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Box 1346 ‘Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT STONY BROOK THE GRADUATE SCHOOL Jennifer Lynne Bain We, the dissertation committee for the above candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy degree, hereby recommend acceptance of this dissertation. an lech illo __ Sarah Fuller, Professor, Dept. of Music v i ‘Sugarman, aE Professor, Dept. of Music id, Professor, Dept. of Music Racitectee Lawrence Earp, Professor, School of Music Musicology, University of Wisconsin-Madison This dissertation is accepted by the Graduate School Muh Dean of the Graduate SchoolAbstract of the issertation Fourteenth-Century French Secular Polyphony and the Problem of Tonal Structure by Jennifer Lynne Bain Doctor of Philosophy in Music State University of New York at Stony Brook 2001 The concept of tonal structure, a particular concern of early music analysts, is a 20th-century construct, which sets out to describe the hierarchical relationship of pitches and sonorities in a polyphonic work. Although fourteenth-century writers do not undertake the topic of tonal structure in polyphonic music, contemporaneous theories can guide us to historically informed analytic methodologies that bear on the perception of tonal structure. This study uses such methodologies, in conjunction with modern methods of empirical analysis, to counter recent theories and to identify procedures which contribute to the construction of tonal structure in individual songs in the secular polyphony of Guillaume de Machaut (.1300-1377). In contrast to a “single key” approach to tonal structure in fourteenth-century music, | argue for the possibility of multiple tonal centers within individual songs and examine the role of chromatic inflections and cadential goals in delineating tonal structure. All available chromaticinflections can help to define tonal structure contrapuntally by increasing the tendency in directed progressions. Moreover, when chromatic inflections appear melodically, outside the skeletal frame of the contrapunctus, they can still have an impact on the definition of tonal structure by privileging the individual pitches they decorate. The tonal function of cadences is dependent upon the type of cadential progression and concluding sonority, Cadences can be assigned to one of two main types: perfect-sonority cadences and imperfect-sonority cadences. Perfect-sonority cadences with ascending semitone motion in at least one voice are the strongest progressions, while perfect-sonority cadences with descending semitone motion in one voice appear to be weaker or less conclusive tonally. The imperfect sonority, in addition to its role as a penultimate sonority in a directed progression, can serve a special role in the tonal structuring of a song as a cadential arrival point, simultaneously suggesting repose (through textual position, rhyth length and mensural placement) as well as continuation and anticipation (through descending semitone motion and intervallic structure). Further, although many features of syntax function in the same way across all genres, formal characteristics can directly affect perception of tonal structure.To Ross and AnnMm Vv Table of Contents Abstract of the Dissertation List of Symbols List of Examples ‘Acknowledgements Approaching Tonal Structure in Fourteenth-Century Music ‘Twentieth-Century Interpretation of Fourteenth-Century Treatises What should a theory of tonal structure describe? Methodology The Role of Chromatic Inflections in the Construction of Tonal Structure Signature-systems, Chromatic Inflections and Tonal Structure Bb (and Eb) as Part of Pitch Spectrum Chromatic Inflections and Contrapuntal Usage Melodic Usage of Chromatic inflections Ballade 32 Ploures, dames, plourez vostre servant The Role of Cadences in Delineating Tonal Structure Perfect-Sonority Cadences ~ the Directed Progression Perfect-Sonority Cadences - Descending Semitone Perfect-Sonority Cadences - Non-Proximate Resolutions Perfect-Sonority Cadences — Non-Tendency Approach Imperfect-Sonority Cadences Virelai 32/38 De tout sui si confortee Trebor’s Cadences as Paradigms? Multiple Tonal Centers Matrix of Relationships The Role of Initial Sonorities and First Cadences Intersections between Structural Sonorities in some Machaut Songs Genre Characteristics and the Perception of Tonal Structure Chronology, Texture and Cadences Monophonic Virelais, Cadences, Chromatic Inflections and the Definition of Tonal Structure The Cantus Voice in Relation to Texture Parsing Phrases in Machaut’s Rondeaux Rondeau 6 Cinc, un, trese, huit, neuf d'amour fine 31 36 44 56 6 B a 82 84 88 los 110 4 7 130 41 152 154 159 169 174 179Conclusion Bibliography Fourteenth-Century Theory Treatises Machaut Complete-Works Manuscripts Editions of Music Literature Indices to Machaut’s Songs Cited in the Text Numerically Alphabetically 184 188 191 192 193 201 204MSA MSB MSC MSE MS F-G MS Vg Ludwig ‘Schrade List of Symbols PARIS, Bibliothéque Nationale, fonds francais 1584 PARIS, Bibliothéque Nationale, fonds frangai 585 PARIS, Bibliotheque Nationale, fonds frangais 1586 PARIS, Bibliotheque Nationale, fonds frangais 9221 PARIS, Bibliothéque Nationale, fonds frangais 22545-22546 NEW YORK, Wildenstein Collection, MS without shelfmark Ludwig, Friedrich, ed. Guillaume de Machaut: Musikalische Werke. 4 volumes. Leipzig: Breitkopf & Hartel, 1926-43; Reprint. Leipzig: VEB Breitkopf & Hartel, and Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Hartel, 1954 Schrade, Leo, ed. The Works of Guillaume de Macham. 2 vols. Polyphonic ‘Music of the Fourteenth Century vols.2-3. Les Ramparts, Monaco: Editions de L’Oiseau-Lyre, 1956.List of Examples Note on musical examples: The numbering of Machaut's songs is according to Schrade and Ludwig (if the numbering differs between the two editions the format is Schrade/Ludwig e.g. Virelai 31/37). Measure numbers cited in the text without reference toa particular musical example follow Schrade. For a clearer presentation of the musical ‘material in the examples chromatic inflections are drawn from a single source, MS A, unless otherwise indicated. 1 Il Dous viaire gracieus, Rondeau | 19 1-2 ous viaire gracieus, Rondeau 1; mm.8-9 20 1-3 N'en fait n’en dit n’en pensee, Ballade 11; mm.1-4 21 1-4 Dame, de qui toute ma joie vient, Ballade 42; mm.1-6 and 10-13 22 0 24 Lefferts’ example 6 “The signature-systems as hexachord systems” 34 2-2 Notated chromatic inflections in Ballade 2 according to MSA 34 2-3 Notated chromatic inflections in Ballades 22 and 27 and Rondeau 9; inflections according to MS A 35 24 Ballade 36, mm.1-5 38 2-5 Ballade 15, mm.29-35 39 2-6 Ballade 28, opening phrase 39 2-7 Ballade 8 De desconfort de martyre amoureus; mm.25- 30 40 2-8 Reductions of mm.14-17 and mm,22-25 4 2-9 Rondeau 10 Rose, lis, printemps verdure 42 2-10 Ballade 13 Esperance qui m'asseiire 47 2-11 Expected resolution of Bb/D 50 2-12 Ballade 12 Pour ce que tous mes chans fais 32 2-13 First phrase of Rondeau 1 Dous viaire gracieus 35 2-14 Expected resolution of opening sonority 55 2-15 Final cadence of Ballade 32 Plourez, dames, plourez vostre servant a 2-16 Virelai 31/37 Moult sui de bonne heure nee; mm.26-29 58 2-17 Ballade 22 i mest avis qu'il n'est dons de Nature; mm.33-37 59 2-18 Ballade 13 Esperance qui m'assetre, mm.1-4 60 2-19 Virelai 17 Dame, vostre dous viaire; mm.13-16 60 2-20 Plourez, dames, plourez vostre servant Ballade 32 65 2-21 Ballade 33 Nes qu'on porroit les estoilles nombrer 70 Mm 34 Standard cadential patterns 4 3-2 Sachs’ example, p.103 933 34 35 3-6 37 3-ll 3-12 3-13 3-14 3-15 Descending semitone directed progressions Rondeau 