Early Music History, Vol 17 (1998)

EARLY
MUSIC
HISTORY
medieval and
earlv modern
music
Edited by Iain Fenlon

EARLY MUSIC HISTORY 1 7
STUDIES I N MEDIEVAL
AND
EARLY M O D E R N MUSIC
Edited by
I A I N FENLON
Fellow of King's College, Cambridge
CAMBRIDGE
UNIVERSITY PRESS
Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, The
Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, United Kingdom
40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-421 1, USA
10 Stamford Road, Oakleigh, Melbourne 3166, Australia
O Cambridge University Press 1998
First Published 1998
Phototypeset in Baskerville by Wyvern 21 Ltd, Bristol
Printed in Great Britain at the University Press, Cambridge
ISSN 0261-1279
ISBN 0 52 1 622425
SUBSCRIPTIOSS The subscription price (excluding VAT) of volume 17, which includes
postage, is 58 (US $98 in USA and Canada) for institutions, 38 (US $61 in USA and
Canada) for individuals ordering direct from the Press and certifying that the annual is
for their personal use. Airmail (orders to Cambridge only) 10.00 extra. Copies of the
annual for subscribers in the USA and Canada are sent by air to New York to arrive with
minimum delay. Orders, which must be accompanied by payment, may be sent to a book-
seller, subscription agent or direct to the publishers: Cambridge University Press, The
Edinburgh Building, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 2RU. Payment may be made by
any of the following methods: cheque (payable to Cambridge University Press), UK postal
order, bank draft, Post Office Giro (account no. 571 6055 GB Bootle - advise CUP of pay-
ment), international money order, UNESCO coupons, or any credit card bearing the
Interbank symbol. EU subscribers (outside the UK) who are not registered for VAT should
add VAT at their country's rate. VAT registered subscribers should provide their VAT reg-
istration number. Japanese prices for institutions (including ASP delivery) are available
from Kinokuniya Company Ltd, P.O. Box 55, Chitose, Tokyo. Orders from the USA and
Canada should be sent to Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY
10011-4211. USA.
BACK VOLUMES Volumes 1-16 are available from the publisher at 58 ($97.00 in USA and
Canada).
NOTE Each volume of Early Music History is now published in the year in which it is sub-
scribed. Volume 17 is therefore ~ublishedin 1998. Readers should be aware, however, that
some earlier volumes have been subscribed in the year a3er the copyright and publication
date given on this imprints page. Thus volume 8, the volume received by 1989 subscribers,
is dated 1988 on the imprints page.
Information on Early Music History and all other Cambridge journals is available on
http://www.cup.cam.ac.uk/ and in North America on http://w.cup.org/.
t It is with great sadness that we learnt of the death of Fritz Reckow shortly before this
volume was published. The Editor and members of the Board wish to extend their sym-
pathy to his family, friends and colleagues.
CONTENTS
Page
JOSEPH DYER(University of Massachusetts, Boston)
Tropis semper variantibus: Compositional strategies in
the offertories of Old Roman chant 1
SARAHFULLER(State University of New York at Stony Brook)
Modal discourse and fourteenth-century French song:
A 'medieval' perspective recovered? 61
CHRISTINE G E T Z(Baylor University)
The Sforza restoration and the founding of the
ducal chapels at Santa Maria della Scala in Milan
and Sant'Ambrogio in Vigevano 109
ELEAZAR G UTWIRTH (Tel Aviv University)
Music, identity and the Inquisition in fifteenth-century
Spain 161
MICHAELMCGRADE(University of Chicago)
0 rex mundi triumphator: Hohenstaufen politics in a
sequence for Saint Charlemagne 183
JOHN ARTHURSMITH(Drammen, Norway)
Musical aspects of Old Testament canticles in their
biblical setting
EDITORIAL BOARD
W U L F ARLT,University of Base1
MARGARET B E N T ,All Souls College, Oxford
L O R E N Z OBIANCONI, University of Bologna
B O N N I EJ . B L A C K B U RUniversity
N, of Oxford
DAVIDFALLOWS, University of Manchester
F . A L B E R T OG A L L OUniversity
, of Bologna
JAMES H A A R University
, of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
K E N N E T HL E V Y Princeton
, University
LEWISL O C K W O O D Harvard
, University
? F R I T ZR E C K O WUniversitat
, Erlangen-Niirnberg, Germany
EDWARD R O E S N E RNew
, York University
C O L I NSLIM,University of California at Irvine
REINHARD STROHM,University of Oxford
Early Music H i s t o ~ y(1998) Volume 17. O 1998 Cambridge University Press
Printed i n the United Kingdom
TROPIS SEMPER V A R I A N T I B U S :
COMPOSITIONAL STRATEGIES
IN T H E OFFERTORIES O F
O L D ROMAN CHANT
In the introduction to the second volume of the series Monumenta

Monodica Medii Aevi, devoted in the main to a transcription of the
Old Roman gradual Vat. lat. 5319, Bruno Stablein drew up a per-
ceptive assessment of the native Italian chant style, contrasting it
with the melodic style of Gregorian chant, a repertoire considered
by many scholars to be the result of a process of local 'editing' of
the Roman chant introduced north of the Alps in the late eighth
and early ninth centuries.' Stablein quoted a remark about the
singing of 'alleluia' from Cassiodorus' commentary on Psalm 104:
'The tongues of cantors are adorned with [alleluia], and the Lord's
basilica joyfully responds with it. Innovations are always being
introduced to it with varying tropes' (tropis semper variantibus inno-
v a t ~ r )Cassiodorus'
.~ description of the singing of a particular chant
I The indispensable source for chant history and repertoire is D. Hiley, Western Plainchant:
A Handbook (Oxford, 1993), not least for its extensive bibliography. Very different views
have been expressed about the exact nature and result of the transmission of Roman
chant to Gaul: see H. Hucke, 'Die Einfiihrung des Gregorianischen Gesangs im
Frankenreich', Romische Quartalschnj9 f u r christliche Altertumrkunde und Kirchengeschichte, 49
(1954), pp. 172-87; Hucke, 'Towards a New Historical View of Gregorian Chant', Journal
of the American Musicological Society, 33 (1980), pp. 437-67; K. Levy, 'Charlemagne's
Archetype of Gregorian Chant', Journal ofthe American Musicological Society, 40 (1987), pp.
1-30; P. Bernard, 'Sur un aspect controverse de la rCforme carolingienne: "vieux-romain"
et "grCgorienn ', Ecclesia Orans, 7 (1990), pp. 163-89, and, more recently, Bernard, 'Bilan
historiographique de la question des rapports entre les chants "vieux romain" et "grC-
gorien" ', Ecclesia Orans, 12 (1995), pp. 323-53. The broader aspects of the Carolingian
liturgical reforms are surveyed by C. Vogel, 'Les Cchanges liturgiques entre Rome et les
pays francs jusqu'h 1'Cpoque de Charlemagne', in Le chiese nei regni dell'Europa occidentale
e i loro rapporti con R o m a j n o a11'800, Settimane di studi del Centro Italiano di Studi sull'Alto
Medio Evo, 7 (Spoleto, 1960), pp. 185-295.
B. Stablein, Die Gesange des altromischen Graduale, Monumenta Monodica Medii Aevi (here-
after M M ) , 2, ed. M. Landwehr-Melnicki (Kassel, 1970), p. 32*, quoting Cassiodorus,
Comment. i n ps. 104: 'Hoc ecclesiis dei votivum, hoc sanctis festivitatibus decenter acco-
modatum. Hinc ornatur lingua cantorum, istud aula domini laeta respondet et tamquam
Joseph Dyer
around the middle of the sixth century cannot, of course, be applied
without reservation to the music of the surviving Italian chant
repertoires - Beneventan, Ambrosian and Old Roman - whose his-
tories and state of preservation vary so widely. His comment about
the singing of 'alleluia' in an unknown liturgical context does seem,
however, to evoke certain distinctive features of these repertoires,
particularly their intricate, often repetitive melodic motion within
a narrow pitch range and the varied or literal reiteration of
melodic elements of varying lengths. This 'well documented Italian
propensity for melodic repetition' has been noted in studies of the
surviving Beneventan repertoire, and it constitutes a hallmark of
other native Italian repertoires, particularly Old Roman chant.3
Critiques of Old Roman chant have been directed to the alleged
absence of the lucid melodic profile that characterises the
Gregorian repertoire. While the Old Roman offertories do indeed
display the apparently random repetitive motion and convoluted,
stepwise melodic gestures of the Italianate style, they juxtapose
insatiabile bonum tropis semper variantibus innovatur.' Expositio psalmorum, ed. M.

Adriaen, Corpus Christianorum: Series Latina, vol. X ~ V I I I(Turnhout, 1957), p. 942. The
translation is from P. G. Walsh, Cassiodorus: Explanations of the P s a l m , Ancient Christian
Writers, 51-3 (New York, 1991), vol. 111, p. 49. P. Wagner applied Cassiodorus' remark
to 'die langgezogenen Allelujajubilen', E i n z h r u n g i n die gregorianischen Melodien: E i n
Handbuch der Choralwissenschaj, 3 vols. (Leipzig, 1910-21), vol. 11, p. 38. (In fairness to the
great chant scholar it should be noted that Stablein does not always reflect accurately
the context of what he calls 'das . . . abwertende Urteil Peter Wagners iiber die archai-
sche Melodik'.)
The quotation is from J. Boe, 'Hymns and Poems at Mass in Eleventh-Century Southern
Italy', Atti del X W Congresso della Societd Internadonale di Musicologia: Trasmissione e recezione
dellefonne di cultura musicale, Bologna 27agosta - I settembn 1987, ed. A. Pompilio, D. Restani,
L. Bianconi and F. A. Gallo, 3 vols. (Rome, 1990), vol. I, p. 516. Aurelian made his view
of this practice quite clear: 'absurdum esset si iteraretur duplatio modulationis in duabus
syllabis', Musica Disciplina, 19, ed. L. Gushee, Corpus Scriptorum de Musica, 21 (n.p.:
American Institute of Musicology, 1975), p. 128. John of Afllighem cautioned the com-
poser 'that he not abuse one neume by unduly harping on it' (ne i n una neuma nimium eam
inculcando oberret), De musica 18, ed. J. Smits van Waesberghe, De musica cum tonario, Corpus
Scriptorum de Musica, 1 (Rome: American Institute of Musicology, 1950), p. 118; trans.
W. Babb, Hucbald, Guido, andJohn on Music (New Haven, 1978), pp. 138-9. Two centuries
later, the anonymous author of the Summa Musice (ca. 1300) condemned what Cassiodorus
valued so highly: 'intervallum vel clausula repetitione una cum delectatione auditur, semel
igitur potest repeti, sed raro' (one repetition of an interval or a phrase may be heard
with pleasure; it may therefore be repeated once, but not often), and he goes on to make
an interesting comparison in light of Cassiodorus' statement: 'et considera, quod hoc
vitium simile est nugationi, quam rhetor plurimum detestatur' (and consider this vice to
be like a nugatio, something a rhetorician greatly detests). Summa Musice 23, Summa Musice:
A Thirteenth-Centu7y Manual for Singers, ed. C. Page (Cambridge, 1991), pp. 199 and 123.
The treatise was first edited (with attribution to Johannes de Muris) by M. Gerbert,
Soiptores Ecclesiastici de Musica Sama Potissimum, 3 vols. (St Blaise, 1784), vol. 111, p. 23813.
Compositional Strategies in the Offertories of Old Roman Chant
and integrate these features with purposeful musical organisation.
The subtly varied repetitions - part of the 'Schonheitsideal' of this
music, as Stablein was wont to emphasise - form part of the
melodic 'genius' of Old Roman chant, and they constitute partic-
ularly salient features of the offertories.
The music of the Old Roman offertories is transmitted in three
graduals written and used in the city of Rome.4 The earliest of
these sources, a handsome manuscript copied in the scriptorium
of S. Cecilia in Trastevere, is dated 1071. The second, a n early-
twelfth-century manuscript (Vat. lat. 5319), has sometimes been
linked with the Lateran basilica, but no conclusive evidence con-
firms its association with that important church. The third and
latest of the group is a thirteenth-century gradual from St Peter's
basi1ica.j Vat. lat. 5319 transmits virtually the complete repertoire
of offertory refrains with their verses for the temporal and sanc-
toral cycles of the liturgical year. The S. Cecilia gradual has many
lacunae, but it contains the offertory verses and supplements the
Vat. lat. 5319 repertoire in a few particular^.^ None of the verses
are found in the St Peter's manuscript, a not uncommon situation
in Gregorian manuscripts of the same period.
The S. Cecilia gradual includes the music for two verses of the
offertory Erit vobis [nobis] (fols. 86-86") that were erased in 53 19; these
are set to a common offertory formula (FormB) to be discussed below.
Four verses for the offertory Benedictus es . . . in labiis that have no
music in 53 19 are set in the S. Cecilia gradual (fols. 37-37v) to a sin-
gle melody adapted in successive verses to varying amounts of text.'
No separate collections of offertories or their verses comparable to the Gregorian offer-

toria or versicularia are known to have existed in the Old Roman tradition.
The S. Cecilia manuscript, Cologny-GenPve, Bibliotheca Bodmeriana C 74, has been
edited in facsimile by M. Liitolf, Das Gmdual von Santa Cecilia i n Trastevere, 2 vols. (Cologny-
GenPve: Fondation Martin Bodmer, 1987), with extensive commentary on the manu-
script and valuable indices of the Old Roman Mass chants in vol. I; a transcription of
Vat. lat. 5319 has been published in the Monumenta Monodica series (see note 2 above);
the St Peter's gradual is Archivio di San Pietro, F 22.
The offertory for the feast of St Agnes, Diemfestum with the prosula 'Mundo presenti',
occurs only in the S. Cecilia gradual (fol. 3lV,)but it is Gregorian, not Old Roman; cf.
the version found in the gradual Benevento 34 (Palkographie Musicale, 15), fol. 5 P . Domine
Hiesu Chn'ste from the Gregorian Mass for the Dead appears in Vat. lat. 5319, fol. 140.
At the end of the St Peter's manuscript a votive Mass in honor of the Virgin ('Salve
sancta parens') with the offertory Felix namque (fol. 103) was inserted.
' M. Huglo has suggested a probable Gallican origin for En't vobis ('Offertory Antiphon',
The N e w Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. X, p. 651). The erased verses of Erit nobis in Vat. lat.
5319 (fol. 94) were replaced by the Alleluia verse 'Epi si kyrie ilpysa'.
Joseph Dyer
The gradual from St Peter's is the only Old Roman chant book to
contain the offertory Gaudete iusti (fol. 77), a piece that has no par-
allel in the Gregorian sources I was able to consult.
The other small differences between the S. Cecilia and Vat. lat.
5319 manuscripts involve either the omission or the rearrange-
ment of verses, both procedures well known from the Gregorian
manuscript tradition of the o f f e r t o r i e ~ Until
.~ 1987 the S. Cecilia
manuscript was generally unavailable to scholars, but with the pub-
lication of a facsimile edition of the manuscript a comprehensive
survey of the entire corpus of Old Roman chants for the Mass has
been rendered feasible. The present moment seems opportune,
therefore, to reflect on certain aspects of the Old Roman offerto-
ries, particularly their compositional strategies, in the context of
theories about the oral transmission of chant repertoires that have
been elaborated over the past two decades.
Neither the Old Roman nor the Gregorian offertories have
received the comprehensive investigation they meritegThis may be
due at least in part to the size of the repertoire: Ott's edition of
120 Gregorian offertories with their verses (not all of which have
medieval authority) occupies 190 pages, while the transcription of
the Old Roman offertories by Margareta Landwehr-Melnicki takes
The first two verses of Benedicite gentes are reversed in the two graduals, as are verses 2
and 3 ofJustus ut palma; S. Cecilia omits the verses of the offertories Confortamini, Exulta
satis and Tollite portas. It lacks the verse 'Da michi' of the offertory Domine vivijica, the
verse 'Posui adiutorium' of Veritas mea, the verse 'Accedite ad eum' of Immitet angelum,
the verse 'Non adorabitis' of I n die solempnitatis, and the third verse of Perjce gressus. Single
verses in 5319 are sometimes divided in the S. Cecilia gradual: 'Potens es' (verse 1 of
Inveni David) and 'Verba mea' (verse 1 of Gloriabuntur).
9 Not included in this number are: (1) the Gregorian offertory for the feast of St Agnes,
Diem festum (with the prosula 'Mundo presenti'), which occurs only in the S. Cecilia grad-
ual (fol. 31"); (2) Domine Hiesu Christe from the Gregorian Mass for the Dead (Vat. lat.
5319, fol. 140); and (3) the offertory Felix namque from the votive Mass in honor of the
Virgin ('Salve sancta parens'). The Old Roman introits have been studied by T. Connolly,
'Introits and Archetypes: Some Archaisms of the Old Roman Chant', Journal of the
American Musicological Society, 25 (1972), pp. 157-74, and the communions by J. Murphy,
'The Communions of the Old Roman Chant' (Ph.D, diss., University of Pennsylvania,
1977). For analyses of other Mass chants see E. Nowacki, 'Text Declamation as a
Determinant of Melodic Form in the Old Roman Eighth-Mode Tracts', Early Music
History, 6 (1986), pp. 193-226; H. Schmidt, 'Untersuchungen zu den Tractus des zweiten
Tones', Kirchenmusikalisches Jahrbuch, 42 (1958), pp. 1-25; H. Hucke, 'Gregorianischer
Gesang in altromischer und frankischer Uberlieferung', Archiv f u r Musikmissenschaj, 12
(1955), pp. 74-87 [graduals]; P. Bernard, 'Les Alleluia mtlismatiques dans le chant
romain: Recherches sur la gentse de I'Alleluia de la messe romaine', Rivista Internationale
di Musica Sacra, 12 (1991), pp. 286-362.
up 160 pages.I0 (Depending on the tempo chosen, the longest offer-
tories in either tradition could last a quarter of an hour in per-
formance.) Hubert Sidler's study of a small portion of the
Gregorian offertory repertoire that appeared before World War I1
was never continued: it encompassed less than 15 per cent of the
offertories.ll The treatments of the offertory in the standard sur-
veys of Gregorian chant tend to stress, moreover, the most strik-
ing formal aspects of the pieces, thus ignoring other notable
aspects of the repertoire. Willi Ape1 emphasised melodic paral-
lelism and text repetition in defining the special character of the
Gregorian offertories. Peter Wagner began his discussion of the
genre with Letentur celi, a n offertory that, despite its formal clar-
, ity, is atypical because of its brevity and lack of melodic develop-
ment (a fact of which Wagner was well aware). Pieces that could
not be analysed in terms of fixed structural patterns (a-a or a-b-u)
ran the risk of being devalued because of 'Formlosigkeit', a ver-
dict that fell even upon the spectacular verse melismas of the
Gregorian offertory Iubilate deo omnis terra.I2
A complete Old Roman offertory, like its Gregorian counter-
part, consists of a neumatic-melismatic refrain and one or two
verses, sometimes three, in the same style. The last portion of the
refrain (repetenda) is repeated as a choral respond following the
soloist's verses. Only once (Gressus meus, MM 390-2) is a (varied)
repetenda written out in full. Occasionally, the music for the close
of the verse will duplicate that of the refrain just before the repe-
tenda. Vat. lat. 5319 does not invariably furnish the incipit of the
repetenda after each verse, nor is it too precise or consistent about
indicating the beginnings of verses. The letter 'V' conventionally
indicates the beginning of a new verse, but in the Old Roman man-
uscripts it might also signify smaller text divisions, as it does in
Benedictus es . . . ne tradas (MM 327), where it indicates a text rep-
etition within the refrain.
lo K. Ott, Offertoriale sive Versus Offertoriorum Cantus Gregoriani (Tournai, 1935), reedited by
R. Fischer and inscribed with neumes of Laon 239 and Einsiedeln 121 as Offertoriale
Triplex cum uersibus (Solesmes, 1985). O n the editorial idiosyncrasies of Ott's edition see
particularly R. Steiner, 'Some Questions about the Gregorian Offertories and Their
Verses', Journal ofthe American Musicological SocieQ, 19 (1966) pp. 162-81. For the edition
of the Old Roman offertories see note 2 above.
" H. Sidler, Studien zu den alten Offertorien mit ihren Versen, Veroffentlichungen der
Gregorianischen Akademie zu Freiburg (Schweiz), 20 (Freiburg, 1939).
l2 Wagner, Einfuhrung, vol. I, pp. 422-4; Ott, Offertoriale, p. 23.
Joseph Dyer
While the Gregorian offertory repertoire consists mainly of

pieces that could be described as 'through-composed', the Old
Roman offertories present a more varied array of structural tech-
niques that fall along the borderline between oral improvisation
and fully notated 'composition'. With respect to their formal prin-
ciples, they occupy a middle ground between, on one hand, the type
melodies of antiphons or the formulaic tracts and graduals and, on
the other hand, genres (like the Gregorian offertories) in which
every piece is substantially unique. Many aspects of the Old Roman
offertories suggest
-- that they furnish what Leo Treitler called a
'transparent window' revealing something about the oral tradition
that preceded the earliest notated witnesses.13 Their most charac-
teristic features imply origins in improvisatory techniques that
facilitated oral transmission through the approximately four cen-
turies that separated the presumed origins of the offertory chants
from the earliest notated collection of Old Roman Mass chants.
Improvisation, a form of instantaneous 'composition' (whatever
that might imply under different circumstances), should not be
confused with aimless meandering. Most of the great composers
of instrumental music over the last few centuries have been bril-
liant improvisers who astonished even the professional musicians
among their contemporaries.'* In our own day the art of improvi-
sation has been cultivated almost exclusively by organists, who
have often been notable composers as well. Those fortunate
enough to have heard the likes of Marcel DuprC, Jean Langlais,
Flor Peeters, Pierre Cochereau, Helmut Walcha, or Anton Heiller
recognised the clear formal planning that was the bedrock of their
apparent spontaneity. In his treatise on improvisation DuprC out-
lined a methodical development of this art from preparatory exer-
cises to the improvisation of organ symphonies. H e included a
chapter on 'free forms', but even here he proposed strict schemata
for the guidance of the improviser.15 Whatever the latitude per-
13 L. Treitler, runtitledl 'Communication', Tournal of the American Musico10,gical Society, 41
(1988), p. 575.
l4 One need only recall the aged Johann Adam Reincken's amazement at hearing J. S. Bach
improvise on the chorale 'An Wasserfliissen Babylon', The Bach Reader, ed. H. T. David and
A. Mendel (New York, 1945), p. 219, or the marvellous feats attributed to Mozart.
l5 M. DuprC, Cours complet d'improvisation d l'orgue, 2 vols. (Paris, 1925 and 1937). Cf. Leo
Treitler's apposite characterisation of 'oral transmission as a normal practice whose object
and effect is to preserve traditions, not play loose with them': 'Homer and Gregory: The
Transmission of Epic Poetry and Plainchant', The Musical Quarterly, 60 (1974), p. 346.
mitted by musical or ritual circumstances, a n accomplished impro-
viser has always at the ready a 'bag of tricks' available for unan-
ticipated situations that might arise during the liturgical service
(or in a modern concert improvisation).16 The notated versions of
the Old Roman offertories - particularly in their use of the
resources mentioned above - hint strongly at their oral, improvi-
sational antecedents.
The compositional techniques of the Old Roman offertories
range from the mechanical repetition of short motives or phrases
to the melodic elaboration of brief motives and larger phrases, in
addition to entirely 'free' composition. Features particularly dis-
tinctive of the offertories include: (1) the extensive use of two
reciting formulae across the repertoire, (2) the unification of
verses and occasionally of refrain and verses through returns of
melodic material, and (3) the transfer of melodic material - melis-
mas or entire verses - from one offertory to another.17 (The lat-
ter procedure is exceptional.) The Gregorian repertoire of
offertory chants employs literal repetition in certain contexts, most
often in melismas, as Wagner, Ferretti, Johner and Apel have
demonstrated, but the practice seems to be far more pervasive in
the Old Roman repertoire and quite commonly involves texted
sections.18 The extensive use of two Old Roman offertory formu-
lae suggests, moreover, that Roman singer-composers placed a
high value on practices that unified not only single works but also
large portions of the offertory repertoire itself. The offertories
l6 'One had to have a procedural plan, even if one did not have a pre-vision about how it
would turn out', according to L. Treitler, 'Medieval Improvisation', The World of Music,
33 (1991), p. 68. Concerning the phase during which Old Roman chant was passed down
orally one could conclude with David G. Hughes that 'the inference to be drawn is not
that the melody was composed anew by improvisation at each performance, but rather
that certain kinds of details were somewhat flexible': Hughes, 'Evidence for the
Traditional View of the Transmission of Gregorian Chant', Journal of the American
Musicological Society, 40 (1987), p. 398.
l7 This contrasts markedly with the Gregorian offertories which - apart from contrafacts
created for new feasts - do not generally share material across the repertoire. Each is,
as described by Hubert Sidler, an 'Eigengewachs': Studien z u den alten Offertorien mit ihren
Versen, p. 7.
P . Wagner, Einfuhrung, vol. I, pp. 428-32; P. Ferretti, Esthitique grkgorienne, trans. A.
Agaesse (Solesmes, 1938), pp. 198-203; D. Johner, Wort und Ton i m Choral. Ein Beitrag rur
Aesthetik des gregorianischen Gesanges, 2nd edn (Leipzig, 1953), pp. 37 1-4; W. Apel, Gregorian
Chant (Bloomington, Ind., 1959), pp. 363-75; I. Kkhmer, 'Die Offertoriums-~berliefer-
ung in Rom Vat. lat. 5319' (Inaugural-Diss., University of Cologne, 1971); J. Dyer, 'The
Offertories of Old Roman Chant: A Musico-Liturgical Investigation' (Ph.D. diss., Boston
University, 1971).
Joseph Dyer
form a body of music organised according to consistent principles,

most of which seem particularly well designed for and appropri-
ate to oral transmission.lg
About two-thirds (59) of the Old Roman offertories make
greater or lesser use of two standard formulae, all evidence of
which has been eradicated in the 'Frankish' revision of the music.
These formulae (ForrnA and FormB) almost always occur in con-
junction with other procedures of melodic organisation (repetition
and return) or in combination with 'free' material. An examina-
tion of the formulae can provide a useful background for the dis-
cussion of other compositional techniques and their integration
with the formuIae. Appendixes 1 and 2 list all the occurrences of
FormA and FormB with a n approximate indication of the extent
to which each is used in a given offertory refrain and verses. The
formulae do not necessarily appear each time with all of their
components; thus the distinction between actual statement and
allusion is occasionally difficult to determine.2O Rarely are the for-
mulae or individual elements thereof subject to melodic variation,
and virtually never do both formulae appear in the same offer-
tory.21This is due no doubt to their modal orientation: FormA is
found most frequently with E-mode (and to a lesser extent G-
mode) offertories, while FormB serves principally a resource for
F-mode offertories.
ForrnA, the shorter of the two formulae, has been singled out
in several previous studies of Old Roman Chant.22Although it
occurs about ten times in offertory refrains, its presence in these
l9 For a recent bibliography on the subject of orality and chant transmission see K. Levy,
'On Gregorian Orality', Journal ofthe American Musicological Society, 43 (1990), pp. 185-227.
The concepts on which the 'new historical view of Gregorian chant' are founded (see
note 1 above) have been critically reviewed in P. Jeffery, Re-Envisioning Past Musical
Cultures: Ethnomusicology and the Study of Gregorian Chant (Chicago, 1992), pp. 6-50.
20 This would account for the slight differences between my list and that of P. Bernard,
'Les versets des alltluias et des offertoires, tCmoins de I'histoire de la culture A Rome
entre 560 et 742', Musica e Storia, 3 (1995), pp. 5-40, see p. 24.
2' Only in Expectans expectaui and Lauda anima do they occur in the same offertory; the sec-
ond verse of Lauda anima is the unique case of their combination in a single verse.
FormA was cited by B. Stablein in 'Zur Friihgeschichte des romischen Chorals', Atti del
Congresso Znternazionale di Musica Sacra (Rome, 1950), p. 272. R. Snow emphasised its preva-
lence in the offertories in the chapter 'The Old-Roman Chant' which he contributed to
W. Apel, Gregorian Chant, p. 491. Both formulae figure in the pieces discussed by H.
Hucke, 'Zur Aufzeichnung der altrijmischen Offertorien', U t mens concordet uoci. Festschny
Euglne Cardine r u m 75. Geburtstag, ed. J. B. Goschl (St Ottilien, 1980), pp. 296-313. These
formulae are the equivalent of U h m e r ' s two 'Singweisen'; see note 18 above.
contexts is relatively slight - once or twice at most. It occurs much
more frequently in the verses, repeated two, three, or four times
in succession as required by the length of the text (Appendix 1).
This balance suggests that the formula is essentially a soloistic
device, relatively easy to apply in a context of oral i m p r o ~ i s a t i o n . ~ ~
Whether the verse texts in which FormA appears once or twice
were ever sung in their entirety to this formula, only to be replaced
at a later period with 'composed' music, can be no more than a
matter for speculation.
FormA (Example 1) consists of four elements whose principal
tonal focus is b. It is also found, somewhat less frequently, at the
lower fifth.24Element a does not function solely or even primarily
as a n intonation, but as a link between repetitions. I have placed
it first because of its function of introducing successive repetitions
of the formula. When ForrnA appears in the verse of a n offertory,
element b, the torculus recitation, usually comes first. As the prin-
cipal recitational device of the formula, element b can be repeated
several times, though repetition of the formula itself was obviously
preferred to the incessant reiteration of the torculus. Although syl-
labic passages or recitations on a repeated podatus or torculus are
not rare in the Old Roman offertory repertoire, such stylised
embellished recitation takes place primarily within the context of
FormA.
Example 1 Formula A
The recitational element b makes no distinction between

accented and unaccented syllables apart from any distinctions that
23 Not every graduate of the training programme provided by the Roman schola cantorum
could find a permanent place in the prestigious papal choir, nor should we assume that
they were all extraordinary virtuosi. See J. Dyer, 'The Schola Cantorum and Its Roman
Milieu in the Early Middle Ages' in De musica et cantu: Studien rur Geschichte der Kirchenmusik
und der Oper. Helmut Hucke r u m 60. Geburtstag, Musikwissenschaftliche Publikationen,
Hochschule fiir Musik und Darstellende Kunst, 2, ed. P. Cahn and A.-K. Heimer
(Hildesheim, 1993), pp. 19-40, which argues for a late-seventh-century origin of the
Roman schola cantorum.
24 The prominence given to b in the recitational element of this formula parallels a simi-
lar situation in Aquitanian and some Beneventan sources.
8 2. Quo - N - am quis in n&bi - bus
e - qua -
bi tur- d&mi - no aut
quis si-mi-Us e - r i t d6
-
- -
o i n -
ter f i - l i - - - - 0s de - i.
Example 2a Conjtebuntur: Verse 2 (MM 410)
' ed,,,l.Do-mi-ne
fac - tus es
re-fir - gi -
no -
urn
bis
a T - n e - r a - ti o - neetpm - ge-N-e.
2. Pn - us - quam fi - e - rent mon - teS
2yc for - ma - re - tur or - bis ter - re
a se-cu-lo u s - q w in A c u - lumtues de -us.
Example 26 Refileti sumus: Verses 1 and 2 (MM 280-1)
de
(1) et
gen- ti -bus i- ra
Li - be- ra - - - -
- -- cun
- -- dis
- tor meus.
(2) ab in -sw-gen- ti - bus in me
(2) ex- al- - - ta-bisme a vi-ro in - - - - i - - quo . . .

(2) e- ,.,-
bc
- - - - - - - - pi- - - es me
Example 2c Intonuit de celo: Verses 1 and 2 (MM 41 1-12)

might have been made in performance (a very likely possibility).
It flows directly into element c, which functions as the focal point
of rhythmic emphasis and frequently attracts the text accent.
Example 2a, the second verse of the offertory Conztebuntur (MM
410), represents a typical application of F o ~ ~ AIt. *begins
~ with
element b and illustrates the function of element a as a link
between one statement of the formula and the next. If a paroxy-
tone falls on element c, this element receives the accent. If the
word is a proparoxytone, however, a single punctum inserted
before element c receives the accent. This treatment permits
exceptions, a number of which can be seen in Example 26, the
verses of the offertory Repleti sumus (MM 280).z6 In verse 1 of
Example 2b the accented syllable of the proparoxytone 'reftigium'
is set not to a single intercalated punctum but to the final poda-
tus of the recitation. In verse 2, however, the proparoxytone 'stcu-
lum' receives the conventional accent treatment. In the case of
the paroxytones in these verses ('ndbis', and 'generatihe' in verse
1; 'mdntes', and 'tCrre' in verse 2) the accent falls normally on
element c.
Element d occurs least frequently, being reserved for the con-
clusion of multiple repetitions of the formula. Most often, it falls
on a final syllable or on a monosyllable (see 'filios', Example 2a,
and 'tu es', Example 2b). It may be entirely absent from single
statements of the formula. Since it functions also as a transition
to portions of the verse not based on the formula, it undergoes the
greatest variation. Apparently it was not considered a satisfactory
cadence by itself, for additional music - either a simple cadence
or a longer passage - was always supplied to bring the verse to a
close. The order of the elements of FormA was somewhat flexible
within the context of the conventions that governed its use.
Element b could sometimes proceed directly to element d, and this
in turn could regress (though rarely) to element c.
Appearances of ForrnA usually occur in conjunction with other
'free' material. Both verses of the paschal offertory Intonuit de celo
25 All references ( M M ) are to page numbers of the transcriptions in Monumenta Monodica

