magnus Liber also contains the works of his slightly earlier contemporary Léonin
Léonin
Léonin is the first known significant composer of polyphonic organum. He was probably French, probably lived and worked in Paris at the Notre Dame Cathedral and was the earliest member of the Notre Dame school of polyphony and the ars antiqua style who is known by name...
. However, attempts by scholars to place Pérotin at Notre Dame have been inconclusive, all evidence being circumstantial, and very little is known of his life. His dates of activity can be approximately established from some late 12th century edicts of the Bishop of Paris, Eudes de Sully
Eudes de Sully
Eudes de Sully was bishop of Paris, from 1198 to 1208.-Life:On the political stage, he came into conflict with the French king, Philip Augustus, over Philip's intended repudiation of his wife....
, which mention organum triplum and organum quadruplum, and his known collaboration with poet Philip the Chancellor
Philip the Chancellor
Philip the Chancellor was a French theologian and Latin lyric poet. He was the illegitimate son of Philippe, Archdeacon of Paris , and was part of a family of powerful clerics. He was born and studied theology in Paris. He was chancellor of Notre Dame de Paris starting in 1217 until his death, and...
, whose Beata viscera he could not have set before about 1220. The bishop's edicts are quite specific, and suggest that Pérotin's organum quadruplum Viderunt omnes was written for Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
1198, and his other organum quadruplum Sederunt Principes was composed for St. Stephen's Day
St. Stephen's Day
St. Stephen's Day, or the Feast of St. Stephen, is a Christian saint's day celebrated on 26 December in the Western Church and 27 December in the Eastern Church. Many Eastern Orthodox churches adhere to the Julian calendar and mark St. Stephen's Day on 27 December according to that calendar, which...
(December 26), 1199, for the dedication of a new wing of the Notre Dame Cathedral. His music, as well as that of Léonin and their anonymous contemporaries, has been grouped together as the School of Notre Dame
Notre Dame school
The group of composers working at or near the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris from about 1160 to 1250, along with the music they produced, is referred to as the Notre Dame school, or the Notre Dame School of Polyphony....
.
Two important members of the Notre Dame administration have been suggested as possible identitied for Perotinus: the theologian Petrus Cantor (who died in 1197) and the Petrus who was Succentor
Succentor
The Succentor in an ancient cathedral foundation sings psalms and Preces and Responses after the Precentor. In English cathedrals today the priest responsible for liturgy and music is usually the Precentor, but some cathedrals, such as St Paul's and Durham, retain a Succentor as well. Westminster...
of Notre Dame from at least 1207 until about 1238. Petrus Succentor more probable, in part on chronological grounds, and partly because of the succentor's role in overseeing the celebration of the liturgy in the cathedral.
Contemporary critiques
With polyphonyPolyphony
In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
, musicians were able to achieve musical feats perceived by many as beautiful, and by others, distasteful. John of Salisbury
John of Salisbury
John of Salisbury , who described himself as Johannes Parvus , was an English author, educationalist, diplomat and bishop of Chartres, and was born at Salisbury.-Early life and education:...
(1120–1180) taught at the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
during the years of Léonin
Léonin
Léonin is the first known significant composer of polyphonic organum. He was probably French, probably lived and worked in Paris at the Notre Dame Cathedral and was the earliest member of the Notre Dame school of polyphony and the ars antiqua style who is known by name...
and Pérotin. He attended many concerts at the Notre Dame Choir School. In De nugis curialiam he offers a first-hand description of what was happening to music in the high Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. This philosopher
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and Bishop of Chartres
Roman Catholic Diocese of Chartres
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Chartres is a Roman Catholic Latin Rite diocese in France.The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Tours.-Pilgrimages:...
wrote:
Influence
Pérotin's music has influenced modern minimalistMinimalist music
Minimal music is a style of music associated with the work of American composers La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass. It originated in the New York Downtown scene of the 1960s and was initially viewed as a form of experimental music called the New York Hypnotic School....
composers such as Steve Reich
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
, particularly in Reich's work Proverb
Proverb (Reich)
Proverb is a musical composition by Steve Reich for three sopranos, two tenors, two vibraphones, and two electric organs. It sets a text by Ludwig Wittgenstein. It was written in 1995 and was originally intended for The Proms and the Utrecht Early Music Festival...
.