10 Rose, lis, printemps, verdure, medial cadence Virelai 23/26 Tres bonne et belle mi oweil; ouvert cadence Ballade 25 Honte, paour, doublance de meffaire, and Ballade 21 Se quangue amours puet donner a ami, ‘ouvert cadences Ballade 36 Se pour ce muir qu'Amours ai bien servi; ouvert Rondeau 7 Se vous n estes pour mon guerredon nee; medial; and Ballade 27 Une vipere en cwer ma dame ‘maint; final (and clos) cadence Rondeau 19 Quant ma dame les maus d’amer m aprent, final cadence Ballade 22 /1 m'est avis qu il n'est dons de Nature; cadence Ballade 30 Pas de tor en thies pais, clos (and final) cadence Rondeau 4 Sans cuer, dolens de vous de partirai, and Ballade 9 Dame, ne regardez pas; final cadences Rondeau 2 Helas! pour quoy se demente et complaint, final cadence Ballade 14 Je ne cuit pas qu'onques a creature; final cadence Ballade 8 De desconfort de martyre amoureus, final cadence Ballade 3 On ne porroit penser ne souhaidier, and Ballade 19 Amours me fait desirer, final cadences Ballade 29 De triste cuer faire joyeusement/ Quant vrais mans aimme a amoureusement/ Certes, je di et s’en quier jugement, final cadence Rondeau 5 Quant j ‘ay l'espart, final cadence Ballade 6 Dous amis oy mon complaint, refrain phrase and final cadence Descending semitone approach to imperfect sonorities from the penultimate pitch at cadences Descending semitone approach to imperfect sonorities from ante-penultimate pitch at cadences Rondeau 18 Puis qu’en oubli sui de vous, dous amis Virelai 30/36 Se je souspir parfondement Ballade 20 Je suis aussi com cils qui est ravis Virelai 26/29 Mors sui, se je ne vous voy Plourez, dames, plourez vosire servant, ouvert followed by opening sonority inal 82 83 83 83 85 86 87 88 89 89 90 90 OL 93 93 98 100 102 102 103 103Vv 327 3-28 3.29 3.30 3.31 3-32 41 42 43 44 45 47 48 49 4-10 4-11 4-12 414 415 4-16 417 418 419 Virelai 32/38 De tout sui si confortee; edition of text by Chichmaref, translation mine Parsing of refrain of Virelai 32/38 De out sui si confortee Voicing of initial and final sonorities of each phrase in Virelai 32/38 Virelai 32/38 De tout sui si confortee; second half Brown’s (1987) example 2 (the numbers refer to Willi Apel’s modem edition); for ease of comparison, Brown transposed all of the cadences to the same pitch level. Brown's (1987) example 2, but with cadences transposed back to original pitch levels. Significant sonorities in Ballade 15 Se je me pleing, je n‘en puis mais and Ballade 20 Je suis aussi com cils qui est ravis Tonal relationships among Ballades 11, 15, 16, 20 and 26 Ballade 11 N’en fait n’en dit n'en pensee Ballade 15 Se je me pleing, je n'en puis mais, section A only Ballade 26 Donnes, signeurs, donne: a toutes mains, section A only Structural Sonorities in Ballades 15 and 26 Ballade 16 Dame, comment qu'amez de vous ne soie Ballade 20 Je suis aussi com cils qui est ravis The relationship between the opening sonority of each of the secular songs with the cadences it follows Ballade 28 Je puis trop bien ma dame comparer, \* half only First two phrases of Ballade 32 Plourez, dames, plourez vostre servant First two phrases of Ballade 33 Nes qu'on porroit les estoilles nombrer Machaut's secular, polyphonic songs which end on C sonorities First phrases of Ballade 40 and Rondeau 21 First phrases of Virelai 32/38 and Ballade 15 Summary of initial and final sonorities in Machaut’s polyphonic virelais, rondeaux, ballades Songs beginning and ending on G sonorities; other songs ending on G sonorities Songs beginning on G sonorities and ending on D sonorities; other songs ending on D sonorities Songs beginning on G sonorities and ending on Bb sonorities; other songs ending on Bb sonorities 10s 107 108 109 110 12 116 7 118 120 122 123 125 128 132 133 136 136 138 139 140 142 14s 146 474-20 421 Sol 5-19 5-20 5-21 5-22 5-23 Ballade 8; ouvert cadence Ballade 36; ouvert cadence Songs sorted according to number of voices and genre in relation to chronology; the figures for MSS Vg, A and F-G represent accretions to the preserved repertory Final sonorities in two-voice songs according to genre Final sonorities in two-voice songs according to chronology Final cadences of Virelai 15 Se mesdisans en acort and Virelai 19 Diex, Biauté, Douceur, Nature | cadence of Virelai 12 Dame, a qui Virelai 20 Se d'amer me repentoie; final phrase of couplet Refrain of Virelai 4 Douce dame jolie Virelai 16, C'est force, faire le vueil, couplet First half of refrain of Virelai 10 (to the ouvert cadence) Second half of refrain of Virelai 10 (repetition to the clos cadence) The refrain of Virelai 10 De bonté, de valour Virelai 17 Dame, vostre dous viaire; couplet mm. 13-22 Virelai 12 Dame, a qui Virelai 2 Loyauté vueil tous jours maintenir Distribution of cantus voices which are lower in the clos than in the ouvert Distribution of cantus voices which are higher in the clos than in the ouvert Distance from initial pitch to final pitch in Machaut’s monophonic virel Distance from initial pitch to final pitch in the cantus voice of Machaut’s polyphonic secular songs Rondeau 8 Vo dous regars, douce dame, m’a mort; min. 10-21 Cadential sonorities in Rondeau 8, Vo dous regard, douce dame, m'a mort Rondeau 15 Certes, mon oueil richement visa bel, first half Rondeau 6 Cinc, un, trese, hit, neuf d'amour fine; edition of text by Chichmaref, translation mine Rondeau 6 Cinc, un, trese, huit, neuf d'amour fine 150 150 155 158 158 160 161 161 162 163 164 164 165 166 167 168 170 170 172 173 176 7 178 179 180Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge generous doctoral fellowships from the Quebec Government's Fonds pour la Formation de Chercheurs et I Aide a la Recherche and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, which have made this research possible. [ also wish to extend my gratitude to the International Machaut Society for honoring this project with the inaugural Sarah Jane Williams Award It is my pleasure to thank the many individuals who have contributed in varied and substantial ways to the development of my ideas and the completion of this dissertation. Sarah Fuller has been everything one could wish for in an advisor: unyielding in her expectations, but unfailing in her support. Her wisdom and friendship have meant much to me. The members of my committee, Jane Sugarman, Judy Lochhead, and Lawrence Earp, paid meticulous attention to my work. Timothy McGee has most generously given of his. time and advice, and Barton Palmer gladly corrected my wayward translations of Machaut’s verse ‘On a more personal note I have several family members to thank: my late father for not flinching when at age nine I announced that I wanted to be either a construction worker or the Prime Minister of Canada, my mother for asking only once if I'd given up on the idea of law school and for never asking when my dissertation would be finished; and, of course, my husband, Simon, who read many drafts and dealt lovingly with his stressed-out wife and ‘our stressed-out cat. Finally, I wish to thank my mother’s cousins, Ross and Ann Kennedy, active and generous supporters of the performance and discussion of music, to whom this dissertation is dedicatedCHAPTER ONE Approaching Tonal Structure in Fourteenth-Century Music A recent query to the email discussion list of the Society for Music Theory (the SMT-list) asked what methodologies list members would suggest for the analysis of early music “up to say, 1600." ‘Though the contributor acknowledged the period covered was “quite a spread,” the fact that such a question could be posed to an academic list points to general assumption that indeed “music before 1600” constitutes a single category analytically. Though