Medii Aevi, 2.
26 A verse of this offertory has been reproduced before: see A. Scharnagl, 'Offertorium',
Die Musik i n Geschichte und Gegenwart, vol. IX,col. 1902, and B. Stablein, 'Psalm', ibid., vol.
X, col. 1689 (ex. 12). The refrain of this offertory also makes extensive use of Form A.
Joseph Dyer
(Example 2c, M M 41 1) begin with the same melodic flourish before

moving to F o r d , introduced in this case by its element d. Except
for the insertion of two elements of the formula (d and c) early in
verse 1 ('virtus mea'), both verses run in parallel. Since verse 2 of
this offertory has a longer text, the formula is repeated one more
time ('exaltabis me, a viro iniquo eripias me'). In this case, how-
ever, the elements are rearranged, following the model of 'virtus
mea'.
Despite the fact that F o r d appears to manifest certain fea-
tures characteristic of psalm tones (intonation, recitation, and
cadential gesture), its treatment of the text differs in significant
ways from these f ~ r m u l a e . FormA
~' does not invariably respect the
syntactic coherence of the text. No consistent effort is made, for
example, to co-ordinate either of the cadential elements, c or d,
with the end of psalm hemistichs, entire verses, or even sense ele-
ments within a hemistich. For a more methodical use of FormA
the reader may be referred to the verses of the offertories Miserere,
Domine fac mecum and Conjtebuntur.
F o r d also plays a prominent role in eight alleluias sung during
the solemn paschal vespers celebrated at Rome on Easter day and
throughout the ensuing week.28 The music is transmitted in two
twelfth-century Old Roman sources: Vat. lat. 53 19 (fols. 84v-98; M M
524-3, a facsimile of the beginning of the vespers, fols. 84-85, serves
as frontispiece to this volume) and the Old Roman antiphoner now
in the British Library (Add. MS 29988, fols. 74-84). All of the eight
alleluias with F o r d follow a standard formal plan, clear from the
musical sources and unmistakably implied in the much earlier
rubrics of Ordo Romanus 27, a description of how the vespers were
2i With the exception ofAve Maria and Oratio mea, all of the offertory texts that use Form
A are drawn from the psalms.
28 According to Amalar of Metz, who witnessed the paschal vespers at Rome in the early
ninth century, the pope presided at them, at least on Sunday; Liber de ordine antiphonarii
52.5, ed. J . M. Hanssens, Amalarii Episcopi Opera Liturgica Omnia, 3 vols., Studi e Testi,
138-40 (Vatican City, 1948-50), vol. 111, p. 84. The alleluias in question are Deus regnavit
(Sunday; M M 198), Domine rehgium and I n exitu (Monday; M M 205 and 202), Paratum cor
(Tuesday; M M 192), T e decet (Wednesday; M M 204), Letatus sum and Qui conjdunt (Friday;
M M 188 and 200), Cantate domino (Saturday; M M 194). The formula occurs in none of
the Greek-texted alleluias sung at the paschal vespers; see C. Thodberg, Der byzantinis-
che Alleluiarionryklus, Monumenta Musicae Byzantinae Subsidia, 8 (Copenhagen, 1966),
pp. 168ff. These Greek alleluias make extensive use of recitation formulae and literal
repetitions also characteristic of Old Roman chant; see M M , pp. 128*-129*.
celebrated in the late seventh or early eighth ~ e n t u r y . 2The
~ struc-
ture of the eight alleluias is essentially as follows:
Alleluia
Alleluia verse 1 (or incipit)
Intonation ( p r i m i c e r i ~ s ) ~ ~
Verse (schola: ForrnA+ conclusion)
Alleluia verse 2
Intonation (primicerius)
Verse (schola: FormA conclusion) +
Alleluia
Alleluia verses 1 and 2 (B) are sung to a special recitation formula
on C with a torculus reserved for accented syllables.31 There are
several small variations to this formal plan: the alleluias Letatus
sum and Paratum cor have an extra C-D pair, and the closing alleluia
29 The rubrics of the Old Roman gradual correspond almost exactly with the description
of the alleluias in Ordo Romanus 27: 'Dicitur post hunc [ps. 1101 primus scholae cum
paraphonistae [et] infantibus Alleluia. Et respondent paraphoniste. Sequitur subdiaconus
cum infantibus Alleluia. Dominus regnavit et reliqua. Et semper respondent parafoniste et
adnuntiant verba infantibus. V[ersus]. Parata sedes tua deus. Iterum ~ [ e r s u s ] Elevaverunt
.
Jumina domine. Post hos versus salutat primus scholae archidiaconum et illo annuente
incipit Alleluia cum melodiis cum infantibus. Qua expleta, respondent parafonistae pri-
mam.' Ordo Romanus 27.70-1, ed. M. Andrieu, Les Ordines romani du haut moyen-dge, 5
vols., Spicilegium sacrum lovaniense, 11, 23-4, 28, 29 (Louvain: UniversitC Catholique
de Louvain, 1931-61), vol. 111, p. 363. This ordo mentions only the Roman archdeacon
(not the pope) as celebrant, as does the derivative description of the Sunday vespers in
Ordo 30B.71-82 (Andrieu, vol. 111, pp. 475-7). For a fuller discussion of the paschal ves-
pers see J. Smits van Waesberghe, 'De glorioso officio . . . dignitate apostolica: Zum
Aufbau der GroB-Alleluia in den papstlichen Ostervespern', in Essays Presented to Egon
Wellesz, ed. J. Westrup (Oxford, 1966), pp. 48-73; S. J. P. van Dijk, 'The Medieval Easter
Vespers of the Roman Clergy', Sacris Erudiri, 19 (1969-70), pp. 261-363, and Stablein,
M M , pp. 84*-140*. O n the intonation and FormB in the vespers see E. Jammers, Musik
i n Byranz, i m papstlichen Rom und i m Frankenreich: Der Choral als Musik der Textaussprache
(Heidelberg, 1962), pp. 232-4.
30 Ordo Romanus 27.70 (Andrieu, vol. 111, p. 363) instructs the paraphoniste (plural) to cue
the choirboys ('infantibus'). By the time the gradual was copied, the responsibility of
'announcing' the verse had devolved on the primicerius, whose intonation was followed
by the singing of the verse by the entire schola. Could this later practice reflect a n ear-
lier period when the intonation was a practical necessity for less experienced boy singers?
FormA is discussed in the context of the vespers by K. Gindele, 'Spuren altmonastis-
chen Alleluja-Psalmodie in der altrijmischen Ostervesper', Studien und Mitteilungen zur
Geschichte des Benediktiner-Ordens und seiner Zweige, 83 (1972), pp. 156-61.
3 1 The alleluia and offertory verses using this 'Vesperstil' (Thodberg) have been listed in
P. Bernard, 'Les versets des allCluias et des offertoires', pp. 9, 22, and tables 1-4. Bernard
dates the offertories with FormA about a century earlier than I would be inclined to do,
partly on the assumption that the texts and chant formularies of a feast (e.g., Sexagesima
and SS. Philip and James) must be contemporaneous with the institution of that feast,
a view critiqued by Apel, Gregorian Chant, pp. 56-7. See also P. Bernard, "L'origine des
Joseph Dyer
ofDominus regnauit is expanded by the addition of an extended melo-

dia. Cantate domino has two alleluia verses in succession, and the
second intonation of Pascha nostrum leads not to a verse but to a
grand alleluia.
Our concern in this brief digression is not the entire alleluia com-
plex of the paschal vespers but with the C-D pairs that use F o r d .
Example 3 is a transcription of alleluia verse 2 ('Notum fecit') and
the (single) intonation-verse pair from the alleluia Cantate domino
for vespers on Saturday of Easter week. The (pre)intonation of the
primicerius (C) consists of a single pitch concluded by a descend-
ing cadential gesture. This does not foreshadow the music of F o r d
but does outline the tonal sphere (G-c) of the formula. Both sources
of the music prescribe that the entire schola cantorum answers the
primicerius, thus indicating not a solo but a choral p e r f ~ r m a n c e . ~ ~
In the alleluia verses of the paschal vespers ForrnA is invariably
introduced by element a and stated once only, with multiple repe-
titions of the torculus figure, not repeated in flexibly varied config-
urations - a practice uncharacteristic of the offertories. The torculus
figure is repeated as often as necessary - in this case more fre-
quently than in any offertory. This group of vesper alleluia verses
also shares a common cadence formula ('suam' in Example 3).
f ( 2 . N o - t u r n fe - c i t do - mi-nus sa-lu-ta - resu - - - - urn.
-
[Primicerius:] An te con-spes t u gen -ti - urn
[Schola:] An - te -
con - spe ctu gen-ti - urn re - ve - la - vit iu - sti - ti-am
su - am. [Alleluia]
Example 3 Alleluia. Cantate domino (MM 194, excerpt)
chants de la messe selon la tradition musicale du chant romain ancien, improprement
dit "chant vieux-romain': ', in L'Eucharistie: CLlLbrations, rites, piitis, Confkrences Saint-
Serge, XLIc Semaine d'Etudes Liturgiques (Paris, 28 juin-1 juillet 1994), Biblioteca
'Ephemerides Liturgicae' Subsidia, 79, ed. A. M. Triacca and A. Pistoia (Rome, 1995),
pp. 19-97, especially pp. 83-9.
'2 According to Ordo Romanus 27.70, the parafoniste intone the phrase to the 'infantibus',
Andrieu, Les Ordines romani, vol. 111, p. 363.
Does the less flexible use of ForrnA in the alleluias of the paschal
vespers indicate a n earlier stage of development preserved at a
time of particular solemnity in the liturgical year, or does it merely
represent the final stylisation for choral performance of a tradi-
tional Roman recitation formula for offertories? Ordo Romanus
27, as we have seen, describes the venerable paschal vespers as
observed at Rome in the first half of the eighth century. The exis-
tence of these vespers with processions to stations outside the
Lateran basilica, if not all the details of its celebration, can in all
probability be traced back at least a half-century earlier. Bruno
Stablein drew attention to a pre-Hadrianic Gregorian palimpsest
sacramentary (Monte Cassino 271) datable to the second half of
the seventh century that includes the prayers said at each of the
Roman vesper 'stations' throughout Easter week.33 This means
that the essential structure of the vespers must have been worked
out by that time. Stablein surmised that the existence of the ves-
pers could be pushed back even further. He noted, for example,
that the Monte Cassino sacramentary closed its cycle of vesper
prayers on Easter Saturday, the original conclusion of paschal week
(hebdomada in albis) until the introduction of 'Low' Sunday as the
octave day, an institution that Stablein, following Antoine
Chavasse, attributes to the pontificate of Pope Honorius I
(625-38).34 By the mid seventh century, this Sunday had come to
be regarded as the close of the octave, as attested in the earliest
Roman gospel list (c. 645) and the old Gelasian ~ a c r a m e n t a r y . ~ ~
" MM 90*-96*. P. Bernard has sought to reverse the relationship between Vat. lat, 5319
and Ordo 27 by asserting that the gradual preserves an earlier stage of the week-
long paschal vespers and that Ordo 27 represents a redaction created to avoid placing
the octave of Easter on the following Sunday. One of his arguments seems based
on interpreting Friday in Easter week (station at the Pantheon) as a 'sorte d'octave
du Vendredi saint' and the attribution of the gradual Letatus sum and the tract Qui con-
j d u n t to Good Friday, chants sung rather on the fourth Sunday of Lent: 'Les versets',
pp. 10-12.
3+ A. Chavasse, L e sacramentaire ~dlasien(Vaticanus Re.cinensis 316): Sacramentaire presbytdral en
usage d a m les titres romains au PIP sikcle. ~ i b l i o t h c ~ udee Theologie, serie 4;l
( ~ o u r n a i ,
1958), p. 238.
3j The evangelary is type n in the classification of T. Klauser, D m riimische Capitulare

Evangeliorum, Liturgiewissenschaftliche Quellen und Forschungen, 28 (Miinster in
Westfalen, 1935; 2nd edn, 1972), p. 25; see also G. Morin, 'Liturgie et basiliques de
Rome au milieu du VIIc siscle d'aprss les listes d'Evangiles de Wurzbourg', Revue
BCnddictine, 28 (191 l), pp. 296-330, especially p. 305; and W. H. Frere, Studtes i n Early
Roman Liturgy 2: The Roman Gosjel L c t i o n a y , Alcuin Club Collections, 30 (Oxford, 1935),
p. 10 (no. 110). The Gelasian sacramentary, variously dated in the last two-thirds of the
Joseph Dyer
Although the Sunday after Easter is the final day of the paschal
vespers in 5319 and the London antiphoner, it is not included in
the detailed descriptions of Ordo 27, though this Sunday was surely
observed as the close of the paschal observance by the time the
ordo was copied in the mid eighth century. While the evidence
might not support a n early seventh-century origin for the paschal
vespers, the Monte Cassino sacramentary offers good reason to
push its history back to the second half of the seventh century.
The prominence in the paschal alleluias of a formula otherwise
unique to the offertories permits us to hypothesise that the for-
mula may have originated with the special Vesper alleluias, later
to be transferred to a portion of the offertory repertoire and there-
upon considerably modified and integrated with other melodic
material. That both the alleluias and the offertories were created
in the late seventh century at dates not too remote from each other
would concord well with other evidence. The verses of the alleluias
are strikingly rigid and probably preceded the generally more
allusive treatment of FormA found in the offertories. For some
unknown reason the masters of the schola cantorum extracted a
salient feature of the paschal alleluias in creating the offertory
repertoire.
The evidence of the liturgical kalendar lends support to this
dating. Some of the offertories that depend most heavily on FormA
have assignments to feasts and ferias well established in the old-
est liturgical kalendar (see Appendix 1). The latest addition to
the temporal cycle with an offertory using FormA might be
Sexagesima Sunday, introduced toward the end of the sixth cen-
tury. In fact, the refrain and verses of the offertory for this Sunday,
PerJice gressus, make unusually extensive use of the formula.
Offertories in which FormA plays a n important role are assigned
to six feasts and vigils of saints dating presumably from about the
seventh century, carries the rubric 'Octabas paschae die domi<ni>co' (no. 499, ed.
Mohlberg, p. 81). A similar rubric occurs in a Roman capitulare that preserves the same
stage of development as the Wurzburg list; see T. Klauser, 'Ein vollstandiges
Evangeliumsverzeichnis der romischen Kirche aus dem 7. Jahrhundert, erhalten im Cod.
Vat. Pal. lat. 46', Romisches Quartalschrzft fur christliche Altertumskunde und Kirchengeschichte,
35 (1927), pp. 113-34, reprinted in his Gesammelte Arbeiten zur Liturgiegeschichte,
Kirchengeschichte und christlichen Archaologie, ed. E. Dassmann, Jahrbuch fiir Antike und
Christentum, Erganzungsband, 3 (Munster in Westfalen, 1974), pp. 5-21.
same period or slightly before.36Both the feast and the vigil of St
Lawrence were ancient Roman observances, mentioned already in
the Wurzburg epistle and gospel lists, documents that represent
Roman liturgical practice before the end of the seventh ~ e n t u r y . ~ '
The Wurzburg epistle list has separate entries for the vigils and
feasts of St Peter and St Paul, while the Wurzburg gospel list has
a joint vigil and feast for both saints.38Among all of the occasions
when offertories with FormA are sung, only the feast of the
Annunciation is of slightly more recent institution, but even this
feast falls within the time frame of the period when the offertory
repertoire was probably being created. The feast of the
Annunciation was introduced at Rome in the late seventh century
by Sergius I (687-701), and Dom Hesbert believed that its offer-
tory, Ave Maria, was created at that time especially for this com-
m e m ~ r a t i o n Only
. ~ ~ Ave Maria and Oratio mea for the vigil of St
Lawrence stand out from the other offertories in Appendix 1 as
ones with non-psalmic texts. In neither of these two pieces does
FormA represent a major structural component: its use is quite
cursory and almost incidental.
36 Conjtebuntur is shared by several saints' days, the earliest of which could be Sts Philip
and James (indicated for this feast by incipit along with the complete music for another
offertory, Repleti sumus), whose church was reconstructed after Rome had been retaken
from the Goths in 562. Pope Gregory I (590-604) preached a sermon in honor of Sts
Nereus, Achilleus and Pancratius; the dedication of the titulus Vestina on the Quirinal
to St Vitalis took place before 595. Observance of the feast of the Palestinian martyr St
George in Rome dates from the erection of his basilica in the Velabro during the pon-
tificate of Leo I1 (682-3). See P. Jounel, 'Le sanctoral romain du 8' au 12' sikcles', L a
Maison-Dieu, 52 (1957), pp. 59-88.
37 G. Morin, 'Le plus ancien comes ou lectionnaire de I'kglise romaine', Revue BLnkdictine, 27
(1910), pp. 41-74 (p. 61, nos. 138-9), and Morin, 'Liturgie et basiliques', p. 313. It occurs
in the Old Gelasian Sacramentary (Vat. Reg. lat. 316), Liber sacramentorum Romanae aecle-
siae ordinis anni circuli, ed. L. C. Mohlberg, Rerum Ecclesiasticarum Documenta, Series
maior, Fontes, 4 (Rome, 1960), p. 151. The earlier (c. 600) Verona Sacramentary con-
tains fourteen Mass formularies (group XXI) for St Lawrence. The preface of the first
Mass contains the phrase 'praevenientes natalem diem beati Laurenti', and similar
phrases are found in the twelfth formulary: L. C. Mohlberg, ed., Sacramentarium Veronense,
Rerum Ecclesiasticarum Documenta, Series major, Fontes, 1 (Rome, 1956), pp. 94 and
98.
Morin, 'Le plus ancien comes', pp. 60-1 (nos. 130-1, 132-3); Morin, 'Liturgie et basiliques',
p. 309. See also W. H . Frere, Studies i n E a r b Roman L i t u r ~1: The Kalendar, Alcuin Club
Collections, 28 (Oxford, 1930), pp. 109-12.
39 R.-J. Hesbert,Antiphonale Missarum Sextuplex (Brussels, 1935), XXXVIII-XXXIX. The feast
is missing in the Wurzburg gospel list (645) and its Roman counterpart (Vat. Pal. lat.
46); see Klauser, 'Ein vollstandiges Evangeliumsverzeichnis der romischen Kirche',
passim.
Joseph Dyer
The offertories that depend most heavily on ForrnA are: Conzrma

hoc, Conztebuntur, Custodi me, Domine fac mecum, Expectans expectavi,
Intonuit, Lauda anima, Michi autem, Miserere michi, PerJicegressus, Repleti
sumus, and verse 2 of Scapulis suis. All of these are assigned to very
ancient observances. This cannot be accidental, nor can one
assume a wholesale 'reediting' of the offertories merely to intro-
duce it. Except for Conztebuntur, PerJice gressus and Repleti sumus, the
presence of the formula in these offertories is confined to the
verses. The two sanctoral offertories in this group (Conztebuntur
and Repleti sumus) apply the formula to the text in a particularly
rigid manner. The other liturgical occasions on which these offer-
tories are sung, many of them during Lent, do not point to a single
explanation.
The presence in Appendix 1 of the offertory Conjrma hoc attracts
our attention because of Dom Hesbert's observation that in the
eight- or ninth-century Mont-Blandin gradual this offertory for
Pentecost is followed by another offertory, Factus est repente, marked
'Item OFF'.40 A number of Beneventan sources preserve the lat-
ter chant, usually with an assignment to the Thursday after
Pentecost. (The offertory at Rome for Pentecost Thursday was
Populum humilem.) Hesbert concluded that Factus est repente was the
original (and at one time only) offertory for Pentecost, as it proves
to be in a noted missale plenum from Canosa near Monte Gargano
now in the Walters Art Gallery (MS. W.6, mid eleventh century).
Kenneth Levy drew attention to its presence in this source as well
as in a neumed gradual-troper from Priim (Paris, Biblioth2que
Nationale, ms. lat. 9449, c. 1000), evidence he used to support his
contention that a neumed exemplar of the Gregorian repertoire
existed before the year 800.41He disagreed with Hesbert's claim
that Factus est repente could be Roman in origin, given the absence
of the offertory in the Old Roman tradition. The extensive use of
FormA in Conjrma hoc certainly points to this piece as a genuinely
Roman product, thus adding confirmation of the non-Roman ori-
gin of Factus est repente.
There is another formula (FormB) that pervades considerably
more of the offertory repertoire than does FormA. Though it incor-
40 R.J. Hesbert, 'Un antique offertoire de la PentecBte', in Organicae uoces: Festschni Joseph
Smits van Waesberghe (Amsterdam, 1963), pp. 59-69.
4' Levy, 'Charlemagne's Archetype of Gregorian Chant', pp. 11-25.
porates a podatus (part of element b) that can be repeated to

accommodate extra syllables, FormB, possibly because of its richer
variety of elements, does not possess the unmistakably 'recita-
tional' character of ForrnA. Appendix 2, which lists the 33 offer-
tories in which this formula is found, reveals that the number of
repetitions in a given offertory ranges widely. The long offertory
Domine deus in simplicitate depends entirely on repetitions of the for-
mula, whereas Bonum est has no more than a single statement.42
There seems to be a tendency, as was the case with FormA, to con-
centrate its presence in the verses.
Although F-mode offertories predominate in this group, there
is a generous sampling of offertories with finals on D and G. The
only E-mode offertories with FormB are In die sollempnitatis, Lauda
anima (verses only) and the complete version of the offertory Erit
nobis [uobis] in the S. Cecilia gradual. The latter includes the music
for verses that were not notated over the text in Vat. lat. 5319.
Only three offertories with F finals make no use of the formula
w h a t ~ o e v e r One
. ~ ~ of these, De profundis (MM 360), has no verses
in the manuscripts of the Old Roman tradition. (Every other F-
mode offertory except Felix namque, a Gregorian borrowing in the
5319 gradual, has at least one verse.)
Only Inueni David (MM 343, text from Ps. 88:21-2) offers no
ready explanation for the absence of FormB, but there are prob-
lems with its components that may have some bearing on the sit-
uation. As notated in Vat. lat. 5319 (fol. lgv) the offertory has
apparently two verses ('Potens es' and 'Veritas rnea'), but in the
S. Cecilia gradual (fol. 24) the first of these verses is divided in
two: 'Potens es' and 'Posui a d i ~ t o r i u m 'Vat.
. ~ ~ lat. 5319 inserts the
(unnotated) words 'tu dixisti' (found nowhere else in the offertory)
before the words 'posui adiutorium' in verse 1. 'Posui adiutorium'
serves also as the first verse of the D-mode offertory Ve'eritas mea in
Vat. lat. 5319 (fol. 26v).45The tessitura of the 'Veritas mea' verse
42 Only the offertories Expectans expectavi and Lauda anima appear in both Appendixes 1 and
2.
-.
43 Most of Sanctijcavit M y s e s ( M M 350), a non-psalmic text, is based on an entirely dif-
ferent pattern of repeated material. See Example 12 below.
44 A third verse, 'Et ponam in seculum seculi', has not been provided with notation in the
53 19 gradual.
45 The S. Cecilia manuscript (fol. 25) has only the verse 'Misericordia' [= vs. 2 in 53191
for this offertory.
Joseph Dyer
in 5319 is much lower than the rest of Inveni David: the interval
between the end of the verse and the beginning of the respond is
a seventh, as is the interval between the end of the Veritas refrain
and its 'Posui' verse. In fact, the offertory Veritas mea (MM 270,
same music as the 'verse') has been converted into a verse, retain-
ing its original F cleffing rather than adopting the C cleffing of its
new context. The offertory Veritas mea ends on D, while its verse
'Posui adiutorium', the same verse found with Inveni, begins a sev-
enth higher on c with a change to C cleffing. At the end of the
verse the repetenda ('et in nomine') is twice given without a
change of clef, thus implying that the repetenda is sung a fifth
higher than originally, thus bringing the offertory to a close on a.
The S. Cecilia gradual has none of these inconsistencies: Veritas
mea is notated with a n F clef throughout.
FormB consists of seven elements (Example 4). It also appears
transposed down a fifth with b-flat understood, though not
expressly notated. Though there can be no doubt that these seven
elements were conceived as a unit, the cantor-composers enjoyed
generous options for rearranging or omitting those of subsidiary
importance. In addition, single notes and two-note neumes were
inserted between the standard elements, and the whole could be
enriched by combination with other compositional techniques. The
intonational element a of FormB (not invariably present) ascends
to a n accented torculus (or podatus) on c ( F in the lower trans-
position), a pitch that represents the tonal focus of the formula.
This pitch is further embellished by the four-note figure of ele-
ment b. The podatus that follows this figure may be repeated to
accommodate several syllables, usually no more than a few.46
Despite the prominence of the culminating note of element c, it
very rarely receives the accent. Element d, whose distinctive
melodic outline in a sense 'defines' the formula, can never be omit-
ted. (Cf. element d in FormA.) There is a clear preference for
* For exceptions to this general rule see verse 3 of the offertory Factus est dominus (MM
359), and verse 3 of Emitte spiritum tuum (MM 385). John of Afflighem quoted a similar
podatus recitation from the tract Qui habitat as a bad example of excessive 'harping' on
a single neume (see note 3 above). Bruno Stablein discovered in a gradual from Pistoia
(Biblioteca Capitolare C 119; eleventh or twelfth century) a setting of the tract (can-
ticum) Vinea facta est for Holy Saturday that makes use of a repeated formula vaguely
reminiscent of FormB. See Schnibild der einstimmigen Musik, Musikgeschichte in Bildern,
3/4: Musik des Mittelalters und der Renaissance (Leipzig, 1975), pp. 138-9.
placing it on the final syllable of a word, and the sense of the text
usually requires that elements d and e succeed each other directly.
Example 4 Formula B
Elements e a n d 5 on the other hand, seem to be alternatives or

variants of each other, since they virtually never occur in direct suc-
cession. Indeed, their respective melodic outlines are redundant,
and they serve similar functions in attracting the verbal accent. In
the case of a paroxytone, element e falls on the accent. In the case
of a proparoxytone, the preceding clivis receives the accented syl-
lable, a procedure familiar from the treatment of the accent that
follows the torculus recitation (b) of ForrnA. The revolving nature
of FormB is evident from the fact that the articulative force of ele-
ment g is typically weak. It usually coincides with a logical division
of the text, but it can be used to conclude a verse. Elements b, d
and g gravitate towards final syllables or monosyllables. There are,
however, numerous exceptions (Immitet, vs. 3; Benedic, vs. 2; Domine
in auxilium, vs. 1, to mention just a few). The podatus recitation is
distributed without regard to accent or syllable position, and ele-
ment e likewise adapts to different accentual circumstance^.^'
FormB seems to have served the Old Roman cantor-composer not
as a fixed template but as a pool of resources whose consistently
applied accentual rules favoured clarity of text declamation. It
bears even less similarity to a psalm tone than ForrnA. The pres-
ence of the formula in both refrains and verses also strongly under-
scores the essential unity of the musical conceptions that governed
the choral and the solo components of the offertories.
All three verses of the offertory Laudate dominum for the fourth
Sunday in Lent (Example 5a) draw almost exclusively on FormB.
The only major interruption occurs in verse 1, where the last half of
the verse (omitted in the example) is set to a passage focused on F
and moving within the third D-F with upper and lower neighbours.
47 Neither FormA nor FormB is as consistent in accent treatment as the mode-8 tracts
analysed in detail by E. Nowacki, 'Text Declamation as a Determinant of Melodic Form
in Old Roman Eighth-Mode Tracts', Early Music Histoly, 6 (1986), pp. 193-226, especially
Tables 1 and 2.
Joseph Dyer
This gesture, very familiar from other Old Roman offertories and
indeed expressive of the Old Roman chant style itself, recurs in an
abbreviated version at the end of verse 2. The elements of FormB
are generally employed in accordance with the principles and order
outlined above, but there are a few variants. The words 'seculorum'
and 'suum' in verse 2 extend the cadential element g. Though the
usual place of element d is on a final syllable, that principle is twice
set aside in verse 2 ('eternum' and 'seculorum'); it is observed else-
where in the verses of this offertory (vs. 1: 'domo', 'dei'; vs. 2: 'pop-
ulum'; vs. 3: 'deum' and 'dominus'). The verses of Laudate dominum
thus document the flexibility with which FormB could be used.
Many other examples could be cited in which FormB is employed
in a 'revolving' fashion that does not respect the syntactical struc-
ture of the psalmic text. The text of the second verse of the offer-
tory Portas celi (Example 5b) is comparatively brief; thus element
g could easily have been placed at the sense articulation point of
the text ('meurn'). Instead, it falls on the first word of the suc-
ceeding hemistich, 'loquar'. Very frequently, successive repetitions
of the formula return not to its beginning but to element d. This
happens, for example, in the verses of the offertory I n die sollemp-
nitatis (Example 5c). The first verse begins with free material
before slipping into FormB with element d; it then proceeds with
two consecutive statements of elements a and b. The remainder
of the verse follows the order d-e-g-bd. The second verse begins
directly with the conventional FormB intonational group that
places the first text accent ('adorhbitis') on the torculus of ele-
ment a, and it adheres to the formula throughout.
In addition to the free material inserted before, between and
after statements of FormB, there is a melisma (Example 6) asso-
ciated with this formula in a number of offertory verses.48Its pres-
Beatus es ( M M 374; not FormB), Desiderium anime ( M M 359 = vs. o f In virtute), Domine con-
vertere ( M M 349), Domine deus in simplicitate ( M M 341), Domine in auxilium (five times; M M
347), Factus est dominus ( M M 357), Gloria el honore ( M M 293), In compectu angelorum ( M M
356), In virtute ( M M 355), Iustitie domini ( M M 361), and Sperent in te ( M M 345). T h e
melisma is repeated three times in the single verse V i t a m petiit' o f the offertoryIn vir-
tute. V a t . lat. 5319 omits the a-c-G-a-G figure at the second appearance o f the melisma,
but the S. Cecilia gradual (fols. 14"-15) contains the missing passage. V e r y likely, the
5319 scribe was working from a written model and jumped from the first F-G-F torcu-
lus t o the next. A different melisma occurs in two offertories with FormB, Domine con-
vertere and Gloria et honore, as well as in the offertoriesBenedictus es . . . in labiis ( M M 329)
and Otamini in domino ( M M 292).
Joseph Dyer
ence and location are indicated by asterisks in Appendix 2. The

melisma epitomises in a splendid way the familiar Italianate reit-
eration of short melodic figures in stepwise motion. The torculus
descent in the middle of the melisma is particularly characteris-
tic of peninsular musical language. When present at the begin-
ning of a verse, the close of the melisma (identical with element
g of FormB) dovetails neatly with the continuation of the verse.
The same melisma can be used to close a verse, in which case ele-
ment g, incorporated at its end, introduces the repetenda. It serves
such a function in two offertories (Desiderium anime and Domine in
auxilium), where it appears in the middle of the refrain just pre-
ceding the repetenda. Since both of these offertory refrains repeat
the text and music of the opening phrase at the end, the melisma
effectively introduces a return (see Table 5, below).
Vi-tam pe- -
Example 6 Formula B melisma: In virtute: Verse 1 (MM 355)
The Old Roman offertory Factus est dominus (MM 357), a piece
that makes heavy use of FormB, has been the subject of several
previous discussions, on the basis of which wide-ranging conclusions
have been drawn about the oral transmission of chant repertoires
and the influence of the Gregorian musical tradition at Rome.49
When the piece is placed against its formulaic background, not all
of these conclusions seem warranted, although its anomalous tex-
tual and musical features do warrant closer examination. The text
of the Old Roman refrain reads: 'Factus est dominus firmamentum
meum et salvum me fecit ab inimicis meis potentibus et ab his qui
49 Helmut Hucke alluded to the large number of offertory refrains and verses whose music
(i.e., FormB) corresponds with that of Factus est dominus ('Zur Aufzeichnung der altrijmis-
chen Offertorien', pp. 298-9). L. Treitler, 'Oral, Written and Literate Process in the
Transmission of Medieval Music', Speculum, 56 (1981), pp. 476-80, discussed the same
offertory, again outside its larger formulaic context, as did Jeffery, Re-Envisioning Past
Musical Cultures, pp. 25-31. Ten years later, Treitler returned to the same chant in
'Medieval Improvisation' (see note 16 above) and in his essay 'Miindliche und schriftliche
i j b e r l i e f e r ~ n ~Anfange
: der musikalischen Notation' in Die Musik des Mittelalters, ed. H.
Moller and R. Stephan, Neues Handbuch der Musikwissenschaft, 2 (Laaber, 1991), pp.
58-60.
Joseph Dyer
hoderunt me.' Both Vat. lat. 5319 (fol. 65v) and the S. Cecilia
gradual (fol. 62') insert a 'V' at the end of this passage, followed
by what is presumably the first verse.50This verse begins in an iden-
tical fashion, 'Factus est dominus firmamentum meum', but con-
tinues 'et refugium meum et liberator meus, sperabo in e ~ m ' . ~ '
Identical words have identical music based on FormB.
This Old Roman offertory has a Gregorian counterpart, but the
text of the Gregorian refrain corresponds not to the Old Roman
refrain but to its first verse.52 Helmut Hucke drew attention to
this curious situation and believed that it could be explained by
supposing that the Old Roman notator had recourse to the
Frankish (i.e., Gregorian) tradition for the first verse, which he
then conflat ed with the traditional Old Roman offertory refrain.53
Following Hucke's analysis, Leo Treitler also assumed that the Old
Roman verse 1 derived from a Frankish 'responsory text' (i.e.,
offertory refrain) and, furthermore, that 'the adaptation also
involved the provision of a new text for the Roman r e s p ~ n s o r y ' . ~ ~
This hypothetical adaptation must have antedated the earliest
notation of the offertory in the S. Cecilia gradual (1071) by many
years, though neither Hucke nor Treitler suggested a precise date
or provided any evidence for the reworking, except insofar as both
attributed it to Frankish influence.
The Latin Psalter traditions of the two 'factus est' passages (not
heretofore taken into account) promise to clarify the question.
Table 1 compares the psalter versions with the chant texts in
parallel columns. The Old Roman verse 1 (= the Gregorian
refrain), apart from the introductory words ('Factus est'), derives
from the Roman Psalter text of Psalm 17:3, which in this instance
does not differ from the reading of the so-called 'Gallican'
5O AS noted earlier, the Y' indication is used quite loosely in the Vat. lat. 5319 manuscript.
The St Peter's gradual contains no verses.
51 This offertory is included in Table 2 below as an offertory with text repetition.
52 Among the Sextuplex sources only Rheinau, CompiPgne and Corbie give enough of the
text to ascertain which 'factus est' is intended; Corbie is the only one of these sources
to include the final words 'et sperabo in eum'. See Hesbert,Antiphonale Missarum Sextuplex,
no. 66. The Old Roman order of the verses keeps to the sequence of Psalm 17 (vss.
19-20, 38 and 40), but the verses are transposed in CompiPgne.
53 Hucke characterised this refrain accurately as 'ramisches Eigengut'; see 'Die

Aufzeichnung', p. 298.
54 Treitler, 'Oral, Written, and Literate Process', p. 477 (emphasis added).
Table 1 Factus est dominus
Roman Psalter Old Latin Old Roman offertoty Gresorian offertoty
Psalter of Verona
17:19b. Factus est 17:19b. Factus est Refrain: Factus est -
dominus dominus dominus
protector firmamentum firmamentum
meus meum, meum
17:20. et eduxit 17:20. et eduxit
me in me in
latitudinem. latitudinem.
salvum me fecit salvum me fecit et salvum me fecit
quoniam voluit me, quoniam voluit me;
eruet me
ab inimicis meis ab inimicis meis
potentissimis et ab potentibus et ab his
his
qui oderunt me. qui hoderunt me.
17:3a. Domine, 17:3a. Domine, Vs. 1: Factus est Refrain: Factus est
firmamentum firmamentum dominus dominus
meum et meum et firmamentum firmamentum
refugium meum et refugium meum et meum et refugium meum et refugium
liberator meus; liberator meus; meum et meum et
deus deus liberator liberator
meus, adiutor meus, adiutor meus, meus,
meus, meus, et
sperabo in eum. sperabo in eum. sperabo in eum. sperabo in eum.
P ~ a l t e r The
. ~ ~ refrain of the Old Roman offertory, on the other
hand, corresponds with none of the readings collated by Dom
Weber in his edition of the Roman P ~ a l t e rIt. ~begins
~ with a phrase
('factus est dominus firmamentum meum') from verse 19b of this
psalm according to a reading found in the Old Latin version of
the Psalter of Verona (fifth or sixth century). (The Roman Psalter
reads 'protector meus' instead of 'firmamentum meum'.) The
refrain then continues with the last half of verse 20, again with a
jj On the terminology of the psalters see C. Estin: 'Les traductions du Psautier', Le monde
latin et la Bible, Bible de tous les temps, 2, ed. J. Fontaine and C. Pietri (Paris, 1985),
pp. 67-88. On the Psalter traditions and their relationship to chant see J. Dyer, 'Latin
Psalters, Old Roman and Gregorian Chants', Kirchenmusikalisches Jahrbuch, 68 (1984), pp.
11-30, as well as the recent survey by P. Bernard, 'Les chants de la propre de la messe
dans les ripertoires "grCgorien" et romain ancien: Essai d'Cdition pratique des variantes
textuelles', Ephemerides Liturgicae, 110 (1996), pp. 210-51 and 445-50.
j6 R. Weber, Le Psautier romain et les autres ancienspsautien latins, Collectanea Biblica Latina,
10 (Rome, 1953), pp. 29-32. The Verona Psalter Verona, Biblioteca Capitolare I (I)],
a manuscript with the Greek and Latin text of the psalms, was written in the sixth or
seventh century, probably in North Italy.
Joseph Dyer
reading similar to that found in the Verona Psalter and several

other Old Latin witnesses: 'eruet me de inimicis meis potentis-
simis et ab his qui oderunt me'j7 This half verse (20b), absent from
the Roman Psalter tradition, is not found in all of the Old Latin
Psalters, since only certain manuscripts of the Septuagint (among
them the Codex Sinaiticus, 4-5 c.), on which all of the Latin trans-
lations of the psalms are based, contain the passage in question.
The Greek text of verse 20b b6oezai pe 66 6 x 8 ~ pov 6~~~VOC C ~ V
~ a6~i Z ~ ~VW O ~ V Z O Vpe duplicates the Greek wording of verse
18 of the Psalm, but the Latin translations render each passage
differently.
Both Hucke and Treitler proposed that a n Old Roman scribe
had recourse to the Gregorian tradition in order to craft a new
verse (the first), but that he stripped it of its Gregorian music and
fitted the text to a traditional Old Roman verse formula, com-
mitting an 'error' by ending the verse with a final cadence instead
of the expected verse ending (our element g). The reverse situa-
tion seems far more likely: that the Gregorian reviser, faced with
an archaic and unfamiriar psalm translation, elected to discard
the venerable Old Roman refrain and convert its first verse - so
similar in wording - into a refrain.j8 This is a perfectly straight-
forward explanation, one that supposes neither a selective recourse
to the Gregorian tradition by a scribe preparing a n Old Roman
chant gradual nor recourse to a n archaic psalter translation for
the creation of a 'new' offertory refrain.
None of the previous discussions of Factus est dominus has taken
the textual traditions into account, but even a closer examination
of the Old Roman offertory practices might have revealed that the
offertory in question could not bear the weight of inference place
upon it. In the Vat. lat. 5319 manuscript verse 2 ('Persequar') is
followed by a cue that consists of a single word: 'et'.59 This cue
j7 With variants this is the reading of the Old Latin 'psautier gaulois' tradition, one of
whose principal witnesses, the Psalter of St Germain (Paris, BN lat. 11947), probably
originated in Northern Italy in the sixth century.
js By this time the Roman Psalter was in general use throughout most of Italy, and the
'Gallican' Psalter was probably gaining ground there as well. The Old Roman chant text
has 'potentibus' instead of 'potentissimis'.
j9 It is not unusual for this manuscript to omit repetenda cues after the verses: there is
no cue at the end of verse 3 of this offertory, though the repetenda must have been
sung at that point.
would normally be taken as a reference to the concluding phrase
of the refrain: 'et ab his qui oderunt me'. Hucke noted that this
made little verbal sense if attached to the ends of the verses of
this offertory, though that alone might not have disqualified its
use in the twelfth century. The S. Cecilia manuscript, not gener-
ally available to scholars until the publication of the facsimile
edition in 1987, amplifies the cue to 'et li-', thus indicating that
the repetenda should be sought not at the end of the refrain ('et
ab his qui hoderunt me'), but at the end of the first verse ('et lib-
erator'), a verse that ends on F, the same final as the refrain.'jO
Hucke had assumed that this must be the case, and this assump-
tion formed one of the bases for his argument that the Old Roman
scribe incorporated the 'Frankish' refrain into this piece as its first
verse. Was this same highly unconventional solution also intended
by the scribe of Vat. lat. 5319, who merely indicated 'et'? Even if
one insists on positing two stages in the evolution of this offertory
(or the existence of two separate offertories, as Peter Jeffery does),
there is no compelling reason to have recourse to Frankish influ-
ence or to suggest that this offertory reveals 'a generative system
for offertories in F in the Roman tradition."jl The conclusion seems
clear, then, that the Old Roman offertory refrain, set to an Old
Latin text version, represents a first stage, not a later redaction.
The Gregorian adapter, faced with the archaic text of the Roman
refrain, discarded it and 'promoted' the (in some respect redun-
dant) verse 1 to the status of the refrain. The inevitable conclu-
sion must be that this much-discussed offertory represents nothing
out of the ordinary with respect to either its text or its musical
structure.
60 Cologny-Genkve, Bibliotheca Bodmeriana C 74, fols. 62163. The cue is indicated at the
end of verse 2 with notation and at the end of verse 3 without. Both 'et ab his' (refrain
repetenda) and 'et liberator' (end of vs. 1) begin similarly: a punctum and a clivis+poda-
tus. The S. Cecilia gradual was generally inaccessible at the time Treitler wrote, and
he does not refer to its treatment of the repetenda, a dimension introduced to the dis-
cussion in Jeffery, Re-Envisioning Past Musical Cultures, pp. 25-3 1 . A verse ending on the
tonic is unusual in Old Roman chant, but not unique to this offertory. See In te speravi
in which refrain and verses have a common ending, Ave Maria etc. Another offertory
with an anomaly in the repetenda cues is Benedictus es . . . in labiis ( M M 329-32). The
expected cue, 'in lacbiisz', is found after verse 2 ('Aufer a plebe'). After verses 3 and
4 the cue is 'Aufer', a reference to the second verse. In Vat. lat. 5319 verses 3 and 4 are
unnotated. In the S. Cecilia gradual they are notated, and the cue is always 'in la-'.
6' Treitler, 'Oral, Written, and Literate Process', p. 480, where the existence of 'other
offertory genres in F that do not involve exactly the same set of rules' is acknowledged.
Joseph Dyer
In addition to the offertories with one of the formulae just

described, about half the repertoire contains patterns of repeti-
tion and return that unify entire pieces or sections thereof.62These
are listed by category and analysed in Appendix 3. To these 44
offertories must be added the 15 pieces cited in Table 2 (Old
Roman Offertories with Text Repetition), which by definition have
large-scale musical repetitions (a-a) or returns (&-a). This pat-
tern of repetitions constitutes a distinctive and pervasive formal
aspect of the Old Roman ~ f f e r t o r i e s Even
. ~ ~ though parallel pro-
cedures have been observed in the Beneventan chant repertoire,
none of the few preserved Beneventan offertories matches the
complexity of the Old Roman ones in this respect.64 Unlike the
system of standard phrases used for singing tracts and graduals,
the procedures favoured in the offertories generate unique com-
positions by the repetition, variation and restatement of passages
proper to each offertory.
Appendix 3 divides the various repetitions and returns into three
categories: (A) offertories in which part of the music of the refrain
recurs in a verse, (B) offertories in which both verses are based
substantially on the same music, and (C) large-scale repetition
and return structures. A few offertories are listed more than once.
Many of the repetition complexes are quite extensive, often
accounting for a significant part of a given offertory; thus no more
than a few representative examples can be presented here. Though
many of the examples come from verses, there seems to be no dis-
tinction made between the choral refrain and the soloistic verses
with respect to these formal procedures.
The few offertories in which part of the refrain serves as a source
of music for a verse are nevertheless significant for the light they
62 Wagner observed the importance of melodic repetitions in the Gregorian offertories,

