Sixteenth Century Polyphony Chapter I: Rhythm and Accent 1

Chapter I
Oculus non vidit: Rhythm and Accent
“. . . the whole of sixteenth-century texture is essentially an
interweaving of independent rhythms, and not (as commonly said)
a combination of melodies . . . counterpoint is rhythm, and very little
else.” Morris p.72.
Sing through the opening of Oculus non vidit, one of twelve two-voice motets by
Orlando de Lassus. Sing it over until both parts are memorized. When they are
memorized, sing one part while listening to the other part.

Here is the music without barlines, as Lassus published it. As was the practice of
the period, Lassus relies on words, accents, and pitches to convey rhythm.
Oculus non vidit, “The eye has not seen” he sets first in the upper voice (the dux)
and has the lower voice follow (the comes) it as though after a brief listen. Then,
when the lower voice has joined in, a new gesture in the dux sweeps upward in
elegant supporting counterpoint.
The student must sing both pitches and words to appreciate these independent
rhythms, choosing the higher or lower part as suits the voice. Tenors and basses
will sound an octave lower than this soprano and alto score.
“. . . the bar-line (inserted in modern editions of sixteenth-century
music for convenience to the eye, and to mark the beginning of
Sixteenth Century Polyphony Chapter I: Rhythm and Accent 2

each measure) has a purely metrical significance, and exercises no

control whatever over the rhythmical accent.” (Morris p.18.)
Move while you sing. While you are singing, practicing, and memorizing the
melodic line, a pattern of accents will emerge. It may take several repetitions,
careful attention, and close listening for the accents to be clearly evident, but with
practice their presence will begin to be felt.
The accents can be characterized as follows:
1. Agogic (A). A long note after shorter ones. In this study dotted half-notes
and longer will claim agogic accents. A half-note after quarters or eighths,
however, is weak in agogic effect probably because the half-note is the
standard unit of beat and hence, its regularity creates little tension.
Generally, then, agogic accents occur on note values of dotted half note
and longer.
2. Tonic (T). A high note reached by leap, usually from below. Feel the
difference in your throat between an ascending step and an ascending
leap.
3. Verbal (V). Latin words of more than one syllable have one accent on the
penult (the syllable before the last). If the word has more than two
syllables the accent goes on the antepenult (the syllable before the penult)
if the syllable words may or may not be accented in singing. It may be
necessary to put an accent on the first syllable of a long word (e.g, AL-le-
LU-ia).
4. Melismatic (M). A group of notes on one syllable (a melisma) claims an
accent beginning with its first note and spreading with diminishing effect
over those that follow.
5. Cadence (C). The final whole-note or breve of a phrase is definitive when
preceded by a suspension (or if an accent is desired).
The verbal accents for the text of this example are in bold:
O-cu-lus non vi-dit The eye has not seen,
Nec au-ris au-di-vit, Nor has the ear heard,
These accent types often combine with good effect as shown in the analysis of
the soprano melody:
Sixteenth Century Polyphony Chapter I: Rhythm and Accent 3

(Soprano part with accent types)

Now look at the accent types in the Alto part:

Sing the opening of Oculus non vidit again and clap the accents of the part you
are singing. While you are singing and clapping, listen to the other part. The
resulting distribution of clapping illustrates the rhythmic complexity of the opening
of this piece. How was this rhythmic diversity realized in the Renaissance?
Thomas Morley gives us a clue.
Thomas Morley (1597) speaks of three different kinds of “strokes” used in the
timing of music. What is a stroke, his student asks, and Morley replies:
It is a successive motion of the hand directing the quantity of every
note and rest in the song with equal measure, according to the
variety of signs and proportions; this they make threefold, More,
Less, and Proportionate. The More stroke they call when the
stroke comprehendeth the time of a breve; the Less when a time of
a semibreve; and Proportionate where it comprehendeth three
semibreves (as in triple) or three minims . . . .
Thomas Morley (1597, p.19)
Applying the principles of this practice to our own work, we can use conducting
patterns for duple and triple meters as the “strokes” for conducting either whole
Sixteenth Century Polyphony Chapter I: Rhythm and Accent 4

notes or half notes in duple or triple patterns. Using the accent patterns we have
identified, add the beat patterns to Oculus non vidit.
Each of the accents can be felt as initiating a group of beats. The melody is,
then, divided into larger groupings of 2 or 3 beats, worked out on two levels: a
broad level in which whole-notes are felt as the units of beat, then shifting to a
level in diminution at the points where the half-note has to be taken as unit
because the groupings cannot be expressed in whole-notes. The numerals in
the example below show these groups and shifts of level from the whole-note
unit to the half-note unit and back. The larger numerals show whole-note beats
and the smaller numerals show half-note beats:

(Soprano part with beat patterns)