respondents were quick to advocate methodological studies of the music of particular periods or composers, and a few made pointed remarks about the range of music in question, the two collections of essays which were recommended highlight (even in their titles) the relatively few attempts to come to grips analytically with “early music,” in comparison with that of later centuries. Models for Musical Analysis: Music Before 1600, edited by Mark Everist, and Tonal Structures in Early Music, ‘edited by Cristle Collins Judd, offer widely varied theoretical approaches and cover several centuries and geographical regions of music.” (Imagine a slender volume entitled “Models for Musical Analysis: Music Since 1600”.) ' The message was posted February 2, 1999. Mark Everist ed. (1992), Models for Musical Analysis: Music Before 1600 (Oxford: B.H. Blackwell): Cristle Collins Judd. ed. (1998), Tonat Structures in Earlv Music (New York and London: Garland Publishing),‘The SMT-list query forefronts another, perhaps more recent, assumption: the idea that “early music analysis” requires special methodologies, outside the mainstream methods used to explore music of the common practice period. As Jessie Ann Owens lucidates, Analytic methods are not easily found for early music. The theorists of the time had their own agendas, and they do not provide models that suit our purposes. As a consequence, many twentieth-century scholars have chosen approaches that reflect their own beliefs about early music and its relation to later music. While some continue to rely on common practice tonality as a prism through which to view early music, others have begun to explore methods that respect the integrity and self-sufficiency of the languages of early music.’ ‘Thomas Christensen, in a recent exploration of “presentist” and “historicist” attitudes towards historical music theory and analytical authenticity, points out, however, that “the whole notion of analysis is anachronistic in relation to pre-Romantic musics.”* In other words, the very act of engaging in analysis of “early musi is to take a presentist stance ‘no matter how historicist a scholar aims to be. Conversely, Christensen also makes clear the fallaciousness of the extreme presentist position that analysis has the ability to stand apart from historical inquiry: “From a hermeneutic perspective all analytical activity is fully historical. The positivist claim to immanence and transcendence made by form: st theorists can be seen to be a thoroughly historical prejudice.”* Christensen elaborates, “All analysis... presupposes some amount of “theory ladenness’ framed by the traditions and prejudices that are ours. Yet...these traditions and prejudices are historically rooted. The music analyst can no more escape the burden of the past that conditions Jessie Ann wens (1998), “Series Editor’s Foreword,” Tonal Structures in Early Music. is. “Thomas Christensen (1993), “Music Theory and Its Histories.” Music Theory and the Exploration of the Past, edited by Christopher Hatch and David W. Bernstein (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press), 23, * tid. 32-33.understanding than can the historian." Ultimately Christensen advocates a balance between the two extreme positions, a hermeneutic dialogue between historical understanding and present-day concerns, In the analysis of early music, a first step towards balancing historical understanding with present-day concerns is to recognize that specific segments of the “early music” repertory will require different repertory-specific analytical approaches. Moreover, in the pursuit of theories of tonal structure, a particular concern of early music analysts as Judd's volume suggests, one must acknowledge that tonal structure is a twentieth-century construct, which describes hierarchical relationships among pitches. For the fourteenth-century repertory, although we have some medieval criteria and categories that medieval writers used for assessing basic tonal structure in ecclesiastical chant, we know that fourteenth-century writers do not undertake the topic of tonal structure in polyphonic music. However much scholars dealing with that polyphony may try to glean from contemporaneous treatises to inform their methodologies, the enterprise itself remains an activity foreign to the fourteenth century. Nevertheless, ‘contemporaneous theories can guide us to historically informed analytic methodologies that bear on the perception of tonal structure. In this study of tonal structure in fourteenth-century French polyphonic song, 1 will use such methodologic in conjunction with modern methods of empirical analysis, to identify standard procedures in the secular polyphony of Guillaume de Machaut (€.1300-1377). Machaut’s secular polyphony represents a significant segment of fourteenth-century French song, providing a narrowly defined but substantial repertory * tid. 32.from which to draw conclusions. Although my conclusions could provide insight into the broader fourteenth-century repertory, some procedures and strategies are likely particular to Machaut and may not be generalized to the repertory as a whole. ‘Twentieth-Century Inte T es Fourteenth-century theorists simply do not address twentieth-century concerns about the tonal organization of polyphonic music, a situation that has created numerous interpretive problems for contemporary scholars. Fourteenth-century writers describe chant theory, rhythmic notation and two-voice counterpoint, but do not detail how to choose where to begin or end a phrase or a song, or what kinds of intervallic progressions are appropriate at different moments it a text or a phrase, or how to deal with the intervallic progressions of three- or four-voice textures.” To ground their analyses historically, contemporary scholars investigating tonal structure have chosen various ifferent strands from fourteenth-century treatises, such as the concept of mode or the pedagogical use of hexachords, to flesh out larger theories or systems. Sometimes, however, scholars overlook the historical/cultural context, or the purpose and function of the writings or the passages themselves." To use a narrow example first, Yolanda Plumiey, following Peter Lefferts, proposes a theory of tonal types that places songs in * Correspondingly Peter Schubert describes his frustration with sixteenth-century writers on the subject of formal functions: “Treatises teach how to make a theme suitable for each of the various modes. how to lweat consonance and dissonance, how to imitate or invert a theme, on which notes to make cadences. and hhow to write double counterpoint. But they never tell us when in the course of a piece these devices and techniques should be used.” Schubert (1995). “A Lesson from Lassus: Form in the Duos of 1577.” Music Theory Spectrum \7N: * As Lawrence Gushee advocated almost 30 years ago, before assessing what a treatise can tell us about the ‘musi. scholars ought to consider the intellectual style of each treatise, the institution or audience for whom it was written, and the type of music with which it engages. Gushee (1973), “Questions of Genre in Medieval Treatises on Music.” Gattungen der Musik (Bern: Francke Verlag): 365-433.various flat and sharp categories related to each other through transposition. To support the idea of transposition that is central to her theory, Plumley claims, “The tendency to use low registers, and flatter tonal types in the later fourteenth century repertory is reflected in the Berkeley manuscript. In an attempt to explain these phenomena, the author suggests that the traditional gamut beginning on GG could be transposed twice flatward to begin on FF.”