Sub Arturo plebs
Encyclopedia
Sub Arturo plebs – Fons citharizantium – In omnem terram is an isorhythm
ic motet
of the second part of the 14th century, written by an English composer known by the name of Johannes Alanus
or John Aleyn. It stands in the tradition of the Ars nova
, the fourteenth-century school of polyphonic music based in France. It is notable for the historical information it provides about contemporary music life in England, and for its spectacularly sophisticated use of complex rhythmic devices, which mark it as a prime example of the stylistic outgrowth of the Ars nova known today as Ars subtilior
. It has been dated conjecturally to either around 1358, which, within that school of composition, would make its compositional technique exceptionally innovative for its own time, or some time later during the 1370s.
The tenor text (together with its melody) is taken from an existing Gregorian chant
: "In omnem terram exivit sonus eorum, et in fines orbis terrae verba eorum". This in turn is citing a verse from the Bible: "Their voice has gone out through all the earth, their words to the end of the world." (Ps. 19.5 and Rom
10.18). The motetus and triplum texts are newly composed for this piece. Both are written in Latin rhyming stanzas.
The middle voice or motetus, which has six six-line stanzas, first contains the praise of a succession of biblical and historical figures, each of whom is credited with a founding role for music and composition: the biblical Jubal
(here misspelled as "Tubal"), the ancient philosophers Pythagoras
and Boethius, Pope Gregory I
, and the medieval music theorists Guido of Arezzo
and Franco of Cologne
. The fifth stanza then spells out a rule for the performance of the piece itself, describing its structural plan (see below for an in-depth analysis):
Finally, the last stanza of the motetus names the composer of the piece himself, "J. Alanus", who introduces himself as "the humblest and most insignificant" and prays for protection against envy:
The third, upmost voice (triplum), in nine five-line stanzas, describes the flourishing of musical art at the contemporary English royal court, and contains the praise of a series of named English musicians of the composer's own time or recent past (thus contrasting with the motetus and its emphasis on ancient figures). It names fourteen individuals, described as accomplished singers and composers, all apparently associated with the English court. Their Latinized names are:
The first words of the text refer to a ruler under the legendary name of "Arturus" (i.e Arthur
), apparently an allusion to king Edward III
(reigned 1327 – 1377), who liked to see his role as the founder of the Order of the Garter
likened to that of the legendary Arthur. Another allusion to a "warlike prince" (princeps bellicus) among the musicians' royal patrons can easily be decoded as a reference to the king's famous son, Edward, the Black Prince
. Historians who have researched the list of names, as well as that of Johannes Alanus himself, have been able to trace several of these individuals in historical sources, indicating that they were in fact all employed as musicians in either the Chapel Royal
under Edward III, or in the private household chapel of the Black Prince, some time during the middle of the 14th century. The composer himself, identified as one John Aleyn, can be traced as the holder of various church offices ("King's clerk" at St. Paul's Cathedral, London, in 1361; a canon
at Windsor, 1362; member of the Chapel Royal at least from 1364; died 1373).
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From various political allusions in the text, in connection with what is known about the named musicians, Brian Trowell and Ursula Günther have conjectured that the work was written for a specific historical event, the festivities at Windsor Castle
on St. George's Day, 1358, when the knights of the Order of the Garter
gathered to celebrate the English victory at the Battle of Poitiers
two years earlier. Against this, Roger Bowers has proposed a dating somewhat later, in the early 1370s, i.e. the last years of life of John Aleyn. The earlier the dating, the more astonishing is the work on stylistic grounds, and the early dating has therefore been met with skepticism. The motet is characterised by a very significant structural innovation, the technique of multiple isorhtythmic diminution, which was to become a stock-in-trade technique of motet composition after 1400 but would be exceptionally innovative for 1358 or even still for 1370. Bowers comments on the idea that an English composer might have been the first to invent this technique:
, count of Foix. The presence of an English piece in this otherwise French collection has been explained through contacts between this court and neighbouring English possessions in France. The second source is Codex Bologna, Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale, Ms. Q 15, a collection that otherwise represents a somewhat later repertoire with many works from the early 15th century. A third manuscript was discovered in a private collection in the 1980s, in the form of a single sheet of music that was found bound into a 15th century book.
ic, three-part diminution motet. As with all isorhythmic motets, its structural plan is defined by its tenor
part, the foundational voice of the composition. It consists of a sequence of 24 notes taken from a pre-existing piece of Gregorian
plainchant, used as a cantus firmus
. The source for this melody has been identified as a (slightly modified) piece from the first antiphon
for the first nocturn of the commons for Apostles. The 24 notes are rhythmically defined as longae or breves in mensural notation
, in such a way that, together with interspersed rests
, they fill the time of 24 longae. This sequence is divided in three taleae, subsections measuring 8 longae each, each of which has the same repeated rhythmic sequence (hence the term isorhythm).