Einzhrung, vol. 111, pp. 421-8, as did Apel, Gregorian Chant, pp. 368-75, who argued that
their presence in responsories, offertories and alleluias gave evidence of 'a relatively late
period'. See also T. F. Kelly, 'Melodic Elaboration in Responsory Melismas', Journal of
the American Musicological Society, 27 (1974), pp. 461-74.
Bruno Stablein characterised the musical setting of an antiphon (Adorna thalamum) with
the kind of repetition one encounters in the Old Roman offertories as displaying an
'ungregorianische Haltung'; see 'Antiphon', Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, vol. I ,
cols. 542-3.
64 These procedures in old Beneventan chant are analysed by T. F. Kelly, The Beneventan
Chant (Cambridge, 1989), pp. 77-8 and 124-6; especially instructive are exx. 4.3D1-3,
4.8, and 4.9, 4.10 (Ingressae).
can shed on formal and historical questions. The refrain of the

first offertory in Appendix 3A,Ave Maria (MM 404), is constructed
from familiar G-mode motifs assembled into short phrases in
paired repetition. Its first verse draws almost exclusively on the
refrain, supplemented by a brief appearance of Forrn.4. (This offer-
tory and its place in the history of the genre have already been
discussed.)
The offertory I n te speravi (Example 7; M M 286) demonstrates
well the combination of one of the offertory formulae with repe-
tition and the varied reuse of melodic material on a larger scale.
Near the beginning of the refrain there is a pair of brief literal
repetitions ('dixi tu es deus'). The beginning of verse 1 takes up
the music of the repetenda (from 'in manibus') and repeats it to
conclude both verses. It is interesting to note how part of the music
set to the word 'tempora' in the refrain is reshaped into a repeti-
tion (a-a) in the verses. Part of the central portion of verse 1 is
free material, part FormB. Most of verse 2 is set to this formula.
The offertories in this category confirm the musical unity of refrain
and verses, a fact indicated as well by the presence of ForrnA and
FormB in both refrain and verses of many offertories. The essen-
tial unity of conception between refrain and verses seems to pre-
clude a priori the existence of Old Roman offertory verse 'tones',
such as have been hypothesised by Willi Apel and Ewald Jammers
for the Gregorian o f f e r t o r i e ~In
. ~ fact,
~ except for a cryptic remark
by Aurelian of RCbme towards the middle of the ninth century,
there exists no evidence whatsoever of offertory verse tones in
Gregorian chant. The 'editing' of Old Roman offertories in Gaul
seems to have taken precisely the opposite course.
The refrain and verses of Levabo oculos, the offertory for Monday
in the first week of Lent (MM 372; Appendix 3B and 3C), provide
instructive examples of Old Roman compositional techniques, par-
ticularly the derivation of subsequent phrases from what has
already been sung. Virtually the entire refrain (Example 8) is
based on the series of melodic gestures heard in the music for the
65 Apel, Gregorian Chant, 512 ('We must conclude that at the time of the Musica discifilina
[by Aurelian of Rtame], that is about 850, the verses of the Offertories were still sung
to a set of eight standard offertory tones'); see also Jammers, Musik in Bytanz, p. 115.
For a critique of this view see J. Dyer, 'The Offertory Chant of the Roman Liturgy and
Its Musical Form', Studi Musicali, 19 (1982), pp. 3-30.
au - -p~
-op e -n) e -!I - -pq-e*yn oq -el - ap-p-uo33a so-
k
-
K
((3-986 mm)z pua I s a s l a ~'u!a.~ja.~
jo suo!l.~od:znv~aQsa8 UI 1 aldu1ex3
first psalm hemistich (the first line of the example).66The refrain
(a-a'-a") opens with a podatus recitation figure, relatively uncom-
mon in the Old Roman offertories but frequent in Beneventan
chant. The musical articulation divides the text into three seg-
ments - 'Levabo . . ., ut doceas . . ., da michi' - thus eschewing a
musical realisation of the textual rhyme that might have been
prompted by the threefold presence of 'tua'. The three occurrences
of this word are nevertheless melodically related. In this cen-
tonised text from Psalm 118 two kindred concepts, 'iustitia tua'
and 'mandata tua', have close melodic parallels, differing only in
slight details. The motifs introduced in the first phrase, many of
them typical of G-mode offertories, recur with slight variants in
the second and third phrases: first the close of the model melody
(at 'iustitia tua') and then its entire extent ('da michi . . .'). Only
the short phrase 'ut doceas' cannot be related to previous music.
The verses of the same offertory (Example 9) also depend on
the technique of progressive variation but with melodic materials
different from those of the refrain.67 The essential structure of
these two verses is revealed most clearly in the second verse (Ps.
118:77). The first hemistich ('Veniant . . . et vivam') states the
complete melodic material. This consists of three units: (a) the
opening phrase that descends from G to C, (b) 'domine' and its
melisma centred entirely on G, and (c) a phrase that shifts to a
higher tessitura and closes with part of the 'domine' melisma con-
verted to a cadence ('et vivam'), as suggested by the alignment of
Example 9. Since the second hemistich of verse 2 ('quia lex tua
meditatio mea est') is shorter than the corresponding part of verse
1, phrase c is reduced, and the second verse closes with an adap-
tation of the ending of the first verse (cf. 'me exercebor' and 'medi-
tatio mea est'). The first verse follows a similar course, disturbed
somewhat by a possible confusion as to the division of the psalm
verse itself. The hemistich division of the first verse (Ps. 118:33)
should occur after 'exquiram'. The melody seems unsure, however,
perhaps because of the 'et' added to the psalter text before 'viam'.
66 The melodic materials of the refrain do not recur in the verses, which are tightly linked
by their own system of repeated motives. Compare, however, the cadences on '[iustitia]
tua' (refrain), and 'viam', 'exquirarn', 'exercebor', 'est' (verses).
67 Similar examples may be found in the verses of the offertories Conztebor domino (MM
370), Deus, deus rneus (MM 306), and Irnproperiurn (MM 377).
Joseph Dyer
(It would not be clear which 'et' was intended to introduce the
second half of the verse.) The words 'et viam' repeat the end of
the 'domine' melisma before going on to phrase c. The musical
treatment of the second hemistich of verse 1 ('et in preceptis')
corresponds to what has already been observed in the second verse.
There are many other melodic relationships that bind the verses
together. Note the similarity among the final syllables of 'viam',
'exquiram' (vs. I), 'tue' (vs. 2)' and the verse endings, which must
prepare for the refrain.68The culmination point of each half verse
is concentrated on c - the highest note consistently reached in this
offertory, apart from a few appearances of the upper neighbour.
Coincidentally or not, this emphasises three synonyms for the law
of the Lord ('viam iustificationum', 'preceptis tuis', 'lex tua'), thus
giving heightened expression to the principal theme of the psalm
from which this offertory draws its text. The second verse makes
a subtle point by setting 'miserationes tue' (thy mercies) to the
very same music.
Another example of the subtle growth of a chant by means of
successive repetition and the varied recombination of motives can
be found in the refrain of the offertoryBenedictus qui venit (Example
10)' for the Saturday and Sunday of Easter week69The music for
the refrain and verses will be cited from the S. Cecilia gradual
(fol. 87), since only this manuscript and the St Peter's gradual (fol.
58) contain the complete refrain. Vat. lat. 5319 (fol. 95Y = MM
385) omits the words 'benediximus vos de domo domini' and con-
tinues with 'deus dominus'. The refrain opens with a typical Old
Roman structural feature: the threefold repetition of a single into-
national formula centred on c ('Benedictus qui venit in nomine'),
followed by a conventional G-mode cadence on 'domini'. The sec-
ond phrase elaborates this opening in diverse ways: 'benediximus
vos' amplifies the opening motive and adds a melisma that had
earlier been subdivided to accommodate the text syllables of
'domini'. The following passage ('de domo domini') duplicates 'in
nomine domini' (line 1)' while 'deus dominus' adapts the music of
68 Note the curious musical 'rhyme' between 'et viam' in verse 1 and 'et vivam' in verse
0
4.
69 Thisomission seems to indicate that the scribe of 5319 had a written exemplar before
him. Since the two phrases begin with the same succession of neumes, it would have
been comparatively easy for him to jump from one to the other inadvertently. Cf. lines
2 and 4 of Example 10.
Joseph Dyer
'benediximus vos'. Its cadential gesture (b-a-c-b-a) would seem to

suggest FormA, but this formula is represented only by a torculus
recitation ( ' i l l u ~ i t ' ) .The
~ ~ web of musical interrelationships cre-
ated in the refrain of Benedictus qui venit produces a strong sense
of unity contrasted with an independent close that functions as
the repetenda of the offertory.
The interest of Benedictus qui venit is not exhausted with the
refrain. Its two verses (Example 11) can be analysed similarly
within the context of melodic repetition, in this case joined to one
of the standard offertory formulae (FormB). These verses possess
a strong musical and stylistic relationship to the refrain, a remi-
niscence of whose opening phrase, 'Benedictus qui venit', reap-
pears in verse 1 at the words 'exultemus et letemur' and also,
slightly varied, at 'quem reprobaverunt' in the second verse. As we
have already seen, the refrain itself is tightly organised around a
system of repetitions of this opening phrase. Since the text of verse
1 is relatively brief, additional music had to be supplied for the
much longer second verse. This is done not by additional repeti-
tions of phrases derived from the first verse, but by the insertion
of FormB after 'hic factus'. FormB is repeated three times before
a brief cadence that bears a resemblance to the cadence of the
first verse.
The most extensive repetition of material in an Old Roman
offertory occurs in the verses of Sanctijcavit Moyses (MM 350-4;
Example 12, verses 2, 5, 6) for the seventeenth Sunday after
P e n t e ~ o s t . ~The
' text is exactly that of the corresponding
Gregorian offertory, but the two verses of the Gregorian offertory
are subdivided into eight shorter verses in the Old Roman ver-
sion.'2 In this offertory the principles applied with such flexibility
O' The alleluias which close this refrain also close the offertory Erit nobis (MM 415), and
very similar alleluias can be found in other G-mode offertories, among them Confitebor
(MM 371), Conjtebuntur (MM 409) and Intonuit (MM 41 1).
7 ' 'Dom. I1 post sancti angeli' in the Vat. lat. 5319 gradual (fol. 13P). This offertory has
not been preserved in the S. Cecilia gradual. Three of the four verses of the Old Roman
offertory Superjlumina (MM 295) are also rather rigidly stretched on a model melody,
which bears a passing resemblance to FormB. For a monastic piece found in central and
South Italian manuscripts see M. Huglo, 'Les diverses melodies du "Te decet laus": A
propos du Vieux-Romain', Jahrbuch fur Liturgik und Hymnologie, 12 (1967), pp. 111-16.
72 Oferton'ale, pp. 114-17. As noted earlier, the verse indications in Vat. lat. 5319 cannot
always be taken at face value, nor are variant verse text divisions between the Old
Roman and Gregorian offertory verses unusual. This long offertory with all of its verses,
but without recurrence of the repetenda after every Old Roman 'verse', has been
Joseph Dyer
di- - es auam fe- -cit
8 2.L.- - - - pi--dem quemle-prwba-ve--runt he-di-fi- - - -
11) domi- - nus exul4e - - mus et le - te - - mur
(2) can - - tes hic factus
(2) est inca- put an-gu - li
(2) a d o - mi -no fa -ctum est

de c
(2) e t e s t mi- - -ra-bi- - - le in o - - cu - lii
Example 11 Benedictus qui venit (C 74, fol. 87): Verses 1 and 2
and ingenuity in the three previous offertories are employed in a

rather rigid and somewhat unimaginative fashion. Two short
phrases (a and b in Example 12), recombined in various ways, sup-
ply all the music for verses 2 through 8. (Verse 1 anticipates part
of phrase a.) The first phrase of the model melody is neumatic in
style, while the second emphasises syllabic recitation to a degree
unusual among the Old Roman offertories. Either of the phrases
can be used to close a verse. Interestingly, none of the possible
combinations of these two phrases (a-b-a, a-a-b-b, etc.) is ever
repeated over the course of the verses. Both verses 2 and 5 begin
with phrase a. In verse 2 this is followed by three statements of b,
but in verse 5 the a phrase is immediately repeated before passing
over to the b phrase. Verse 6 begins with phrase b and ends with
phrase a. These varied recombinations go far towards avoiding a
recorded by the Schola Hungarica, Old Roman Liturgical Chants, Hungaroton HCD
12741-2. The appearance of the text in other chant repertoires is surveyed by G. Baroffio,
'Die mailandische Uberlieferung des Offertoriums SanctzJcavit', in Festschni Bruno
Stablein zum 70. Geburtstag, ed. M . Ruhnke (Kassel, 1967), pp. 1-8.
Joseph Dyer
sense of monotony, though such an inflexible application of repe-

tition is not typical of the Old Roman offertories.
It has been suggested that Sanctzjicavit Moyses belongs a group
of non-psalmic offertories whose textual, and in some cases musi-
cal, roots might be traceable either to Spain or to Gaul previous
to the introduction of Roman chant in the late eighth century.73
As the piece now stands in Old Roman chant, however, it mani-
fests no musical relationship with any other chant repertoire. The
melodic substance and the formal procedures used to shape the
offertory are quite consistent with what we have discovered in
other Old Roman chants of this genre. The unusually rigid
schematic layout of the piece, on the other hand, may lead one to
hypothesise that, if it indeed arrived at Rome from the North, it
did so at a time when the creative spark of native Roman music
had begun to weaken. It might have filled a gap in the liturgical
kalendar: one of the later Sundays after P e n t e ~ o s t Perhaps .~~ one
could argue for the late origin of the piece by observing that
if earlier Old Roman cantors had chosen to use techniques of
varied repetition, they would have applied them more resource-
fully than has been done in SanctiJicavit Moyses.
The two verses of the offertory Letamini (MM 292) are treated
in a manner very similar to that of Suherjumina. The Easter
Monday offertory Angelus domini (MM 388) displays, on the other
hand, a more creative realisation of the repetition principle. The
music of the refrain is derived from the progressive variation of
the music set to the first three words of the refrain ('Angelus
domini descendit') and from the long melisma on 'celo' that recurs
ofl the
for the final ' a l l e l ~ i a ' . ~ ~ A l verses begin exactly as the refrain
73 Levy, 'Toledo, Rome and the Legacy of Gaul', Early Music History, 4 (1984), especially
pp. 55-67, 72-4 and 87-92.
7 4 Dom. 18 post Pent. in the Sextuplex graduals and Dom. 17 post Pent. in 5319 and F 22.
The previous Sunday has another non-psalmic text of allegedly non-Roman origin, Oravi
deum rneum. The following two Sundays have psalmic offertories, one of which ( S i
ambulavero) is cued from a Lenten feria. Pentecost 20 has the unique offertory Vir erat.
Two other non-psalmic offertories, Domine deus in simplicitate and Felix namque, depend
almost entirely on FormB.
75 The same alleluia is used also at the end of the refrain of Emitte spin'tum, the offertory
for the vigil of Pentecost, a n ancient observance at the close of the paschal cycle. The
vigil is found in the seventh-century Wiirzburg epistle and gospel lists. The slightly ear-
lier sacramentary of Verona has 'orationes pridie pentecostes' (nos. 187-99; ed.
Mohlberg, 24-5); the Gelasian sacramentary includes three formularies, one for the ser-
vice of readings and two Mass formularies (I.LXXVII-LXXVIIII; ed. Mohlberg, 97-100).
does, and the second verse quotes (at 'stetit') part of the 'celo'
melisma.
A few offertories listed in Appendix 3B (Benedicam dominum,
Bonum est, Improperium expectavit and Reges Tharsis) generate a sec-
ond verse from the music of the first by repeating relatively small
melodic elements. The most complex rearrangement among this
group of pieces is found in the three verses of Bonum est (MM 267;
for the form of the refrain see Appendix 3B). All three verses are
set mostly to an embellished recitation on F. Within the very
restricted pitch range covered by the verses (C-G) and the reit-
erative style of the melodic line, certain larger patterns of repeti-
tion emerge. Only the beginning of verse 2 ('Ecce inimici tui') and
the close of verse 3 ('et insurgentes . . .') stand outside the frame-
work. The intonation of verse 1 returns several times in verses 2
and 3, and the melody set to the words 'domine peribunt' (verse
2) recurs three times in verse 3. All verses have the same cadence.
Both verses of the offertory Benedicam dominum (MM 284;
Example 13) are of approximately equal length, thus permitting
the modelling of the second verse closely on the second. Instead
of adopting this obvious course, the Old Roman cantors chose to
construct the second verse mainly through the selective reitera-
tion of motifs derived from the first phrase of verse 1. Verse 2
begins like verse 1, a common procedure in Old Roman offertory
verses, even when the continuation differs. Most of verse 2 is devel-
oped through the varied repetition of music found originally in
verse 1 to the words 'in te speravi'. The musical repetitions seem
to take little notice of the syntax or sense of the verse text.
Melodic repetition on a smaller scale, one of the most distinc-
tive musical characteristics of the Italianate style, pervades both
the refrains and the verses of Old Roman offertories. Besides
immediate repetition or variation of single motives of two to five
pitches (a-a) there are also structures that involve contrast (a-a-b,
or less frequently, a-b-a). The same repetition patterns are found
in texted portions as well as in melismas. This situation differs
from that found in the Gregorian offertories, where the repeat
The Gregorian sacrarnentary also has prayers for the vigil of readings and Mass 'in
sabbato pentecosten' (nos. 110-1 I), Le sacramentaire grlgorien: Ses principales formes d'apris
les plus anciens manurcn'ts, ed. J . Deshusses, Spicilegiurn Friburgense, 16, rev. edn
(Fribourg/ Suisse, 1992), pp. 222-7.
11 1. Con-ser- - - - va me do- - mi-ne quc-ni-am in te spe- - ra- - vi e - - -go. .
. .
I 2. No-tas mi- - - - chi fe-ci- - sti vi- as vi- - t e ad-im-ple- - - - bis
us -que in fi - - - ne.
Example 13 Benedicam dominum: Verses 1 and 2 (MM 285-6)

structures are concentrated in the m e l i ~ m a s There . ~ ~ are, more-

over, fewer long melismas in the Old Roman offertories than there
are in their Gregorian counterparts; most are relatively modest in
length. The repetitions usually occur at the same pitch level, as
they do in the refrain of Dzffisa est (MM 401; example 14a) and
the first verse of Inveni David (MM 344; Example 14b). Although
the tripartite a 4 4 a design is uncommon, there a few examples
in the offertory r e p e r t ~ i r eA. ~particularly
~ elegant example of the
Italianate style, which demonstrates both phrase repetition and
the reiteration of small melodic figures, occurs at the end of both
verses of the offertory Exulta satis (MM 338; example 15). The a
and b phrases of the melisma repeatedly fill in the interval of a
fourth (G-c) with a series of melodic gestures similar to those in
the preceding example. Both are encountered fairly often in G-
mode offertories. The b phrase trails off into an embellished
approach to the cadential
... gra- - - ti - - a in la - - - bi -is tu- - i s
Example 14a Dzfusa es: V e r s e 1 (MM 343)
76 See the discussions i n Wagner, Ferretti and Johner, and in Apel, Gregorian Chant, pp.
368-70. O n repetition i n general, see Johner, Wort und Ton im Choml, pp. 91-104. O n its
use i n the Alleluia melismas see L. Treitler, ' O n the Structure o f the Alleluia Melisma:
A W e s t e r n Tendency i n W e s t e r n Chant', in Studies in Music Histoly. Essaysfor Oliver Strunk,
ed. H . Powers (Princeton, 1968), pp. 59-72; E. Jammers, Das Alleluia in dergregorianischen
Messe, Liturgiewissenschaftliche Quellen und Forschungen, 55 (Miinster in Westfalen,
1973); Apel, Gregorian Chant, pp. 387-8.
" For example, the beginning o f A v e Maria ( M M 404), Iubilate Deo universa ('vobis omnes',
MM 298), Michi autem ('est principatus eorum', MM 325),Domine vivijica (vs. 2 '[mandalta
tua et voluntaria oris tui', M M 337).
T h e same melisma concludes all three verses o f Custodi me ( M M 303) and (with a shorter
b section cadencing o n E ) appears at the end o f the refrain o f Domine exaudi ( M M 335).
Another a 4 4 melisma occurs at the beginning o f the first verses o f the offertories
Domine convertere ( M M 349), Gloria et honom ( M M 294), and Benedictus es . . . in labiis ( M M
330). For another example see Inmittet angelum (end o f verse 3; M M 383). Apel noted
similar phenomena in the melismas o f the Gregorian offertories and concluded that
'there can be hardly any doubt that such formations are the product o f a relatively late
period' (Gregorian Chant, pp. 369-70; emphasis added), and Robert Snow regarded such
repetitions in the offertory verses as indications o f later date and possibly o f Gregorian
influence: ' T h e Old-Roman Chant', p. 504.
Joseph Dyer
a a
---= = - -- --- -
-. *
I . . .etex-al-ta- vi e-lec--turn de ple-be me- a.
Example 14b Inveni David: Verse 1 (MM 343)
k'l.ter- - - - - - - - - - - - re.
2.ple - - - - - - - - - - - - be.
Example 15 Exulta satis: Final melisma of verses 1 and 2 (MM 339-40)
The melisma that concludes the single verse of the offertory

Recordare mei (MM 265; Example 16) begins with a n exact repeti-
tion and continues with a variation of the same (a'). The four-note
figure at the end of a' is repeated to introduce the close of the
m e l i ~ r n a . 'The
~ two most extensive melismas in the Old Roman
offertory repertoire, Iubilate deo universa (MM 298; verses 1 and 2)
and Deus enimJirmavit (MM 414; vs. 2) have systems of complex
internal repetitions. The first of these has a large a-a design, each
phrase itself the product of an intricate system of relationships
indicated in Example 17.80The extraordinarily long melisma that
closes the second verse of Deus enimjirmavit (MM 414) is clearly
articulated by means of exact repetition of short phrases relieved
by variation (a-a-b-a-a-al-c-c). Comparable repetitions can be
found at the beginning of the refrain and first verse of Eripe me
. . . domine (MM 308). Another type of melisma closes the refrain
of the offertory Eribe me . . . deus (MM 387; Example 18), con-
structed from a descending sequence springing from a torculus
figure.
While compositional techniques making use of varied repetition
and return are thus paradigmatic of the Old Roman melodic style,
there is another technique, for which Apel's term 'reiterative style'
seems most appropriate. After reviewing the repeat patterns in
Gregorian chant, Ape1 observed that:
Much more significant and, in fact, decidedly typical of numerous chants
79 For a similar case see the long melisma that closes the second verse of the offertory
Iustus ut palma ( M M 324).
80 The stylistically very different melisma in the parallel Gregorian offertory (Offerton'ale,
p. 18) shares formal characteristics with its Old Roman counterpart.
Joseph Dyer
is a repetition technique of a more subtle and evasive nature, a certain
type of melodic design which may be described by the term 'reiterative
style' . . . It is far removed from the concepts of the Western mind, as
appears from the fact that our vocabulary has only more or less deroga-
tory terms to indicate it: pleonasm, prolixity, diffuseness, etc., all indica-
tive or suggestive of a lack of conciseness. It is not easy to describe this
style in definite terms or to illustrate it by specific examples, because it
involves subtle allusions rather than demonstrable
Leaving aside the question whether or not the technique described
by Apel is fundamentally foreign to the 'Western mind', this state-
ment applies rather well to the Old Roman offertories. Even allow-
ing for the differences between the Gregorian melos and the
Italianate style of the Old Roman melodies, the term 'reiterative
style' evokes the manner in which the Old Roman offertories hover
around a single pitch centre, vaguely suggesting repetition with-
out exactly reiterating previous melodic gestures - in essence 'tro-
pis semper variantibus'. Many examples may be found scattered
in the previous musical examples, the 'alleluia' that closes the
refrain of the offertory Deus, deus meus (MM 307; Example 19) may
serve to represent the practice. T h e reiterative style usually
implies, as here, a restricted range and gives the impression of
fluid, continuous variation.82
-
6
--.
1( ...&I- -le- - - - - - - lu-ia.
Example 19 Deus: Deus meus: Refrain (MM 307)
O u r investigation of the repetition of melodic material as a guide

to melodic design in the Old Roman offertories necessarily entails
mention of another phenomenon, unique to the offertories: the
repetition of segments of text with the same or slightly varied
music. This exceptional procedure has been frequently described
without, however, leading to any universally accepted conclusions
about either its origin or its function.83Dom Ferretti believed that
the repetitions implied an alternation between soloist and choir.
Gregorian Chant, p. 262.

82 See the refrains of the offertories A d te domine levevi, Angelus domini, Benedicite gentes, Deus
enimjrmavit and Laudate dominum.
83 Wagner, Einfuhrung, vol. 111, pp. 428-32; Ferretti, EsthCtique grtfgorienne, pp. 198-203;
Johner, Wort und Ton im Choral, pp. 377-81; Apel, Gregorian Chant, pp. 364-7.
While this might seem reasonable, it is supported neither by the
manuscripts nor by other documentary evidence. The need to
extend the chant while offerings were being made cannot well
explain repetitions at the beginning of the refrain, and hence at a
point early in the offering ceremony. The rank of the feast cannot
have had much to do with it either, since the offertories with text
repetition in both the Gregorian and the Old Roman traditions
were not those assigned to the most important days of the kalendar.
Thirteen Old Roman offertories have some form of text repeti-
tion. Since a few offertories have more than one such passage, the
total number of examples amounts to fifteen. In addition to this
number, eight phrases are repeated two or more times in the offer-
tory Vir erat (MM 255).84 (The special case of the offertory Factus
est dominus has been discussed above.) Table 2 lists all Old Roman
offertories with text repetition, divided according to the two for-
mal patterns ,represented (a-a and a-b-a). The title of the offer-
tory is given first, then (in italics) the text which is repeated. A
few pieces involve melodic variation upon repetition of the text
phrase, and these are marked with an asterisk.@ The ternary
model ( a 4 - a ) 'is found only in the refrains, the repetition of the
first phrase serving also as the repetenda of the offertory. Three
offertories have a text repetition in the Old Roman but not in the
Gregorian tradition: Benedictus es . . . ne tradas, Domine convertere (F
22 only) and Superjumina. There are, on the other hand, three
Gregorian offertories with text repetition whose Old Roman coun-
terparts have no such repetition: Iubilate Deo omnis, Deprofundis and
Domine deus in sirnpli~itate.~~Whatever the raison d'Ctre behind this
84 Not included in this calculation, however, is the first verse of the offertory Anima nostra
( M M 26), whose text repetition ('Nisi quod dominus erat in nobis; dicat nunc Israel, nisi
quia dominus erat in nobis') is part of the psalm text itself. The two phrases are set to
different music.
Gregorian chant embellishes such repetitions more elaborately. See the offertories
Iubilate Deo universa, Iubilate Deo omnis, Afferentur (maior), In virtute and Exultabunt. Even
if a repetition is unaltered, it 'is never experienced as being literal, because each new
recurrence has a different history from the previous ones; nevertheless the experience
is one of metamorphosis in place': D. Burrows, 'Singing and Saying', The Journal of
Musicologv, 7 (1989), p. 397. One could say the same of a Baroque instrumental move-
ment or aria that makes use of the ritornello principle.
86 One Gregorian offertory with text repetition, Exultabunt, has no Old Roman equivalent.
For a list of text repetitions in the Gregorian tradition see Apel, Gregorian Chant, pp.
364-7. To his group A should be added the second verses of the Gregorian offertories
In virtute, Gloriabuntur and Domine deus in simplicitate.
Joseph Dyer
Table 2 Old Roman Ofertories with text repetition
(text in italics is sung twice)
- -
A-A
*Anima nostra: Vs. 1: Nisi quod dominus erat in nobis dicat nunc Israel
nisi quia dominus erat in nobisn
*Benedictus es . . . in labiis: Benedictus es Domine, doce me iustijicationes tuas . . .
Vs. 4: Viam iniquitatis domine amove a me.6
*Benedictus es . . . ne tradas: Benedictus es Domine, doce me iustijicationes tuas . . .
Domine exaudi: . . . ne avertas faciem tuam a me:
Gloriabuntur: Vs. 2: Quoniam ad te orabo Domine . . .d
*Iubilate Deo universa: Iubilate Deo uniuersa terra . . .
*Vs. 1: Reddam tibi vota mea . . .
*Vs. 2: Locutuslm est os meum in tribulatione mea . . .
*Precatus est: Precatus est Moyses in conspectu Domini Dei sui et dixit . . .
*Vs. 1: Dixit Moyses et Aaron . . .

Super flumina: Vs. 2: . . . si non meminero tui, si tui non meminero . . :
Vir erat: multiple repetitions
A-B-A
Bonum est: Bonum est conJiteri Domino . . .
*Desiderium: Desiderium anime eius tribuisti ei . . .
Domine convertere: Domine convertere et eripe animam meam . . . Domine
convertere et eriper
Domine in auxilium: Domine in auxilium meum respice . . .
Factus est dominus: Factus est dominusjrmamentum meum . . .g
Offerentur regi: Oferentur regi virgines . . .h
An asterisk indicates that the repetition is slightly embellished melodically.

a. This almost exact repetition occurs in the biblical text of Psalm 123:l-2a
b. Vat. lat. 5319 ( M M 331) indicates a repetition of the 'viam' phrase but
provides no music; the repetition is not present in the verse of this offertory in
the S. Cecilia gradual (fol. 37),
c. In the St Peter's gradual (fol. 49) this offertory ends with the first statement
of the phrase.
d. This repetition occurs only in the S. Cecilia manuscript (fol. 112'), as also in
the Gregorian tradition. The text in Vat. lat. 5319 forms the last part of a
single verse.
e. Although the text of the second statement differs slightly from the first,
both have a virtually identical melody ( M M 297). Both the length of the
refrain and the intended repetenda are not entirely clear; I have followed the
verse indications of the S. Cecilia manuscript (fol. 6 7 ) ; this is vs. 4 in the 5319
gradual.
j This return occurs in the St Peter's gradual (fol. 40), but not in Vat. lat
5319, fols. 68 and 140, or in Archivio di S. Pietro F 1IA, fol. 55v.
g. See the previous discussion of this offertory.
h. This text repetition occurs with a slightly varied melody in S. Pietro, F 22,
fol. 9 9 .
unusual practice, the many curious text repetitions common to
both chant traditions testify in a peculiar way to the unity of the
textual tradition of Old Roman and Gregorian chant. In most cases
the repetition differs little from the first musical statement. In the
case of Precatus est Moyses (MM 397) the second statement closes
with a slightly expanded melisma on 'dixit'. The remainder of the
refrain is also notable for its formal parallelism: a-a'-b'-c-c-d (see
Appendix 3C).
One of the most remarkable chants to be found in any of the
medieval liturgical repertoires is the offertory Vir erat (MM 255)
on a text from the book of Job.87 In the Old Roman version eight
separate phrases, some consisting of only a few words, are repeated
two or more times. One phrase, 'ut videathideam bona', is sung
no fewer than nine times.88The Gregorian version follows the same
general procedure, but different manuscripts do not agree on how
many repetitions this phrase should have. Calculating the num-
ber of 'verses' in the Old Roman version would be pointless, since
here as elsewhere in the Lateran manuscript 'V' indications do not
have their literal meaning.8gThe extraordinary length of this offer-
tory precludes a full transcription here, but the outline in Table
3 indicates the arrangement of the verses. Most of the repetitions
are paired, except for the 'ut videathideam bona' segment. Other
subtle interconnections could be revealed by a thorough analysis
of the entire piece.g0 The sequence of phrases in Example 20 ('I'
in Table 3), exemplifies several types of variation procedure char-
acteristic of Old Roman 'innovations with ever varying tropes'. The
last of the nine 'verses' rises to the highest pitch level reached in
the piece (g'), while extending and varying the melody (x) that
introduces this repetition sequence and closes each group of three.
Kenneth Levy has argued that this offertory, like SanctzJicavit
The complete Gregorian version with its verses is available not only in Ott's Ofertoriale
(p. 122) but also in Ferretti, Esthe'tique gre'gorienne, 200-2. Only the verses are given in
Wagner, Einfuhrung, vol. III, pp. 430-3.
Amalar of Metz explained the unusual repetitions in the verses by noting that the offer-
tory (sc. refrain) contained the words of the narrator, while the verses reported the
lament of the ailing Job: 'Aegrotus cuius anhelitus non est sanus neque fortis, solet verba
inperfecta saepius repetere . . . j o b repetivit saepius verba more aegrotantium.'Liber 0 8 -
cialis 3.39, in Amalarii Episcopi Opera Liturgics Omnia, ed. Hanssens, vol. 11, p. 373.
89 With approximately the same text the Gregorian offertory usually has four verses: (1)
'Utinam', (2) 'Quae est', (3) 'Numquid', (4) 'Quoniam'. This offertory is not present in
the S. Cecilia gradual.
See J. Dyer, 'The Offertories of Old Roman Chant', pp. 289-90.
Joseph Dyer
Table 3 Verses of V i r erat
Text Music
A-A. Utinam aa
B-B. Quibus iram bb
C-C-C. E t calamitas cdc'
D-D. Que est enim ed
D. Que est fortitudo f
E-E. A u t q u i d j n i s
F. Numquid
G-G. A u t caro mea
7
a' a'
H-H-H. Quoniam h-hf-hf
I,_,. Ut videamlt x y xlyY xlyY X"
1 6.Ut vi- de- am bo- - na.
9. Ut vi- de- am bo- - -na.
Example 20 Vir erat: Verses 11,3,6,9