° The Berkeley manuscript, an anonymous work that comes from late fourteenth-century Paris, is divided into five separate treatises. The passage to which Plumley refers comes from the very beginning of the first treatise, in which the author in typical manner delves into traditional theories to describe the derivation of the Gamut (the seven-letter alphabet, the Guidonian hand, and the reason for the letter name Gamma’ instead of “G”, and a little later the names of the ranges, and the hexachords): Since the singer—to understand what is the mode or tone of any song— formulates beforehand a conception of i, for this understanding it must first be known that there are nineteen letters, joint, or pitch names in the hand and two outside, with all of which the song of the world is constructed. They are al written and initially named by these seven letters, repeated three times: A,B, C, D,E,F,G. Of the letters that exist outside the hand, one, F, is not in common custom, but according to art it may be placed at the middle of the thumb outside the hand [that is, FF]. The other, E, is in common custom, and it is placed at the first joint of the middle finger outside the hand {that is, ee]. Furthermore, common custom begins the hand or palm in the middle of the thumb, saying there Gamma-ut, which is written with the Greek letter I-ut, and ends it on the said letter E, where is said E-ta; and itis reckoned this way : Gamma-ut, A-te, B- C-facut, D-sol-re, E-la-mi, F-fa-ut, G-sol-re-ut, A-la-mire. .. Art, however, reckoning the said letter F with the others, begins the hand or palm at the middle of the thumb outside the hand, ending it as above, and it ought to be said F-ut, G-re-ut, A-mi-re, B-fa-B-mi, C-sol-fa-ut, D-la-sol-re, E-la-mi, and the rest as stated above,'° ” Yolanda Plumley (1996), The Grammar of 14% Century Melody: Tonal Organization and Compositional Process in the Chansons of Guillaume de Machaut and the Ars Subtlior (New York and London Gattand Publishing). 8-9. By the “Berkeley manuscript” Plumley refers hereto the theoretical manuscript which was complcted in Paris in 1375. and is currently held atthe University of California at Berkeley. A modem edition and translation is provided by Oliver B. Ellsworth, ed, and rans. (1984), The Berkeley Monuscript. Greek and Latin Music Theory. vol.2 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Pres). '° Ellsworth (1984), The Berkeley Manuscript, 33-35.Here the anonymous author is not talking about transposition, however, but more accurately addition. Rather than shifting the Gamut to another position (which would reduce its upper range as well), he extends it by adding the low F, which he claims is not in common custom (non est in usu communi). The reason for the extension becomes apparent in the passage quoted: if the Gamut begins on F-ut rather than Gamma-ut, then the first B in the series of pitches falls into two hexachords rather than one, and both B-fa and B-mi are available pitches in the lower register. The theoretical addition of F-ut (the Parisian Anonymous says it is not generally in use) thus provides a tidy explanation for the regular occurrence of low Bb in the repertory.'' Rather than suggesting transposition of the gamut “twice flatward” to explain the prevalence of flatter tonal types, the pedagogical purpose of the passage found at the very beginning of the treatise is to provide an elementary explanation of the pitches available to singers.'? Given its placement in the treatise and its pedagogical purpose the passage cannot stand as authentic support for Plumley’s analytic proposition Ina much broader way, the concept of mode has been used by scholars out of the context in which it appears in fourteenth-century treatises. Fourteenth-century writers such as Johannes de Grocheo, Marchettus of Padua, and Jean de Muris, do not discuss tonal structure in polyphony. Despite this obstacle of a lack of direct commentary in the literature, contemporary scholars who wish to address issues of tonal structure would like to recover an historical viewpoint. Since mode is an undeniably medieval concept which "" Ellsworth (1984) makes a note ofthis as well, The Berkeley Manuscript. 35. footnote 2. "2 The idea of Gamut transposition proposed hese probably finds its origins in Margaret Bent’s proposal for the transposition of the hexachord system with the use of “hexachord” signatures: Bent (1972). "Musica Recta and Musica Ficta.” Musica Disciplina 26:98-99,addresses pitch relationships, modal categories are particularly attractive to contemporary scholars. In the writings of fourteenth-century theorists, however, the topic of mode appears in cantus planus treatises that deal with matters relevant to chant, not in counterpoint or notational treatises that deal with musica mensurabilis or polyphony." As Harold Powers has argued persuasively and exhaustively, the function of modal theory in its various manifestations throughout the Middle Ages, was either to label already existing monophonic ecclesiastical song or to prescribe rules for editing the exis ag chant repertoire and writing chants anew.'* For all practical purposes, mode is irrelevant to fourteenth-century polyphony. Even in the sixteenth century, when composers were deliberately organizing collections of polyphonic music according to modal designations, Powers tells us that the German theorist Sebald Heyden questioned the necessity of ascribing modal categories to polyphonic music. Sebald Heyden asked: Why is it necessary to pursue religiously the ranges of authentic and plagal tones, as they are called, and the differentiae added to them, when we perceive that they are hardly taken into account in figural music {emphasis mine]?!* '? For a history of the development of modal theories and their applications to polyphony. see: Harold Powers and Frans Wiering (2001), "Mode (L-IID.” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians 16, edited by Stanley Sadie, 2™ Edition (London: Macmillan Publishers, New York: Grove's Dictionaries): 1775-823, Powers (1981) “Tonal Types and Modal Categories in Renaissance Polyphony.” Journal ofthe American Musicological Society 34: 428-470; (1992) “Is Mode Real? Pietro Aron, the Octenary System. ‘and Polyphony,” Basler Jahrbuch far historische Musikpraxis 16: 9-82; and (1992) “Modality as a European Cultural Construct.” Secondo Convegno europeo di analisi musical. edited by R. Dalmonte and. M. Baroni (Trent: Universita degli studi di Trento), 207-219, ~The notion of <> has played a prominent part in Westem musical thinking in three historical periods. In each case it was imported from another time or clime and applied to a musical repertory and. ‘musical practice already well established. In the earliest stages of each ofthese thee periods the imported ‘modal scheme had been ascribed to one or more aspects of already existing musical practice. Subsequently the practice would begin to adjust, either to improve the fit or in reaction to some novelty provided through the theory. In the end. the theory would be taken as governing the practice, and music would be produced to fit that theory.” Harold Powers (1992). “Modality as a European Cultural Construct.” 208, 'S As cited by Powers and Wiering (2001) in “Mode,” 797. S. Heyden (1540), De arte canendi. translated by C. Miller (1972), Musicological Studies and Documents 26 ({Rome|: American Institute of Musicology). 113.Powers argues that Heyden’s question “draws attention to the fact...that between modes and modal theory on the one hand and the actual composition of polyphony on the other there was no necessary connection either in theory or in practice.”"