‘Accents should be neither too many nor too few. There must be
enough of them to hold the melody firmly together and prevent it, so
to speak, from sagging, but they should not be so close together as
to detract from each other’s importance.’ (Morris, p.20)
R.O. Morris points out that the time signature at the beginning of a piece has little
to do with the rhythmic structure of the individual parts. When discussing the
distribution of accents, he points out three possible causes for failure in a line:
1. The accents are too regular, which creates the feeling of a lack
of freedom, of being harnessed to some external force.
2. Too many accents create a feeling of being hurried and driven.
3. Too few accents give the impression that the line is flabby and
lacks direction.
He points out that a melodic line should carry neither too many accents nor too
few and argues for a distribution of accents that honors artistic freedom and
balance.
Now try a more rhythmically complex example. Sing through the opening of
Sicut Rosa, another two-voice motet by Orlandus Lassus. (As before, sing it
several times, so that it is possible to both sing one part and listen to the other.):
Sixteenth Century Polyphony Chapter I: Rhythm and Accent 5

As before, identify the accents in each part and mark them in light pencil. Sing
the opening again, this time it clapping the accents.
If, instead of the Latin text, one sings the beats with stress on the accented ones,
and at the same time conducts measures as illustrated below, it will be obvious
that there is a case of too many accents so close together as to detract from
each other’s importance:

(Tenor part with conducting patterns and beats counted)

We must rely on our own musical interpretation to minimize, ignore, or eliminate
some of the accents:
Sixteenth Century Polyphony Chapter I: Rhythm and Accent 6

(Tenor part with accent types only)

Observing both accents here may produce create a busy effect. Perhaps it is
better to ignore the second accent and “float” the whole word in a big 3:

(Tenor part “floating a big 3”)

Another example with too many accents:

(Tenor part with too many accents)

It might be better if either the second or third accent were suppressed. By
removing the second, one arrives at a solution (if somewhat metrical):

(Tenor part with two accents)

The alternative of removing the third accent may seem odd at first, but it is worth
considering:
Sixteenth Century Polyphony Chapter I: Rhythm and Accent 7

(Tenor part with two accents only)

Trying to ‘float’ the whole word results in an impoverished sense of rhythm
because there are too few accents. Because Morley never mentions 4, we can
take it as an axiom of the pedagogy that there is never any justification for a large
4.

(Tenor part with accent types and big 4)

After these considerations one might arrive at an interpretation like the following.
Instead of bar-lines with conventional time-signatures, put a numeral over the
first note of the rhythmic group thereby indicating the number of beats in the
group.
We translate this practice into big numerals (2 or 3) for beats in whole-note
values, small numerals (2 or 3) for half-note values. It is a good idea to pencil in
these figures lightly so you can easily erase and change your mind as you work
through the accent structure of the melodic lines of a motet. Several variations or
interpretations may be possible. Individuals need not agree when reasonable
alternatives are argued. As my teacher, Cooke used to say, We can disagree
and still be friends.
The rhythm of the two voices of combined can be powerfully felt if the beat-
numerals are sung by a duet of voices (tenor and bass and/or soprano and alto)
in single voices or chorus, with each singer conducting the beats while singing,
as follows:
Sixteenth Century Polyphony Chapter I: Rhythm and Accent 8

(Both parts with best patterns)

The independence of the two voices is really brought out in this kind of
experiment. It is even more striking if the singers of one part watch those of the
other part.
Another version of this exercise in developing sensitivity to rhythmic
independence is to clap the “downbeats” indicated in their parts as they are sung.
Then, as a final illustration, everyone imagine singing their part while clapping the
“downbeats.” This dramatically illustrates the rhythmic independence of the two
melodic lines.
How to deal with the rests
Since we are not taking meter into account when we are singing, the beats which
are silent and marked by rests are simply considered unaccented beats which
are not added into the numbered beats, provided that an accented note follows
the rest. This will found to be the case throughout Sicut rosa with one exception:

(Bass showing inclusion of rests)

Here the phrase following the rest starts with an anacrusis, so it is convenient to
include both rest and anacrusis in a grouping with the cadence-note just before
the rest. In Qui vult venire post me, Lassus makes expressive use of this kind of
rhythm right at the beginning:
Sixteenth Century Polyphony Chapter I: Rhythm and Accent 9

(Bass showing inclusion of rests)

Assignment: Mark in the accents (VATMC) and a system of beating-numerials,

lightly penciled, for the rest of Sicut rosa. Learn the piece so you can conduct
the accents while singing each part.

Verbal accents and translation:

Si-cut ro-sa in-ter spi-nas
Il-lis ad-dit spe-ci-em,
Sic ve-nus-tat su-am vir-go
Ma-ri-a pro-ge-ni-em:
Ger-mi-na-vit e-nim flo-rem
Qui vi-ta-lem dat o-do-rem.
As a rose among thorns adds
to them a splendor,
so the virgin Mary enhances
her progeny:
for she engenders a Flower
which bestows a life-giving
fragrance.