(MM 258)
Moyses, represents a Gallican text type, and that the text and music
of V i r erat 'presumably reached [Rome] as a Carolingian or per-
haps Ottonian i m p ~ r t ' . ~If' such were the case, the Old Roman
reviser showed his flair for the dramatic in recasting this 'verse'.
The Gregorian offertory hovers around G for three statements of
'ut videathideam bona' before moving the pitch focus to e. The
Old Roman version of the passage traverses a wider range to stun-
ning expressive effect: it begins a fourth lower on D (I,-,), moves
up a fifth to the middle of the range (I,), and rises yet another
fifth (I,-,) for Job's climactic final plea.
Does the analysis of the offertory melodies preserved in the Old
Roman graduals reveal anything about the origin and age of the
91 K. Levy, 'Toledo, Rome and the Legacy of Gaul', p. 97. Vir erat has no Mozarabic or
Milanese counterparts.
repertoire? The stylistic resemblances between Old Roman and
Beneventan chant suggest the possibility of additional insights.
According to Thomas Kelly, the Beneventan chant existed by at
least by the mid seventh century and flourished through much of
the following century. After Charlemagne's defeat of the
Lombards, the Beneventan rite and its music faced extinction as
Romano-Frankish liturgy and music (Gregorian chant) were intro-
duced from the North. Probably as early as the first third of the
ninth century, in fact, the introduction of Gregorian chant at
Benevento rendered further creative activity in the Beneventan
musical sphere ~nlikely.~2 Kelly listed the distinctive features of
the Beneventan style as: prevailingly stepwise motion, richness
of surface detail, use of small melodic formulae, infrequency of
simple recitations, and phrase and section repetition. Given the
striking similarity between Benevantan and Old Roman musical
style, it would seem reasonable to argue that Old Roman chant
carried forward and preserved a n Italianate musical style 'frozen'
in the Beneventan sphere by the vicissitudes of history. Thus the
Old Roman offertories could be no more recent than the late
seventh or early eighth centuries.
An observation by a Frankish visitor to Rome about 795,
recorded in Ordo Romanus 22, a collection of random notes on
the liturgical ceremonies of Lent as observed at Rome shortly
before 800, seems to indicate that no new offertory verses were
being created. The last entry in the ordo reads: 'De offertorio seu
et versu ipsius duobus vicibus ad unam missam domno pape can-
tatur' (concerning the offertory and its verse: it is sung twice at a
single mass of the lord pope).y3Though the passage is far from
clear, it appears to say that if the gathering of offerings by the
pope lasts longer than anticipated, the offertory and its verse(s)
will simply be repeated, thus implying that the composition or
improvisation of new offertory verses had ceased.
92 T. Kelly, The Beneventan Chant, 6-40; see also K. Levy, 'Charlemagne's Archetype of
Gregorian Chant', Journal ofthe American Musicological Society, 40 (1987), pp. 1-30, espe-
cially 11-20.
93 Ordo 22.21; Andrieu, Les Ordines Romani, vol. 111, p. 262. Only two sources contain this
section of Ordo 22: St Gall 140 and St Gall 614. The latter abbreviates 'dom', which I
have construed as a genitive in the translation, but the interpretation of the passage
does not hinge on this point.
Joseph Dyer
The compositional strategies of the Old Roman offertories have

been represented in this essay by a restricted number of examples
that cannot begin to exhaust the prolific ingenuity that the Roman
cantor-composers applied to the musical treatment of the pre-
scribed texts. They sustained the Old Roman offertory repertoire
for generations before its first notation in the late eleventh cen-
tury by constantly fashioning 'innovations . . . with varying
tropes'.94 I have concentrated on relatively large-scale procedures
- important formulae and patterns of varied repetition - neces-
sarily passing over smaller types of embellishment, melodic repe-
tition and variation that exemplify the Italianate style in general
and Old Roman chant in particular. This usage could never be
thoroughly catalogued, but these briefer reiterations, sometimes
not judged too kindly vis-8-vis the melodic style of Gregorian chant,
constitute a powerful unifying force on smaller formal levehg5
They also exemplify the principle of Old Roman chant composi-
tion for which Cassiodorus' words about 'innovations' being con-
stantly introduced seem particularly appropriate.
By calling into question the traditional wisdom about the ram-
bling incoherence of Old Roman chant, the present study has
demonstrated that the Old Roman cantors, attentive to melodic
organisation on the minute as well as on the grand scale, were at
least as systematic as their 'Gregorian' brethren. The distinctive
techniques applied to the offertories range from conventional for-
mulae applicable to varying modal situations, through patterns of
repetition that encompass every level from the single neume to
the large phrase. Whether the offertories were even more formu-
laic and pervaded with patterns of varied repetition during the
period when they were transmitted orally, only later to become
more individualised, is a question that cannot be definitively
answered. The music contained in the three surviving graduals
94 The two later graduals, Vat. lat. 5319 and Archivio di S. Pietro F 22, transmit virtually
the same melodies for the offertories. O n the the music of the Old Roman Office see
P. Cutter, 'The Old Roman Chant Tradition: Oral or Written?', Journal o f t h e American
Musicological Sociep, 20 (1967), pp. 167-81, and E. Nowacki, 'The Gregorian Office
Antiphons and the Comparative Method', Journal ofMusicology, 4 (1985), pp. 243-75.
9j Dom Hesbert, speaking of this aspect of Beneventan chant style, criticised 'la monotie
engendree par la repetition constante des m&mes formules non seulement dans une
m&me pikce, mais encore B travers tout le repertoire': Pallographie Musicale, 14, p. 451,
as quoted in Stablein, M M 33*.
does seem, however, to preserve substantial evidence of techniques

aptly suited to the singing and preservation of a large repertoire
of lengthy chants across centuries of oral transmission. The
considerable dependence of the offertories on formulae and
other types of repetition recalls, moreover, Leo Treitler's remarks
about 'thrift' as one of the benchmarks characteristic of oral
repertoire^.^^
It would be premature and indeed rash to declare that all the
compositional strategies of Old Roman chant have been laid bare
by a study of the offertories. Standard formulae and repetition pat-
terns were surely important - they abound in the genre - but there
are considerable stretches of 'free' music created according to the
conventions of the Old Roman style. Indeed, the two formulae that
play a significant role in the Old Roman offertory system were
cleverly integrated with such passages. The reliance of the Old
Roman offertory repertoire on this ensemble of procedures surely
delayed innovations that would have substantially altered the pro-
file of the chants. Surface detail underwent change, but the com-
positional strategy of 'tropis semper variantibus' employed in so
many of the Old Roman offertories fostered a conserving and con-
servative tendency that carefully preserved the repertoire until its
first neumation in the late eleventh century.
University of Massachusetts, Boston
See Treitler, ' H o m e r and Gregory',passim, and t h e same author's 'From Ritual through
96
Language t o Music', Schweizer Jahrbuchfiir Musikwisser1~chaft,N.F. 2 (1 982[1984]),109-23.
53
Joseph Dyer
APPENDIX 1
Old Roman Offertories with Formula A
Offertory Location Liturgical assignment
Angelus domini ( G ) Vs. 1: 1 time Fer. ii post Dom.

Resurr.
Ave Maria ( G ) Vs. 1: 2 times Annunciation
Benedictus es . . . ne Vs. 1: 2 times Fer. vi post Dorn. V
tradas ( E ) Vs. 2: 2 times Quadr.
Conzssio ( E ) Refrain: 2 times St Lawrence
Conjrma hoc ( E ) Refrain: 1 time Pentecost
Vs. 1: 3 times
Vs. 2: 2 times
Vs. 3: 3 times
Conztebuntur ( G ) Refrain: 2 times St George, St Vitalis, Sts
Vs. 1: 4 times Philip and James, Sts
Nereus,
Vs. 2: 4 times Achilles and Pancratius
Custodi me ( E )
Vs. 2: 3 times Fer. iii post Dom. in
Vs. 3: 3 times palmis
Domine deus salutis ( G )
Vss. 1 and 2: Sabb. in Q T Quadr.
1 time each
Domine exaudi ( E )
Vs. 1: 4 times Fer. iv post Dom. in
palmis
Domine fac mecum (blE)
Vs. 1: 3 times Fer. iv post Dorn I11
Vs. 2: 2 times Quadr.
Vs. 3: 2 times
Eripe me . . . domine (E) Vs. 1: 2 times Fer. ii post Dom. in
Vs. 2: 1 time palmis
Exaltabo te (alD)
Refrain: 1 time Ash Wednesday
Exaudi deus ( G )
Vs. 1: 2 times Fer. ii post Dom. I11
Quadr.
Expectans expectavi (blE)
Vs. 1: 4 times Fer. iii post Dom. IV
Quadr.
Vs. 2: 1 time
Vs. 3: 2 times
Improperium ( G ) Refrain: 1 time Dom. in ramis pal-
marum
Intonuit de celo ( G ) Vs. 1: 2 times Fer. iii post Pascha
Vs. 2: 3 times
Iustus ut palma (E) Vs. 1: 1 time St John the Evangelist

Vs. 3: 2 times (in die)
Lauda anima (WE) Vs. 1: 4 times Dom. I1 post Pascha
Vs. 2: 1 time
Letentur celi (E) Refrain (allusions Nat. domini ad pullorum
to torculus) cantum
Vs. 1: 1 time
Vs. 2: 2 times
Michi autem (E) Vs. 1: 3 times Vigil of Sts Peter and
Vs. 2: 2 times Paul
Miserere michi (E) Refrain: 1 time Fer. iii post Dom. I11
Vs. 2: 5 times
Oratio mea (G) Refrain, Vs.: Vigil of St Lawrence
1 time each
Pe$ce gressus (E) Refrain: 4 times Sexagesima
Vs. 1: 415 times
Vs. 2: 3 times
Vs. 3: 2 times
Repleti sumus (D) Refrain: 3 times Sts Philip and James
Vs. 1: 2 times
Vs. 3: 2 times
Scapulis suis (E) Vs. 2: 4 times Dom. I Quadr.
Terra tremuit (E) Vs. 2: 1 time Easter
Vs. 3: 1 time
Tui sunt celi (D) Refrain: 3 times Nat. domini ad maj.
missam
APPENDIX 2
Old Roman Offertories with Formula B
Offertory Location Liturgical assignment
Benedic anima (D) Vs. 1: 3 times Fer. vi post Dom. I

Benedicite gentes (D) Vs. 2: 3 times Fer. iv post Dom. IV
Benedictus qui venit (G) Vs. 2: 3 times Sabb. post Pascha
Bonum est (D) Vs. 3: 1 time Septuagesima
Constitues eos (F) Vs. 3: 3 times Sts Peter and Paul
Joseph Dyer
Desiderium anime (clF) Refrain: 3 times St Eusebius
(*mid-refrain)
Domine convertere (F) Refrain: 3 times Fer. ii post Dom. V
Vs. 1 2 times Quadr.
*Vs. 2: 4 times
Domine deus in
Refrain: 5 times Dedication of a church
simplicitate (clF)
Vs. 1: 4 times
*Vs. 2: 5 times
Domine in auxilium (F)
Refrain: 5 times Fer. v post Dom. IV
(*mid-refrain) Quadr.
*Vs. 1 4 times*
*Vs. 2: 2 times*
Emitte spiritum (G)
Vs. 2: 2 times Vigil of Pentecost
Vs. 3: 3 times
Erit nobis (G)
Refrain: 4 times Fer. vi post Pascha
Erit vobis (S. Cecilia,

Vs. 1: 4 times
fol. 86) (E);
Vs. 2: 5 times
vss. only in S.
Cecilia gradual
Expectans expectavi (alD)

Refrain: 3 times Fer. iii post Dom. IV
Quadr.
Factus est (F)

Refrain: 4 times Sabb. post Dom. IV
*Vs. 2: 4 times
*Vs. 3: 4 times
Felix namque (F)
Refrain: 4 times Votive Mass of the BVM
Archivio di S. Pietro
('Salve sancta parens')
F 22, fol. 103
Filie regum (alD)

Refrain: 2 times St Prisca
Gloria et honore (D)

*Vs. 2: 2 times St John Evang.(mane
prima)
Gloriabuntur (F)
Refrain: 5 times Sts John and Paul
Vs.: 5 times
Immittet (G)
Vs. 3: 4 times Fer. v post Dom. I
Quadr.
I n conspectu angelorum (F) Refrain: 2 times Apparition of St Michael
*Vs. 1: 3 times (Sept. 29)
*Vs. 2: 3 times
In die sollempnitatis (E) Vs. 1: 3 times Fer. v post Pascha
Vs. 2: 3 times
In te speravi ( D ) Vs. 1: 1 time Fer. iii post Dom. I
In virtute ( F ) Refrain: 2 times St Stephen
*Vs.: 1 time*
(*mid-verse)
Intende voci (F) Vs. 2: 3 times Fer. vi post Dom. I11
Quadr.
Iubilate deo omnis (F) Vs. 2: 6 times Dom. I1 post Epiph.
Fer. ii post Dom. IV
Quadr.
Iustitie domini ( F ) Refrain: 4 times Dom. I11 Quadr.
*Vs. 1: 3 times*
Vs. 2: 4 times*
Lauda anima ( b l E ) Vs. 2: 5 times Dom. I1 post Oct. Pasch.
Laudate dominum ( D ) Vs. 1: 2 times Dom. IV Quadr.
Vs. 2: 4 times
Vs. 3: 3 times
Mirabilis deus ( G )
Vs. 1: 2 times Sts Alexander and
Vs. 2: 2 times Theodulus
Populum humilem ( G )
Vs. 1: 3 times Fer. vi post Dom. IV
Quadr.
Portas celi ( G )
Vs. 1: 1 time Fer. iv post Pascha
Vs. 2: 2 times
Precatus est ( G )
Vs. 1: 3 times Fer. v post Dom. I1
Quadr.
Reges Tharsis ( F )
Vs. 1: 1 time Epiphany
Vs. 2: 1 time
Vs. 3: 5 times
Sperent in te ( F )
Refrain: 5/6 times Fer. iii post dom. V
*Vs 2: 4 times
The asterisk indicates the position of the FormB melisma (Example 6) in
refrain or verses.
Joseph Dyer
APPENDIX 3
Old Roman Offertories with Repetition and Return
A. Refrain (part) reused in verses
Offertory Description
Ave Maria R: a-a-b-b-c-c-d-d

Vs. 1: a-br-a'-b-c-ForrnAfcadence
Confortamini Vs. 1: middle based on repetition of end ('ret-
ribuet') of refrain
Domine vivijca Vs. 2: elaboration of the repetenda of the offertory
Levabo oculos
Gressus meos Vs. 2: modeled on refrain, leads to varied statement
of the repetenda
In te speravi Phrase from end of refrain ('in manibus') repeated
at beginning and end of vs. 1 and end of vs. 2 (vs. 2
based on FormB)
Meditabarlbor R: a-ar-arr
Vs. 2 (last half): a - a - a
Reges Tharsis Phrase repeated three times in refrain ('arabum,
adducent, terre') used in vs. 1 ('regis')
B. Melody of verse 1 is model for verse 2
Angelus domini Vss. 1 and 2: similar beginnings

Ascendit deus Final phrase of vs. 1 used for all of (brief) vs. 2
Benedicam Dominum Vs. 2 derived from repetition and variation of a
portion of the first phrase of vs. 1
Benedictus es . . . Vss. 3-6 (only in C 74, fols. 37-37v): all modeled
in labiis on vs. 3
Benedictus qui venit First phrase of vs. 2 modeled on vs. 1 (vs. 2 contin-
ues with FormB)
Bonum est Vss. based on elaborated recitation on F
Vs. 1: a-b-b-a'
Vss. 2-3: based on repetition of phrase a; the
repetition of a phrase from vs. 2 ('domine peri-
bunt') provides the music for vs. 3
Conjtebor domino Vs. 2 derived from vs. 1

Deus, deus, meus Vss. 1 and 2 derived from repetitions of the first
phrase of vs. 1 (see also section C below)
Exulta satis Vss. 1 and 2: last halves correspond
Improperium Central phrase of vs. 1 ('intraverunt aque')
expectavit repeated three times in vs. 2
Iubilate Deo Vss. 1 and 2, both with text/music repetition
universa (a-a-b), share the same music, ending with a long,
complex melisma with internal repetitions
Letamini in Domino Same music for both verses: Vs. 1: Inton-adr Vs. 2:
Inton-a+z-arr+zr
Letentur celi Music of vs. 1 expanded for vs. 2 (one phrase
repetition and ForrnA: 1 time)
Levabo oculos Same music for both verses; see also section C.
Mirabilis deus Same music for first halves of vss. 1 and 2: compo-
nents of vs. 1 rearranged for first half of vs. 2
(second halves of vss.: FormB)
Reges Tharsis R: phrase first heard at 'arabum' recurs twice in
refrain and once in vs. 1 ('regis'); vss. 2 and 3 based
on last phrase of vs. 1 (a free version of FormB)
Si ambulavero Vs. 1: a-a
Vs. 2: a-a-b
SuperJ'umina First phrase of vs. 1 is recycled, wholly or in part,
for vss. 2, 3, and 4
Tui sunt celi Final phrase of vs. 1 ('autem . . .') provides material
for two-thirds of vs. 2
C. Large-scale repetition and return structures
Ave Maria R: a-a-b-b-c-d-c-e

Vs. 1: a'-aU-c-FormA-cfcadence
Benedicam Dominum R: Inton-a-al-b+repetenda
Benedictus es . . . R: a-a-b-br
ne tradas
Benedictus qui venit R: begins with short a-a-a
Confortamini Vs. 2: a-ar-b-c-br+melisma
Constitues eos Vs. 1: a-b-br-c
Deus, deus meus Vs. 1: Inton-a-ar-a"
VS. 2: Inton-ad"
Joseph Dyer
Deus enimjrmauit R: repetition of motives from phrase 'qui non
commovebitur'
Vs. 2: a-b-u-c-b-bl+melisma
Domine exaudi R: a-a-a-a-b-b
Domine uiuijca Vs. 2: a-al-a
Imittet angelum R: Inton-a-ul-ul' (final melisma: a-a)
Vs. 1: b-b
In virtue Vs. 1: same melisma at beginning, midpoint and
end
Leuabo oculos R: a-ul-a"
Vs. 1: Inton-6-6'
Vs. 2: Inton-b'
Meditabarlbor R: a-al-a"
Vs. 2 (last half): a-a-a
Precatus est R: a-al-b-b'-c-c-d (a-a' is text repetition);
'Aaron/Moyses' (vss.) set to similar music
Sanctijcauit Moyses Vss. 2-8: two phrases, variously arranged and
repeated, account for all of the music of these
verses
Si ambulauero R: a-ul (brief)-ul'-b-c
Vs. 1: d-d
Vs. 2: d-d-e
Tui sunt celi Vs. 2: a-b-bl-c
Ear& Music Histoly (1994 Volume 17. O 1998 Cambridge University Press
Printed in the United Kingdom
MODAL D I S C O U R S E AND
FOURTEENTH-CENTURY FRENCH
S O N G : A 'MEDIEVAL' PERSPECTIVE
RECOVERED?"
Writing about a late-fourteenth-century ballade in honour of

Mathieu de Foix, Howard Mayer Brown candidly aired his uncer-
tainty about the proper theoretical perspective from which to
engage the music. 'How should we in the twentieth century inter-
pret this music: from the point of view of emerging tonality, as an
example of polyphonic modality, or of the influence the extended
system of hexachords had on compositional decisions, or should we
use some other conceptual framework?" In his catalogue of choices,
Brown alludes to a variegated lot of modern approaches that range
across appropriation (sometimes formal, sometimes casual) of
terms from functional tonality, modal descriptions founded on
octave species and finals, mappings of hexachordal areas, empiri-
cal observation of pitch emphases and tonal orientations.' As his
* This article is an expanded version of a paper read November 3, 1995 at the annual
meeting of the American Musicological Society held in New York City.
I H. M. Brown, 'A Ballade for Mathieu de Foix: Style and Structure in a Composition by
Trebor', Musica Disciplina, 41 (1987), p. 77.
See, for example, G. Reaney, 'Modes in the Fourteenth Century, in particular in the
Music of Guillaume de Machaut', Organicae Voces: Festschni Joseph Smits van Waesberghe
(Amsterdam, 1963), pp. 13743; 'La TonalitC des Ballades et des Rondeaux de Guillaume
de Machaut', Guillaume de Machaut Po2te et Compositeur, Actes et Colloques No. 23 (Paris,
1982), pp. 295-300; J. Hirshberg, 'Hexachordal and Modal Structure in Machaut's
Polphonic Chansons', Studies in M u s i c o l o ~in Honor of Otto E. Albrecht, ed. J . W. Hill (Kassel
and Basel, 1980), pp. 19-42; D. Leech-Wilkinson, 'Machaut's Ros, lis and the Problem of
Early Music Analysis', Music Analysis, 3 (1984), pp. 9-28; S. Fuller, 'Line, Contrapunctus
and Structure in a Machaut Song', Music Anabsis, 6 (1987), pp. 37-58; 'Modal Tenors and
Tonal Orientation in Motets of Guillaume de Machaut', Studies in Medieval Music: Festschni
for Ernest H . Sanders (New York, 1990), pp. 199-245. Medieval specialists have not gener-
ally endorsed Schenkerian analyses directed at discovering the roots of tonal Ursatzen in
early polphony, although they have adapted reductive procedures derived from
Schenkerian teaching to illustrate pitch relationships in the lines and counterpoint of
fourteenth-century music. Carl Schachter offers graphs of Landini songs that stress tonal
Sarah Fuller
tone of uncertainty conveys, modern scholarship has forged no con-
sensus on the theoretical constructs by which pitch relationships in
fourteenth-century secular polyphonic song are to be construed.
Scholars have, naturally enough, turned to medieval theorists for
testimony on proprieties of pitch and tonal relationship to be
observed in polyphony, but to date the information yielded has been
considered neither consistent nor explicit enough to satisfy present
demands for definite judgement or to put to rest doubts about pro-
posed modern solutions. Indeed, the most sustained fourteenth-cen-
tury statement on polyphonic composition, Egidius de Murino's
primer on motet composition, 'Primo accipe tenorem', quite disre-
gards matters of pitch emphasis or tonal p r ~ f i l e . ~
Given this indefinite situation, the prospect of a definitive res-
olution to the issue -one committed, moreover, to restoring a gen-
uinely medieval point of view - must prompt positive hopes within
the scholarly community. It is just such a resolution that Christian
Berger has proposed in his ambitious book Hexachord, Mensur und
Textstruktur: Studien zum Franziisischen Lied des 14. J~hrhunderts.~
Proceeding from the generally recognised premise that fourteenth-
century polyphonic notation assumes a context of unwritten per-
formance practices, Berger sets out 'to discover the factors that in
that time were not regarded as requiring notational definition for
they were obvious from the tradition and from the coherence of
the instructional ~ y s t e m ' .His
~ investigation of medieval treatises
functions (I, V, IV,VII) in 'Landini's Treatment of Consonance and Dissonance: A Study

in Fourteenth-Century Counterpoint', Music Forum, 2 (1970), pp. 130-86.
Egidius's text is edited, without formal title, in D. Leech-Wilkinson, Compositional
Techniques i n the Four-Part Isorhythmic Motets of Philippe de Vitry and H i s Contemporaries (New
York and London, 1989), pp. 18-20. The editor's translation and commentary appear
pp. 21-4. In the absence of an authoritative title, I have designated the treatise by its
incipit. In his Ars (1355),Johannes Boen similarly concerns himself with matters of color
and numerical disposition, excluding tonal matters; see Leech-Wilkinson, pp. 16-17.
Beihefte zum Archiv fiir Musikwissenschaft 35 (Stuttgart, 1992).
'. . . diejenigen Faktoren aufzuspiiren, die in jener Zeit als nicht aufzeichnungsbediirftig
erachtet wurden, da sie aus der Tradition und dem Zusammenhang der Lehre heraus
selbstverstandlich waren'. Hexachord, Mensur, p. 17. The passage continues with a clear
statement of purpose: 'A central thrust of this study - set forth in chapter 4, "The
Representation of the Tonal System" - is not only to describe this tradition, but to seek
out its traces in the [theoretical] treatises.' ('Diese Tradition nicht nur zu benennen,
sondern auch ihre Spuren in den Traktaten aufzusuchen, ist ein zentrales Anliegen
dieser Arbeit, die das Kapitel4: "Die Darstellung des Tonsystems" bestimmt.') Thomas
Brothers has recently urged caution about assuming unwritten performance practices
(Chromatic Beautj, i n the Late Medieval Chanson (Cambridge, 1998), pp. 21-44.)
Modal Discourse and Fourteenth-Century French Song
on music leads him to a remarkable discovery: 'this research led
to the inevitable conclusion that modal teaching held unrestricted
validity for music of the fourteenth ~ e n t u r y 'The
. ~ middle and final
sections of his book elaborate his central thesis that pitch struc-
ture in fourteenth-century French polyphony - specifically includ-
ing polyphonic secular song - is properly understood within the
frame of the Western ecclesiastical modes. His message is not sim-
ply that present-day analysis should follow modal paths but that
ars nova secular songs were conceived a priori in a Dorian, Lydian
or Mixolydian mode.' Not only this conclusion but also the par-
ticular way Berger constitutes his position have profound impli-
cations for how scholars concerned with fourteenth-century
polyphony interpret medieval theoretical treatises, read the nota-
tion in which fourteenth-century secular French polyphony was
transmitted, and conceive of pitch relations within that polyphony.8
Indeed, Berger so thoroughly challenges established beliefs about
basic features of the ars nova repertory as to call into question fur-
ther work on its tonal qualities, or further editions, performances
or recordings of the music, until his bold ideas have been con-
fronted and e ~ a l u a t e dAlthough
.~ this essay is a direct response to
'Aus dieser Untersuchung ergab sich als notwendige Konsequenz die uneingeschrankte
Giiltigkeit der Modus-Lehre in der Musik des 14. Jahrhunderts.' Hexachord, Mensur, p.
17.
The Greek nomenclature for the modes is Berger's and appears not only in his general
linguistic usage but in the subheadings ('Dorisch', 'Lydisch', 'Mixolydisch') of his fourth
section, where he classifies the fourteenth-century component of the Reina repertory.
(It contains no 'Phrygian' pieces.) I find this uncritical adoption of Dorian, Lydian and
Mixolydian labels for modal categories - nomenclature far more widespread in the six-
teenth than in the fourteenth century - to be anachronistic in effect. Although no more
than mere convenience of language might appear to be involved, the choice of terms
does jar against the posture of reconstituting a fourteenth-century viewpoint. Moreover,
the Greek names conjure up images of octave species divided harmonically or arith-
metically (a notion Berger explicitly invokes on occasion), images incongruent with
modal concepts expressed in a majority of medieval theoretical writings. Numerical des-
ignation - first mode, second, etc. - would be both more neutral and more historically
apt.
Berger himself acknowledges this in the concluding paragraph of his book: 'The theses
advanced in this book have wide-reaching consequences for our image of fourteenth-
century music.' ('Die in dieser Arbeit aufgestellten Thesen haben weitreichende
Konsequenzen fiir unser Bild von der Musik des 14. Jahrhunderts.' p. 262)
His theoretical exposition is concentrated in the third section of his book, 'The
Representation of the Tonal System' ('Die Darstellung des Tonsystems'). Its conse-
quences for the music are explicated in the fourth section, 'Solmisation: The Codex
Reina Repertory' ('Solmisation: Das Repertoire des Codex Reina'). Berger adopts Carl
Dahlhaus's definition of Tonsystem as 'a musical perceptual model that allows pitch mate-
rial to enter into a complex of pitch relations' ('eine musikalische Anschauungsform,
Sarah Fuller
Berger's provocative ideas, it also engages with general issues con-
cerning present-day reading of past theoretical documents and the
interpretative strategies brought to fourteenth-century notations.
Early in the third section of his study, 'The Representation of
the Tonal System' ('Die Darstellung des Tonsystems'), Christian
Berger sets forth, in unambiguous language, his purpose of recov-
ering the true medieval perspective on mode in secular French
polyphony of the fourteenth century.
The middle ages had a quite specific perceptual model for music tailored
to its own musical requirements and performance practices . . . In con-
sequence, without this musical perceptual model, the music of that time
cannot be adequately transcribed, much less analysed. It follows, more-
over, that this perceptual model can no longer be developed out of the
practical witnesses only, for a prior theoretical structure, grounded in
this perceptual model, bears upon them [the practical witnesses] with
far-reaching consequences.10
Elucidation of the medieval tonal system pertaining to fourteenth-
century French secular polyphony - as exemplified by the four-
teenth-century chanson repertory in the Reina codex - constitutes
a central task of his research." That research leads Berger to con-
clude that the Reina songs (and, by extension, all fourteenth-
century French secular polyphony) have been misrepresented in
modern times because editors and performers have been oblivious
to the musical conventions and practices, to the basic musical dis-
course, of the culture to which the songs belonged. They have
die ein Material von Tonen zu einem Komplex von Tonbeziehungen werden 1aRt':
p. 86). An alternative viewpoint that regards fourteenth-century French secular song in
terms of tonal types has been advanced by Peter Lefferts in 'Signature-Systems and
Tonal Types in the Fourteenth-Century French Chanson', Plainsong and Medieval Music,
4 (1995), pp. 117-47. Lefferts's ideas form the basis of an extended study by Yolanda
Plumley, The Grammar of 14th C e n t u ~Melo4, Outstanding Dissertations in Music from
British Universities (New York and London, 1996). Neither addresses Christian Berger's
book, but their initial premises and empirical methodology lead to conclusions quite dif-
ferent from his.
10 'Das Mittelalter hatte eine ganz spezifische, auf seine eigenen musikalischen und auf-
fuhrungspraktischen Bediirfnisse hin zugeschnittene musikalische Anschauungsform
. . . Daraus ergibt sich die Konsequenz, daR die Musik jener Zeit ohne diese musikalis-
che Anschauungsform nicht adaquat ubertragen, geschweige denn analysiert werden
kann. Weiter folgt daraus auch, daB diese Anschauungsform nicht mehr allein aus den
praktischen Zeugnissen entwickelt werden kann, ziehen diese doch schon weitreichende
Konsequenzen aus der theoretischen Vorstrukturierung, die in dieser Anschauungsform
begrundet liegt.' Hexachord, Mensur, p. 86.
I' The Reina codex is formally known as Paris, Bibliothkque Nationale, fonds fransais nou-
velle acquisition 6771; RISM siglum F-Pn n. a. fr. 6771.
failed to recognise the modal intentions of the composers, to

understand the implications of a notation framed in terms of a
modal perspective, and to comprehend the tight connection
between mode and hexachord configurations.'* Such a fundamen-
tal challenge to the prevailing wisdom on how to read the notation
and how to interpret or analyse the music of fourteenth-century
France invites a detailed assessment of claims and methodology.
The assessment process has led me to conclude that Christian
Berger's account of a pervasive fourteenth-century tonal system is
deeply flawed and in fact gravely misrepresents the medieval view
he seeks to elucidate. In large part, the flaws stem from assump-
tions and attitudes he brings to his own investigation. To address
these, the case he mounts must be reviewed in some detail, both
to expose his methodology and mode of argumentation, and to
indicate key factors that undermine its central elements.13
Christian Berger's path to reconstruction of the medieval
musikalische Anschauungsform relevant to considerations of tonal sys-
tem in fourteenth-century polyphony is circuitous and complex.
Nevertheless, the basic moves by which he constructs his position
are fairly straightforward. His initial task is to constitute a clear
and uniform theoretical background, a common ground of teach-
ing (Lehre) shared by fourteenth-century musicians, singers as well
as composers. H e claims two prime results from this investigation
of theoretical writings: first, that trained medieval musicians con-
ceptualised mode in terms of hexachord constructs; and, second,
that they considered mode to be a governing force in polyphony.
These theoretical principles (in his view) hold the key to the
unwritten practices by which fourteenth-century
musical notations were interpreted. With a theoretical foundation
Here, as elsewhere in this paper, 'modal' with respect to notation refers to pitch con-
structs, not to modal elements in the mensuration system.
l3 In concentrating on Berger's exploration of Tonsystem, the present study bypasses the
topics of mensuration and text structure heralded in the title of his book. Although these
topics figure in his larger project of establishing 'elementary premises for analysis' for
late-fourteenth-century secular polyphony, the modal component merits particular
attention as a core topic that permeates the study. Berger's title invokes Hexachord rather
than Tonsystem. But his compact statement of purpose lists his three areas of inquiry as
mensuration, text and tonal system: 'Hence the present study wishes to make a contri-
bution with investigation in the three realms of mensuration, text and tonal system'
('Dazu mochte die vorliegende Arbeit mit der Untersuchung in den drei Bereichen
Mensur, Text und Tonsystem einen Beitrag leisten': p. 23).
Sarah Fuller
firmly in place, Berger proceeds to define the unwritten theory-
based performance practice and to implement it in novel tran-
scriptions of the secular-song notations. These transcriptions or
'readings' pave the way for appropriate editions and analyses -
'appropriate', and even 'authentic', because informed by true
medieval precepts and perspectives. I will examine the theoreti-
cal claims before turning to their implementation as guides to
transcription.
MODE IN POLYPHONY
In terms of the Reina repertory of ars nova polyphonic song, a cru-

cial step is to show that fourteenth-century musicians considered
mode to be a governing force within polyphony. .Berger himself
notes that melodic lines such as those shown in Example la-d are
problematic from a modal perspective.I4 H e also acknowledges the
prime fourteenth-century witness who denies the relevance of the
eight ecclesiastical modes to polyphony, Johannes de Grocheo
(Paris, c. 1300). In a n often cited passage, Johannes de Grocheo
insists upon limiting the sphere of mode to cantus ecclesiasticus and
challenges those who would extend it to 'all song' to explain how
it operates in other genres of music.
' Hon our
Example la Guillaume d e Machaut, Honte, paour, cantus, bars 1 - 4
Example Ib Fuiibs de moy, tenor, bars 25-33
'4 Hexachord, Memur, p. 130. The asterisks above pitches in Examples la and lc indicate
the probable continuation of a preceding accidental. This convention is followed in the
subsequent examples that lack bar lines.
Doit bien por - ter la