* In the early fourteenth century, where no external evidence of modal designations appears for secular polyphony (such as ordered collections), Johannes de Grocheo complains about people who “describe mode as a rule that judges al! song at its end.”"” In an often quoted passage he writes, they appear to err in manifold ways. When they say ‘all song,’ they seem to include secular song and polyphony. But such music perhaps neither proceeds by the rules of mode nor is governed by them. And besides, if is governed by these rrules, they do not say how they operate, or even mention it. . . Let us therefore try to describe it otherwise and say that mode is a rule by which anyone can comprehend any ecclesiastical song and judge it{s mode] by examining its beginning, middle and end... say ‘ecclesiastical song’ in order to exclude secular song and polyphony that are not subject to mode {emphasis mine].'* Despite Grocheo's admonition, scholars such as Gilbert Reaney, Jehoash Hirshberg and Christian Berger overtly label Machaut’s polyphonic compositions by mode.”” Peter Lefferts, who distances himself from modal categories per se, alludes to ** Powers and Wiering (2001), “Mode.” 797. ‘" E. Robloff , ed. and trans. (1972), “De Musica” in Quellenhandschriften zum Musiktraktat des Johannes de Grocheio (Leipzig: Deutscher Verlag fr Musik): 152. English translation by Sarah Fuller (1998), “Modal Discourse and Fourteenth-Century French Song: A °Medieval’ Perspeciive Recovered?” Early Music History 17:67. " pid '® Gilbert Reaney (1963), “Modes in the Fourteenth Century. in Particular in the Music of Guillaume de Machaut,” in Organicae voces: Festschrift Joseph Smits van Waesberghe, ed. Pieter Fischer (Amsterdam: Institute for Medieval Music): 137-43, and (1982) “La tonalité des ballades et des rondeaux de Guillaume ‘de Machaut.” Guillaume de Machaut: Poéte et compositeur. Colioque-table ronde organisé par "Université de reims (19-22 avril 1978), Actes et Colloques 23 (Paris: Klincksieck): 295-300; Jehoash [Hirshberg (1980), “Hexachordal and Modal Structure in Machaut’s Polyphonic Chansons.” in Studies in ‘Musicology in Honor of Otto E- Albrecht: A Collection of Essays by His Colleagues and Former Students ‘ar the University of Pennsylvania, ed. John Walter Hill (Kassel: Barensciter): 0; and Christian Berger (1992), Hexachord, Mensur und Textstruktur: Studien zum franzosischen Lied des 14. Jahrhunderts. Beibefte zum Archiv flr Musikwissenschaft 35 (Stuttgart: Steiner): 161-239.the concept in his categorization of cantus lines by authentic and plagal ranges and his. privileging of the final note of the cantus.”” Reaney, in his application of mode to Machaut’s secular polyphony, finds confirmation solely in the late fourteenth-century Berkeley manuscript, the only trea before the fifteenth century to attempt modal classification of polyphony.”' The Berkeley writer's comments are brief—a description of which finals indicate specific modes—and although there is no doubt that polyphony is under discussion (by the inclusion of motets), his categories could also encompass secular monophony as well, since ballades, rondeaux and vi at least earlier in the century, are not always polyphonic: ‘And now, it remains to clarify some things about other songs (for example, ‘motets, ballades, and the like) with respect to the judging of their tones or modes. ‘Therefore let the judgment be with respect to the final of all tones or modes of any song—motets, ballades, rondeaux, virelais, and the like? “Peter Lefferts (1995), “Signature Systems and Tonal Types in the late Fourteenth Century Charson.” Plainsong and Medieval Music 42: 117-147 * Reaney (1982), “La tonalité des ballades et des rondeaux.” 295. See also Ellsworth (1984), The Berkeley ‘Manuscript, 2-4; and Powers and Wiering (2001), “Mode.” 797, column 1. ltalics mine. The transation, with slight modifications, from Ellsworth (1984), The Berkeley Manuscript, 85. A comparison ofthe Berkeley Anonymous’ modal categories of “other songs” with his earlier modal categories of “ecclesiastical song” reveals two important diferences, also noted by Reancy (1982),"La tonalité des ballades,” 295, and Ellsworth (1984). The Berkeley Manuscript. 85 and 87. footnote 29: the finals represent different modes in the “ecclesiastical” and the “other” categorie. and the distinaion ‘between authentic and plagal melodies applies only to ecclesiastical song. The irksome question, however. of which voice part makes the detcrmination remains unanswered. The distribution of finals for ecclesiastical and other songs according tothe Berkeley Anonymous can be summarized thus: Tones Ecclesiastical Songs (p.71) Other Songs (p.85) Torll gravis or A.acuta A.D, G with Bo, or C with B> Morty E gravis; 3" also on Bacutaand 4" EB, A with Bo ‘on A acuta with Bo VorVi — F gravis or Cacuta For Bo Vilor Vil G gravis or D acuta Gorc10 Aside from a cursory labeling according to final pitches, the Berkeley anonymous gives 1no indication as to how mode might constrain or prescribe pitch behavior in polyphonic song, The Berkeley writer r es more critical questions than he answers about what modal theory can tell us about polyphony. Although a posteriori modal categories serve a practical, liturgical function in regard to chant, what functis do they have in relation to secular music? How do the Berkeley Anonymous’ modal labels reflect or govern the interaction of two or more voices? In regard to both polyphony and secular monophony, how do the labels account for the chromatic inflections which are so important to the sound of fourteenth-century French secular music?” Grocheo’s statement from c.1300 concisely articulates the problem: “if it [polyphony] is governed by these rules [i.e. those ‘of mode}, they do not say how they operate...""* Both Christian Berger, in Hexachord, Mensur und Textstruktur, and Jehoash Hirshberg, in “Hexachordal and Modal Structure in Machaut's Polyphonic Chansons,” combine ideas of mode with the hexachordal system and solmization to formulate ‘organizing principles for tonal structure in polyphonic music.** Like mode, however, hexachords and solmization rarely appear in discantus or contrapunctus treatises, writings which address polyphony. In cantus planus treatises where they do appear, they serve a pedagogical rather than theoretical purpose; writers use hexachords to explain the ® Christian Berger's response (1992) to the question of chromatic inflections is to keep the modal theory and suppress the inflections (fexachord, Mensur und Textsiruktur), Foran in-depth evaluation and reasoned response to Berger's modal-hexachordal theory, see Sarah Fuller (1998) “Modal Discourse and Fourtcenth-Century French Song: A Medieval’ Perspective Recovered?” Early Music History 7; 61-108. + Rohloff (1972), “De Musica” in Quellenhandschrifien. 152. * Berger (1992), Hexachord, Mensur und Testsiruktur. and Hirshberg (1980). “Hexachordal and Modal Structure”derivation of the gamut and to teach intervallic distances for the purposes of singing. For example, the Quatuor Principalia Musicae the anonymous author introduces hexachords in the third treatise (on plainchant), in chapter two, entitled, “De nominibus vocum et intervallis earum [Concerning the names of the pitches and intervals thereof].""