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The Radio 3 Boards > The Music Boards > Music Through The Ages > Early Music > Ars Subtilior
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Author Topic: Ars Subtilior  (Read 1137 times)
Baziron
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« on: 15:44:06, 25-03-2007 »
Speculating upon the ‘Philippe de Vitry’ thread, I have been contemplating Vitry’s influence upon the course of 14th-c music. As we know, he invented Red Notation, the Semiminim, and the Four Prolations. These had profound consequences for music, and composers (including Machaut) were not slow to develop such ideas. In particular, the complexity of music in the later 14th c is notable through the so-called ‘Ars Subtilior’ compositions of people like Baude Cordier and Jacob Senlenches.(See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ars_subtilior) Music became truly ‘experimental’ in its rhythmic and structural aspects.

I am particularly interested how these developments were applied in what might be called ‘musical pictograms’, and would like to share some with readers. The first is the famous virelai La harpe de melodie by Senlenches. This is illustrated here:

It can be seen that on the harp diagram, ONLY the strings are used for the note-pitches (i.e. the strings are the lines of the staff, but the ‘spaces’ of the staff are ignored).

A transcription of the music can be viewed here:

What might be called ‘a digitized rendition’ of the composition can be heard at:
http://maucamedus.net/midi/senle06.mid
TRANSLATION OF TEXT
1. The harp of melody, made for pleasure and not melancholy, should delight everyone greatly through the harmony that can be heard, played and seen.
2. And I harmonize therefore for the graceful entertainment of its sweet sound,
3. a composition without discord – a chanson of good feelings
4. for the pleasure of a gathering who are pleased to see me, to flee from an unpleasantness which greatly annoys those who have pleasure in hearing.
5. The harp of melody…….


Baz  Grin
« Last Edit: 19:22:34, 25-03-2007 by Baziron » Logged
Evan Johnson
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« Reply #1 on: 18:10:01, 25-03-2007 »
I don't really like the dotted notes in that transcription, in the "4:3" passages (e.g. mm 16-17) - there really should be tuplets there, dots are a different animal...

But anyway, I'm curious why you describe the Ars Subtilior repertory as "structurally experimental"? By and large the formes fixes are precisely and recognizably the same ones used by Machaut, for example; in fact, for me one of the most interesting things about this music is the way in which rigid structures of recurrence inflect the local exuberance; could it have been otherwise?
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richard barrett
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« Reply #2 on: 18:22:04, 25-03-2007 »
The barlines are somewhat deceptive too. Isn't that piece structurally experimental in being such a strict canon?
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Baziron
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« Reply #3 on: 18:25:06, 25-03-2007 »
Quote from: Evan Johnson on 18:10:01, 25-03-2007
I don't really like the dotted notes in that transcription, in the "4:3" passages (e.g. mm 16-17) - there really should be tuplets there, dots are a different animal...

But anyway, I'm curious why you describe the Ars Subtilior repertory as "structurally experimental"? By and large the formes fixes are precisely and recognizably the same ones used by Machaut, for example; in fact, for me one of the most interesting things about this music is the way in which rigid structures of recurrence inflect the local exuberance; could it have been otherwise?
Really sorry Evan - you are quite right. I took too long preparing my first (perhaps over-excited) message, and I now realize that I should there have signed it simply:

Baz Angry
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Baziron
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« Reply #4 on: 18:35:12, 25-03-2007 »
Quote from: Evan Johnson on 18:10:01, 25-03-2007
I don't really like the dotted notes in that transcription, in the "4:3" passages (e.g. mm 16-17) - there really should be tuplets there, dots are a different animal...

But anyway, I'm curious why you describe the Ars Subtilior repertory as "structurally experimental"? By and large the formes fixes are precisely and recognizably the same ones used by Machaut, for example; in fact, for me one of the most interesting things about this music is the way in which rigid structures of recurrence inflect the local exuberance; could it have been otherwise?
I don't agree with your first par. The groups are not "tuplets" at all: each separate note is accorded an exact proportional duration by the use of coloration. This is echoed exactly in the transcription.

I did not describe the Ars Subtilior as being "structurally experimental", though it is! The structures that are novel are not, however, the use of the formes fixes but the use of rhythms, notations and harmonic textures.

Baz
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harmonyharmony
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« Reply #5 on: 18:46:09, 25-03-2007 »
In terms of performance, we've generally found dotted notes easier to read than tuplets.
Recently we've been singing some Ockeghem edited by Jaap van Benthem and found his solution to representing tuplets to be incredibly interesting (there's a 3 placed before the relevant passage) and useful.
I can't really imagine singing this (or a lot of other early music) without bar lines (or at least without an awful lot of practice).