I0
Example lc L'escu d'amours, cantus, bars 18-27
Example Id L'escu d'amours, contratenor, bars 45-50
Some people describe mode as a rule that judges all song at its end. But
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
it is governed by these rules, 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 . . . I
say 'ecclesiastical song' in order to exclude <secular song and polyphony
that are not subject to mode>.15
Berger counters Grocheo with remarks by two theorists writing
'around 1300', Elias Salomo (Rome, 1274) and Engelbert of
Admont (treatise dated between 1297 and 1325). Both, he claims,
'emphasise the validity of modal teaching for all song' although,
he frankly admits, 'without concrete reference to the practice of
polyphony'.'6
l5 'Describunt autem tonum quidam dicentes eum esse regulam, quae de omni cantu in
fine iudicat. Sed isti videntur multipliciter peccare. Cum enim dicunt de omni cantu, viden-
tur cantum civilem et mensuratum includere. Cantus autem iste per toni regulas forte
non vadit nec per eas mensuratur. Et adhuc, si per eas mensuratur, non dicunt modum
per quem nec de eo faciunt mentionem . . . Temptemus igitur aliter describere et dica-
mus, quod tonus est regula, per quam quis potest omnem cantum ecclesiasticum
cognoscere et de eo iudicare inspiciendo ad initium, medium vel ad finem . . . Dico etiam
cantum ecclesiasticum, ut excludantur cantus publicus et praecise mensuratus, qui tonus
non subiciunter.' Die Quel1enhandschrz;Ren zum Musiktraktat des Johannes de Grocheio, ed. E.
Rohloff (Leipzig, 1972), p. 152. (The phrases set off in italics by Rohloff, and in inverted
commas in my translation, are not so distinguished in the original.) In this and the fol-
lowing extracts, Berger (p. 129) quotes only the fragment within angle brackets at the
end of the translation.
'Beide betonen ohne einen konkreten Bezug zur Praxis einer Mehrstimmigkeit die
Giiltigkeit der Modus-Lehre fur "alle Gesange".' Hexachord, Mensur, p. 131.
Sarah Fuller
And just as the letter relates to the syllable, the syllable to the sentence,
and the sentence to the oration, so the letter or note [relates to] the
clavis, the clavis to the mode (tonus), and the mode to the song. <By these
modes may be sung psalms, hymns,> the Credo, the Gloria in excelsis,
the Kyrie, the prose, <even secular songs or any other kind of singing
or reading, and from the mode [each] receives its beginning, nature, end,
and foundation.> l 7
The goal and intention of music is the observation and regulation of any
tone [mode] according to its form and manner in natural song: <for cor-
rect singing according to the art of music is nothing other than to reg-
ulate any melody correctly according to its tone, and to begin, conduct,
and finish it in a proper fashion.>18
T h e effect of these quotes as contextualised in Berger's paragraph
is to undercut Johannes d e Grocheo by a dual strategy of coun-
teracting his opinions with those of other 'contemporaries' who
extend 'the validity of mode to "all song" ' and of associating him
with what Berger calls a n allegiance to old-fashioned rigorous dia-
tonic modality. But this is to disregard the different geographical
and intellectual contexts within which these three m e n wrote, as
well as to overlook the generational gap between Salomo and
Johannes de Grocheo. Both Salomo and Englebert of Admont are
churchmen whose treatises are clearly oriented to a traditional
ecclesiastical sphere and whose training predates the Reina
polyphony and Machaut's lyric songs by some decades. Neither
institutional affiliation nor chronological location would lead one
to expect from either author thoughtful consideration of how mode
might relate to secular polyphony of the mid fourteenth century
'' 'Et quemadmodum se habet littera ad syllabam, syllaba ad dictionem, dictio ad ora-
tionem, ita littera sive punctus ad clavem, clavis ad tonum, tonus ad cantum. Per quos
tonos sive psalmi sive hymni, credo, vel glol-ia in excelsis, kyrie, vel prosa, vel etiam can-
tilena secularis, vel quaelibet alio mod0 cantando, vel legendo cantetur, et cum tonis
accipit principium, vim, finem et fundamentum.' Elias Salomo, Scientia Artis Musicae, ed.
M. Gerbert, Scriptores ecclesiastici de Musica (hereafter G S ) , vol. 111, p. 20 Partially quoted
in Hexachord, Memur, p. 131: The portion Berger cites is bracketed in my translation. For
a broad-ranging study of the possible meanings of 'clavis' in such a context, see J. Dyer,
'The Clavis in Thirteenth-Century Music Theory', Cantus Planus: Papen Read at the 7th
Meeting, Sojmn, Hungary, September 1995, ed. L. Dobszay (Budapest, 1998), pp. 195-212.
I am grateful to Prof. Dyer for providing me with a pre-publication copy of his study.
'Observatio igitur et regulatio cuiuslibet toni secundum formam et modum suum in
cantu naturali est finis et intention musicae: cum recte cantare secundum artem musi-
cae nihil sit nisi quemlibet cantum secundum suum tonum recte regulare et regulariter
incipere, et ducere, et finire.' Engelbert of Admont, De Musica, GS 11, p. 331. Partially
quoted in Hexachord, Menrur, p. 131: the portion Berger cites is bracketed in my translation.
and later. Johannes de Grocheo, on the other hand, is writing of

urban musical practices in contemporary Paris (c. 1300)) and dis-
plays marked concern for generic distinctions and social functions.
Although he is at least as far removed chronologically from the
Reina repertory as Englebert, he is grappling overtly with diver-
gent opinions and recognises that certain musical phenomena per-
tain to distinct genres or social usages. That his cultural horizons
are far broader than those of Elias Salomo or Englebert of Admont
must be taken into account in any comparison or weighing of their
viewpoints.
Nor do the original contexts of the remarks that Berger cites
unequivocally confirm the notion that Salomo and Englebert
'emphasise the validity of mode for "all song" '. Salomo's remark
on the hegemony of mode is embedded within a conventional par-
allel between the elements of text and those of music, a passage
arguably more rhetorical than technical in nature.lg Englebert's
remark follows upon, and takes its meaning from, a patent refer-
ence to 'natural song', a term that occurs frequently in his text to
designate 'chant'.20 In removing these comments from their orig-
inal local contexts, Berger in effect alters their meanings - they
become turned to his own purposes and lose some measure of their
medieval signification.2'
Berger does present a strong counter to Johannes de Grocheo
in a much later figure, the Berkeley Anonymous also known as
l9 Indeed, in his introductory comments, Salomo links determination of mode with church
song only: 'omnia quae communiter in ecclesia cantantur, seu cantando leguntur' (GS
III p. 18).
20 At the very beginning of his treatise, Englebert has defined his main subject, musica, in
terms of what we would today call 'music theory': 'scientia inquirendi et discernendi'
(GS 11, p. 288). In Book IV, chapter 10, Englebert does say that the octave, 'that most
perfect consonance', suffices for 'all musical song' ('omnis cantus musicus': GS 11, p: 345),
but that phrase must be understood as a loose commonplace of speech. Apt as ~t may
be for expounding a modal theory based on octave species, this statement does not fit
technically with the many melodies within the chant repertory that exceed an octave
span. A. Rusconi has noted that Engelbert's 'De Musica' is solely concerned with plain-
chant, and that the fleeting comments on polyphonic practice are archaic in quality. He
also observes that Engelbert uses no theoretical sources more recent than the later
eleventh century. Rusconi, 'L'insegnamento del Canto Liturgico nel "De Musica" di
Engelbert von Admont', Musicam in subtilitate scrutando, Universiti degli Studi di Pavia,
Scuola di Paleografia e Filologia Musicale - Cremona, ed. D. Sabaino et al. (Lucca, 1994),
pp. 130-1.
Anyone who deals with medieval theoretical writings must inevitably remove quoted pas-
sages from original contexts. What is at issue here is sensitivity to those original con-
texts and awareness of changes that may be effected by recontextualisation.
Sarah Fuller
Goscalcus (Paris, 1375), the one extant fourteenth-century witness
unequivocally to relate mode to secular polyphony, a teacher whose
statements might plausibly apply to the sort of polyphony pre-
served in the Reina codex.
Something must yet be said about the tones or modes by which other
kinds of music, such as motets, ballades and such pieces, are to be judged.
Let the final therefore be the index of any tones or modes for such music,
including motets, ballades, rondeaux, virelais and such.22
Yet this formulation has its limitations as evidence for Berger's
thesis that modal precepts governed polyphonic composition. c a s t
as it is in terms of a n a posteriori classification, the statement does
not actually claim that mode figured in the conception of 'motets,
ballades and other such genres'.23 A prior reference to making
'song' in authentic or plagal modes does, however, indicate this
theorist's affinity with those earlier teachers whom Johannes de
Grocheo scolds for associating mode with 'all song.'
As for other songs [i.e. other than cantus ecclesiasticus], such as motets and
the like, note that in plagal tones one can equally well ascend and descend
by many pitches, as was stated in connection with the authentic tones.
The tenors ought, however, to follow the nature of chant.24
Nowhere does the Berkeley Anonymous offer any arguments for
this stance, nor does he explain how mode operates in polyphony
beyond mechanical classification by final. It is as though for him
the word 'cantus' simply covers all sounding music.*j His view was
22 'Restat et nunc quidem de cantibus allis, puta motetis, baladis, et huiusmodi, de quibus
tonis sive modis iudicandi fuerint aliqua declarare. Sit igitur finale iudicum omnium
tonorum seu modorum cuiuslibet cantus, videlicet motetorum, baladarum, rondellorum,
vireletorum, et huiusmodi istud.' The Berkeley Manuscript, ed. 0. Ellsworth (Lincoln, Neb.,
and London, 1984), p. 84.
Berger does not engage with the ontological distinction betweenapriori conception within
a mode - mode as a guide for composition or improvisation - andpost facto classification
within a modal category - mode as an ideal category imposed on members of a reper-
tory. This is a critical distinction emphasised in H. S. Power's seminal work on mode,
'Tonal Types and Modal Categories in Renaissance Polyphony', Journal of the American
Musicological Society, 34 (1981), pp. 433-5. Berger simply asserts that mode was a per-
vasive a priori concept not only for fourteenth-century secular song composers but also
for the singers who performed their ballades, virelais and rondeaux.
'De cantibus vero aliis, puta motetis et huiusdem, sciendum est quod in plagalibus eque
bene potest ascendi et descendi per plures voces, sicut in autenticis dicitur; eciam tenores
sequi debere naturam cantuum ecclesiasticorum.' The Berkeley Manuscript, p. 74.
25 This teacher does employ some generic distinctions, but in a loose way. These are 'can-
tus ecclesiasticus', 'motetis et huiusdem' or 'huiusmodi', 'cantus mensurabilis'.
Sometimes the 'huiusmodi', are defined as ballades, rondeaux or virelais.
not shared by the author of the Quatuor Pnncipalia (1 35 1) who, on

introducing the concept of mode, firmly anchors it in the realm of
cantus ecclesiasticus. 'The eight tropes or modes take their origin
from the above-mentioned species [of consonance], about which
all plainchant revolves, as in so many wheels.'2"uch differences
in teaching are not conducive to the view that musicians in the
fourteenth century shared a uniform perspective on the issue of
mode in . polyphony.
. -
Another serious objection to taking the Berkeley Anonymous as

spokesperson for the musical community in fourteenth-century
Europe is his general conception of mode, which narrowly confines
modal identity to the final: 'Whence mode, as understood here, is
a rule for judging any song according to its end. There are eight
tones or rnodes.'2' This statement is a close paraphrase from the
Dialogus de Musica, a treatise dating from the early eleventh cen-
t ~ r y . ~For
* the late fourteenth century, it has a curiously archaic
ring compared with the more complex and pluralistic formulations
in, for example, Jacques of Li2ge's Speculum musicae (c. 1325) or
the Quatuor Principalia. These theorists invoke a broad spectrum of
finals, range, beginning notes, recitation tones, and differentiae as
modal indicators. As they explain it, modal affiliation is coded in
a wide range of features distributed over the course of a melody.
Even in the-domain of chant, then, the Berkeley Anonymous's per-
spective on modal identification seems unduly simplified, more
practically pedagogical than aurally or intellectually probing in
nature.29It is a large leap indeed to infer from his borrowed rule
a
of classification by final system of pitch organisation applied by
all skilled composers of polyphonic song in fourteenth-century
France and implemented by those who sang their music.
But the remark from the Berkeley Anonymous functions in
26 'De supradictis autem speciebus tropi sive modi qui octo sunt, originem ducunt, in quibus
omnis cantus ecclesiasticus quasi in tot rotis revolvitur.' Quatuor Principalia Musicae, ed.
E. Coussemaker, Scriptorum de Musica Medii Aeui (hereafter C S ) , vol. N (Paris, 1876), p.
229. The theorist follows this opening with a clear statement that 'modus' has dual
meanings, one in cantus planus, the other in cantus mensurabilis; see note 35 below.
27 'Unde tonus, prout hic sumitur, est regula de quoque cantu diiudicans in fine.' The
Berkeley Manuscript, pp. 66-8. I prefer to call this theorist Goscalcus, but since Christian
Berger refers to him as 'the Berkeley Anonymous' I follow his designation here.
'Tonus vel modus est regula quae de omni cantu in fine diiudicat.' GS I, p. 257.
29 This theorist mentions some modal features other than the final, but as rules to be
observed, not as integral to his definition of mode.
Sarah Fuller
Christian Berger's argument not as a cornerstone, but principally

as a convenient fragment
- of evidence on which he can anchor his
own central insight:
Beyond this, there are a great number of additional indications that dis-
play the validity of teaching on mode for all songs, even secular songs.
Only, they are not to be found in [those treatises that] speak of rnusica
mensurabilis or of discant teaching, but in the elementary textbooks of
rnusica ~lana.~O
In witness, he cites a number of theorists who observe that rnusica
plana is a prerequisite to study of musica mensurabilis. One of these
is the redoubtable Jacques of Li2ge.
<Whoever, then, is ignorant of cantus planus attempts [cantus] mensura-
bilis in vain. Anyone should first establish a foundation in cantus planus,
and afterward will be able to approach rnensurabilis.> Therefore let us
first continue with cantus planus. Below, in Book 7, we will touch upon
some things about men~urabilis.3~
Unquestionably, formal study of polyphony presupposed familiar-
ity with the gamut, the musical staff and its clefs, the letter names
of pitches, hexachords, and intervals - all topics encompassed,
along with mode and often much else (such as proportions), under
the aegis of rnusica plana. Given the broad field of knowledge com-
passed under the rubric rnusica plana, comments on its preparatory
function relative to rnusica mensurabilis can hardly be credited as
explicit evidence for 'the validity of modal teaching for
p0lyphony'.~2Jacques of Li2ge's statement - like other similar
observations - has the aspect, rather, of a general declaration on
the necessity for basic training prior to engagement with coun-
'Daruber hinaus gibt es noch eine ganze Anzahl weiterer Hinweise, die die Gultigkeit
der tonus-Lehre fur alle, eben auch fur weltliche Gesange, herausstellen. Nur sind sie
niche da zu finden, wo von der musica mensurabilis oder von der Lehre des discantus die
Rede ist, sondern in den elementaren Lehrtexten der musica plana.' Hexachord, Mensur, p.
132. See also p. 133, top, and pp. 15-17 in the introduction.
31 'Qui igitur cantum ignorat planum, frustra tendit ad mensuratum. Prius enim in cantu
plano se debet quisque fundare; dehinc ad mensurabilem potest accedere. De cantu igi-
tur plano primo prosequamur; infra vero, libro septimo, aliquid de mensurabili tange-
mus.' Speculum Musicae 6, p. 202. Berger (p. 132) cites only the portion shown within
angle brackets in the translation, leaving out Jacques of Litge's remark that he is con-
tinuing his discussion under the banner of cantus planus.
32 '. . . die Giiltigkeit der Modus-Lehre auch fur die Mehrstimmigkeit.' Hexachord, Mensur,
p. 133. See also p. 17: 'This investigation [of the relationship between muricaplana and
musica mensurabilis] yielded the necessary conclusion that teaching on mode was of unre-
stricted validity for music of the fourteenth century.'
terpoint, mensural notation, and other domains specifically asso-

ciated with the theory and practice of measured music. Moreover,
the context in which this particular remark appears is devoid of
specific modal reference.33Berger has recontextualised it within a
narrowly modal ambit to serve his own purposes.
Several passages in major fourteenth-century treatises challenge
Berger's claim that modal teaching in the realm of musica plana
was commonly thought to carry over into mensurabilis. When
Jacques of Likge delves into musica mensurabilis in Book 7, he point-
edly notes that 'modus' means something different in mensurabilis
than in plana.
What then is mode in musica mensurabilis but an apt order, arrangement
or conjunction of musical figures or notes - longs, breves and semibreves
- with each other? Whence it is that the modes are diversified among
themselves according to the varied arrangement of these notes, just as
in musica plana the modes or tones in melodies are diversified from the
varied arrangement of pitches at the beginning, the middle and the end.
But there is not the slightest similarity between the one and the other.34
In this view, he is corroborated by the author of the Quatuor
Principalia, who twice explicitly distinguishes between modus as
understood in cantus planus and as understood in cantus mensurabilis.
Mode in music is twofold, i.e. [one for] plainchant [the other for]
polyphony. Nothing will be said at present about mode in polyphony,
[but], God willing, afterward. The modes of plainchant are eight.35
Note that musical mode is twofold, [one] of plainchant and [another] of
polyphony. Plainchant has eight modes, in which all unmeasured music
33 The immediate context for his remark on cantusplanus as foundation for mensurabilis is,
first, a discussion of 'cantus' that emphasises precision of pitches and intervals and knowl-
edge of syllables and letters on the monochord and, secondly, the distinction between
plain and measured cantus that stresses the two kinds of measure - that which controls
distance between intervals, which pertains especially to cantus planus, and that which
controls durations, one division of which pertains especially to cantus mensuratus. The
remark leads into a discussion of pitch notation that begins with Isidore and Boethius
and leads finally to Guidonian staff notation. Speculum Musicae 6, ch. 70-3, pp. 200-14.
34 'Quid igitur est modus in mensurabili musica nisi conveniens ordo, dispositio vel coni-
unctio figurarum vel notarum musicalium, scilicet longarum, brevium et semibrevium
ad invicem? Unde fit ut secundum variam dispositionem tactarum notularum inter se
modi varientur, sicut in plana musica modi seu toni in cantibus variantur ex varia vocum
dispositione in principio, medio et fine. Sed non est hic et ibi omnino simile.' Speculum
Musicae 7, Ch. 18, p. 40.
35 'Modus autem musicae duplex est videlicet plani cantus et mensurabilis. De modis in
cantu mensurabili, nihil ad praesens dicetur. Deo dante, postea. Modi autem plani can-
tus sunt octo.' Quatuor Principalia, 111, ch. 19, C S N, p. 229.
Sarah Fuller
is cast . . . Mode in polyphony, however, is the representation of sound

measured by long and short durations.36
If the ecclesiastical modes were thought to operate in measured
polyphonic music, passages such as these would have provided
opportune moments for theorists to note that in polyphony the
term modus pertains to two distinct realms, one congruent and con-
tiguous withplana, the other concerned with measured duration^.^'
But the choice is, rather, to separate the two subdisciplines of
musical instruction. For instance, in closing the sixth book of his
voluminous Speculum, Jacques of Likge clearly draws a double bar
between the preceding exposition of rnusica plana and the final sin-
gle book on rnusica mensurabilis.
Thus we have placed four songs at the end of this work on consonances,
on song, and modes as they pertain to musica plan^.^^
But enough has already been said about consonances, mode or tone, and
plainchants with regard to unmeasured music, both theoretical and prac-
tical. Thus let this sixth book be ended, and the pen turned to measured
music.39
These distinctions, along with the broad character of rnusica plana
as foundation to the study program of a practising or theorising
musician, render null Berger's assertion that musica plana teach-
ing points specifically to the operation of the ecclesiastical modes
in fourteenth-century polyphony.
ACCIDENTALS, HEXACHORDS AND MODE
Restored to its original contexts, the theoretical witness that

Christian Berger assembles to support his reconstruction of 'the
36 'Sciendum est tamen quod modus armonicalis duplex est, videlicet plani cantus et men-
surabilis. Planus vero cantus octo habet modos, in quibus tota versatur plana musica
. . . Modus autem cantus mensurabilis est representatio soni longis brevibusque tempo-
ribus mensurati.' Quatuor Principalia, IV,ch. 9, C S N ,p. 257.
37 For instance, in Book 7, ch. 37 of the Speculum Musicae, Jacques of Litge specifically
remarks that the notational figures used in musica mensurabilis are taken from musicaplana
and should have the same propriety of form (p. 75).
38 'Sic igitur, in fine laboris huius de consonantiis, de cantu et tonis, ut ad musicam per-
tinent planam . . . quattuor posuimus cantus.' Speculum Musicae 6, ch. 113, p. 316.
39 'Sed iam de consonantiis, quantum ad musicam planam theoricam et practicam, de modis
vel tonis et cantibus planis, quae dicta sunt sufficiant. Sicque terminetur hic liber sex-
tus. Ad mensurabilem musicam stilus convertatur.' Sfieculum Musicae 6, ch. 113, p. 317.
medieval point of view' on mode in polyphony will simply not sus-
tain his conclusion that educated musicians in fourteenth-century
France assumed mode as an a priori condition of composed
polyphony. But beyond the distinctions and comments made by
theorists, the actual look of polyphonic notations constitutes a
major stumbling block to his assertions. The secular-song nota-
tions entered by medieval scribes abound in written accidentals
that cannot be explained by standard rules of counterpoint and
that include untoward leaps of odd intervals that cannot be accom-
modated within the three basic hexachords (Example la-d). These
features seem to deny the presence or operation of mode, so for-
eign are they to the norms of modal melodies.
Christian Berger is well aware of this problem and addresses
the issue of modal propriety through a far-reaching reassessment
of the conventions employed in reading ars nova notation. As an
instructive example, he addresses the opening cantus phrase of
Machaut's ballade Honte, paour (Example 2a). Although he has no
trouble construing the end of this fragment within an authentic
G-Dorian mode, Berger acknowledges problems with the opening,
for neither the c# nor the e-6b tritone fits his modal template.40
To bring this melody (and many others) into line with modal
norms, he claims for the fourteenth century a view of b-quadraturn
and b-rotundurn signs quite different from that which has been
observed by modern editors and performers. At some time during
the middle ages, his account runs, notated accidentals ceased to
be signs of raising or lowering a pitch, and began instead to 'refer
to a structural relationship, namely to the hexachord system with
the help of which the medieval singer structured his tonal sys-
Adopting terminology introduced by the philosopher C. S.
Peirce, Berger describes this as a shift from the sign as an index
(raise the following note) to the sign as a symbol (signalling an
40 Hexachord, Mensur, p. 130. This article uses Guidonian nomenclature for pitches, with
capitals A-G for the lower (grave) register and lowercase a-g for the upper (acutum).
Generic references to pitches without regard to register use capital letters.
41 'SO kommt den Akzidentien als Teil der schriftlichen Aufzeichnung im Mittelalter eine
Bedeutung zu, die von einer unmittelbaren, bloR indizierenden Wirkung dieser Zeichen
in Form einer Erhohung oder Erniedrigung des unmittelbar benachbarten Tones
wegfiihrt und auf andere, strukturelle Zusammenhange verweist, namlich auf die
Hexachordstrukturen, mit deren Hilfe der mittelalterliche Sanger sein Tonsystem struk-
turierte.' Hexachord, Mensur, p. 92.
Sarah Fuller
underlying hexachord structure). The practical consequences of
this position appear in Berger's reinterpretation of the Hontepaour
cantus fragment in which the cs in bar 1 and the F in bar 3 that
had appeared to be raised are now unchanged, and the e in bar 1
which had seemed to be uninflected, e-la mi, has become a n
inflected e-fa (Example 2b). This, he believes, is the way a medieval
singer would have interpreted the notation and rendered it in
sound. His argument runs as follows:
Hon te pa our
Example 2a Machaut, Honte, paour, cantus, bars 1-3

(MS F-Pn f. fr. 1584, fol. 466')
Example 26 Christian Berger's reading of Honte, paour, cantus, bars 1-3 (Hexachord,
Mensur, p. 134)
The final of the piece [Example 31 and the accidentals point toward a
Bb-Lydian mode. This mode entails a combination of soft and natural
hexachords above Bb in which the insertion of the hexachord above Bb
includes the pitch ab asfa supra la. Both accidentals in the first three can-
tus bars stand before pitches that represent junction points in the
sequence of hexachords: the b-quadratum before c' refers to the conjunct
combination of two hexachords that in the context of this Lydian mode
can only mean the combination above Bb of the two soft hexachords, hence
a c-sollre. With this, the preceding eb' is marked as a& supra la and the
bb in bar 2 as a b-falut. The b-quadratum before the f in bar 3 marks this
pitch as a junction point between two other conjunct hexachords, mean-
ing here, from among the three possible hexachords, natural and soft,
hence a n f - f a a l ~ t . ~ ~
42 'Diejnalisdes Stiickes und die Akzidentien weisen auf einen B-lydischen Modus hin.
Dieser Modus greift auf eine Kombination der Hexachorde iiber B, molle und naturale
zuriick, wobei der Einsatz des Hexachords iiber B ahji supra la den Ton as mit ein-
bezieht. Die beiden Akzidentien in diesen ersten drei Cantus-Takten stehen vor den-
jenigen Tonen, die in der Abfolge der Hexachorde Schaltstellen darstellen: das 4 vor c'
weist auf die konjunkte Kombination zweier Hexachorde hin, mit der im Rahmen dieses
Example 3 Honte, paour, final cadence, bars 27-9
Berger's focus in this intricate reading is completely on hexa-

chordal signification of the notated accidentals in the cantus.
Given his limited purposes of the moment, he disregards the tenor
and contratenor voices that would complicate his argument
(Example 4).43He also refrains from mentioning the two-voice
arrangement for keyboard in the Faenza codex, which shows no
Example 4 Honte, paour, opening, bars 1-3
lydischen Modus nur die Kombination der beiden Hexachorde molle/iiber B gemeint
sein kann, also ein c-sol/re. Das vorangegangene es' wird dadurch als ein fa supra la und
das b im T[akt] 2 als ein b-fa/ut gekennzeichnet. Das vor dem f im T. 3 kennzeichnet
diesen Ton als Schaltstelle zweier anderer konjunkter Hexachorde, wobei hier unter den
drei moglichen Hexachorden die Kombination der Hexachorde naturale/molle gemeint
sein kann, also ein f-fa-ut.'Hexachord, Mensur, p. 133.
43 In discussing passages from songs of the Reina codex, Berger does sometimes bring
simultaneous vocal lines into play. See, for example, the discussion of L'ardent desier,
below.
Sarah Fuller
inflections through the first six breves but clearly reflects a n F#
on the seventh breve.44
The innovative reading Berger proposes for the Honte, paour can-
tus, in which c# and F# are excised from the opening cantus
phrase, depends in the first instance on the signification of acci-
dental signs. Numerous treatises of the fourteenth century state
explicitly that a b-quadratum signifies 'sing the following pitch as
mi' and that a b-rotundum signifies 'sing the following pitch asfa'.45
These stipulations hold whether the sign is in its usual locus (on
b) or in a n unusual one (as in the Honte paour cantus). Some
theorists, Johannes Boen among them, expand upon the general
principle with careful inquiry into the exact distance of inflection.
From the foregoing [investigation into the size of semitone inflection
created by b or b] one can start to elucidate somewhat the nature of
these letters on a particular location (clavis), namely, that the letter b-
fa is a sign of lowering the following note on that location, and b-mi of
elevation. These letters are directly contrary, for by the same amount
that bj2 lowers, by so much b-mi raises, both by precisely a major
emito one.^^
Nowhere among fourteenth-century theorists who comment on the
effects of b-quadratum and b-rotundum is there any indication that
they point primarily to underlying hexachord structure, that they
are to be 'comprehended as references to a hexachord structure'
" This F# would be parallel to the one in bar 3 that he eradicates. The Faenza tran-
scription is edited in Keyboard Music of the Late Middle Ages in Codex Faenza 117, ed. D.
Plamenac, Corpus Mensurabilis Musicae 57 (1972), pp. 12-15. The Faenza codex sup-
plies useful information because the arguments Berger puts forward for the behavior of
singers would not necessarily hold for a keyboard player writing or reading a score. The
Faenza arrangements drop many of the inflections found in vocal manuscripts; hence
those accidentals that they do preserve have the more claim to reliability. The scribe
writes Hontepaour a fifth higher than the vocal version, and so renders the F# at the
end of the first cantus phrase as a c # .
43 Among them are Petruspalma ociosa ('Ein Beitrag zur Diskantlehre des 14.Jahrhunderts',
ed. J. Wolf, Sammelbande derlnternationalen Musikgesellschaj, 15 (1 913-14), p. 5 15);Johannes
de Grocheo (Musica, ed. E. Rohloff, p. 128); the 'Ars nova' (Corpus Scriptorum de Musica
8, ed. G. Reaney, A. Gilles, J. Maillard (1964), ch. 8, pp. 32-3); Johannes Boen (Johannes
Boens Musica und seine Konsonanzenlehre, ed. W. Frobenius (Stuttgart, 1971), p. 54); the
Berkeley Anonymous (The Berkeley ManuscQt, p. 52).
46 'EX predictis aliqualiter incipit elucescere natura litterarum clavis presentis, videlicet
quod b-fa littera signum est depressionis note sequentis in eadem clave et b -mi nota
elevationis. Patet etiam directa contrarietas in dictis litteris, quoniam quantum b-fa
deprimit, tantum b -mi acuit, quia utraque per semitonium maius precise.'Johannes
Boen, Musica, ed. Frobenius, p. 54.
78
rather than as instructions for local pitch infle~tion.~' After intro-

ducing the notion of a paradigm shift in the signification of acci-
d e n t a l ~ ,Berger himself concedes that theoretical treatises from
around 1300 attribute to accidental signs 'a new, direct meaning',
that of indicating inflection^.^^ He persists, however, in regarding
them as symbols of hexachord structure in notated sources of the
fourteenth century and pursues his analyses from that angle.
Christian Berger's interpretation of accidentals in Honte, paour
(and in other songs where he is no less systematic in demolishing
the conventional reading of notated accidentals) arises directly
from his tenacious beliefs that the songs are modal in conception
and that a close relationship exists between mode and the hexa-
chord system. Although he strives to document a tight mode-hexa-
chord relationship in medieval theory, his results are unconvincing,
primarily because his own interventions intrude so conspicuously
in the account. For example, rather than restricting himself ver-
batim to the language in which Jacques of Lihge (in the Speculum,
Book 6) and Marchettus of Padua (in the Lucidarium) associate spe-
cific species of fifth and fourth with each modal category, Berger
subtly interweaves his own hexachordal perspective with their
words. Marchettus of Padua's statement about mode one - 'The
first tone is formed from the first species of fifth, which is from
low D to high a, and from the first species of fourth above' -
becomes in Berger's restatement a fifth 're+laYconjoined with a
47 'Dabei steht das Bemiihen im Vordergrund, den Gebrauch von Akzidentien konsequent
im Sinne der These Gaston Allaires als Hinweis auf eine Hexachord-Struktur aufzu-
fassen.' Hexachord, Mensur, p. 143. This formulation actually gives Berger full range in
deciding when accidentals signal hexachord structure rather than pitch inflection.
Significantly, Karol Berger's comprehensive and highly regarded study Musica Ficta:
Theories of Accidental Injections i n Vocal Polyphonyjom Marchetto da Padova to Gioseffo Zarlino
(Cambridge, 1987) reports no teaching on the part of medieval theorists that acciden-
t a l ~signify hexachord configurations in any structural sense independent of pitch
inflection.
48 'In gleicher Weise tritt bei den Akzidentien die Funktion eines Hinweisen auf eine
Struktur allmahlich zuriick zugunsten einer Funktion mit eng umrissener, unmittelbar
ablesbarer Bedeutung. Dieser Umschwung deutet sich in den Theoretiker-Schriften urn
die Wende zum 14. Jahrhundert mit dem Hinweis auf die neue, direkte Bedeutung den
Zeichen an.'Hexachord, Mensur, pp. 135-6. This statement stands in a contradictory rela-
tionship to his claim on p. 92 (quoted note 41 above) that at some (undefined) moment
in the middle ages interpretation of accidentals shifted from signalling pitch inflection
to symbolising hexachord structure. Berger never examines the contradictions between
his own statements.
Sarah Fuller
fourth 're+s01'.~~Leading on from this syllable nomenclature,
Berger observes that 'a combination of these two species is possi-
ble only in a disjunct sequence of two hexachords, hence in D-
dorian in the hexachord combination natural-hard', and he
illustrates this with the figure reproduced as Example 5.50From
this foundation, he proceeds to speak of the close relationship
between hexachord system and mode.jl But Marchettus himself
neither labels consonance species with hexachord syllables in the
Lucidarium, nor associates specific hexachord combinations with
any mode. His discussion of mode 1 actually includes a long pas-
sage on when to sing the pitches round b or square b that focuses
entirely on local melodic context, virtually ignores any hexachordal
affiliation either pitch might have, and by no means signals that
modal identity inheres in any one standard combination of hexa-
chords.j2 To extrapolate Example 5 from Marchettus's comment
on species and mode is to perform a n unjustified intervention that
distorts the medieval record.
ut re mi fa sol la
ut re mi fa sol la (fiz supra la)
Example 5 D-Dorian combination of natural and hard hexachords

(Hexachord, Mensur, p. 16 1 )
By another unwarranted leap, Berger infers close connections

between hexachord systems and mode in the writings of theorists
49 Hexachord, Mensur, p. 106-7. The Marchettus passage, 'Primus tonus formatur ex prima
specie dyapente, que est a D gravi ad a acutum, et ex prima specie dyatessaron superius',
appears in Lucidarium, ed. Jan Herlinger (Chicago and London, 1985), Ch. 11.4, p. 394.
50 "Eine Kombination dieser beiden Species ist nur in einer disjunkten Folge zweier
Hexachorde moglich, also beim d-dorischen in der Kombination der Hexachorde natu-
rale/durum.'Hexachord, Mensur, p. 107 (Example 5 here is Berger's Ex. 7).
j 1 'Wie eng Hexachordsystem und Modi zusammenhangen, zeigt sich an den moglichen
Transpositionen der Modi.' Hexachord, Mensur, p. 108.

j2 Lucidarium, 1 1.4, pp. 396-400. A doctrine linking particular hexachord combinations with
specific modes would, in fact, go against Marchettus's teaching that one can end a mode
'in any location on the hand where the species that form them can be set in the proper
order above and below' (p. 400-1). It seems odd, too, to invoke Marchettus in conjunc-
tion with French modal practices when so little is known about the origins of his ideas
and their circulation outside Italy.
who label modal finals with hexachord syllables.j3 But the four-
teenth-century theorists invoked - Jacques of Lihge and the
Berkeley Anonymous - use solmisation syllables for convenience
of reference and to explain endings elsewhere than on the tradi-
tional four finals.54Their language offers not a hint of what Berger
next asserts.
Without knowing the mode, the decision over the choice of two among
the three possible hexachords cannot be made. On the other hand, a per-
formance of a piece whose mode I know is just as impossible without
knowledge of the hexachords that belong to that mode, above all in view
of the fact that the relevant pieces were notated with confidence in the
knowledge possessed by the performers and without the need for further
clarifying accidentals.j5
This startling passage advances several far-reaching propositions:
that choice of hexachords (even the mere act of solmisation) is
contingent upon a prior determination of mode, and cannot sim-
ply be made on the basis of notation (or, for that matter, an aural
impression of how the melody goes); that modal identity inheres
in specific hexachord configurations; that these particular frames
of understanding were ingrained in and regularly implemented by
performing musicians. These contentious claims, advanced with
no secure mooring in any fourteenth-century theory, subsequently
assume axiomatic status in Berger's analyses of notated music. In
advancing the bizarre notion that solmisation cannot take place
without prior determination of modal affiliation, Christian Berger
disregards the observations of fourteenth-century theorists who do
indicate to varying degrees of precision how to judge the mode of
a monophonic melody, how to interpret written flat, sharp and nat-
ural signs, and how to carry out mutations when singing. Their
explications do not invoke any sort of tight interdependency
j3 Hexachord, Mensur, pp. 108-9. These theorists include Johannes Tinctoris, whose Liber de
natura et proprietate tonorum (1476) is surely too late to have direct bearing on the four-
teenth-century Reina repertory.
j4 .See Speculum Musicae 6, ch. 75-6, pp. 216-21, and The Berkeley Manuscript, p. 84. Compare
the latter with ibid., pp. 74-6, where the regular finals are cited.
jj 'Ohne den Modus zu kennen, ist die Entscheidung uber die Auswahl der beiden unter
den drei moglichen Hexachorden nicht zu treffen. Andererseits ist eine Ausfuhrung
eines Stuckes, dessen Modus ich zwar kenne, ohne Kenntnis der zugehorigen
Hexachorde ebenso unmoglich, vor allem angesichts der Tatsache, daB die entsprechen-
den Stucke im Vertrauen auf die Kenntnisse der Ausfuhrenden ohne weitere erklarende
Akzidentien aufgezeichnet worden sind.' Hexachord, Mensur, p. 109.
Sarah Fuller
between mode and hexachord, nor do their instructions indicate

that either solmisation or notated 'accidentals' are to be enacted
through a filter of modal categories. Their remarks on modal clas-
sification are normally cast in terms of recognising characteristic
modal features in chant melodies and developing sensitivity to
modal decorum; the reading of notations and decisions on solmi-
sation - which are dominant components of Berger's construct -
figure not at all in this sphere of modal judgement.
Berger gleans a promising shard of evidence for his position
from one late-thirteenth-century theorist, Jerome of Moravia, who
describes the modulationis corpus of each mode in terms of the hexa-
chord structure that underlies it.56But the original context within
which Jerome's remarks occur by no means suggests that he per-
ceived an inextricable connection between modes and fixed hexa-
chord combinations. Jerome's exposition on mode begins with
three chapters (20-22) in which he quotes or paraphrases various
definitions of the phenomenon, defines the usual finals, normal
compass and alternative finals of modes 1-8, and reproduces the
customary tones for psalms, magnificat, introits and other stan-
dard genres. After all this comes a fourth chapter, number 23, 'On
the mutual interchange of the above-mentioned hard and soft
hexa~hords.'~'
Jerome's professed purpose in chapter 23, signalled in its open-
ing sentence, is to indicate when b$a and b-mi are to be assigned
in a melody.58 As a first step, he observes that a melody with full
range in any mode will necessarily span more than one hexachord,
and he proceeds to catalogue the hexachords commonly employed
in melodies that end on the usual finals. His remarks on the first
and the fifth modes read as follows:
Two hexachords naturally complete a melody of the first mode ending
on low D - which by licence may extend itself from C to high e - namely,
j6 Hexachord, Mensur, p. 105.

j7 'De dictorum cantuum b durali scilicet et b molli mutuis commutationibus,'Hieronymus
de Moravia 0. P. Tractatus de Musica, ed. S. Cserba, Freiburger Studien zur
Musikwissenschaft v. 2 (Regensburg, 1935), p. 168. Jerome's treatise is dated between
1272 and 1304 (Cserba, p. XXIII).
58 The first sentence reads: 'When b-rotundurn or b quadratum should be introduced in a
song ("cantus") of any mode -whether authentic or plagal, and whether in a high or a
low register - a n d when not has yet to be seen. To make this plain, note first and prin-
cipally that often none of the three hexachords ("cantus") named suffices to complete
melodies within the whole corpus of any mode.' Tractatus de Musica, p. 168.
the first natural and the second hard [hexachords]. But a subsequent
account will tell when soft b may be introduced in this mode and in
others.
Two hexachords naturally produce a melody of the fifth mode terminat-
ing in low F , which by licence extends itself from low E to the highest g.
These are the first and second natural hexachords and the first soft hexa-
chord.
The second and third hard hexachords and the second natural produce
a melody of the fifth mode, terminating on high c.59
Jerome's tone in the chapter is descriptive rather than doctri-
nal. For mode 1, a soft hexachord may be introduced in lieu of the
hard one. Three hexachords (both upper and lower natural ones
and the soft) may be required for a fifth-mode melody ending on
F; three others (two hard and a natural) for a fifth-mode melody
ending on c. Although Jerome's catalogue might have set a course
for associating specific hexachord configurations with individual
modes, it apparently had no such influence, for later theorists do
not echo his remarks. H e himself continues in this chapter with
advice on when to introduce hard or soft hexachords in any melody,
'whatever its tone', depending on the register in which it moves.60
This advice directly contradicts Berger's notions about strict
alliances between particular modes and specific hexachord config-
urations.
If late-thirteenth- and fourteenth-century French theorists do
not actually promulgate the doctrine of tight modal-hexachordal
interdependence, from whence does it arise? In Berger's study, the
proximate source of this doctrine turns out to be the work of
Gaston Allaire, which he cites early in the section on tonal sys-
Not only do Allaire's ideas dominate Berger's initial expo-
sition of the hexachord system, but they consistently filter his
59 'Primi igitur toni in D gravi terminati melodiam, quae inclusis licentialibus extendit se
a C in e acutum, duo cantus naturaliter perficiunt, scilicet naturalis primus et b duralis
secundus, b mollis autem, quando in hoc tono et in aliis assumitur, sequens ratio declar-
abit . . . Item quinti toni in F gravi terminati melodiam, quae inclusis licentialibus exten-
dit se a b E gravi in g superacutum, duo cantus naturaliter efficiunt, cantus scilicet
naturalis primus et secundus et cantus b mollis primus . . . Item quinti toni in c acuto
terminati melodiam efficit cantus b duralis secundus et tertius et cantus naturalis secun-
dus.' Tractatus de Musica, pp. 169-70.
60 Tractatus de Musica, p. 172.
Hexachord, Mensur, pp. 89-92, in a section titled 'The System of Hexachords'.
Sarah Fuller
subsequent interpretations of medieval theory and notation.