_isorhythmic_tenor.svg.png)
The structural innovation of the diminution motet is that the whole tenor line is repeated three times in a modified, diminished form (thus resulting in a total nine-part structure). With each repetition, it is performed faster by a factor of two thirds. In the system of late medieval mensural notation, this is achieved by applying three different mensuration rules to the three repetitions.
This means that the length proportions of the tenor between the three repetitions is exactly 9:6:4. It is this rule that the motetum text describes with the words "bis sub emiolii normis recitatur". In the extant manuscripts, the scribes have provided additional indications for defining this canon. In the Chantilly manuscript, there is a repetition sign "]|[" after the tenor notes, with a rule spelled out in words as: "Canon primo de tempore perfecto maioris, secundo de tempore imperfecto maioris, tertio de tempore imperfecto minoris". A second scribe later added a second, slightly more wordy description of the same rule at the bottom of the page. In the Bologna manuscript, there is a repetition sign consisting of three vertical bars "|||", followed by the three standard mensuration signs written one over the other: a full circle with a dot in the middle, an empty circle, and an empty semicircle; in this case, the second repetition indicates tempus perfectum cum prolatione minore.
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The metric and rhythmic relations between the three voices are quite complex. The triplum moves in tempus imperfectum cum prolatione maiore (6/8 time) throughout, no matter what the current meter of the tenor is; this results in complex patterns of overlap and syncopation. The motetus is even more complex, as it shifts between meters multiple times. This is indicated in the notation by frequent use of colaration, the use of note heads filled in in red to indicate that their temporal value is shortened to two thirds their nominal value.
Isorhythm
Isorhythm is a musical technique that arranges a fixed pattern of pitches with a repeating rhythmic pattern.-Detail:...
ic motet
Motet
In classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...
of the second part of the 14th century, written by an English composer known by the name of Johannes Alanus
Johannes Alanus
Johannes Alanus was an English composer. He wrote the motet Sub arturo plebs/Fons citharizancium/In omnem terram. Also attributed to him are the songs "Min frow, min frow" and "Min herze wil all zit frowen pflegen", both lieds, and "S'en vos por moy pitié ne truis", a virelai...
or John Aleyn. It stands in the tradition of the Ars nova
Ars nova
Ars nova refers to a musical style which flourished in France and the Burgundian Low Countries in the Late Middle Ages: more particularly, in the period between the preparation of the Roman de Fauvel and the death of the composer Guillaume de Machaut in 1377...
, the fourteenth-century school of polyphonic music based in France. It is notable for the historical information it provides about contemporary music life in England, and for its spectacularly sophisticated use of complex rhythmic devices, which mark it as a prime example of the stylistic outgrowth of the Ars nova known today as Ars subtilior
Ars subtilior
Ars subtilior is a musical style characterized by rhythmic and notational complexity, centered around Paris, Avignon in southern France, also in northern Spain at the end of the fourteenth century. The style also is found in the French Cypriot repertory...
. It has been dated conjecturally to either around 1358, which, within that school of composition, would make its compositional technique exceptionally innovative for its own time, or some time later during the 1370s.
Text and contents
Sub Arturo plebs is a composition in three voices (tenor, motetus and triplum). Like all medieval motets, it has separate texts for each voice, which are sung simultaneously. All three texts are in Latin; the title under which the work is conventionally known in scholarship today consists of the opening words of each text. Their subject matter deals with music and musicians, following a tradition of similar "musician-motets" known from contemporary France. It includes a named reference to the composer of the work, making him one of the earliest named English composers, and a self-referential description of the work's own structure.The tenor text (together with its melody) is taken from an existing Gregorian chant
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...
: "In omnem terram exivit sonus eorum, et in fines orbis terrae verba eorum". This in turn is citing a verse from the Bible: "Their voice has gone out through all the earth, their words to the end of the world." (Ps. 19.5 and Rom
Epistle to the Romans
The Epistle of Paul to the Romans, often shortened to Romans, is the sixth book in the New Testament. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by the Apostle Paul to explain that Salvation is offered through the Gospel of Jesus Christ...
10.18). The motetus and triplum texts are newly composed for this piece. Both are written in Latin rhyming stanzas.
The middle voice or motetus, which has six six-line stanzas, first contains the praise of a succession of biblical and historical figures, each of whom is credited with a founding role for music and composition: the biblical Jubal
Jubal
Jubal is a character in the Book of Genesis. "Yubhal" or in Modern Hebrew "Yuval", derived from the Biblical character, is a common male first name in contemporary Israel.Jubal may also refer to:-People:...
(here misspelled as "Tubal"), the ancient philosophers Pythagoras
Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of the information about Pythagoras was written down centuries after he lived, so very little reliable information is known about him...
and Boethius, Pope Gregory I
Pope Gregory I
Pope Gregory I , better known in English as Gregory the Great, was pope from 3 September 590 until his death...