* Hexachords, used as a convenient device to explain rudimentary theory and identify distance between pitches, permeate the rest of the third treatise—34 pages in the Coussemaker edition—which covers the division of the monochord, the so-called Guidonian hand, mutations, explanations of the intervals and several examples of each type, and an introduction to mode and differentiae. But in the fourth treatise, which deals directly with polyphony, hexachords are nowhere mentioned nor are the syllables used ‘The discantus section of the fourth treatise explains in great detail with countless ‘examples how two voices can proceed from one harmonic interval to another, without ever invoking hexachords or syllable names. The instructions for proper contrapuntal procedure follow a regular format along the lines of, “If you are on a third and the plainsong descends by one step, you can ascend by another and you will be on a fifth, as here | BE a = = * Edmond de Coussemaker, ed. (1864-76; 1963), “Quatuor Principalia IT.” in Scriptorum de musica medi ‘aevi nova series a Gerbertina altera Vol (Paris: Durand; reprint edition, Hildesheim: Olms): 219; and more recently, Luminita Aluas (1996), “The Quatuor Principalia Musicae: Critical Edition and ‘Translation, with Introduction and Commentary” (Ph.D. Dissertation, Indiana University: Ann Arbor: University Microfilm, Order no, 9627364), 258-259 (English translation on 578), ~Si vos ests in tercia et planus cantus descendat per unam vocem. posts per aliam ascendere et eri 4quinta. wt hic.” Luminita Aluas (1996). “The Quatuor Principalia Musicae.” Latin on 476. English on 71 Thave modified Aluas’ translation slighty.2 In the Quatwor Prinicipalia Musicae hexachords play no part in explaining contrapuntal rules. In those (rare) instances when hexachord names do appear in discantus or comtrapunctus treatises such as the “Volentibus introduci,” and the “Ad sciendum artem discantus,” itis for the purposes of describing intervallic distances, not to invoke a principle of organization for tonal structure in the music.”* In “Volentibus introduci,” for instance, the hexachord names arise in the explication of the intervals only when itis. convenient: ut re, re mi, fa sol, and sol la describe a major second, mi fa describes a minor second, ut mi and fa la a major third, etc.” But when there is no way within a single hexachord to describe an interval, such as the tritone, the minor sixth and the major and minor sevenths, the syllables disappear without comment, They reappear in the discussion of musica ficta, the phenomenon of making a tone a semitone, and a semitone a tone, because the ficta function of the sign derives from its po: the hexachord: Est ficta musica quando de tono facimus semitonium, et e converso de semitonio tonum. . . Ubi igitur invenimus b rotundum, dicimus istam vocem fa, et ul invenimus b quadratum, dicimus illam vocem mi; et sic tonus in semitonium deducendo de necessitate est, et e converso. The incipit titles used here ae in accordance with Klaus-Sargen Sachs (1974). Der Contrapunctu im 11. und 15. Sahrundert: Untersuchungen zum Terminus, zur Lehre und zu den Quellen (Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag GMBH). “Ad sciendum artem discantus.” can be found under the ttle, “Ars discants.” in CCoussemaker. ed. (1864-76; 1963). Scriptorum de musica medii aevi nova series a Gerbertina altra, ‘Vol.3: 68-113; and “Volentibus introduci,” under “Ars contrapunctus, secundum Philippum de Vitriaco.” in the same volume, 23-27. Sachs compares three different versions of “Volentibus introduc,” two found edited in Coussemaker, ed. (1864-76: 1963), Scriptorum de musica medi aevi nova series a Gerbertina altera, Vol.3 (the one above as weil as Johannis de Garlandia, “Optima introductio in Contrapuncium pro rudibus,” 12-13), and the third edited by Sachs himself, 170-173. based on the manuscript Pisa. Biblioteca Universitaria, 606. pages (sic) 50-51. The three versions are quite different and the passage to which I refer is only in the “Ars contrapunctus secundum Philippum de Vitriaco.” edited by Coussemaker. ® Coussemaker. ed. . (1864-76: 1963), Scriptorum de musica medii aevi nova series a Gerbertina altera, Vol.3. 24-25. ** Ibid.. 26. There is only one chapter in the second treatise.B [Musica ficta is when we make a semitone from a tone, and vice versa a tone from a semitone... Where therefore we find a round b, we call this note fa, and where we find a square b, we call this note mi; and thus from necessity a tone is drawn from a semitone and vice versa. .. ] The fact that the syllable names and distances between the syllables were known by all those trained in basic singing skills, meant that they were very convenient to use in the treatises for the purpose of explanation and quick recognition, But they served a pedagogical rather than theoretical function and did not bear directly upon issues of tonal structure. ‘What should a theory of tonal structure describe? Since the treatises require such interpretive reading, and the musical language of fourteenth-century French secular polyphony proves complex, many varying analytical approaches have arisen, ranging from applicat s of tonal paradigms, to hexachordal analyses, to modal analyses.”' Moreover, the varying degrees of emphasis on specific aspects of tonal construction, such as the trajectory of the cantu: , the cantus-tenor duet, or the directed progressions of sonorities, reflect a general lack of consensus on what a theory of tonal structure ought to explain about the music.” As Sarah Fuller > For further discussion and reference to analytical approaches see Lawrence Earp's summary (1995) in Guillaume de Machaut: A Guide to Research (New York and London: Garland Publishing), 283-288, Tonal paradigms: Gilbert Reaney (1963). “Modes in the Fourteenth Century.” and (1982) “La tonalité des ballades”: hexachordal analyses. Daniel Leech-Wilkinson (1984), “Machaut's Rose. is and the Problem of Early Music Analysis.” Music Analysis 3: 9-28: and hexachordal/modal analyses: Christian Berger (1992). Hexachord, Mensur und Textstruktur. and Jehoash Hirshberg (1980), “Hexachordal and Modal Structure”. * Cantus line: Peter Lefferts (1995). “Signature Systems and Tonal Types.” and Yolanda Plumicy (1996). The Grammar of 14* Century Melody. cantus-tenor duet: Margaret Bent (1998).*The Grammar of Early Music: Preconditions for Analysis.” in Tonal Structures in Early Music. edited by Crise Collins Judd (New York and London: Gariand Publishing, Inc: 15-59: directed progression of sonorities: Sarah Fuller (1986), "On Sonority in Fourtcenth-Cennury Polyphony: Some Preliminary Reflections.” Joumal of Music Theory 30: 35-70, and (1992), “Tendencies and Resolutions: the Directed Progression in rs Nova Music.” Journal of Music Theory 36: 229-258,reminds us, the type of questions we ask of a repertory will have a significant bearing on the answers we get.” For instance, in the sixties and seventies certain scholars, such as Richard Hoppin, Wolfgang Marggraf and Gilbert Reaney, searched for the earliest hints of tonality, Hoppin used terms such as “tonic,”** and Marggraf claimed that if the opening and final chor a chanson are identical then the chanson is tonal.”* Reaney classified pieces according to mode rather than key, yet as Lawrence Earp notes, “...the concept of ‘mode’ is reduced essentially to major and minor keys.”