Berger's rhetoric is a n elaborate, and actually quite fascinating,
discourse of juxtaposition in which ideas first put forth in
Allaire's 1972 study are intermingled with citations from medieval
theory and woven together with authorial commentary so as to
fabricate what is presented as a n 'authentic' medieval musikalische
An~chauungsform.~2N owhere is the juxtaposition of medieval and
modern more obvious than at the beginning of the sections on
Dorian, Lydian and Mixolydian in part IV,where the musical
analyses are set forth. Berger begins each section with a quote
from Jacques of Li&geon the species of fifth and fourth proper to
each mode, labels each species with hexachord syllables, and
attaches those syllables to a unique hexachord configuration.
'The authentic tritus . . . consists of the third species of fifth and the third
species of fourth above.' As with the Dorian mode, in this definition
Jacques of Likge captures the essence of the Lydian mode. A combina-
tion of the third species of fifth and fourth gives the following solmiza-
tion scheme: fa-fa/fa-fa. A fa-fa fifth is possible only in a disjunct
sequence of two hexachords, the sequence natural/hard. [Example 6
follows]63
ut re mi fa sol la
ut re mi fa sol la
Example 6 Lydian combination of natural and hard hexachords

(Hexachord, Mensur, p. 186)
62 Hexachord, Mensur, pp. 90-1. The study on which he depends is Gaston Allaire, The Theory
ofHexachords, Solmization and the Modal System, Musicological Studies and Documents 24
(American Institute of Musicology, 1972). Since Allaire's study received very critical
reviews from a number of respected scholars, Berger's reliance on it seems ill advised.
' "Authentus tritus . . . constat ex tertia specie diapente <inferius> et ex tertia specie
diatessaron superius." Wie schon beim dorischen Modus ist fiir Jacobus von Liittich mit
dieser Bestimmung der lydische Modus in seinen wesentlichen Momenten erfaBt. Eine
Kombination von dritter Quint-und Quartspecies ergibt folgendes Solmisationsschema:
fa-falfa-fa. Eine Quinte fa-fa ist nur in einer disjunkten Folge zweier Hexachorde
moglich, etwa in der Folge Hexachord naturale/durum: [example].' Hexachord, Mensur,
p. 186. The formulations for Dorian and Mixolydian are found on pages 161 and 220
respectively. Note that Jacques of LiPge himself does not label the end points of the
species with solmisation syllables.
Allaire furnishes the model for such hexachord pairings, as is

apparent from juxtaposition of Berger's hexachordal paradigm for
Lydian (Example 6) with Allaire's (Example 7). As happens too
frequently in Christian Berger's study, the modern voice here
ends up quite overwhelming the medieval voice. In the particu-
lar case of the authentic tritus just cited, there is some irony
in the fact that Berger claims natural and hard hexachords as
proper to the Lydian (or fifth) mode, while Jerome of Moravia
actually associates natural and soft hexachords with the fifth mode
on F.64
Lydm in regular position

1 Disiunct hexechord-order Naturale-durum
L I
Hypolydian in regular position
f Coniunct bexachord-orderNaturale-moue
( Disjunct Hexachord-order Moue-name

Lydian in irregular position (Ionian transposed)
Example 7 Lydian and Hypolydian hexachord combinations (G. Allaire, The Theory
ofHexachordr, p. 8 3 )
T H E MUSICAL READINGS
The elaborate theoretical model Christian Berger constructs

has as its central purpose recovery of mental habits and under-
standing that medieval musicians brought to their readings of
musical notations and implemented in performances. The area
that particularly engages his interest is the interpretation of
accidentals, which he consistently links to determinants of mode
See quotation above, p. 83. In small print, Berger does acknowledge (in his own metaphor
of hexachords) that some theorists, Jerome of Moravia among them, do accept Bb reg-
ularly in mode 5, but he downplays this and does not recognise in this circumstance a
challenge to his own claim.
Sarah Fuller
and hexachord. 'The interpretation of accidentals in the Dorian
mode is stamped by the close interaction between modal and
hexachordal perspectives, which complement each other.'65 As
already pointed out, notated accidentals offer a particular threat
to Berger's belief in the operation of mode within fourteenth-
century polyphony. To fully understand where that belief leads
(in his particular formulation), it is necessary to examine his
analyses and transcriptions, to scrutinise them both in terms of
the musical text he proposes and in terms of the performance
strategies he attributes to medieval singers. The examples
selected for discussion here are necessarily few in number, but
they are representative and illustrate patterns of analysis,
theoretical explanation and transcription that recur throughout
his study.
Christian Berger's response to notated accidentals in the sources
typically involves two moves. The first is rejection of a n 'ordinary'
reading of one or more notated accidentals either because the
result would run contrary to modal propriety or because he can
see no contrapuntal justification for the inflection, or both.66The
second is to interpret the accidental as symbol of a hexachord
configuration and to justify it on those grounds. Take, for
instance, the junction between the clos ending and the begin-
ning of the second section in the three-voice ballade L'ardent
de~ier.~'The manuscript shows the cantus leaping upward from
the c of the clos to an f# at the beginning of the next phrase
(Example 8a). Berger resists that f# on the grounds that the
cantus melodic tritone 'breaks the relationship to the preceding
section' and that 'no contrapuntal justification is present' since
the tenor leaps to a and the cantus g comes some time later in
65 'Die Interpretation der Akzidentien im dorischen Modus ist gepragt durch das enge,
einander erganzende Zusammenwirken modaler und hexachordaler Gesichtspunkte.'
Hexachord, Mensur, p. 184. This viewpoint extends to all the modes.
66 By an 'ordinary' reading I mean the common theoretical dictum that round b is to be
sung asfa and square b as mi. (See, for example, The Berkeley Manuscript, p. 52, and
Johannes Boen, Musica, quoted note 46 above.)
67 Transcribed by W. Apel, French Secular Compositions of the Fourteenth Century, Corpus
Mensurabilis Musicae 53 (American Institute of Musicology, 1971), vol. 11, pp. 63-4; and
G. Greene, French Secular Music: Ballades and Canons, Polyphonic Music of the Fourteenth
Century (Monaco, 1982), vol. XX, pp. 168-9.
the line.68 He offers a wholly diatonic reading in which the 'square

b' on the cantus f is interpreted as signaling a conjunct hexa-
chord combination (Example 8b).69It is, he concedes, difficult to
justify why a sign is necessary here, and anyone conversant
with solmisation will realise that the scribe need only have left
these dozen notes of the cantus without sign and they would
fit comfortably within the natural hexachord. The probable expla-
nation Berger devises is twofold: first, that the cantus b-quadraturn
indicates that the tenor should remain in the soft hexachord and,
secondly, that it is a 'cautionary sign' prohibiting a raising of that
pitch.'O Both parts of this explanation seem contrived. According
to his own observations about the impropriety of an f# in bar 18
(as defined by diatonic norms), the cantus singer would have no
inclination to inflect that pitch unless explicitly instructed to do so
through a notational sign. In the circumstances, the sign can
hardly be 'cautionary'. It would seem perverse to introduce a
b-quadraturn before the f unless the desired result were indeed
inflection of that pitch. As for the impact on the tenor, it should
be remarked that it is Berger, not the scribe, who contrives
the tenor's soft hexachord by introducing a n editorial b-rotundurn
in bar 20. In addition, the voices of the song were, of course,
written successively, not in score. It is stretching credibility rather
far to claim that a sign seen by the cantus singer is an instruc-
tion for how the tenor singer is to solmise his part. Besides its
weaknesses of logic, this contorted explanation is not trans-
ferable to a similar passage from the ballade Ane a fagos (located
a few folios away from L'ardent desier in the unique source for both),
where the contratenor supports a parallel cantus inflection.
(Example &).
68 '. . . mit dem Tritonusschritt die Beziehung zum vorigen Abschnitt unterbrochen wor-
den war.' 'Abgesehen vom Tritonusschritt c'-fis' zwischen ouvert-SchluB und dem Beginn
des Abgesanges liegt auch keine kontrapunktische Rechtfertigung fiir eine solche
Erhohung vor.'Hexachord, Mensur, p. 152 (I have reversed the order of these statements.)
Regarding the first objection, note Johannes Boen's remark (Musica, p. 52) that although
the tritone is quite harsh it ought not to be rejected as despicable.
69 For his hexachord schemes for C-Lydian, the category to which he assigns L'ardent desier,
see Hexachord, Mensur, pp. 186-8. There the conjunct configuration is described as hard-
natural.
70 Hexachord, Mensur, pp. 152-3.
Sarah Fuller
Example 8a L'ardent desier, bars 16-22
(Apel, French Secular Compositions, vol. 11, p. 63)
Example 86 L'ardent desier, bars 17-22 (Hexachord, Mensur, p. 152)
88
I I
de 1 Por I
les char - I dons que I le man -1 gue I 1
Example & Ane a fagos, bars 35-43
That this is not an isolated case of ad hoc reasoning is shown in

Berger's approach to the opening of the anonymous ballade LJescu
d'amours, where a b -quadraturn stands before the second pitch, c, of
the cantus (Example 9a).71Berger admits that a c# in bar 2 is con-
ceivable but notes that it would entail a G# in the contratenor.
That inflection he rejects, for it would disturb the move from G
to D-u executed over the first three bars by the Tenor-Contratenor
pair, and would unduly emphasize the a, upper fifth to D in bar
3.72Thus, because of its untoward effect upon the contratenor the
sharp on the second pitch of the cantus cannot be taken at face
value. Its signification must be argued from the subsequent course
of the cantus, which stays within the c-f fourth over the first 10
Transcribed by Apel, French Secular Compositions, vol. 11, pp. 69-70; Greene, French Secular
Music, pp. 175-7; and N. Wilkins, A 14th-Centuly Repertolyjom the Codex Reina, Corpus
Mensurabilis Musicae 36 (1966), pp. 25-7.
72 Hexachord, Mensur, p. 253.
Sarah Fuller
bars, but later (bar 14) moves into the (lower) soft hexachord. 'The
b-quadraturn at the beginning of the cantus is consequently a ref-
erence to the conjunct combination of the hard and natural hexa-
chords that are needed for solmisation of this p a ~ s a g e . " ~His
edition provides an entirely diatonic, uninflected opening of the
song (Example 96).
Example 9a L'escu d'amours, bars 1-10
(Apel, French Secular Compositions, vol. 11, p. 6 9 )
Canons of notational logic, contrapuntal precepts and analyti-

cal verdict all seem stretched here. Since the cantus remains
within the natural hexachord over the first 13 breves, and since
the subsequent move into the lower soft hexachord involves only
a routine permutation, one would think it quite superfluous for
73 'Das kdurum zu Beginn des Cantus ist somit ein Hinweis auf die konjunkte Kombination
der Hexachorde durum/naturale, die zur Solmisation dieses Abschnittes benotigt wird.'
Hexachord, Mensur, p. 253.
Ca
Example 96 L'escu d'amours, bars 1-10 (Hexachord, Mensur, p. 253)
5 - 6 6-8 5 - 6 8 5 5 6-8
Example 9c L'escu d'amours, bars 1-6, Cantus-Tenor contrapunctus reduction
the scribe to signal a hardlnatural hexachord combination on the

second breve. Lacking any sign, the cantus could be solmised in
the natural hexachord without problem. The notated raising of
the c can be justified contrapuntally as securing a major-sixth-to-
octave progression between cantus and tenor, bars 2-3 (Example
91
Sarah Fuller
9 ~ ) Berger's
. ~ ~ rejection of this inflection privileges a secondary
relationship (that between tenor and contratenor) over the pri-
mary contrapunctus duet (between cantus and tenor) and dictates
that the other, separately notated, voices will largely determine
how the cantus singer reads his part. For the analytical judgement
that a raised contratenor G# in bar 2 would both disturb a fun-
damental tonal relationship and confer excessive prominence upon
the contratenor a, there is no authoritative support. Why in bars
1-3 should the tenor-contratenor motion from unison G to fifth
' D-a take precedence over the conventional cantus-tenor contra-
puntal progression from G-d fifth through major sixth to D-d
octave? How can a judgement of undue emphasis on the con-
tratenor a be sustained, particularly given the frequency with
which the so-called 'double-leading-note cadence' occurs in ars nova
music?75Far from supporting the hypothesis that L'escu d'amours is
cast in a D-Dorian mode, Berger's explanations for suppressing
the c# in bar 2 and his interpretations of subsequent L-quadratum
signs before c as hexachord markers seem a desperate attempt to
save his assertion that mode was a determining factor in the com-
position of fourteenth-century secular songs.76
In Fuiihs de m y , also, preconceptions of modal integrity impinge
decisively upon Berger's interpretation of the n ~ t a t i o n . This
~ ' song,
which closes on a C octave and fifth, poses a problem to the the-
ory of modal conception, because the cantus is devoid of 'signa-
ture', while tenor and contratenor parts both possess a 'signature'
of Bb and Eb (Example 10a). Berger's transcription brings the can-
tus into line with the lower voices so that all the e and nearly all
74 'Sexta, scilicet tonus cum diapente, petit duplum vel quintam.' Speculum Musicae, book
4, ch. 50, p. 123.Jacques of Lihge here takes for granted that a sixth moving to an octave
will be a diapente-plus-a-tone, i.e. a major sixth.
'
j
See Sarah Fuller, 'Tendencies and Resolutions: The Directed Progression in Ars Nova
Music', Journal ofMusic Theoy, 36 (1992), pp. 229-58. There is, in addition, the question
whether the contratenor G must necessarily be raised if the cantus sings c#. Apel pro-
vides no editorial ficta for the contratenor in his edition (my Example 9a).
'6 Berger's transcription of the entire song appears in Hexachord, Menrur, pp. 270-3. There
he places the natural sign in front of the opening cantus d , whereas in the example on
p. 253 he places it over the c in bar 2 in the position and typography of an editorial acci-
dental. In all, he suppresses five notated c#s (bars 2, 26, 38, 57, 70), one g# (bar 21)
and one f# (bar 44) in the cantus of L'escu d'amours.
77 Transcribed by Apel, French Secular Compositions, vol. 11, pp. 50-1; Greene, French Secular
Music, pp. 137-9; and Wilkins, A 14th-Centuy Repertoy, pp. 29-30.
the b pitches in the melody are lowered (Example His claim

in this case is that 'Although the cantus has no signature, the sig-
nature of two flats, on B and E, is also valid for this voice through
a n intellectualis transposicio [mental t r a n ~ p o s i t i o n ] . 'The
~ ~ footnote
attributing the term intellectualis transposicio to the Berkeley
Anonymous gives this notion a truly medieval flavor. But the sense
in which Berger employs it differs so substantially from that of its
originator that the term voids any historical justification for his
reading of the cantus line.
Pa: no b
-
1. Fui
2. Car l
de moy
e v l o - I $1
Example 10a Fuiiks de moy, bars 1-1 1
'8 Berger's transcription appears in Hexachord, Memur, pp. 264-7. The three bks allowed all
come at primary cadence points.
79 'Obwohl der Cantus kein Vorzeichen hat, gelten auch in dieser Stimme vermittels einer
intellectualis tmnsposicio die Vorzeichen b und es.' Hexachord, Memur, p. 173 and note 21
for the subsequent discussion.
Sarah Fuller
Example lob Fuiibs de moy, bars 1-1 1 (Hexachord, Mensur, p. 264)
The Berkeley Anonymous introduces the term intellectualis trans-

posicio in the course of his deliberations on the coniunctae, the extra
pitches inserted within the gamut to provide half-steps not other-
wise available on the Guidonian hand.80Through this concept, the
new pitches and their home hexachords are rationalised as con-
ceptual transpositions (a tone higher or lower) of regular hard,
natural or soft hexachords. The rationalisation serves a purpose,
for as mental phenomena the inserted half-steps cannot be sup-
posed to challenge the sanctity of the diatonic gamut.81 In each
80 One of the two definitions of coniuncta advanced by the theorist specifies it to be the
mental transposition of a hexachord to some location above or below its proper one. The
Berkeley Manuscript, pp. 52-4.
The Berkeley Manuscrijt, pp. 56-66. The theorist characterises five of his coniunctae as men-
tal transpositions and four as natural ones.
case the theorist specifies precisely the sign used to indicate the
coniuncta pitch. So, for the seventh coninucta he writes:
The seventh coniuncta is received between high d and e and it is signalled
on the e with the sign b-[rotundurn], where fa will be sung. And this hexa-
chord begins on high bb, ending on high g, and it is sung by way of the
natural. For it is the natural transposition to a lower locus of the prop-
erty or hexachord that begins on high c.82
The theorist never applies the term intellectualis transposicio to a
wholesale transposition of a melodic line, but only to an individ-
ual hexachord. He links it with local moments when justification
is needed for pitches absent from the standard hand.
Proceeding-from his own premise that the cantus is actually
meant to be read as C-Dorian, Berger explains why the e begin-
ning the second phrase (bar 9) must be eb, even though preceded
by a b -quadraturn sign.
The next cantus accidental also, a !,-quadratum on the e-line of bar 9, is
to be interpreted as a reference to the hexachord structure. Analogously
to the b-quadraturn [on b] in bar 3 it indicates that the pitch eb in bar 9
is a fa supra mi of the hexachord on bb83 [Example 1Ob] .
Berger's eb is the seventh coniuncta of the Berkeley Anonymous, and
that theorist states precisely that that pitch would be signalled by
a b-rotundurn on the e (see quote above). Here is indeed a selective
approach to medieval sources. Berger is willing to (mis)appropri-
ate the Berkeley Anonymous's notion of intellectualis transposicio to
bolster his own position on the FuiiLs de rnoy cantus, but he ignores
that theorist's clear stipulation on how the seventh conjuncta (eb)
is to be notated and disregards the patent discrepancy between
the theorist's precept and his own reading of the notation.84
In addition to the selective and skewed reading of the theoret-
ical sources, the premise that FuiiLs de Moy must be homogeneous
modally, that it must be 'in' C-Dorian, mars Berger's approach.
82 'Septima coniuncta accipitur inter D et E acutas, et signatur in E signo b, ubi dicetur
fa, et incipit eius deduccio in B acuta, finiens in G acuta, et cantatur per naturam. Nam
ipsa est proprietatis seu deduccionis incipientis in C acuta ad locum inferiorem natu-
ralis transposicio.' The Berkeley Manuscrij3t, p. 62.
83 'Auch das nachste Akzidens im Cantus, ein kdurum auf der e-Linie des T. 9, IaRt sich
als Hinweis auf die Hexachord-Struktur interpretieren. Analog dem bdurum in T. 3
weist es darauf hin, daR der Ton es' in T. 9 einfa supra mi des Hexachords iiber B ist.'
Hexachord, Menrur, pp. 174-5.
84 The standard editions of Ape1 and Greene, against which Berger pits his transcriptions,
do accord with the Berkeley Anonymous's teachings.
Sarah Fuller
Whereas it should be presented as a hypothesis to be examined,
this premise is the solid rock on which his reading of the cantus
is built. But why should not the scribe have supplied a 'signature'
of one or two flats in the cantus if it were meant to be perceived
and read in the same 'tonal realm' as the other two voices, or why
should he not have notated straightforward local Ebs when that
pitch was desired? Berger never directly confronts such obvious
questions. His assertion that a mi sign is provided before the e in
bar 9 when a fa is really wanted seems perverse, especially since
the tenor and contratenor voices are singing Ebs notated with b-
rotundum. For cantus bar 9 and elsewhere, Berger's approach has
the cantus singer applying quite different rules for reading acci-
d e n t a l ~before E s and Bs than those observed by the other two
singers. Such a discrepancy in the way fellow singers would read
their parts appears quite illogical.
In the case of Fuiiks, we can also get a sense of early-fifteenth-
century reception through Oswald von Wolkenstein's contrafactum,
Wolaux gesell werjagen ~ o h l The
. ~ ~two German sources for the con-
trafactum notate the cantus as in the French sources but omit the
tenor and contratenor signatures, thus changing the tonal quality of
the original ballade - but not in the direction of the C-Dorian upon
which Berger insists. That the cantus should be so preserved and
that tonal quality in the lower voices might so easily be altered may
well give rise to doubts about the degree to which musicians of the
fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries perceived the identity of a
polyphonic song as being bound up with a particular modal category.
As in L'ardent desier, the second section of Fuiib de Moy appears
to begin with a n inflected sonority that in this case involves extra-
hexachordal tritone leaps in tenor and contratenor from stable clos
pitches (Example 1la). Berger objects to standard readings of F#
and c# in tenor and contratenor respectively, both because of the
tritones and because the tendency sonority 'does not lead to a con-
sonant sound' - does not resolve properly.86 His transcription
85 Edited by Greene, French Secular Music, pp. 140-42. A diplomatic transcription of the
version in Vienna, ~sterreichischeNationalbibliothek, Cod. 2777, fols. 15'-16, may be
found in J. Wolf, Geschichte der Mensural-Notation von 1250 bis 1460 (1904; repr. Hildesheim,
1965), vol. 11, pp. 142-3.
a6 '. . . die Auflosung dieses Strebeklanges . . . nicht zu einem konsonanten Klang fiihrt'.
Hexachord, Mensur, p. 155. On the concept of tendency sonority, see Fuller, 'Tendencies
and Resolutions', pp. 230-3.
occludes the b -mi inflections, and produces a bland juxtaposition

of C-G-c and F-a-c sonorities between the two sections (Example
1 lb). But how valid are his criteria for what constitutes appropri-
ate resolution? O n the face of it, tenor F# moves appropriately to
G and contratenor c# to d. That the contratenor first circles around
the d before landing on it for a breve duration (bar 29) and that
the tenor has meanwhile descended from its breve G to a conso-
nant D can hardly be taken as a transgression of the normal rules
of counterpoint. 'Staggered' presentations of consonant sonorities
are legion in the works of Machaut and his contemporaries. Once
again, the objections Berger raises constitute a n artificial setup
Example 1 l a F u i i b de rnoy, bars 24-29
( A p e l , French Secular Compositions, vol. 11, p. 50)
Example l lb F u i i b de rnoy, bars 22-27 (Hexachord, Mensur, p. 264-5)
97
Sarah Fuller
for the conclusion that 'these accidentals must represent signs for
hexachord ~ o l r n i s a t i o n ' . ~ ~
The mental processes Christian Berger attributes to those
singing contratenor and tenor in this segment of Fuiib de m y ,
whereby they grasp the solmisation implications which he imputes
to the written accidentals, are both ingenious and improbable. In
brief, Berger claims that the contratenor singer, faced with an
ascent after the clos, mutates in bar 24 from la to re (of the soft
hexachord). But because d, the ultimate goal in the next section,
must (!) be solmised mi, the c-sol in bar 25 requires a natural sign
to alert the singer to a conjunct hexachord combination, and an
immediate permutation to c-re. One could counter that a sign [and
on c!] is unnecessary to secure an eb. The d could just as well be
solmised as la in the soft hexachord and the minim e above it
(which he wants to be eb) solmised as a fa sups la, a rule Berger
does not hesitate to use e l s e ~ h e r eAs
. ~for
~ the tenor, Berger grants
that a C-Fb could be rendered unproblematically as re-sol. The b -
quadraturn sign before the F in this case, he argues, actually refers
to the cantus, instructing that singer to solmise a-mi, and looks
forward to the tenor, bars 30-32, 'which, corresponding to the sign
in bar 27, must also be solmised in the soft hexachord with mi'.^^
This second reason is clearly specious, because the notated tenor
bb of bar 28 along with the explicit Eb of bar 31 (both inscribed
within the staff, not as signatures) already ensure that bars 30-32
will be solmised in the soft and lower Bb hexachords. For that, no
sign would be necessary on the F of bar 25. The cantus explana-
tion is also suspect: first, because it involves transferring the
import of a sign in one voice part to another that is separately
notated; secondly, because it presupposes cantus bb in bars 26-27
(which is already an editorial interpretation); and thirdly, because
it is not the tenor disjunct hexachord synapse that would pertain
to the cantus but a conjunct one involving a re-sol permutation on
the cantus c of bar 24.90Since the scribe did not hesitate to write
8' 'Auch dieser Akzidentien Hinweise fiir die Solmisation darstellen sollen.' Hexachord,
M e w u r , p. 155.
88 See p. 76 above, and also his outline of hexachord structure in the C-Dorian mode,
Hexachord, Mensur, ex. 16, p. 172.
89 '. . . die entsprechend dem Zeichen des T. 27 ebenfalls im Hexachord molle mit a-mi zu
solmisieren sind'. Hexachord, Mensur, p. 156.
90 See Berger's illustration, Hexachord, Mensur, p. 89.
a b-rotundum when a bb was desired in bar 18 (and subsequently)
in the cantus, he would surely have chosen a direct route in the
next phrase and placed a n explicit b-rotundum before the 6s of bars
25-26 if it were necessary to specify that pitch. Berger has the
scribe (or the composer) at one point supplying a clear sign for bb
inflection in the cantus and right afterwards eschewing this direct
means of communication and opting for a highly indirect signal
that involves disjunct hexachords in another voice, the tenor. As
he applies and explains his theories, singers would have had to
shift instantaneously from straightforward, direct readings of acci-
d e n t a l ~to readings involving very complex mental processes,
including transfer of meanings from one notated voice part to
another. Besides attributing implausibly inconsistent actions to
singers, Berger implicitly promotes an odd conception of how they
approached musical notation. The medieval singers he invokes in
his analyses of L'ardent desier, L'escu d'amours, Fuiiks de m y and other
songs read musical notation not to re-create a song in sound but
as though the notation were a theory textbook and their main pre-
occupation were to preserve modal integrity. The lengthy expla-
nations he works out so laboriously on paper and with the parts
in score not only go against the grain of medieval theoretical writ-
ings and medieval notation in parts but ascribe improbable theo-
retical understandings and motivations to medieval singers.
For no song in the Reina repertory does there exist a n explicit
fourteenth-century commentary to 'which one could appeal on
questions of scribal accuracy or intent regarding accidentals.
Contemporaneous commentary does, however, exist for one pas-
sage to which Berger applies his usual mode of reasoning. This is
a short two-voice example from book -11, c. 34 of Ugolino de
Orvie to's Declaratio Musicae Disciplinae ( 1430-5). Ugolino devises
two compact two-voice illustrations for purposes of explicating the
reasons for which musicajcta is employed: 'In these explanatory
examples, we grasp the causes for forming musicajcta, which the
square and round 6s clearly show. Round and square b indicate the
perfection that they impart to imperfect dissonances and the sweet
concord they render to
91 'In his demonstratis exemplis causas fictionis musicae fictae comprehendimus, quas B
et b clare demonstrant; demonstrant enim B et b perfectionem quam faciunt disso-
nantiis imperfectis et dulcem harmoniam eisdem
Sarah Fuller
For the first example, the one to which Berger addresses him-
self, Ugolino details the rationale for each of the three acciden-
t a l ~notated in the upper voice (Example His remarks run
as follows:
The bquadratum on the penultimate note instructs the performer to
sing mi on thef, so the interval with the tenor a becomes a major sixth.
The perfected sixth makes a direct connection to the perfect octave
following so as 'to establish closure clearly to the discriminating
~nderstanding'.~~
The first b-rotundum functions not to 'perfect the dissonance' [i.e. the
imperfect consonance] but to colour it, and to put it closer to the fol-
lowing 'perfection' [the A octave]. Without the flat, the performer would
solmise re-mi, a whole-step. With it, he sings mi-fa, a half-step.
The second b-rotundum [on el creates a semitone with the following
[pitch], so that this interval will be joined more directly to the following
unison.
Example 12a Ugolino of Orvieto, Declaratio Musicae Disciplinae, book 2, ch. 34, first
musicajcta example
(ed. A. Seay, Corpus Scriptorum de Musica 7, vol. 11, ex. 11-128)
Example 126 Ugolino of Orvieto, Declaratio Musicae Disciplinae, book 2, ch. 34, first
musicajcta example as edited by Christian Berger (Hexachord, Mensur, p. 142)
quam tribuunt.' Declaratio Musicae Disciplinae, ed. A. Seay, Corpus Scriptorum de Musica
7, vol. 11, book 2, ch. 34, p. 47. Ugolino uses the terms 'imperfect interval' and 'disso-
nance' interchangably to designate thirds, sixths and their compounds (Declaratio, book
2, ch. 5 , p. 10).
92 Declaratio Musicae Disciplinae, book 2, ch. 34, pp. 47-8. Not shown in the transcription is
a b-ja sign before the f four notes from the end. This flat is to ensure that the f will be
sung fa, in distinction to the followingA#] inflected as mi.
93 '. . . ut intelligenti terminos metienti clarissime constat'. Declaratio Musicae Disciplinae, p.
47.
Ugolino's commentary makes it clear that the signs are there to

inflect the pitches before which they stand, and that the inflec-
tions are intended to tint ('colour') imperfect consonances and to
forge closer intervallic bonds with a subsequent perfect interval.94
Neither hexachordal structure nor mode appears anywhere on his
horizon of explanation or expectation.
Although ugolino to have supplied all the signs for
pitch inflection necessary to his example, Berger intervenes with
a modal reading of the passage (Example 126). With a G final, and
one bb in the discant, the mode must be G-Dorian; hence both 6s
in the lower voice must be sung as bb. 'Plainly, these factors are so
strongly anchored in the oral performance practice of the time',
he declares, 'that they themselves are operative in these theoret-
ical examples.'95 This is to misunderstand thoroughly the context
and nature of Ugolino's examples. In this chapter 'De ficta rnusica,'
Ugolino is himself setting the foundations for appropriate perfor-
mance practice. His carefully constructed examples are intended
to teach singers what to do, and why; they are by no means exer-
cises on which singers are invited to apply prior knowledge of per-
formance practice. Berger has here taken the initiative and not
only has imposed a modal interpretation on Ugolino's example but
has construed it within a realm of 'practical music' to which it does
not belong. We can hardly doubt that Ugolino, a thorough and
loquacious theorist, indeed notated and described this example as
he wished it to be received.
Significantly, Berger does not discuss Ugolino's second illustra-
tion, which would be much more difficult to square with his
own mindset (Example 13). In this phrase, the upper voice
includes both an eb and an eh, while the lower sings first bt], then
bb. Ugolino's commentary makes clear that the symbols b -
quadraturn and b-rotundurn stand for actual pitch inflections (raising
94 Ugolino's insistence on propinquity between imperfect consonance and its perfect sequel
evidently derives from Marchettus of Padua; see Lucidarium, ed. J. Herlinger (Chicago,
1985), Tractatus 5, chs. 2 and 6, pp. 200-2, 206-22.
9j 'Offensichtlich sind diese Faktoren so fest in der miindlichen Auffiihrungstradition der
Zeit verankert, dal3 sie selbst in diesen Theoretiker-Beispielen wirksam werden.'
Hexachord, Memur, p. 142. Although Ugolino makes plain that book 2 of his Declaratio con-
cerns counterpoint (ch. 1, pp. 3-4), Berger curiously opines that this example connects
with the plana tradition: 'Es sind Verdeutlichungen der Contrapunctus-Lehre, die damit
zugleich ihre feste Einbindung in die Lehrtradition der musica plana unterstrichen' (p.
142).
Sarah Fuller
or lowering the foilowing pitch by a half-step) and that they are

motivated by contrapuntal consideration^.^^ The shifting inflec-
tions within each voice preclude construing this phrase within the
sort of uniform modal template that Christian Berger tenaciously
maintains for most of his readings. As with his approach to writ-
ten treatises discussed above, Berger employs a selective process
with music, setting aside material that would contradict his image
of the medieval perspective. Berger appropriates Ugolino's first
example because he can turn it to his own ends, but he bypasses
the second, which would be far more difficult to reconcile with his
modal paradigm. His imposition of a modal reading upon Ugolino's
first example, using principles quite foreign to the explicit pre-
cepts of that meticulous theorist, cannot inspire confidence in his
modal readings of ars nova songs. Nor does Berger's inattention to
Ugolino's summary statement of the principles he has just illus-
trated fit with his avowed purpose of discovering and implement-
ing historically informed perspectives. 'From these examples we
understand the necessity of musicajcta for perfection of consonance
and tinting of dissonances through which pleasing concords are
prod~ced.'~'
Example 13 Ugolino of Orvieto, Decla~atioMusicae Disciplinae, book 2, ch. 34,

second musicajicta example (ed. Seay, vol. 11, ex. 11-129)
96 The transcription does not show a b-fa sign inscribed in the b space before the first lig-
ature in the lower voice, which indicates that the a-c ligature is to be solmised mi-sol.
In the second example, the tenor approaches the cadence with b p s , the very change
Berger introduces in his reading of the first example. Since Ugolino explicitly notates
the bb in his second example, he would surely have notated it in the first had he con-
sidered it to be in any way necessary. Note also that Berger's reinterpretations of acci-
d e n t a l ~that contradict modal integrity consistently rest on taking them as hexachordal
signs. That strategy will not work for the second Ugolino example, because the theorist
himself explains the reason for and practical consequences of each notated accidental.
97 'Cognovimus ergo ex praemissis musicae fictae necessitatem consonantiarum perfec-
tionem ac dissonantiarum colorationem, harmoniarum amoenitatem producentem.'
Declaratio Musicae Disciplinae, p. 48. These summary remarks on t h e j c t a examples con-
tain not a hint of support for Christian Berger's notion that mode is a factor pertinent
to decisions about musicajcta. In his Musica Ficta: Theories of Accidental Injections, Karol
Berger prints both of Ugolino's examples and discusses them in terms of the theorist's
own observations (pp. 124-5).
Paradoxically, Hexachord, Mensur und Textstruktur can be read as

an elaborate argument against the hypothesis that mode is a gov-
erning force within ars nova polyphonic song. If mode were opera-
tional in that repertory, it should not be necessary to resort to
such convoluted reasoning, such misrepresentations of theoretical
teachings, or such elaborate and improbable protocols for reading
notation as appear in Berger's study in order to discern its oper-
ation. If the notated pitch inflections are such as they appear to
be, and as the theorists who describe musica$cta represent them
to be, then (as Berger implicitly acknowledges in his zeal to rein-
terpret or suppress them) many songs deviate so conspicuously
from modal norms as to belong to a distinctly different realm of
tonal order.
REFLECTIONS O N HISTORICAL RECONSTRUCTION
In his essays on the writing of history, the distinguished histori-

ographer Hayden White argues that at a metahistorical level his-
torical narratives must be considered 'verbal fictions, the contents
of which are as much invented asfound and the forms of which have
more in common with their counterparts in literature than they
have with those in the sciences'.98 He observes that paradigms
of explanation and modes of emplotment adopted by individual
historians exert a commanding influence on the results of their
scholarship, in large part by determining their selection and inter-
pretation of evidence.99Recognition of the fictive element in his-
torical accounts, rather than reducing historical narrative to the
status of ideology or propaganda, 'serves as a potent antidote to
the tendency of historians to become captive of ideological pre-
conceptions which they do not recognize as such but honor as the
"correct" perception of "the way things really are".'loO
Viewed from White's position, Christian Berger's study of mode
and hexachord in ars nova polyphonic song appears flawed at its
roots, not because personal interpretation and selectivity enter
into it, but because the author fails to acknowledge, or even recog-
98 'The Historical Text as Literary Artifact', in H. White, Tropics of Discourse: Essaqir in