, and the medieval music theorists Guido of Arezzo
Guido of Arezzo
Guido of Arezzo or Guido Aretinus or Guido da Arezzo or Guido Monaco or Guido d'Arezzo was a music theorist of the Medieval era...
and Franco of Cologne
Franco of Cologne
Franco of Cologne was a German music theorist and possibly composer. He was one of the most influential theorists of the late Medieval era, and was the first to propose an idea which was to transform musical notation permanently: that the duration of any note should be determined by its...
. The fifth stanza then spells out a rule for the performance of the piece itself, describing its structural plan (see below for an in-depth analysis):
Huius pes triplarii bis sub emiolii normis recitatur ut hii pulsent Dominum, quorum munum nominum triplo modulator |
The tenor ["pes", i.e. 'foot'] of this three-part piece is recited twice under the rule of the Hemiola Hemiola In modern musical parlance, a hemiola is a metrical pattern in which two bars in simple triple time are articulated as if they were three bars in simple duple time... [i.e. in a proportion of 2/3], so that those whose name roll the triplum sings may praise the Lord. |
Finally, the last stanza of the motetus names the composer of the piece himself, "J. Alanus", who introduces himself as "the humblest and most insignificant" and prays for protection against envy:
Illis licet infimus J. Alanus minimus sese recommendat, quatenus ab invidis ipsum sonis validis laus horum defendat. |
To these recommends himself the most humble and most insignificant J. Alanus, so that their praise with its mighty sounds may defend him from envy. |
The third, upmost voice (triplum), in nine five-line stanzas, describes the flourishing of musical art at the contemporary English royal court, and contains the praise of a series of named English musicians of the composer's own time or recent past (thus contrasting with the motetus and its emphasis on ancient figures). It names fourteen individuals, described as accomplished singers and composers, all apparently associated with the English court. Their Latinized names are:
- J. de Corbe
- J. de Alto Bosco
- G. Martinus
- Ricardus Blith
- Johannes de Oxonia
- G. Mughe
- Edmundus de Buria
- Blith G.
- Episwich J.
- Nicholaus de Vade Famelico
- G. de Horarum
- Symon
- Clemens
- Adam Levita
The first words of the text refer to a ruler under the legendary name of "Arturus" (i.e Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
), apparently an allusion to king Edward III
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
(reigned 1327 – 1377), who liked to see his role as the founder of the Order of the Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
likened to that of the legendary Arthur. Another allusion to a "warlike prince" (princeps bellicus) among the musicians' royal patrons can easily be decoded as a reference to the king's famous son, Edward, the Black Prince
Edward, the Black Prince
Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Prince of Aquitaine, KG was the eldest son of King Edward III of England and his wife Philippa of Hainault as well as father to King Richard II of England....
. Historians who have researched the list of names, as well as that of Johannes Alanus himself, have been able to trace several of these individuals in historical sources, indicating that they were in fact all employed as musicians in either the Chapel Royal
Chapel Royal
A Chapel Royal is a body of priests and singers who serve the spiritual needs of their sovereign wherever they are called upon to do so.-Austria:...
under Edward III, or in the private household chapel of the Black Prince, some time during the middle of the 14th century. The composer himself, identified as one John Aleyn, can be traced as the holder of various church offices ("King's clerk" at St. Paul's Cathedral, London, in 1361; a canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
at Windsor, 1362; member of the Chapel Royal at least from 1364; died 1373).
Dating
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
on St. George's Day, 1358, when the knights of the Order of the Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
gathered to celebrate the English victory at the Battle of Poitiers
Battle of Poitiers (1356)
The Battle of Poitiers was fought between the Kingdoms of England and France on 19 September 1356 near Poitiers, resulting in the second of the three great English victories of the Hundred Years' War: Crécy, Poitiers, and Agincourt....
two years earlier. Against this, Roger Bowers has proposed a dating somewhat later, in the early 1370s, i.e. the last years of life of John Aleyn. The earlier the dating, the more astonishing is the work on stylistic grounds, and the early dating has therefore been met with skepticism. The motet is characterised by a very significant structural innovation, the technique of multiple isorhtythmic diminution, which was to become a stock-in-trade technique of motet composition after 1400 but would be exceptionally innovative for 1358 or even still for 1370. Bowers comments on the idea that an English composer might have been the first to invent this technique:
Textual tradition
The motet is known from three contemporary manuscript sources. One is Codex Chantilly, Musée Condé Ms. 564 (olim 1047), probably an Italian copy written after 1400, of a French original compiled around 1395. This codex contains 99 polyphonic chansons and 13 motets from the repertoire of the French Ars nova and Ars subtilior. It has been linked to the court of Gaston III of Foix-BéarnGaston III of Foix-Béarn
Gaston III/X of Foix-Béarn, also Gaston Fébus or Gaston Phoebus was the 11th count of Foix, and viscount of Béarn . Officially, he was Gaston III of Foix and Gaston X of Béarn.-Early life:...