*° Today, even though scholars such as Jehoash Hirshberg, Christian Berger, Peter Lefferts, and Yolanda Plumley have abandoned the search for tonality, they have retained the underlying tonal assumption that a single tonality or mode governs each piece, and this is what their systems of tonal structure describe. As Sarah Fuller writes: twentieth-century scholars have tended to describe tonal structures in early music in terms of coherence about a central pitch (a final or a tonic) or adherence to a template of mode or tonal type identified by a referential final pitch.” > “What are we secking when we set out to identify tonal structure in a composition or within a defined repertory of music? What are we expecting to find? Our responses to these questions will largely determine ‘our results, for they will set the course for how we apprehend and configure the material at hand.” Sarah Fuller (1998), “Exploring Tonal Structure in French Polyphonic Song of the Fourteenth Century.” Tanal ‘Structures in Early Music (New York: Garland Publishing): 61 » Richard H. Hoppin (1966), “Tonal Organization in Music Before the Renaissance.” in Paul. Pis: Essays in His Honor. ed. John Glowacki (Austin: College of Fine Ants, The University of Texas): 27. 5 Wolfgang Marggraf (1964), “Tonalitit und Harmonik in der franz6sischen Chanson vom Tode Machauts bis zum frihen Dufay” (Ph.D. dissertation. Leipzig). As reported by Jchoash Hirshberg (1980), ““Hexachordal and Modal Structure,” 19. > Gilbert Reaney (1963). “Modes in the Fourteenth Century”; and Lawrence Earp (1995). Guillaume de Machaut, 578. * Buller (1998), “Exploring Tonal Structure.” 61In contrast with this “single key” approach, I will focus from the outset on the ways in which different tonal centers can be established for the listener in a gle piece through the use of chromatic inflections, significant initial sonorities, and cadential progressions, Recently many authors have wanted a theory of tonal structure to reflect whether the different voices in fourteenth-century secular music were written successi ly or simultaneously. For those involved in the successive/simultaneous debate, the answer to whether a single line dominates in terms of tonal structure or whether the polyphonic fabric stands as a whole, lies in the method of composition. Peter Lefferts, and following him, Yolanda Plumley, argue that the vocal lines were written successively, starting with the cantus, and the tonal system they posit, which derives from the final pitch of the ccantus line and the “signature” of the tenor, begins with this assumption.”* Ina series of studies, Leech-Wilkinson reasons persuasively that the parts were written simultaneously and advocates a more harmonic approach to the music.”” Although I find Leech-Wilkinson’s thinking wholly convincing, | believe that for the purposes of talking about tonal structure the point is moot. However the piece was composed, successively or simultaneously, what we have with us today are multi-voice works, which when performed have multiple voices sounding simultaneously, not as individual strands of a complex. Even if the music were written one voice at a time, it is heard as a polyphonic ® Weiss and Taruskin (1984) make the same assumptions in their commentary on Johannes de Grocheo's De musica, and Aegidius of Murino's Tractatus cantus mensurabils. both of which they include in their amhology. Though Weiss and Taruskin's pedagogical purpose is to make a marked distinction in attitude toward text between medieval and renaissance writers. they overlook the pedagogical purpose and context of the original treatises. Music in the Modern World: A History in Documents (New York: Schirmer Books): 6. ® Daniel Leech-Wilkinson (1984), “Machaut’s Rose, lis.” 9-11 in particular, and (1993), “Le Voir Dit and La Messe de Nostre Dame: Aspects of Genre and Style in Late Works of Machau.” Plainsong and Medieval Music 2: 43-73.whole. What listeners hear and how they perceive tonal structure is dependent upon the interaction of the voices, not solely the structure of an individual voice, or a pair of voices. I will argue that the main objective for a theory of tonal structure in fourteenth- century French secular polyphony should be to describe the tonal structuring of songs as polyphonic entities. I follow Peter Lefferts’ succinct suggestion: One set of questions that needs to be asked of any piece of music concerns its tonal behaviour, its way of working with tones. [ take this quite specifically here to mean its definition of the extent and content of musical space, its choice of pitches, and its ways of favouring certain pitches and discriminating against others." Although Lefferts makes this suggestion in the context of his cantus-oriented system, the whole. questions posed certainly take into account the polyphor The sticky question about how to interpret chromatic inflections and signatures has also become entangled in theories of tonal structure, since how one renders the chromatic content of a song drastically affects its sound and consequently how the tonal structure of the song is perceived. Some theories of tonal structure directly address or describe a position on chromatic inflections: for Peter Lefferts and Yolanda Plumley signatures function as an external indicator of tonal type,*" while for Christian Berger chromatic inflections do not function as indicators of altered pitch, but rather as signs of hexachordal/modal propriety.” Several recent studies of chromaticism in fourteenth- century music have posited diametrically opposed views on inflections. For Margaret, Bent and Elizabeth Leach the underlying contrapuntal grammar of a song dictates that all ~ Peter Lefferts (1995). “Signature Systems and Tonal Types.” 117. “ Lefferts (1995). “Signature Systems and Tonal Types.” and Yolanda Plumiey (1996), The Grammar ‘of 14° Century Melody “© Christian Berger (1992), Hexachord, Mensur und Textstruktur.thirds and si hs must be inflected appropriately in their approach to perfect intervals, whether or not such inflections appear notationally in the manuscript.’ At the other extreme, Thomas Brothers argues that notated chromatic inflections reflect fourteenth- century authorial or scribal intentions which are made less effective structurally when twentieth-century scholars or performers interpolate additional unnotated inflections." 1 ‘would contend that both positions claim a more systematic approach (Bent and Leach on the part of the performer, Brothers on the part of the scribe/composer) than the manuscript evidence and theoretical sources warrant. I find the idea that singers systematically adjusted every third and sixth in a piece as unlikely as the notion that they treated notated works as immutable communication from a composer. My proposed middle-ground between the extreme positions accepts that many of the necessary inflections for performance are in the manuscripts, but that some additional inflections should be added according to melodic and harmonic context, Rather than try to solve all of the interpretive problems surrounding chromatic inflections and performance practice considerations, I will demonstrate instead how the inflections which do appear (literally) in the manuscripts of the secular works of Machaut help to define tonal structure. To arrive at a theory of tonal structure in fourteenth-century French secular polyphony, itis necessary first to determine local- and large-scale syntactical norms, which can only be done, as Yolanda Plumley asserts, by “compar[ing] tendencies in a ® Margaret Bent (1998), “The Grammar of Early Music”; and Elizabeth Eva Leach (1999). teview of Chromatic Beauty inthe Late Medieval Chanson: an Interpretation of Manuscript Accidentcls, by Thomas Brothers (Cambridge University Press, 1997). in Music and Leters 80/2: 274-281, sce especially 279-281, “Thomas Brothers (1997), Chromatic Beauty in the Late Medieval Chanson: an Interpretation of Manuscript Accidentals (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).sizeable number of works”.“* Analysts often make claims about what is typical or unusual in a given piece of music according to the repertory from which itis culled. With common-practice music, most scholars are in agreement about what the norms are for a specific period, a particular genre, or an individual composer, because of a cultural familiarity with the canon.