Cultural Criticism (Baltimore and London, 1978), p. 82 (emphasis in the original).
99 'Interpretation in History', in Tropics ofDiscourse, pp. 51-80.
'The Historical Text as Literary Artifact', p. 99 (emphasis in the original).
Sarah Fuller
nise, how deeply liis own assumptions, his own sense of 'how things
must have been', have stamped his formulation of a medieval
musikalische Anschauungsf~rm.~~~ His investigation of ars nova song
implements (often implicitly) idiosyncratic beliefs about the
nature of written music theory, the relation of composed music to
theoretical precept, and the mentalities of singers in that time.
These beliefs, which operate as unexamined premises, skew the
evidence from theorists and from concrete notations to a n
unacceptable degree. They control and ultimately confound his
results.
Central to Christian Berger's argument that all fourteenth-cen-
tury French musicians approached polyphony from a single van-
tage point is the assumption that the written theory transmits
uniform doctrines, which it sets forth in straightforward prose.
Some years ago, Lawrence Gushee stressed that proper interpre-
tation of medieval theory involves considered judgements about
specific contexts, purposes and intellectual traditions surrounding
individual authors and texts. Susan Fast has recently reinforced
this lesson with her analysis of the multi-layered and complex dis-
course in late-medieval theory treatises.lo2 Close comparison of,
for example, the Tractatus de Musica of Jerome of Moravia, the
Speculum Musicae of Jacques of Likge, the Quatuor Principalia, the
'Berkeley Treatise' and Johannes Boen's Musica (all but the last
prominent authorities in Berger's narrative) reveals both differ-
ences in approach to individual topics and divergencies in exposi-
tory language. Although the authors generally agree about
standard musical elements - the Guidonian gamut, three primary
hexachord types, and eight modal categories, among others - the
actual manner in which they explicate these elements and the
terms they employ vary from one to another. Christian Berger
asserts uniform dogma about mode in polyphony and about
Io1 This is, of course, not the only perspective from which the study appears flawed. It also
departs from standard historical methodology, for instance in suppressing a full range
of available data.
'02 L. Gushee, 'Questions of Genre in Medieval Treatises on Music', in Gattungen der Musik
in Eiweldarstellungen, ed. W . Arlt (Bern, 1973), pp. 365-433, esp. 366; S. Fast, 'Bakhtin
and the Discourse of Late Medieval Music Theory', Plainsong and Medieval Music, 5 (1996),
pp. 175-91. Fast skilfully argues the relevance of Bakhtin's categories of heteroglossia,
dialogism and polyphony to interpretation of late-medieval theory texts.
mode/hexachord integration, which he assembles through a n intri-
cate patchwork of medieval quotations and modern assertions. The
patchwork methodology itself signals that no one fourteenth-
century theorist presents in a coherent way the modal theory that
Berger constructs. Moreover, as pointed out above, Berger's
removal of theoretical quotations from their original contexts
imparts quite new meanings to some of them. But even the notion
that medieval musicians who read or heard these treatises in their
integral state would have come away imbued with uniform theo-
retical doctrines seems suspect, particularly since the theorists
themselves not infrequently relay multiple viewpoints.lo3
Throughout his study, Berger proceeds as though polyphonic
composition in the fourteenth century were rule-bound and
demurely, even legalistically, followed theoretical doctrine. This
attitude is particularly conspicuous in his claims that specific writ-
ten accidentals cannot signify a raised or lowered pitch, either
because an unusual interval results, or because no specific con-
trapuntal justification accounts for the progression, or because the
inflected pitch would run counter to modal propriety.lo4Putting
aside scepticism that the theorists actually articulate analytical
principles of this nature, such observations rest on two premises:
that music-theoretical writings were directed towards composi-
tional practice, and that their doctrines in fact controlled written
composition. One need only compare precepts from the contra-
punctus treatises with written polyphony to realise the fallacy of
such premises. As is well known, contrapuntal theory prohibits par-
allel perfect consonances and confines dissonance (if permitting it
at all) to brief moments between authorised consonances. But
inspection of polyphonic songs by so skilled a composer as
Guillaume de Machaut reveals both parallel perfect intervals
within contrapunctus foundations and prominent dissonances deco-
rating melodic surfaces and even penetrating to the contrapunctus
lo' See S. Fast, 'Bakhtin and the Discourse', pp. 179-83, for Jerome of Moravia's multiplex
exposition of 'Quid sit musica'.
Io4 SO, for example, he rejects the c# in bar 1 of the Hontepaour cantus as not contrapun-
tally motivated; not resolved on a strong beat; contrary to the a, 'proper' to the Dorian
mode; and constitutive of an interval (c#-bb) incomprehensible within 'categories of
modal melodic design' ('Kategorien modaler Melodiebildung', pp. 130-1). O n the last
point, he fails to notice that Johannes Boen, in a treatise dated 1357, accepts the c#-bb
interval (Musica, p. 67).
Sarah Fuller
frame.Io5In these respects, his songs scarcely suggest that Machaut
(who evinces a high regard for his own artistry) observed standard
contrapuntal precepts to the letter when he composed. The con-
nection of contrapunctus teaching with elementary instruction in
polyphonic improvisation problematises its relationship to elabo-
rate written polyphony.Io6 Equally problematic is the interface
between compositional process in polyphonic song and synoptic,
speculative treatises, which often operate on an idealised theo-
retical plane and build on sediments of traditional teaching. Some
theorists distinguish explicitly between theoretical and practical
facets of musical science, but these remarks themselves require
interpretation.lo7In his reluctance to grant written music any inde-
pendence from theoretical doctrine (however constructed), Berger
rather casually conflates theory and composition, musica and can-
tus, without regard for their different spheres of existence.
The force of Berger's own convictions is especially evident in the
status he accords tonal structure within the fourteenth-century
view of polyphony. For him, tonal structure - specifically, modal
structure - is the central issue in fourteenth-century polyphonic
song, a primary consideration not only for composers but for the
singers who performed the songs (see the quote above, p. 81). No
extant fourteenth-century writings on polyphony, however,
whether brief contrapunctus manuals or expansive compendia of
musical thought, direct much consideration to tonal structure in
polyphony.Io8Reading them, one rather gets the impression that
thorough knowledge of the mensural system and close attention
Io5 For parallel perfect consonances, see S. Fuller, 'Line, Contrapunctus and Structure in a
Machaut Song', MusicAnabsis, 6 (1987), p. 46, ex. 4, bars 6-7,26-27; and idem, 'Guillaume
de Machaut: De toutesjours', Models of Music Analysis: Music before 1600, ed. M. Everist
(Oxford, 1987), pp. 51-2, ex. 3.10, bar 29, and ex. 3.1 1, bars 38-39. For prominent dis-
sonances, see the edition of De toutes$ours in Models ofMusic Analysis, between cantus and
tenor bars 7, 15, 33, and the opening on a major ninth of Machaut's Ballade 30, Pas de
tor, ed. L. Schrade, The Works of Guillaume de Machaut, Polyphonic Music of the Fourteenth
Century, vol. 111, pp. 94-5.
Io6 For remarks on this point, see S. Fuller, 'On Sonority in Fourteenth-Century Polyphony:
Some Preliminary Reflections', Journal ofMusic Theory, 30 (1987), pp. 39-40.
lo' See, for example, the G a t u o r Pn'ncipalia, Treatise 1 , chs. 13-17, C S N, p. 205.
For some observations on this phenomenon, see S. Fuller, 'Modal Tenors and Tonal
Orientation in Motets of Guillaume de Machaut', Studies in Medieual Music: Festschrii for
Ernest H. Sanders (New York, 1990), pp. 209-12. O n the general issue, see S. Fuller,
'Exploring Tonal Structure in French Polyphonic Song of the Fourteenth-Century', Tonal
Structure in Early Music, ed. C . C . Judd (New York, 1998), pp. 59-84, especially 59-60,
77.
106
to intervals (their qualities, their contexts) were most pertinent
to the comprehension, composition and performance of musica men-
surabilis. In our own century, pitch relations and tonal structure
have come to loom large as criteria for musical validation, as fea-
tures largely responsible for order and coherence in musical com-
positions. Berger's preoccupation with tonal structure is thus quite
in line with current themes, but this preoccupation, in the strong
(and quite constricted) form in which he presents it, frankly does
not fit the traces of fourteenth-century musical culture we possess.
His insistence that polyphonic pieces must have been modally
uniform (exemplified in the discussion of Fuiib de my), a premise
fundamental to many of his peculiar readings of accidentals, also
lacks historical grounding. Even in the realm of plainchant, theo-
rists of the fourteenth century recognised and devised ways of
speaking about melodies they felt exhibited characteristics of more
than one mode.log
The attempt to comprehend the rich repertory of fourteenth-
century song in ways solely reflective of its own time is a worthy
but impossible quest - impossible both because the historical
record is recondite and fragmentary and because present histori-
cal contingencies inevitably impinge at many levels of the endeav-
our, from prevailing intellectual paradigms to the musical and
narrative proclivities of individual researchers. Nevertheless, it
should surely be possible to integrate judicious interpretations of
medieval treatises and musical sources with present-day concerns
so as to represent fourteenth-century polyphony in terms that a
community of scholars can regard as having some just grounding
in the historical record. Review of what theorists actually report
about musicaJcta, for example, substantiates the general princi-
ples of reading notated flats and sharps followed by Apel, Greene,
Wilkins and others in their editions of fourteenth-century songs.
In turn, the novel sounds produced by writtenjcta in the songs
resonate with Johannes Boen's delight in the marvelous possibili-
ties to be attained in daily praxis with b-ja and b-mi and his
log Marchettus of Padua establishes the category of commixture to account for melodies
that combine species from different modal categories (Lucidarium, 11.2, pp. 388-90).
Jacques of Li*ge has a category of 'cantus irregularis' that chiefly pertains to authen-
tic-plagal mixtures but might theoretically be extended to more problematic cases of
modal identity (Speculum Musicae, book 6 , ch. 77-8, pp. 221-4).
Sarah Fuller
prediction of 'many new and unheard-of things' in music such as

'the performance of the comma and of three minor semitones and
many similar things'.ll0 The exuberance of such statements should
encourage those attracted to fourteenth-century ars nova song to
accept its imaginative sound-world and, without imposing upon the
music a rigid system of modal propriety or uniformity, to continue
investigating how these songs may be edited, performed, analysed,
and heard in ways that acknowledge and respect their original his-
torical environment.
State University of New York at Stony Brook
'lo Johannes Boen, Musica, pp. 32, 45. The latter passage is quoted at length in R. Strohm,
The Rise of European Music 138&1500 (Cambridge, 1993), p. 38.
108
Early Music History (1998) Volume 17. O 1998 Cambridge Universip Press
T H E S F O R Z A R E S T O R A T I O N AND
T H E FOUNDING O F T H E DUCAL
C H A P E L S A T SANTA MARIA
DELLA SCALA I N MILAN A N D
SANT'AMBROGIO IN VIGEVANO*
Although a number of motet, madrigal and lute collections sup-

ported by local Milanese patrons were printed in Milan and Venice
during the first half of the sixteenth century, modern scholars
continue to regard
- this period in Milanese history as fallow in
musical activity. This phenomenon has resulted from a lack of doc-
umentary evidence regarding both the activities of the musicians
who contributed to these collections and the musical institutions
with which these musicians and their patrons were associated.
While several studies on music at the Duomo of Milan during the
first half of the sixteenth century do exist,' Guglielmo Barblan's
pioneering study remains the only comprehensive survey of civic
* The archival research for this article was supported by a 1994 Baylor University Research
Grant and a 1995 Baylor University Presidential Research Award. Earlier versions of
this paper were presented at the 1994 and 1995 Fall meetings of the Southwest Chapter
of the American Musicological Society. I wish to thank Bonnie Blackburn for her invalu-
able comments and suggestions regarding the text of the paper and the translations of
the archival documents. The transcription of several of the letters was slightly prob-
lematic, and any errors that remain are my own. I am also indebted to Robert Kendrick,
Franco Pavan and PierGiorgio Figini for their helpful suggestions during the initial
stages of the research, as well as to Alejandro Planchart for his assistance with several
ecclesiastical terms. Finally, I acknowledge the kind assistance of the archivists and staff
of the Archivio di Stato, Milano, the Biblioteca Trivulziana and Archivio Storico, Milano,
the Archivio Storico Diocesano, Milano, the Archivio della Veneranda Fabbrica del
Duomo, Milano, the Archivio Curia Vescovile, Vigevano, and the Archivio Capitolare,
Vigevano.
I C. Sartori, 'La cappella del duomo dalle origini a Franchino Gaffurio', Storia di Milano,
16 vols., I x (Milan, 1961), IX, pp. 723-48; F. Mompellio, 'La cappella del duomo da
Matthias Hermann di Vercore a Vincenzo Ruffo', Storia di Milano, IX, pp. 749-85; and
C. Getz, 'The Milanese Cathedral Choir under Hermann Matthias Werrecore, maestro
di cappella 1522-1550', Musica DisciFlina, 46 (1992), pp. 169-222.
Christine Getz
and courtly music of the period, and it focuses primarily upon
instrumental m u ~ i c i a n s , t~hus leaving largely unanswered the
questions of where and by whom the aforementioned Milanese
motets and madrigals were performed.
The sixteenth-century registri of the Archivio Sforzesco and
Cancelleria dello Stato in Milan record a number of payments,
safe-conducts and other concessions to instrumentalists in the city,
but they make little mention of singers, thus suggesting either
that very few singers were employed by the Milanese court or that
most of the singers who performed at court were supported by
other local institutions. Further, if the singers were supported by
other institutions, the payments to them were recorded in sepa-
rate registers that either have not been located or have not
survived. Recently discovered archival evidence reveals that from
the year 1530 the principal ducal choirs of Milan were housed in
the churches of Santa Maria della Scala in Milano and
Sant'Ambrogio in Vigevano. These choirs were intended as part-
ner organisations that supplied sacred music for the Milanese
court, and were paid through ecclesiastical benefices and distrib-
utions provided to the Provost of Santa Maria della Scala by the
Milanese court itself. The existence of these two chapels explains,
in part, the near absence of singers from the rosters of the
Milanese court musicians between 1522 and 1557, which only occa-
sionally list singer-composers known to have been associated
directly with the court, such as Vincenzo Ruffo and Hoste da
Reggio.
The extant musical and archival evidence has repeatedly indi-
cated that the Diocese of Milan fostered both the Ambrosian rite
and a particularly distinctive tradition of Marian worship in a num-
ber of its churches, particularly those associated with the Milanese
court, during the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Yet the study of the Ambrosian rite and Milanese Marian cults as
they relate to polyphonic music composed in Milan has thus far
been confined primarily to examination of the motetti missales and
exploration of the general musical activity at the Duomo of Milan
during the reigns of Francesco I, Galeazzo Maria, Gian Galeazzo
2 G. Barblan, 'La vita musicale in Milano nella prima met& del Cinquecento', Storia di
Milano, Ix, pp. 853-95.
The Sforza Restoration and the Founding of the Ducal Chapels
and Ludovico S f o r ~ awhile

,~ other musical organisations founded
under the Sforza for the express purposes of preserving the
Ambrosian rite or fostering Marian worship, including the choirs
at Santa Maria presso San Celso and Santa Maria della Scala, have
been virtually ignored. Santa Maria della Scala is particularly
important not only because it functioned as the primary ducal
chapel in sixteenth-century Milan, but also because its numerous
Marian feasts were observed within the context of the Ambrosian
rite, thus ensuring the fusion and preservation of these two impor-
tant local liturgical traditions. Moreover, the polyphonic style asso-
ciated with it, which was shaped by such composers as Orfeo
Vecchi, Giovanni Battista Steffanini, Girolamo Baglioni, Giulio
Cesare Artemanio and Guglielmo Berti, was an instrumental force
in the development of the austere North Italian style of the sev-
enteenth century. The lack of attention heretofore given to the
sixteenth-century ducal chapel of Santa Maria della Scala and its
sister organisation at Sant'Ambrogio in Vigevano has deprived
scholars attempting to study the sizeable body of late sixteenth-
century and early seventeenth-century polyphony associated with
the city of Milan of an adequate liturgical and historical context
in which to consider the musical evidence. By examining the
method through which the sixteenth-century ducal chapels at
Santa Maria della Scala and Sant'Ambrogio in Vigevano were
founded, organised, and administered, this study seeks both to illu-
minate our current understanding of styles of patronage in six-
teenth-century Milan and to provide a liturgical and historical
context for the body of polyphonic repertoire associated with them.
FOUNDING OF T H E C A P P E L L E M U S I C A L I
Little is known regarding the state of the musical chapel at the

court of Milan during the thirty years between the flight of
See, for example, the sources listed above, as well as T. L. Noblitt, 'The Ambrosian
Motetti Missales Repertory', Musica Disciplina, 22 (1968), pp. 77-103; L. H. Ward, 'The
Motetti Missales Repertory Reconsidered', Journal of the American Musicological Society, 39,
no. 3 (1986), pp. 491-583; J. Noble, 'The Function of Josquin's Motets', Proceedings of the
Josquin Symposium, Cologne 11-15 July 1984 in TQdrchrii van de Vereniging voor Nederlandre
Muziekgeschiedenis, 35 (1985), pp. 9-3 1, and P. Macey, 'Galeazzo Maria Sforza and Musical
Patronage in Milan: Compere, Weerbeke and Josquin', Early Music History, 15 (1996),
pp. 147-212.
Christine Getz
Ludovico Sforza in 1499 and the investiture of Francesco I1 Sforza

in 1529, for only references to trumpeters have surfaced in the
documents discovered to date.4 During this period the entire
Italian peninsula was plagued by frequent invasions by the French
and Spanish, and the resulting military and economic collapse of
many of the Italian city-states heightened the mistrust and com-
petition traditionally found among them. European alliances
shifted continuously, new military campaigns were mounted fre-
quently, and the Italian treasuries that helped to finance them
were more greatly depleted with each campaign. Milan, as the
gateway to Italy and a primary military objective of both the
French and the Spanish, was especially susceptible to invasion and,
consequently, to the political and financial instability that resulted
from it. Between 1499 and 1529 the city was occupied by foreign
governments no fewer than five times - by Louis XI1 of France
from September 1499 to February 1500 and from April 1500 to
June 1512, by Francis I of France from October 1515 to November
1521 and from October 1524 to February 1525, and by Charles V
of Spain from November 1525 to November 1529. In the inter-
vening periods Lodovico Sforza's sons Massimiliano (1493-1530)
and Francesco I1 (1495-1535) were briefly restored to power, but
between 1499 and 1529 their reigns were far too fleeting to per-
mit the maintenance of the levels of musical patronage introduced
by their forefathers. Thus, the first opportunity to restore Milan
to its former status as a n international musical centre arose with
the formal investiture of Francesco I1 Sforza as Duke of Milan on
29 November 1529. Shortly after the restoration of the Duchy of
Milan to the Sforza,j in fact, Francesco I1 embarked upon a pro-
ject to rebuild the ducal chapel of Milan. Like his uncle Galeazzo
Maria, Francesco I1 established not one but two chapels staffed by
Archivio di Stato, Milan [hereafter 'ASM'], Sforzesco 1422 (Milano cittk e ducato
1523-1525), busta 1525, non numerati [hereafter 'n.n.'], 3 ottobre 1525, and Sforzesco
1424 (Milano cittk e ducato 1527-1529), busta ottobre, n.n., 14 ottobre 1529.
Although 29 November 1529 is the official date of investiture, some historical accounts
indicate that Francesco 11's administrative appointees did not actually begin officiating
until January 1530. The series of events through which possession of the duchy was trans-
ferred by Carlo V to Francesco I1 Sforza is described in G. Franceschini, 'Gli ultimi anni
del ducato indipendente', Storia di Milano, VIII, pp. 310-13. A contemporary account is
found in M. Burigozzi, Cronaca milanese di Gianmarco Burigoui merzaro dal 1500 a1 1544
(Milan, 1587), reprinted in Archiuio Storico Italiano, 3 (1842), pp. 497-507.
singers,6 in addition to a n instrumental ensemble. Such an endeav-

our would have been financially impossible in 1530, had Francesco
I1 not ingeniously enlisted the support of local ecclesiastics by
arranging to erect the two musical chapels within the framework
of currently existing collegiate chapters in churches that were
already largely dependent upon ducally funded benefices. With
their support and assistance, he founded and maintained a ducal
chapel at the church of Santa Maria della Scala in Milan, as well
as a ducal chapel at Sant'Ambrogio in Vigevano, a small city
approximately thirty-five kilometres from Milan that was the site
of the old Palazzo Ducale Sforzesco.
Both Santa Maria della Scala and Sant'Ambrogio in Vigevano
had already been granted a prescribed number of perpetually
endowed benefices by the former dukes of the ruling Visconti and
Sforza families. Because these benefices provided for dignitaries
who were essential to chapter administration, Francesco I1 needed
only obtain permission to expand their chapters by adding
benefices for the ecclesiastics to be assigned to the choir.
Consequently, he appealed to the papacy for the addition of sev-
eral new choral benefices by arguing the necessity of improving
the quality of music in the liturgy, a strategy that had been highly
successful in the acquisition of benefices in the North during the
fifteenth ~ e n t u r y .Francesco's
~ plan, which met with immediate
success, proved to be exceedingly practical for two reasons. First,
it partly relieved the court treasury of the responsibility of finan-
cially maintaining the singers needed for the performance of litur-
gical music at court. Secondly, it minimised incidental expenses
See the discussion in W. F. Prizer, 'Music at the Court of the Sforza: The Birth and
Death of a Musical Center', Musica Disca$lina, 43 (1989), pp. 155-9.
' See P. F. Starr's discussion of benefices 'pro augmento divini cultus' in 'Rome as the
Center of the Universe', Early Music History, 11 (1992), pp. 238-46. Between 1447 and
1471 petitions using this rationale arrived in Rome from dioceses in France, England,
Spain, and the Low Countries. Fourteen collegiate chapters petitioned for papal sup-
port to either maintain or enlarge existing choral forces, including those in Mons, ThPux,
Nivelles, Abbeville, Cambrai, Trier, Toul, Bourges, and Malines, the last of which actu-
ally requested permission to transfer support to the city government. Twenty-five oth-
ers petitioned for support in establishing, maintaining, or increasing the size of choir
schools, including Notre Dame in Paris and Our Lady at Antwerp, and churches in
Tournai, Rennes, Limoges, Carcassonne, CondC, Soignies, Cambrai, Besangon, TrCguier,
Tours, Saint-Brieuc, Vannes, Rennes, and Chartres. The absence of Italian petitions in
Starr's 'pro augmento divini cultus' category is noteworthy, for it suggests that this
approach was fostered primarily in the North during the late fifteenth century.
Christine Getz
and organisational problems because each chapel was situated

near one of the two residences most frequently inhabited by the
court, thus reducing the travel required of the singers.
The church of Sant'Ambrogio in Vigevano, which joins the
Palazzo Ducale to enclose Vigevano's rectangular central piazza,
was completed during the sixteenth century and, as a virtual
appendage to the Palazzo Ducale, was clearly intended to serve
the court. Its choir was founded on 6 December 1530, just shortly
after the status of the church, which had originally been assigned
to the diocese of Novara, had been elevated to that of an inde-
pendent episcopate through the efforts of Francesco I1 S f ~ r z a . ~
Because Sant'Ambrogio remained the only parish church in the
city of Vigevano until 1532, its separation from the diocese of
Novara and subsequent conversion into a n independent episcopate
in 1530 was unfettered by pre-existing connections to other
churches in the immediate region. As Michele Ansani demon-
strated in his study of the creation of the episcopate at
Sant'Ambrogio, moreover, the foundation for Sant'Ambrogio's
eventual transformation had been laid by Ludovico il Moro dur-
ing the 1490s, at which time the possibility of separating the
church from the diocese of Novara and augmenting the number
of beneficiaries serving there was i n ~ e s t i g a t e d . I~n securing
Sant'Ambrogio's elevation to the status of independent episcopate
during the first few months of 1530, Francesco I1 was merely con-
cluding a series of negotiations that had been initiated by his
father some forty years earlier. Given the Duchy of Milan's repu-
tation as one of Europe's leading musical centres under his ances-
tors, the subsequent installation of a musical chapel at
Sant'Ambrogio was merely a logical extension of its elevation to
independent status.
Under its first bishop, Galeazzo de Petra, Sant'Ambrogio's chap-
ter consisted of a provost and seven canons. In December 1530
A study of the evolution of the episcopate and cathedral church in Vigevano under the
Sforza is found in M. Ansani. 'Da chiesa della communitk a chiesa del Duca. I1 vescov-
ado sfortiana', Metamorfosi di ;n borgo. Vigeuano in etd uisconteo-sforzesca. (Milan, 1992), pp.
117-44.
Ansani. 'I1 vescovado sfortiana', DD. 121-34. A letter from Bartolomeo Chalco to Ludovico
,.A
Maria Sforza dated 16 June 1490 reveals that the matter had been under discussion as
early as Spring 1490. ASM, Sforzesco 1093 (Milano cittl e ducato: 1490 giugno-agosto),
n.n.
four benefices for additional dignitaries (including an archpres-

byter, and archdeacon, a deacon and a cantor), five canonries and
a large number of choral positions were added. The choral
benefices were funded by Francesco I1 Sforza through monetary
donations and included two mansionarii, two deacons, two sac-
ristans, two custodians and eight clerics.1 Three years later the
position of organist was added and support of the eight clerics, all
of whom were juvenile singers, was augmented by 400 lire per
annum to cover the semiannual purchase of eight black cassocks
and the annual purchase of eight red berets for their use." Thus
far the names of only two of the original singers have surfaced in
the documents - the mansionarius Francesco Quinterol2 and the
cleric Vincenzo de Vercelli.13 In addition, the first cantor,
Francesco Rosarino,14 is mentioned frequently in archival docu-
ments dating from the years 1534-50 that survive in the Archivio
Capitolare in Vigevano and the Archivio di Stato in Milan. A set
of statutes governing the administration of the chapter and its
lo Archivio Curia Vescovile, Vigevano [hereafter 'AW'], Sezione I R5 N5, fasc. 1-3. On the
duties of the mansionarii see below at n. 60.
l1 The position of organist at Sant'Ambrogio in Vigevano was created on 24 June 1533.
A W , Masso 5, numero 6 (Mensa vescovile). At that time Francesco I1 Sforza donated a
ducal territory known as 'La Costanza' to the chapter at Vigevano for support of the
benefice. A W , Sezione I R5 N5, fasc. 4. This donation also provided for 400 lire per
year for maintenance of the eight clerics.
l2 Quintero died and was replaced in 1550. ASM, Autografi 12-1 (Galeazzo Petra: Vescovo
di Vigevano 1530-1552), fols. 60 and 64.
l3 ASM, Autograji 52-2 (Augustino Gerrero, Vescovo di Vercelli 1511-1536), n.n.
l4 Rosarino is likely the Roserino who served as maestro di cappella at the Duomo of
Modena from 1524 to 1526. See G. Roncaglia, L a cappella musicale del Duomo di Modena
(Florence, 1957), p. 22, p. 81, and p. 309. A setting of Sumens illudAve that is attributed
to a 'Fran. Ros.' is found in Modena, Biblioteca et Archivio Capitolare del Duomo, M S Mus.
III. Rosarino served as cantor at Vigevano from 1530 until his death in late 1548. The
chapter minutes for 9 November 1548 note that he was honoured with a long eulogy on
that date. Archivio Capitolare, Vigevano [hereafter 'ACV'], S e n e 11, numero 71 (Liber
ordinationum Sancti Ambrogij 1543-50), n.n. A replacement for Rosarino was secured
by 6 September 1549, at which time former canon Giovanni Maria Minoltus ( = Giovanni
Maria de Trivultio) first appears on the rolls as cantor. ACV, Sene 11, Numero 7 1 (Liber
ordinationum Sancti Ambrogij 1543-50), n.n. However, Minoltus actually may have
begun serving in the office somewhat earlier, for Galeazzo Petra petitioned Francesco
I1 for Minoltus's unpaid annual salary in a letter of 30 January 1550. It is unclear whether
the salary was being requested for services rendered in 1549 or in 1550, but Rosarino
usually received his remuneration during or at the end of the salary year. ASM,Autograji
12-1 (Galeazzo Petra: Vescovo di Vigevano 1530-52), fol. 58. There is also some con-
tradictory evidence regarding the date of Rosarino's death, as a document dated 12 May
1561 detailing salary owed Minoltus for 1554-61 suggests that Rosarino died in late
1549 or early 1550. ASM, Culto p.a. 1420 (Vigevano, sezione 1: Canonici cantori), n.n.
Christine Getz
choir that were approved on 3 January 1531 also is extant, and it
demonstrates that each appointment associated with the choir car-
ried different expectations of its prebendary.15
While the arrangements at Sant'Ambrogio in Vigevano were
being finalised, Francesco I1 began laying the foundation for a sec-
ond chapel in Milan at the church of Santa Maria della Scala. The
ducal church of Santa Maria della Scala was established in 1384-5
by Barnabb Visconti in honor of his wife Beatrice, daughter of the
Veronese nobleman Martino della Scala. The church itself, origi-
nally known by several different names indicative of its history and
location, including Santa Maria Nuova, Santa Maria in Porta
Nuova, Santa Maria de Caruptis and Santa Maria delle Case Rotte,
stood at the present site of Milan's well-known Teatro alla Scala.
It was easily reached on foot from the most important and fre-
quently used court residences in the city, including the Palazzo
Reale (in Piazza Duomo) and the Castello Sforzesco, as well as
from the Duomo of Milan. At the point of its foundation, Santa
Maria della Scala's collegiate chapter consisted of twenty canons,
four clerics, two custodians and a provost, all of whom were pri-
marily responsible for the daily singing of the Ambrosian office.16
At the time of the Sforza restoration, the chapter included four-
teen canons, three dignitaries, four clerics and two custodians,17
many of whom did not reside at the chapter house, thus render-
ing themselves unavailable for the daily singing of the canonical
hours. Intent upon re-establishing and strengthening Santa Maria
della Scala's Ambrosian musical tradition, Francesco I1 first
arranged for the canons to be ordered into residence for the daily
singing of the offices. They were recalled on 28 November 1530
l5 ASM, Culto p.a. 2218 (Vescovi e Vescovati: Vigevano A-Z), Statuti del Capitolo di
Vigevano.
l6 ASM, Culto p.a. 11 15 (Chiese-Communi, Milano: Santa Maria della Scala, Capitolo),
n.n. This busta contains a printed copy of the 1385 ordinationes. Also see ASM, Culto p.a.
2126 (Patronati regi P.G. - 1734), fasc. 3, fols. 14-17, which is a 1651 manuscript his-
tory of the ducal benefices in Milan prepared by Agostino Bassanini. A second manu-
script copy of Bassanini's history appears as Biblioteca Capitolare, Milan, Ms. 2F-1-18.
A modern study of the early history of the chapter itself is provided in P. Meroni, 'Santa
Maria della Scala: un aspetto della politica ecclesiastica dei duchi di Milano', Archivio
Ston'co Lombardo, 115, no. 6 (1989), pp. 37-89.
'7 ASM, Culto p . a 2126 (Patronati Regi P.G. - 1734), fasc. 3, fol. 53.
ASM, Sforzesco 1428 (Milano cittP e ducato: 1530 ottobre e novembre), busta novembre,
n.n. See Appendix, Document 1.
and given until Christmas of that same year to establish resi-

dency.18 Either several of the canons arrived immediatelylg or
Francesco had already begun assembling the singers that he would
later describe in a letter of 1 February 1531, for between 5 and 10
December 1530 several unidentified singers from Santa Maria
della Scala traveled to Sant'Ambrogio in Vigevano with Father
Egidio, organist and sacristan at Santa Maria della Grazie, to par-
ticipate in court celebrations being held there, presumably for the
feasts of Sant'Ambrogio and the Immaculate Conception.
Although the exact dates of travel are not provided i n ,the docu-
ment detailing this trip, the description suggests that the delega-
tion travelled to Vigevano on 5-6 December and returned to Milan
on 9-10 D e ~ e m b e r . 2This
~ early attempt at a joint performance
venture indicates that a close relationship between the two insti-
tutions was fostered from the outset of their establishment, an
assertion that is supported by other surviving documents con-
cerning both musical and non-musical matters. For example, on
17 December 1530 the court treasurer Hieronymo Brebbia sent
Francesco I1 some vestments that had been ordered previously by
the provost of La Scala with the request that they be delivered to
Vigevano that same day. Although Brebbia's letter does not indi-
cate whether or not the provost was in Vigevano at the time, it
does suggest that the vestments were ordered for either the
provost's own use in Vigevano or the use of a colleague resident
there.2l
By December 1530 most of the canons at Santa Maria della Scala
must have resumed residency, since Francesco I1 provided supplies
for the feast of the Nativity, the date originally proposed for rein-
l9 An excerpt from an unsigned letter dated 30 November 1530 to Jacopo Picenardo, an

Episcopal Officer (economo) of the Diocese of Milan, indicates that this project was
immediately given special attention. 'Ci 2 piaciuto Intender' habbiati Inthimati alli ven-
erabili preposito Canonica et capitol0 di Santa Maria della Scalla quanto hanno ad// far'
circa la lor0 residentia . . .' ASM, Sforzesco 1428 (Milano citti e ducato: 1530 ottobre e
novembre), busta novembre, n.n.
20 ASM, Culto p.a. 2216 (Vescovi e Vescovati: Vigevano 1530-1672), Busta 1530-38, con-
tains a list of miscellaneous expenses for the bishop of Vigevano from 8 October to 19
December 1530. It shows that several payments were made for the horses used by the
organist and singers. Egidio is not identified as an organist in this document, but another
entry from the Cathedral of Vigevano for the year 1535 does identify him as an organ-
ist from Milan. A W , Sezione I1 R5 N1, fasc. 2, busta 3 (Spese della Fabbrica 1535).
21 ASM, Sforzesco 1429 (Milano citti e ducato: 1530 dicembre e non datato), n.n. See
Appendix, Document 2.
Christine Getz
statement of the singing of the canonical hours.22 No document

describing the 1530 performance of the Nativity offices at La Scala
has surfaced to date, but the canons' ability to sing them was evi-
dently adequate, for on l February 1531 Francesco I1 unveiled the
next phase of his plan. The choir of canons was to be augmented
through the addition of eight choral benefices. These benefices
were to include prebends for two mansionarii, four chaplains and
two deacons with respective salaries of 200 lire, 150 lire and 100
lire per year, and were to be funded, in part, through the trans-
fer of benefices from the church of San Giovanni a1 ~ e d r to
a ~
Santa
~
Maria della S ~ a l a The
. ~ ~dissolution, suppression and transfer of
existing benefices for the purposes of creating new ones was not
uncommon; similar techniques were employed in the North and
were approved by the papal curia in the creation of choral benefices
during the fifteenth century.25 Consequently, the transfer of
benefices from San Giovanni a1 vedra was enacted without delay,26
and Hieronymo de Matia, the Provost of La Scala, subsequently
arranged a meeting with the episcopal officer Jacopo Picenardo to
finalise the acquisition of funds to cover the remaining benefices,
which apparently were to be provided by the treasury of the Duchy
of Milan.27Although Picenardo initially voiced approval of the plan
22 ASM, Sforzesco 1429 (Milano citth e ducato: 1530 dicembre e non datato), n.n. See
Appendix, Document 3.
23 Although some of the documents refer to this church as 'Santo Giovanni ad viperam',
the name 'Santo Giovanni a1 vedra' is found most frequently in documents from the
1530s and 1540s, several of which note the transfer of its benefices to Santa Maria della
Scala. Two documents from 1545 regarding the removal of some Capuchin monks who
had been living at San Giovanni a1 vedra to the monastery of San Vitorello suggest that
the church was in the Porta Vercellina district. ASM, Cancelleria dello Stato 57 (1545
luglio), fols. 49-52. I have not found a church with either name on extant maps from
the mid sixteenth century, but passing references to it in the Biblioteca Trivulziana and
Archivio Storico Diocesan0 in Milan indicate that it was located outside the Porta
Vercellina. 'Ad viperam' may be a reference to the blue viper, a well-known symbol of
the Sforza, while 'a1 vedra' may describe the church as seen from any of a number of
vantage points in the Castello Sforzesco.
24 ASM, Sforzesco 1431 (Milano citth e ducato: 1531 febbraio), n.n. See Appendix,
Document 4.
23 See Starr, 'Rome as the Center of the Universe', pp. 243-4.
Documents 5 and 6.
2' ASM, Sforzesco 1431 (Milano citth e ducato: 1531 febbraio), .n.n. See Appendix,
Document 4.
proposed by Francesco I1 and Provost De Matia,28he later discov-
ered that the Milanese court treasury was unable to absorb the
expenses not covered by the transfer of existing benefices. As an
alternative to assigning the burden to the court treasury, he sug-
gested that certain territories in the ducal park at Pavia then in
possession of the Sforza be transferred to the chapter of Santa
Maria della S ~ a l a The
. ~ ~transfer of some of this territory from
Francesco I1 to the chapter at La Scala proved to be the most effi-
cient and expedient method of providing for the additional choral
benefices, and was quickly embraced by all parties concerned. O n
19 or 20 March 1531 Francesco 11's new chaplains celebrated their
first day at Santa Maria della Scala with a Mass of the Holy Spirit
and a procession through the presbytery. In addition, the chapter
offered up prayers on behalf of Francesco 11, and the Provost sent
him a hanging of green damask as a token of appre~iation.3~ A
papal bull issued on 8 September 1531 provided the final docu-
mentary permission necessary for the erection of the benefice^,^'
though in the case of the chaplains who were already officiating,
this document clearly served only to validate existing benefices.
O n 23 May 1532 the eight choral appointments and correspond-
ing stipends proposed by Francesco I1 were officially approved by
the dignitaries and canons of the chapter,32 and on 17 August 1532
the eight prebendaries were officially named and appointed in the
presence of Ippolito I1 d'Este, Archbishop of Milan, in what may
have been his first and only visit to the diocese.33A list of the first
group of singers appears in Table 1.
The eight choral benefices, as well as two additional prebends
for dignitaries at La Scala, were papally sanctioned under two con-
ditions, one of which was later to become a point of contention
Document 5.
29 ASM, Sforzesco 1432 (Milano citth e ducato: 1531 marzo), n.n. See Appendix, Document
I.
30 ASM, Sforzesco 1432 (Milano citth e ducato: 1531 marzo), n.n. See Appendix, Document
8.
31 ASM, Culto p.a. 1115 (Chiese-Communi, Milano: Santa Maria della Scala in San Fedele
traslocata), n.n.
32 Archivio Storico Diocesano, Milano [hereafter ASDM], San Fedele XXII-155 (Santa
Maria della Scala: Visite pastorali e documenti aggiunti), q. 4(D).
33 ASDM, San Fedele XXII-155 (Santa Maria della Scala: Visite pastorali e documenti
aggiunti), q. 4(D).
Christine Getz
Table 1 T h e j r s t eight singers appointed to choral
beneJices at Santa Maria della Scala
Michaele d e Bechario, mansionarius