Sources and further reading
- Bent, Ian D. (1980). "Pérotin". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 20 vols., ed. Stanley Sadie, 14:540–43. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd. ISBN 1561591742
- Flotzinger, Rudolf (2000). Perotinus musicus: Wegbereiter abendländischen Komponierens. Mainz: Schott Musik International. ISBN 3-7957-0431-6.
- Flotzinger, Rudolf (2007). Von Leonin zu Perotin: Der musikalische Paradigmenwechsel in Paris um 1210. Varia Musicologica 8. Bern: Peter Lang. ISBN 978-3-03910-987-6.
- Hayburn, Robert F. (1979). Papal Legislation on Sacred Music 95 AD to 1977 AD. Collegeville: The Liturgical Press.
- Heerings, Arnoud (2005). "Perotinus". Gregoriusblad: Tijdschrift tot bevordering van liturgische muziek 129, no. 1 (March): 53–57.
- Hillier, PaulPaul HillierPaul Douglas Hillier is a conductor, music director and baritone. He specializes in early music and contemporary art music, especially that by composers Steve Reich and Arvo Pärt. He studied at Magdalen College, Oxford and the Guildhall School of Music, beginning his professional career while a...
(1989). "Perotin". program notes to The Hilliard Ensemble: Perotin. CD ECM New Series 1385 (837-751-2). Munich: ECM Records. - Hoppin, Richard H. (1978). Medieval Music. New York: W. W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0393090906
- Morent, Stefan. 2002. "Der 'wahre' Perotin? Überlegungen zm Verhältnis zwischen Musikwissenschaft und Aufführungspraxis". In Musikwissenschaft im Phonomarkt: 'Alte Musik' und CD-Produktion—Bericht zum 1. Lüneburger Musiksymposium im Februar 1999, edited by Evelyn Marien, Andreas Heinen, and Simon M. Sommer, 69–79. Schriftenreihe zur Musikwissenschaft der Universität Lüneburg 1. Wilhelmshaven: Noetzel. ISBN 978-3-7959-0809-6.
- Page, Christopher. (1990) The Owl and the Nightingale: Musical Life and Ideas in France 1100-1300. University of California Press. ISBN 0520069447
- Pinegar, Sandra (1995). "Pérotin" in William W. Kibler (ed.), Medieval France: An Encyclopedia, p. 720. Psychology Press. ISBN 0824044444
- Reich, Steve (n.d.). "Proverb (1995): Composer's Note". Boosey & Hawkes publisher's website. (Accessed 19 March 2011)
- Riehn, Rainer, and Heinz-Klaus Metzger (eds.) (2000). Musik-Konzepte 107 (January 2000): Perotinus Magnus. Munich: Edition text + kritik. ISBN 3-88377-629-7.
- Roesner, Edward H. (n.d.). "Perotinus [Perrotinus, Perotinus Magnus, Magister Perotinus, Pérotin]". Grove Music Online, ed. Deane Root. Oxford Music Online (Accessed January 15, 2011), (subscription access)
- Sanders, Ernest H. 1967. "The Question of Perotin's Œuvre and Dates". In Festschrift für Walter Wiora zum 30. Dezember 1966, edited by Ernest J. Sanders, 241–49. Kassel: Bärenreiter.
Recordings
- Gothic Revolution - Sacred MusicThe SixteenThe SixteenThe Sixteen are a choir and period instrument orchestra; founded by Harry Christophers in 1979.The group's special reputation for performing early English polyphony, masterpieces of the Renaissance, bringing fresh insights into Baroque and early Classical music and a diversity of 20th century...
, Harry ChristophersHarry ChristophersHarry Christophers is an English conductor. He attended the King's School, Canterbury and was a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral under choirmaster Allan Wicks and played clarinet in the school orchestra alongside Andrew Marriner...
, Simon Russell BealeSimon Russell BealeSimon Russell Beale, CBE is an English actor. He has been described by The Independent as "the greatest stage actor of his generation."-Early years:...
CORO DVD - Messe de la Nativité de la Vierge. Ensemble Organum, Marcel Pérès. Harmonia Mundi 901538 (1995).
- Perotin. The Hilliard EnsembleHilliard EnsembleThe Hilliard Ensemble is a British male vocal quartet originally devoted to the performance of early music. Founded in 1974, the group is named after the Elizabethan miniaturist painter Nicholas Hilliard....
, CD ECM New Series, 837-751-2