Nos. 13 and 15 Notre Dame School of Polyphony (1170-1250)
The only composers whose names were preserved from this time are Léonin and Pérotin. Both were mentioned by an anonymous student, known as Anonymous IV, who was either working or studying at Notre Dame later in the 13th century. Apart from naming the two composers and specifying that they compiled the big book of organum known as the Magnus Liber Organi, he provided exiting bits of information on the music and the principles involved in its composition.
No. 15 4-part conductus: Vetus abit littera
The conductus is a Gregorian song with serious, usually sacred text in Latin verse. The genre originated in southern France and was taken up by Léonin and Pérotin - being part of the Notre Dame school c. 1160-1240, when it flourished with great brilliance.
This piece is so inhumanly beautiful. And to think that the singers are modern people, living in brick houses with telephones and hot water. They brilliantly capture the feel of the 13th century.
darkhyena 1 year ago 3