I may have missed something, but, in my book at least, tuplets do indicate that a note has an exact proportional duration.
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harmonyharmony
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« Reply #6 on: 18:47:00, 25-03-2007 »
PS I like 'experimetal'
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'is this all we can do?'
anonymous student of the University of Berkeley, California quoted in H. Draper, 'The new student revolt' (New York: Grove Press, 1965)
http://www.myspace.com/itensemble
Baziron
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« Reply #7 on: 19:12:04, 25-03-2007 »
Quote from: harmonyharmony on 18:46:09, 25-03-2007
...I may have missed something, but, in my book at least, tuplets do indicate that a note has an exact proportional duration.
Of course HH, and that is certainly one way that early composers expressed rhythmic proportionality (e.g. changes of mensuration symbol). BUT...when note durations are indicated on a note-by-note basis - as in most ars subtilior compositions - the transcriptional imposition of "tuplets" is merely an editorial eccentricity that removes the performer still further from the mind of the actual composer (IMHO).

Baz  Sad
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Baziron
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« Reply #8 on: 19:23:39, 25-03-2007 »
Quote from: harmonyharmony on 18:47:00, 25-03-2007
PS I like 'experimetal'
Duly corrected HH.

Baz  Angry Angry
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harmonyharmony
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« Reply #9 on: 19:32:24, 25-03-2007 »
Oh do cheer up Baz.  Smiley
I'm glad you posted it at any rate.  Grin
And (for reasons above) I think that the dots make a lot of sense for performance quite aside from any other considerations. We're doing a mass by Ashwelle in June that uses tuplets for the edition that we're using and it's quite hard to get your head around.
And I do like 'experimetal' - it conjures up all sorts of images in my mind...  Wink
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'is this all we can do?'
anonymous student of the University of Berkeley, California quoted in H. Draper, 'The new student revolt' (New York: Grove Press, 1965)
http://www.myspace.com/itensemble
Baziron
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« Reply #10 on: 19:37:55, 25-03-2007 »
Quote from: harmonyharmony on 19:32:24, 25-03-2007
Oh do cheer up Baz.  Smiley
I'm glad you posted it at any rate.  Grin
And (for reasons above) I think that the dots make a lot of sense for performance quite aside from any other considerations. We're doing a mass by Ashwelle in June that uses tuplets for the edition that we're using and it's quite hard to get your head around.
And I do like 'experimetal' - it conjures up all sorts of images in my mind...  Wink
Thanks HH - I'm really fine (honestly!). I just hate (as you know) "opening a can of worms". It's seldom worth it. I was just interested in medieval pictograms - but I'll think again before I post any more (even though I myself find them interesting).

Baz Cool
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Martin
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« Reply #11 on: 19:43:54, 25-03-2007 »
I like this one...



(particularly good for sending to your valentine  Wink )

Can be found here:  http://maucamedus.net/img/bellebon.jpg
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harmonyharmony
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« Reply #12 on: 19:52:27, 25-03-2007 »
Quote from: Baziron on 19:12:04, 25-03-2007
Of course HH, and that is certainly one way that early composers expressed rhythmic proportionality (e.g. changes of mensuration symbol). BUT...when note durations are indicated on a note-by-note basis - as in most ars subtilior compositions - the transcriptional imposition of "tuplets" is merely an editorial eccentricity that removes the performer still further from the mind of the actual composer (IMHO).
Baz
Thanks for this. I've never really looked into the theoretical issues surrounding transcription (most of my thoughts about notation are usually firmly rooted in the 20th Century), so this is all really interesting.

I might ask Fabrice Fitch's opinion on this (if people are interested).

Martin - that's very nice.
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'is this all we can do?'
anonymous student of the University of Berkeley, California quoted in H. Draper, 'The new student revolt' (New York: Grove Press, 1965)
http://www.myspace.com/itensemble
Kittybriton
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Thank you for the music ...


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« Reply #13 on: 19:52:40, 25-03-2007 »
OT - Not that anybody gives a monkey's underpants, but how might one code that in MusixTeX?
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Baziron
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« Reply #14 on: 19:55:27, 25-03-2007 »
Quote from: Martin on 19:43:54, 25-03-2007
I like this one...



(particularly good for sending to your valentine  Wink )

Can be found here:  http://maucamedus.net/img/bellebon.jpg


Really funny thing is, Martin, that this was going to be my second one!. A transcription is here:


I shall refrain from comment for fear of being censured!

Baz
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