“ With fourteenth-century music, although several major studies have appeared offering theories of tonal organization, scholars are not fully in agreement about syntactical norms, such as what constitutes the chromatic content of a song, or how cadences are configured, or how songs are related in terms of tonal design. Plumley suggests that to determine these norms “our attention needs to shift from detailed study of the particular...to consideration of the general...",“” and with that in mind she and Lefferts propose closed and fixed categories of tonal structure. | argue that. tonal structure cannot be determined by closed categories based on external markers (uch as cantus final and signature). Instead, I propose that tonal structure is something that unfolds for the listener as a song is performed. | examine the ways in which individual pitches and sonorities are emphasized for the listener in particular songs, and then compare strategies between songs in Machaut’s secular, polyphonic song repertory. | argue that to determine syntactical norms and understand relationships between songs, ‘one must continually negotiate a path between the particular and the global. I conclude * Yolanda Plumley (1996). The Grammar of I-t* Century Melody. sv. “Peter Schubert (2000) writes in a review of Judd’s Tonal Structures volume, “In later repertoire, one ‘normal course of events leading to analysis is to hear or perform. to be captivated. to want a deeper acquaintance. and finally to analyze. In early music. on the other hand. we are intimate with so litte of the ‘repertoire that we need the giant survey to know what the norms are for a given body of work.” Schubert. ‘Music Theory Spectrum 2211: 131, * Plumley (1996). The Grammar of 14" Century Melody. xv» that rather than falling into fixed categories, fourteenth-century French songs demonstrate matrices of relationships with each other. Some commentary on Thomas Brothers’ recent description of a Machaut rondeau will illustrate the benefit this kind of approach can offer. In his provocative account of chromaticism in the late medieval chanson, Brothers describes Machaut’s rondeau, Dous viaire gracieus, (EX. |-1) as having an “unexpected design.”** Example 1-1 Dous viaire gracieus, Rondeau |” 4 % Thomas Brothers (1997), Chromatic Beauty, 93 °° This is my transcription with manuscript sources of accidentals indicated, not Brothers’. { have not included accidentals from MS E.He writes: Machaut’s twelve-measure refrain has five signed F-sharps, and these straightforwardly emphasize G; but the refrain and hence the song ends unexpectedly on b-flat/b-flat/f.°° Brothers’ assessment is correct from the vantage point of a listener, in the sense that the bb fifth is unprepared as a final sonority within the context of the rondeau: no perfect sonorities on bb appear earlier in the song and the only directed progression to bb (the cantus/tenor a/c third to unison bb, between mm.8 and 9 in EX. 1-2) is undermined by the £¥ to gin the triplum (I will use Guidonian letters when referring to specific pitches in this study, and will use capital letters, despite the possible confusion, for ‘generic’ pitches; it should be clear from the context whether the pitch is specific or generic). Example 1-2 Dous viaire gracieus, Rondeau 1; mm.8-9 F — = ” toe * Tew —————— ‘The proliferation of F¥ and its emphasis on G, however, does not in itself make the Bb ending “unexpected”. It is common within Machaut's music to find more than ‘one tonal center emphasized in a single song, and in fact, of the nine songs of Machaut which end on a Bb sonority, all emphasize G as a tonal center to one degree or another early in the song. In the fixed form songs the initial sonority is an anchor for the listener in constructing pitch relationships since it returns frequently in the repetition of the * Wid. 92,a musical form at a very clear, defining moment.*' Of the songs which end on Bb, Ballades 3, 8, 16, 25, and 36 begin with a G/d (or G/G/d) fifth, and Ballade 19 begins on Gfob/d.*? All of these songs, except for Ballade 36, continue to highlight G sonorities in various ways: through initial sonorities of phrases, directed progressions, and cadences.*? In Ballade 11, N’en fait n'en dit n'en pensee, which begins with an F/f octave (rather than 4G sonority) and ends on a bb unison, an interplay between G and Bb sonorities ‘maintains itself throughout the entire song. Even within the first phrase which prolongs F in the tenor and outlines a descent from fto a in the cantus, a long a/c third creates a G/d expectation, left unresolved until the ouvert cadence (see EX.1-3).** Example 1-3 N‘en fait n'en dit n'en pense, Ballade 11; mm.1-4 ‘Another Machaut song which ends on a Bb sonority, the four-voice Ballade 42 (Dame, de qui toute ma joie vient) from the Reméde de Fortune, is of particular interest here because of a discrepancy between the tonal orientation of the cantus-tenor duet and the four-voice * See chapter four, p.130 ff for funher discussion on the importance of inital sonorities. * On ne porroit penser ne souhaidier (BS), De desconfort, de martyre amoureus (B8). Dame, comment 4qu’ames de vous ne soie (B16), Homie, paour, doubtance de meffaire (B25), Se pour ce muir qu amours at bien servi (B36), and Amours me fat desirer (B19). ® These various devices for establishing tonal centers wil be discussed in more detail in subsequent chapers. * See chapter four. p.117 fF for further commentary on Ballade 11Example 1-4 Dame, de qui toute ma joie vient, Ballade 42; mm.1-6 and 10-13 mis rpm 16 S 2B cadences. The four-voice version begins on a D sonority, rather than G, and cadences in the first half to D at m.5 and to C at m.13 with the lowest pitch in the contratenor in both cadences. The structural cantus-tenor duet, however, which appears on its own as a two- voice version in Machaut's earliest manuscript, MS C, emphasizes a G tonal center at these two cadences. At m.S the tenor and cantus cadence on Fé/a (implicating a G unison resolution) and at m.13 they cadence on the expected G unison (see EX. 1-4). Assessing Dous viaire gracieus within the larger context of Machaut’s output, yields another perspective on the relationship between G and Bb sonorities. Although the final Bb sonority in Dous viaire gracieus is unprepared within the context of the song, to one familiar with the G ~ Bb design (known only through a presentist observation of a closed repertory), the Bb sonority may not be unexpected. Me lolc In the chapters which follow, I argue that tonal structure, a 20th-century construct, describes hierarchical relationships among pitches in a work as they unfold through the Process ofa song. Although fourteenth-century writers describe note-against-note counterpoint and progressions of two or three intervals, they do not discuss how to organize music about one or more central pitches. They do not describe, moreover, formal aspects of composition such as the musical-poetic structure of fixed forms and ‘ouvert-clos organization.* The ouvert/clos cadential patterns, however, in both * Aegidius de Murino specifies that there are open and closed endings in ballades, rondeaux and virelais. ‘but he docs not provide details about how open and closed endings are accomplished in terms of pitch ‘organization. Acgidius de Murino, “Tractatus cantus mensurabilis.” Scriptorum de musica medii aevi nova series a Gerbertina altera, Vol.3. edited by Edmond de Coussemaker (Paris: Durand. 1869: reprint edition, Hildesheim: Otms, 1963): 128,