, count of Foix. The presence of an English piece in this otherwise French collection has been explained through contacts between this court and neighbouring English possessions in France. The second source is Codex Bologna, Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale, Ms. Q 15, a collection that otherwise represents a somewhat later repertoire with many works from the early 15th century. A third manuscript was discovered in a private collection in the 1980s, in the form of a single sheet of music that was found bound into a 15th century book.
Tenor structure
Sub arturo plebs is a pan-isorhythmIsorhythm
Isorhythm is a musical technique that arranges a fixed pattern of pitches with a repeating rhythmic pattern.-Detail:...
ic, three-part diminution motet. As with all isorhythmic motets, its structural plan is defined by its 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...
part, the foundational voice of the composition. It consists of a sequence of 24 notes taken from a pre-existing piece of 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...
plainchant, used as a 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...
. The source for this melody has been identified as a (slightly modified) piece from the first antiphon
Antiphon
An antiphon in Christian music and ritual, is a "responsory" by a choir or congregation, usually in Gregorian chant, to a psalm or other text in a religious service or musical work....
for the first nocturn of the commons for Apostles. The 24 notes are rhythmically defined as longae or breves in mensural notation
Mensural notation
Mensural notation is the musical notation system which was used in European music from the later part of the 13th century until about 1600."Mensural" refers to the ability of this system to notate complex rhythms with great exactness and flexibility...
, in such a way that, together with interspersed rests
Rest (music)
A rest is an interval of silence in a piece of music, marked by a sign indicating the length of the pause. Each rest symbol corresponds with a particular note value:The quarter rest may also be found as a form in older music....
, they fill the time of 24 longae. This sequence is divided in three taleae, subsections measuring 8 longae each, each of which has the same repeated rhythmic sequence (hence the term isorhythm).
- The first time the tenor is to be read in tempus perfectum cum prolatione maiore: each brevis note is measured as being subdivided in three semibreves with three minims each; thus each brevis corresponds to the length of a 9/8 bar in modern notation.
- The second time it is read in either tempus perfectum cum prolatione minore or tempus imperfectum cum prolatione maiore: each brevis note is measured either in three semibreves with two minims each or two semibreves with three minims each; thus corresponding to the length of either a 3/4 bar or a 6/8 bar in modern notation (the length of both being identical).
- The third time it is sung in tempus imperfectum cum prolatione minore: each brevis note is measured in two semibreves with two minims each; thus corresponding to the length of a 2/4 bar in modern notation.
This means that the length proportions of the tenor between the three repetitions is exactly 9:6:4. It is this rule that the motetum text describes with the words "bis sub emiolii normis recitatur". In the extant manuscripts, the scribes have provided additional indications for defining this canon. In the Chantilly manuscript, there is a repetition sign "]|[" after the tenor notes, with a rule spelled out in words as: "Canon primo de tempore perfecto maioris, secundo de tempore imperfecto maioris, tertio de tempore imperfecto minoris". A second scribe later added a second, slightly more wordy description of the same rule at the bottom of the page. In the Bologna manuscript, there is a repetition sign consisting of three vertical bars "|||", followed by the three standard mensuration signs written one over the other: a full circle with a dot in the middle, an empty circle, and an empty semicircle; in this case, the second repetition indicates tempus perfectum cum prolatione minore.
Pan-isorhythm in the upper voices
Isorhythm is present in the composition not only in the tenor, but also in the upper voices. However, these have isorhythmic repetitions only within each of the three main structural parts defined by the tenor repetitions, not across them. Inside each tenor repetition, each of the upper voices also repeats the same rhythmic pattern (but with a new melody) in each of the three taleae. As is common with isorhythmic motets, the upper voices are generally paced much faster than the tenor, often moving in eighth notes or fourth notes (minims and semibreves in medieval notation) where the tenor moves in long notes filling whole bars. The text of each upper voice is distributed in such a way that each of the three main parts, despite their diminishing length in time, has the same amount of text to convey (i.e. two stanzas in the motetus, three in the triplum). Thus, text declamation becomes progressively much faster towards the end of the composition, resulting in an overall effect of structural accelerando.The metric and rhythmic relations between the three voices are quite complex. The triplum moves in tempus imperfectum cum prolatione maiore (6/8 time) throughout, no matter what the current meter of the tenor is; this results in complex patterns of overlap and syncopation. The motetus is even more complex, as it shifts between meters multiple times. This is indicated in the notation by frequent use of colaration, the use of note heads filled in in red to indicate that their temporal value is shortened to two thirds their nominal value.
External links
- Sub Arturo plebs at La Trobe University, Medieval Music Database