Bartolomeo d e Herba, mansionarius
Augustino d e Tonso (de Monte), cappellanus
Carole d e Castiglione, cappellanus
Brumanesio d e Manzoni, cappellanus
Francisco d e Pagano, cappellanus
Baptiste d e Bossio, levitus
Stefano d e Leynate, levitus
between the chapter and Cardinal Carlo Borromeo. First, in

processions they were to march either with the chapter of
Sant'Ambrogio or, with the consent of the other chapters, at their
original position behind all those chapters erected before them.
Secondly, they were to answer in all liturgical matters directly to
Ippolito I1 d'Este, Archbishop of Milan.34 Although Clement VII
most assuredly intended this latter measure as a means of check-
ing the power of both La Scala's dignitaries and Francesco 11, it
actually only served to augment La Scala's civic power. As can be
seen in the extant correspondence from the years 1527 to 1532
between Ferrante Gargano, Milanese ambassador to Ferrara, and
Francesco 11, Ippolito actually spent either very little or no time
in the diocese. In fact, Francesco 11's repeated requests that
Ippolito take up residence in Milan were met with numerous
excuses for his remaining in Ferrara, the most common of which
was a lack of adequate funding.35As a result of both Ippolito's
indifference to Milanese ecclesiastical affairs and Francesco 11's.
death in 1535, the chapter at La Scala gradually came to view itself
as a royal chapel that was exempt from decisions made by local
ecclesiastical and political authorities, and began to enjoy a level
of autonomy made possible only when being held accountable to
distant and disinterested authorities. The chapter's blatant disre-
gard for the local ecclesiastical administration went largely
unchecked until Carlo Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan, success-
54 ASM, Culto pea. 11 15 (Chiese-Communi, Milano: Santa Maria della Scala in San Fedele
traslocata), n.n. Segments of this bull are also discussed in ASDM, San Fedele XXII-
150 (Santa Maria della Scala: Visite pastorali e documenti aggiunti), q. 25.
35 A large body of this correspondence is preserved in ASM, Sforzesco 934-36 (Potenze
estere: Ferrara 1500-33).
fully exercised his authority in 1569, at which time the chapter
was excommunicated for its refusal to participate in a pastoral
visit.36
La Scala's status, influence and prestige were further enhanced
by the close relationship between Francesco I1 and its provost
Hieronymo de Matia, an association evidenced in the large amount
of personal and professional correspondence between the two indi-
viduals extant in the Archivio Sforzesco in Milan. De Matia was a
member of Francesco 11's diplomatic delegation to the peace nego-
tiations of Venice in the fall of 1530,37and he and Francesco I1
may even have been inspired to found the ducal choirs after hear-
ing a mass performed at San Marco in Venice.38He also served in
the Milanese delegation that attended the triumphal entry of
Charles V into Bologna in 1533.39As one of Francesco 11's princi-
pal ducal chaplains, De Matia was a member of the inner circle.
He travelled often on behalf of the Milanese state, and the social
and political contacts he acquired were to serve La Scala well in
the post-Sforza years. In a sense, De Matia was the primary admin-
istrator of all the musical chapels, for he was entrusted with the
distribution of the stipends and special payments made by the
court treasury to the dignitaries and clergy at both Sant'Ambrogio
in Vigevano and Santa Maria della S~ala.~O De Matia was even
sometimes responsible for the payment of the instrumentalists
serving the court chapel of Francesco 11, as is evidenced in a com-
aggiunti), q. 25. Also see M. Bendiscioli, 'Carlo Borromeo cardinal nipote arcivescovo di
Milano e la riforma della Chiesa milanese', Storia di Milano, x (Milan, 1957), pp. 187-9.
37 In the lists of delegates selected and number of horses requested by them for the trip
to Venice, the Provost's name appears second and third, respectively. ASM, Sforzesco
147 1 (Potenze sovrani: Francesco I1 Sforza 1499-1535), fols. 18-19. A letter dated 19
October 1530 from a Frate Octavianus of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Soncino to De
Matia in Venice indicates that the provost traveled with the delegation as the ducal
chaplain. ASM, Sforzesco 1428 (Milano cittP e ducato: 1530 ottobre and novembre), n.n.
38 According to a brief from Augustino Ritio, a member of the Milanese delegation, to
Alessandro Bentivoglio in Milan, the delegation attended a mass at San Marco on 14
October 1530. ASM, Sforzesco 1428 (Milano cittli e ducato: 1530 ottobre and novem-
bre), n.n.
39 O n 25 February 1533 he received 63 lire to finance the trip to Bologna. ASM, Sforzesco
1443 (Milano cittli e ducato: 1533 febbraio), n.n.
40 ASM, Sforzesco 1438 (Milano cittli e ducato: 1532 giugno-luglio), n.n., 25 Giugno 1532;
Sforzesco 1444 (Milano cittP e ducato: 1533 marzo e aprile), busta 1-20 aprile, n.n., 7
aprile 1533; and Sforzesco 1513 (Milano cittli e ducato: 1535 giugno-dicembre), busta
giugno, n.n., 22 giugno, 1535.
Christine Getz
plaint that he wrote on behalf of the singers and instrumentalists

when their salaries were not paid:
[21 May 15331
Sir, no one could disabuse the royal usher, singers, wind players, trum-
peters and custodians of the household of the notion that Your Excellency
has given me money to pay them, and they pester me with accusations.
For this reason I am requesting that your Excellency condescend to advise
me if you wish that they be paid. I would not pay any of it except for
that appearance for which your Excellency told the royal [usher] above
you to subtract 10 scudi. I would pay all these creatures, if I would do
what appears better to your Excellency.
The Provost of La S ~ a l a . ~ '
No archival evidence indicating Francesco 11's response to De
Matia's letter has yet emerged, but the letter does explain both
the sporadic appearance of payments to individual musicians and
the large sums advanced to the Provost found in the registers.
Since some payments to singers and instrumentalists were being
made through the Provost, the records likely show only payments
made directly to him for the chapels a t large.42
De Matia's political edge may be precisely what insured La
Scala's survival as the primary ducal chapel during the difficult
years following the death of Francesco I1 Sforza in 1535. At that
time sponsorship of both chapels passed to Charles V, and the gov-
ernors representing him in Milan did not always view their main-
tenance as a matter of high civic priority. Although the choir at
Sant'Ambrogio in Vigevano was established before that of Santa
41 'Signor tutto el mondo non cazaria fora di fantasia a questi regio bidello cantorij piferij
trombetti custodi del domo che vostra Excellentia non mi habia facto dar dinarij per pagarli
di mod0 che mi son tanto fastidiosi che me acuzano Dove supplico vostra Eccellentia la
si degni avisarmj se la vol che se pagano ma mj non ne pagaria niuno excepa quella cera
che vostra Eccellentia disse a1 regio che sopra di Lej la tolesse dece scuti pagaria tutta
questa generation se fara quello meglio pareva ad vostra Eccellentia El prevosto da la
Scalla.' ASM, Sforzesco 1444 (Milano cittP e ducato: 1533 marzo e aprile), 1533 marzo,
n.n. This missive is an addendum to a letter from the Provost of La Scala to Francesco
I1 dated 21 May 1533 that apparently has been filed in the wrong cartella. Prior to the
establishment of the new ducal chapels, one of the musicians evidently was given the
responsibility of paying his colleagues. O n 26 February 1532, for example, the money
for the salaries of the musicians was given to a musician named Monzino. ASM, Sforzesco
1431 (Milano citth e ducato: 1531 febbraio), n.n.
42 A similar system of payment was used at the sixteenth-century chapel of Santa Maria
presso San Celso.
Maria della Scala, had developed written guidelines of governance
nearly eight years before Santa Maria della Scala, and was the first
of the two to obtain ducal funding for an organist, it appears to
have faced greater difficulty in maintaining its quality after the
death of Francesco 11. Admittedly, Sant'Ambrogio's problems may
have been due, in part, to the fact that its benefices were funded
partly by annual monetary remunerations from the Milanese trea-
sury, rather than by benefice transfers, donations of property and
private monetary gifts, as were the benefices at La Scala. The years
that followed the Sforza restoration were particularly difficult
financially, as much of the revenue amassed through taxation by
the Milanese chancery was applied to the enormous debt incurred
during the Spanish Empire's Italian, Austrian and Turkish cam-
paigns. As a result, the beneficiaries at Vigevano were often forced
to request payment of salaries that were past due. Sant'Ambrogio's
location also played a role in its marginalisation. Although
Sant'Ambrogio in Vigevano was adjacent to the old Palazzo Ducale
Sforzesco, a residence frequently occupied by the Milanese gover-
nors who served Charles V, it was located far enough from Milan
to ensure its isolation from the daily legislative and commercial
activity of the Milanese state. Moreover, unlike Provost De Matia,
Vigevano's Bishop Galeazzo de Petra appears to have attended few
events of state, instead remaining in Vigevano to serve his dio-
cese. As a result, he developed few influential contacts in the
Milanese chancery and was forced to fight for the preservation of
Sant'Ambrogio's cappella musicale in the years following Francesco
11's death.
Sant'Ambrogio's diminishing sphere of influence during the reign
of Charles V is evidenced both in the surviving correspondence of
Galeazzo de Petra regarding musical appointments at Vigevano and
in the numerous letters regarding musical matters addressed to the
Milanese chancery by Francesco Rosarino, cantor at Sant'Ambrogio
from 1531 to 1548. In December 1550, for example, the Milanese
governor, Ferrante Gonzaga, supported the nomination of
Cristoforo Toccho, a sacristan at Sant'Ambrogio, to the recently
vacated office of mansionarius in the Sant'Ambrogio choir despite
the repeated objections of De Petra. In a series of letters to Gonzaga
and other offficials of the chancery, De Petra discouraged serious
consideration of Toccho on the grounds that he was ignorant, infa-
123
Christine Getz
mous, irresponsible and penniless and had no musical training, and

he instead suggested that Luciano Ardicio, a former choirboy from
Sant'Ambrogio who was well trained in music, be named to the posi-
t i ~ n Although
. ~ ~ De Petra maintained that Toccho's appointment
to the office of beneficed cleric 'would mean the ruin of the music
[in the church] and, consequently, of the church'" and doggedly
campaigned for Ardicio, the Milanese chancery arranged that the
post be awarded to the musically illiterate T o ~ c h oA. ~segment
~ from
one of Rosarino's letters to the chancery from early 1541 further
illustrates the Milanese government's cavalier attitude toward the
Sant'Ambrogio choir, as it remarks upon the declining quality of
musical performance at Sant'Ambrogio during the years immedi-
ately following the death of Francesco 11:
Most Illustrious and Excellent Prince:
The devoted and humble servant of your Excellency Father Francesco
Rosarino of Vercelli, Canon and Cantor of the Cathedral of Vigevano,
petitions that during the lifetime of the signor Duke Francesco of blessed
memory, he laboured to teach music to the clergy and others in this
church in order to maintain this music to the glory of God and the hon-
our of this church, and, having neither that help given him by the late
signor Duke nor the authority to select clergy of suitable voice, he can-
not continue this music as he has done in the past, for which it was
ordered that he be given 200 lire every year . . .46
Rosarino voiced similar complaints regarding unpaid stipends and
lack of financial and political support for the Sant'Arnbrogio choir so
often between 1535 and 1548 that they read as a veritable litany in
43 ASM, Autografi 12-1 (Galeazzo Petra, Vescovo di Vigevano 1530-52), fols. 64a (28 dicem-
bre 1550), 64b (27 dicembre 1550), 65a (21 dicembre 1550), 65b (27 dicembre 1550),
and 66.
44 '. . . sarebbe la ruvina di questa musica et succesivamente della chiesa.' ASM, Autografi
12-1 (Galeazzo Petra, Vescovo di Vigevano 1530-52), fol. 66.
45 ASM, Autografi 12-1 (Galeazzo Petra, Vescovo di Vigevano 1530-52), enclosure of fol.
66.
6 'Illustrissimo et Excellentissimo princeps. Expone il devoto et humil servo de vostra
Excellenza prete Francesco rosarino de Vercelli Canonico et Cantor' della chiesa de
vigevano qualmente vivendo la felice memoria del signor Duca Francesco piglava faticha
insegnar la musica in questa chiesa ali clerici et altri per mantener essa musica a laude
de Iddio et honor di essa chiesa, et per non haver quello aiuto che gli dava il &to signor
Duca, ne autorita di eliger' clerici idonei di voce, non puo continuar' quella si bona musica
come faceva per il passato, per la qua1 gliera ordinato et dato lire 200 ogni anno . . .'
Excerpt from a letter of Francesco Rosarino to Alfonso d'Avalos, governor of Milan
1538-46. ASM, Cancelleria dello Stato di Milano 32 (1541 gennaio), fol. 62.
the extant Milanese chancery documents from those years. Yet no
similar letters of complaint from officials at Santa Maria della Scala
have surfaced in the chancery documents of this period. In fact, the
extant documents from Santa Maria della Scala indicate that the
chapter was concerned primarily with the administration and staffing
of its benefices during the years following Francesco 11's death. In
early 1539, for instance, special statutes were drawn up that, like
those already in place at Sant'Ambrogio, defined the responsibilities
of the singers and outlined the daily operating procedures of the
musical chapeL4' Moreover, while Sant'Ambrogio was struggling to
maintain support of its existing choral benefices during the second
half of the sixteenth century, two new musical appointments, one for
an organist and another for a maestro di cappella, were added at Santa
Maria della Scala. The position of organist appears to have been cre-
ated sometime between 1539 and 1569, for no position for an organ-
ist is mentioned in the 1539 statutes, but a list of expenditures from
1569 includes a notation recording a payment to the organist.48 In
addition, by 1580 the original procedure of distributing the respon-
sibility for directing the choir equally between the two mansionarii
had been altered to conform to the more standard practice of assign-
ing supervisory duties to a maestro di cappella, as is evidenced in a doc-
ument dated 1 June 1580 that discusses the potential appointment
of Orfeo Vecchi to that post.49
O R G A N I Z A T I O N O F T H E CAPPELLE MUSICALI
The rules of conduct for the beneficiaries at Sant'Ambrogio, which

were formulated in 1531 and 1532, and the statutes for the singers
at Santa Maria della Scala, which were drawn up in 1539, supply
a surprisingly vivid picture of the early chapels. Although a number
of the canons participated in the singing of the services at both
churches, only the choral beneficiaries were assigned duties of
47 ASDM, Sun Fedele XXII-155 (Santa Maria della Scala: Visite pastorali e documenti
aggiunti), q. 13 (Q). These statutes will be discussed at length below.
ASDM, Sun Fedele XXV-158 (Santa Maria della Scala: Visite pastorali e documenti
aggiunti), q. 2. The organist received 24 scudi, which was noted as equivalent to 141
lire 12 soldi.
49 ASDM, Sun Fedele XIII-146 (Santa Maria della Scala: Visite pastorali e documenti
aggiunti), q. 5-6. Extensive water damage has rendered portions of this document vir-
tually unreadable.
Christine Getz
musical importance. At Santa Maria della Scala audition require-
ments for the singers were quite stringent, and admission was
determined by chapter vote only after a three-month trial period
in which the candidate served without monetary remuneration. As
can be seen from the statutes, a suitable voice, the ability to sight-
read well and proficiency in performing Ambrosian plainchant
were required:
It was likewise ordered by the above officials that any mansionarius, chap-
lain or deacon newly admitted to residence or to daily distributions from
this church is expected to serve this church for three months continu-
ously by observing the divine offices and canonical hours without receiv-
ing any distributions from the same church. And he cannot be admitted
to the assembly of those admitted to daily distributions unless he is able
to sing plainchant acceptably and knows how to read books, especially of
this church, to sing the Ambrosian rite, to be familiar with all of its psalm
tones, and to intone them well, not only the psalms but also the Gospel,
Epistles, Readings, Benediction of the Paschal Candle and all other
[items] necessary and suitable to the aforementioned office. [He must]
be recommended and approved as suitable and adequate by the Reverend
Chapter of canons, as well as by the aforementioned mansionarii, chap-
lains and deacons. H e cannot be admitted unless he is suitable as
[described] above and recommended as [described] above.50
Santa Maria della Scala's strict adherence to the three-month trial
period culminating in a chapter vote is extensively documented for
the year 1566, at which time Augustino Pelizono auditioned for and
won a position as levitus in the Santa Maria della Scala ~ h o i r . ~ '
Although no explicit requirement with regard to nationality is
jo 'Item ordinaverunt dicti offitiales ut supra quod quilibet tam mansionarius Capellanus,
quam et levita de nova admittendus ad rescidentiam sive ad distributiones quottidianas
ipsius ecclesie teneatur et debeat per tres menses continuos deservire ipsi ecclesie in
divinis offitijs et horis canonicis absque aliqua perceptione distributionum ipsius ecclesie
Et non possit admitti ad dietas distributiones nisi fuerit Idoneus in cantu plano et optime,
sciat legere libros maxime eiusdem ecclesie et etiam cantare more ambrosiano cognoscere
omnes tonos ac eos bene anuntiare et non solum psalmos sed etiam Evangelia Epistolas
ac lectiones Benedictione Cerei pascalis ac omnia alia circa dictum offitium necessaria et
opportuna, et laudatus et aprobatus per Reuerendum Capitulum dominorum Canonicorum
et etiam per dictos dominos Mansionarios Capellanos et levitas pro Idoneo et sufficienti
nec aliter possit admitti nisi sit Idoneus ut supra et laudatus ut supra.' ASDM, San Fedele
XXII-155 (Santa Maria della Scala: Visite pastorali e documenti aggiunti), q. 13 (Q).
51 ASDM, Sun Fedele XXV-158 (Santa Maria della Scala: Visite pastorali e documenti
aggiunti), q. 1. G , de Luca, ' "Traiettorie" ecclesiastiche e strategie socio-economiche
nella Milano di fine Cinquecento. I1 Capitolo di S. Maria della Scala dal 1570 a1 1600'.
Nuoua Riuista Storica, 77, no. 3 (1993), p. 531, gives the date of Pelizono's appointment
as 1565. De Luca's date appears to be based upon a series of later documents.
stated in the documents from La Scala, the surviving choir rosters
from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries indicate that
Milanese singers were favoured and Spanish singers tolerated.52
However, a recent study of the relationship between social restrat-
ification in Milan and benefice awards at Santa Maria della Scala
in the period 1570-1600 suggests that this phenomenon owed less
to timbral preferences than it did to social status, since most of the
singers were selected from local mercantile or noble families, many
of which had long-standing ties with the chapter at Santa Maria
della Scala, while the remainder were chosen from the Spanish aris-
tocracy.j3 The extant documents from Sant'Ambrogio do not out-
line any audition requirements, though they do state that the eight
clerics, all of whom were boys, must be approved by chapter vote.
They further note that an alternate was immediately found for any
cleric who experienced a change of voice, but that any cleric with
a changed voice who was 'obsequious, trained in singing, and suf-
ficient as an ecclesiastic' could be promoted to an adult position in
the church.j4 Less can be discerned regarding the nationality of the
singers at Sant'Ambrogio because the names of only a few of the
early singers have surfaced, but most of the singers and composers
associated with the church who are mentioned in the documents
were natives of such cities as Vercelli, Saronno and Novara.
The chapter at Santa Maria della Scala strictly observed the
Ambrosian rite, and its daily services included Matins, Prime,
Terce, Sext, Nones, High Mass, Vespers and Compline, all of which
were sung. In addition, the singers were to attend all chapter
funerals and processions.j5 The same daily services were sung at
Sant'Ambrogio, but as can be seen from the ceremoniale section of
Sant'Ambrogio's statutes, the Roman rite was observed there.56In
j2 De Luca, 'I1 Capitolo di S. Maria della Scala', pp. 568-9, contains a statistical analysis
of the benefice holders listed in the documents between 1570 and 1600. A late seven-
teenth-century list of the choral beneficiaries that notes their respective nationalities is
found in ASM, Culto p.a. 11 15 (Chiese-Communi, Milano: Santa Maria della Scala in
San Fedele traslocata), n.n.
53 De Luca, 'I1 Capitolo di S. Maria della Scala', pp. 505-69.
54 ASM, Culto p.a. 2218 (Vescovi e Vescovati: Vigevano A-Z), Statuti del Capitolo di
Vigevano, fol. lor.
55 San Fedele XXII-155 (Santa Maria della Scala: Visite pastorali e documenti aggiunti),
q 13 (Q).
Vigevano, Addenda. The order of each daily service observed at Sant'Ambrogio is
detailed here.
Christine Getz
addition, the High Mass at Sant'Ambrogio was sung after Sext
rather than Nones, and was concluded with a collect in honor of
Francesco I1 followed by the Marian antiphon Salve Regina and the
appropriate litanies, a practice which is not mentioned in the
documents from Santa Maria della Scala. Moreover, as was cus-
tomary at Sant'Ambrogio in Milan, the Saturday Mass at
Sant'Ambrogio in Vigevano was designated as a Chapter Mass of
the Blessed Virgin unless already reserved for a festum duplex, and
the Salve Regina was sung by all members of the chapter at its con-
clusion. Additionally, the Salve Regina, Da pacem domine and the
appropriate litanies were sung in honour of Francesco I1 Sforza at
the 'twenty-fourth hour' each day.j7 The frequent performance of
the Salve Regina at Sant'Ambrogio in Vigevano, particularly in con-
nection with prayers for Francesco 11, may reflect the new Duke's
attempt to create his own Marian acclamation in continuation of
the tradition established under Galeazzo Maria Sforza, whose
musical devotions to the Madonna of Grace and Mercy routinely
included performance of the Marian supplication Maria mater gra-
tiae, as well as numerous settings of other Marian texts.58However,
the daily singing of the Salve after Compline was observed at the
French court chapel throughout the sixteenth century, so it was
equally likely that Francesco I1 was consciously copying practices
already associated with other royal chapels with the intention of
further legitimising his new ducal chapel.59Additionally, the fact
that the Salve Regina was performed frequently at Sant'Ambrogio
in Vigevano but was not sung at Santa Maria della Scala suggests
a link between the antiphon and Ludovico il Moro, particularly
since il Moro was responsible for the initial attempts to improve
Sant'Ambrogio's status.
Santa Maria della Scala's eight-member choir was divided into
three groups of beneficiaries, each of which was responsible for
the performance of different items of the mass and office. The
57 Each singer received a daily distribution specifically for the singing of these additional
items. ASM, Culto p.a. 2218 (Vescovi e Vescovati: Vigevano A-Z), Statuti del Capitolo
di Vigevano, fols. 3r, 71y and 10'.
58 See P. Macey, 'Galeazzo Maria Sforza and Musical Patronage in Milan', pp. 147-212.
59 J. T. Brobeck, 'Music and Patronage in the Royal Chapel of France under Francis I (r.
15 15-1547)', Journal ofthe American Musicological Society, 48, no. 2 (1995), p. 227. Such use
of votive antiphons occurred frequently in connection with foundations as well, partic-
ularly in the North. See the paper and discussion in Noble, 'The Function of Josquin's
Motets', pp. 10-15.
eight
- beneficiaries included two mansionarii, four chaplains and
two deacons, and the chaplains shouldered the majority of the
actual performing duties. At each of the daily services one or more
of the chaplains were responsible for intoning the first responsory,
the second lesson of Matins, and the Gospel unless it was read, as
well as for singing the Gloria Patri, the psalms and the lesson at
the chapter mass. Each of them also celebrated daily mass at a
prescribed hour during the day. The two deacons served at the
altar, and sang the Gospel and Epistle during the Mass, the
Lucenarium at Vespers and the Kyrie eleison in the various
Offices. When the Gospel was read, furthermore, one of them read
the first lesson. Until the first maestro di cappella was appointed, the
mansionarii shared the role of director. In addition to directing
the choir, they intoned the psalms, antiphons, versicles and respon-
sories not already assigned to the cappellani, leviti or canons. They
also were expected to organise the singing of the office, monitor
the quality of the sung liturgy and celebrate mass at a designated
hour each day.'jO
At Sant'Ambrogio the choral beneficiaries included a cantor, two
mansionarii, two deacons, two sacristans, two custodians and eight
clerics. The cantor, who was designated as a chapter dignitary, was
responsible for directing the choir by intoning the introit, grad-
ual, offertory, antiphons and other items that are customarily
intoned during the mass, and informing the dignitaries and canons
of the order and placement of the antiphons to be used in the
canonical hours. He was to sing the daily masses assigned him on
the schedule as well.'jl The documents suggest that the cantor was
often absent from the offices, in which case one of the mansion-
arii took responsibility for those chants led by the cantor, and
intoned the psalms and hymns and led all antiphons sung in unison
by the full In addition, the mansionarii at Sant'Ambrogio
regularly intoned the Gloria and Credo of the Mass, as well as the
first antiphon at Vespers and the antiphons accompanying the
aggiunti), q. 13 (Q).
Vigevano, fol. 2'. See Appendix, Document 9.
Vigevano, fol. 7" and Autografi 12-2 (Galeazzo Petra, Vescovo di Vigevano 1530-1552),
fol. 65b.
Christine Getz
Magnificat, Benedictus and Nunc dimittis. They also alternated

the responsibility of singing the Mass for the Dead every day dur-
ing the month of June.63 The two deacons were responsible for
assisting the canon celebrating the mass. In addition, one of them
sang the Gospel and the other sang the Epistle at Mass. The cler-
ics sang the Short Responsory, Versicles, and Benedicamus domino
in alternation at all of the canonical hours except Matins, as well
as the Iube domine at Compline. O n certain unspecified feasts, how-
ever, the singing of the Benedicamus domino and Iube domine was
assigned to the deacons.64The special duties assigned the two sac-
ristans and the two custodians were functional rather than vocal.
The sacristans were to assist with technical aspects of the services,
such as closing the doors of the choir at the beginning of the ser-
vice, while the custodians maintained order by chasing rowdy boys,
as well as dogs and other animals out of the church during the
offices.65
The organization of the members of the choir into different
benefice categories, each of which was characterised by different
responsibilities, is one of several similarities between the operat-
ing procedures at Sant'Ambrogio in Vigevano and those at Santa
Maria della Scala. Another was the system of awarding a large
portion of the singers' stipends according to a daily distribution
system. In each case, the system was d,esigned so that each type
of appointment carried with it an indkidual award for the per-
formance of each service. When a singer was absent, his distribu-
tion was either assigned to a substitute or retained by the treasury.
(Table 2 lists the daily distributions at Santa Maria della Scala as
outlined in the 1539 statutes, as well as those at Sant'Ambrogio
in Vigevano as described in a document from 1578.66)Some aspects
of Santa Maria della Scala's statutes appear to be modelled
directly upon the ordinances for the singers recorded in the reg-
isters for the year 1534 at the Duomo of Milan. Like the cathe-
dral ordinances, for instance, those at Santa Maria della Scala
ASM, Culto p.a. 2218 (Vescovi e Vescovati: Vigevano A-Z), Statuti del Capitolo di
Vigevano, fol. P.
ASM, Culto p.a. 2218 (Vescovi e Vescovati: Vigevano A-Z), Statuti del Capitolo di
Vigevano, fol. 81 and lor.
Vigevano, fol. P and lor.
A W , Visite Pastorali 8 (1578), Capitolo.
strictly enforced a dress code that included a threat of financial

penalty for violations. Engaging outside singers as substitutes was
strictly forbidden at both institutions as well.67 The statutes for
Santa Maria della Scala provide for the election of a scribe from
among the eight singers, and this scribe was responsible for record-
ing daily attendance at all services.68The surviving archival docu-
ments from the early sixteenth century at the Duomo of Milan
record payments to a scribe who similarly monitored attendance
of the singers at the Divine office^.^^ However, the practice of
recording attendance appears to have been abolished at the
Duomo in 1534, at which time a reorganisation occurred and it
was mandated that all members of the choir were to attend all
daily services except those for the dead.70Following the issuing of
this mandate, no further payments to the choral scribe can be
found in the Duomo records.
Table 2 Daily distributions for mansionarii, chaplains and deacons at

Santa Maria della Scala and Sant'Ambrogio in Vigevano
(s = soldi, d = denari)
Santa Maria della Scala Sant'Ambrogio in Vigevano
Mansionarii Chaplains Deacons Prelates, Curates Sacristans Chaplains
Canons, and
Mansionarii Deacons
Matins s l d 4 sldO d 8 dl2 d 7 d 6 d4
Prime d8 d6 d 4 d4 d 3 d 2 d l
Terce d4 d3 d 2 d2 d l d l d.5
Sext d4 d3 d 2 d2 d l d l d.5
Nones d4 d3 d 2 d2 d l d l d.5
High Mass sldO sldO d 8 d8 d 6 d 4 d3
Vespers s 1d o d9 d 6 d8 d 6 d 4 d3
Compline d2 dl5 d l d2 d l d l d.5
aggiunti), q. 13 (Q);and Archivio della Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano [here-
after 'AVFDM'], Ordinazioni VIII (1532-34), fol. 9 P .
aggiunti), q. 13 (Q).
69 These entries include AVFDM, Vacchette 391 (1522), fol. 37r, Registri 717 (1525-27),
fols. 80r-' and l o p , Vacchette 397 (1528-29), fol. 186I, and Registri 723 (1532-33), fols.
3@ and 50'. The pages in many of these registers were recently renumbered. Where two
different page numbers appear on the same page of the register, the newer of the two
numbers is given.
'O AVFDM, Ordinazioni VIII (1532-34), fol. 98'.
Christine Getz
Santa Maria della Scala's adoption of a rotational system for the

performance of Matins and Prime may inform our understanding
of performance of the Offices at the Milan cathedral prior to the
reorganisation of 1534, for the La Scala statutes outline a some-
what unusual procedure of rotating the daily singing responsibil-
ities among the eight singers for Matins and Prime. At Santa
Maria della Scala, one mansionarius, two chaplains and one dea-
con all sang for fifteen successive days, after which the remaining
four singers all sang for the next fifteen days. The order of the
rotation was determined according to each singer's respective posi-
tion in the choir, as one mansionarius, two chaplains and one dea-
con were assigned to the right choir, while the others were assigned
to the left. All those who sat on the right served together, as did
those who sat on the left. However, since the singers who were
currently free were permitted to substitute for those scheduled for
duty, it was necessary that the scribe carefully monitor all absences
and substitutions. The existence of a similar rotational system for
performance of the offices by the Duomo choir before its 1534 reor-
ganisation would explain the need for the scribe who recorded
attendance mentioned in the early registers, this scribe's sudden
disappearance from the registers in 1534, and the coinciding
appearance of a mandate noting that all members of the Duomo
choir were to attend all daily services. Although the documents
from Sant'Ambrogio are not as explicit in their discussion of pro-
cedure as are those from Santa Maria della Scala, it is clear that
the Sant'Ambrogio choir was divided into right and left choirs in
a manner similar to that employed at Santa Maria della Scala.
However, the documents indicate only that the mansionarii served
on a rotational schedule, and this schedule featured weekly alter-
nation of responsibilities. Like the choirs at both Santa Maria della
Scala and the Duomo, nonetheless, the chapter at Sant'Ambrogio
elected a scribe each December from among its canons, prelates,
mansionarii, sacristans and custodians for the purpose of record-
ing the attendance of members at the services." The statutes indi-
cate that the rotational schedules used at both Santa Maria della
Scala and Sant'Ambrogio did not apply to special feast days, at
which times all the singers were required to be present for all ser-
'1 ASM, Culto p.a 2218 (Vescovi e vescovati: Vigevano A-Z), Statuti del Capitolo di
Vigevano, fo1s.P-8I.
vices. Further, these special feasts are listed in the statutes of
Santa Maria della Scala, thus clearly indicating which feasts were
the most important in the hierarchy of Ambrosian feasts observed
in sixteenth-century Milan. They included Christmas, the feast of
St Stephen, the feast of St John the Evangelist, the Circumcision,
the Epiphany, Passion Week, Easter and its octave, the Ascension,
Pentecost and the two days following it, the feast of the Holy
Trinity, Corpus Christi and its octave, all the feasts of the Blessed
Virgin, the feast of Sts Peter and Paul, All Saints Day, All Souls
Day and the feast of St Ambrose on 7 D e ~ e m b e r . ~ ~
RECRUITMENT O F JUVENILE SINGERS AND PREPARATION

O F LITURGICAL BOOKS
By the summer of 153 1 Francesco I1 had successfully staffed both

choirs with the requisite adult singers and was able to turn his
attention to the recruitment of young singers and the acquisition
of liturgical books for the use of the clergy and choirs. His corre-
spondence with Galeazzo de Petra, Bishop of Vigevano, and
Augustino Gerrero, Bishop of Vercelli, during August 153 1 and
January 1532 reveals that Vigevano's cantor, Francesco Rosarino,
was sent on several recruiting trips during the year 1531 in search
of boy sopranos for the Vigevano Vigevano's eight clerical
benefices were earmarked for young boy sopranos, and at least one
of the first sopranos was procured from the Cathedral of Vercelli
during recruiting trips made to that city by Rosarino in 153
Rosarino probably singled out Vercelli as a possible source of young'
singers because as a native of the he would have possessed
the personal contacts necessary for such delicate negotiations.
aggiunti), q. 4(D).
73 TWOletters from Galeazzo de Petra to Francesco I1 dated 3 and 7 August 1531 discuss
the recruiting trips made by Rosarino to Vercelli. ASM, Autografi 12-1 (Galeazzo Petra,
Vescovo di Vigevano 1530-52), fols. 27 and 28. A letter dated 5 January 1532 from
Augustino Gerrero, Bishop of Vercelli, to Francesco I1 also mentions Rosarino's recruit-
ing ventures. ASM, Autografi 52-2 (Augustino Gerrero, Vescovo di Vercelli 1511-36), n.n.
74 The letter from Augustino Gerrero to Francesco I1 dated 5 January 1532 also discusses
the release of a soprano named Vincenzo to Francesco I1 for the Vigevano choir. ASM,
Autografi 52-2 (Augustino Gerrero, Vescovo di Vercelli 151 1-36), n.n.
75 A number of documents housed in the Cancelleria dello Stato di Milano, including ASM,
Cancelleria dello Stato 32 (1541 gennaio), fol. 62, and Registri della Cancelleria dello
Stato XXII-4 (Mandati 1542-45) fol. 3 4 , identify Rosarino as a native of Vercelli.
133
Christine Getz
In contrast to the choral benefices at Vigevano, those at La Scala

did not include positions for juvenile singers, but it is likely that
boy sopranos were sometimes borrowed by the state to perform
with the La Scala choir on special occasions, for the pay registers
from the Milanese chancery for the year 1542 record payments to
boy sopranos from the churches of San Nazarro in Porta Romana
and San Giovanni in Cairotta who sang in the court's 1542 Corpus
Christi services.76Interestingly enough, Vincenzo Ruffo's I1 primo
libro de motetti a cinque voci, which was compiled and published in
Milan during the composer's brief period of service at the Milanese
court in 1541-2,77 includes a mixed-voice setting of the Corpus
Christi text 0 sacrum convivium that was likely performed at the
1542 Corpus Christi celebration. In fact, Ruffo's I1 primo libro de
motetti a cinque voci may eventually prove to be one of the most
important pieces of extant evidence regarding the differing per-
forming forces of the ducal choirs at La Scala and Sant'Ambrogio.
76 ASM, Registri della Cancelleria dello Stato XXII/4 (Mandati 1542-45), fols. 441 and 47'.
The singers from San Giovanni were awarded a total of 200 lire, while those from San
Nazarro received a total of 52 lire 10 soldi.
77 V. Ruffo, Ilpn'mo libro de motetti a cinque voci (Milan, 1542), dedication. The exact date of
Ruffo's arrival in Milan is unknown. The preface to his 1542 motet book notes that at
the time of its publication he was a musician in the household of Alfonso d'Avalos, gov-
ernor of Milan 1538-46. Lewis Lockwood suggests that Ruffo probably did not arrive
there before 1541, as an isolated entry of 20 lire 6 soldi paid him 'when he left Verona'
appears in the pay registers at the Duomo of Verona in 1541. See L. Lockwood, The
Counter-Reformation and the Masses of Vincenzo Ruffo (Venice, 1967), pp. 18-2 1. Since Ruffo
had been formally released from service at the Duomo of Verona as early as 1534, it is
possible that the isolated 1541 payment was either for temporary services or for past
services rendered. However, his presence in Milan cannot be firmly documented before
1541, at which time six of the motets included in his 1542 collection appeared anony-
mously in Nicolai Gomberti musici excellentissirni pentaphthongos harmonia . . . Liber primus
(Venice, 1541 = RISM 15413),a collection that also includes several motets by Jachet
of Mantua and Crist6bal Morales. This book, which currently is the earliest known source
containing motets by Ruffo, bears no dedication, but possesses a possible connection to
Milan because Scotto released a volume of four-voice masses featuring several of the
same composers while Ruffo was serving in Milan in 1542 (= RISM 15423).Moreover,
Scotto's 1539 publication of Gombert's four-voice motets bears a dedication to Alfonso
d'Avalos, who appears to have sponsored its publication. Thus, a trail leading from the
court of Milan to Scotto in Venice that would place Ruffo in Milan in 1541-2 can be
tenuously constructed via the printed evidence. The Milanese notary Petro Maria
Crivelli's application for a privilege to protect the printing of Ruffo's I1 primo libro de
motetti, which is dated 2 June 1542, supports Ruffo's claim to be a musician in the house-
hold of Alfonso d'Avalos during the year 1542. ASM, Studi: parte antica 97, fol. 3 . In any
case, Ruffo had vacated his post in Milan by 27 October 1542, at which time he accepted
the position of maestro di cappella at the Cathedral of Savona, where he remained for
approximately one year. See F. E. Scogna, 'La musica nel Duomo di Savona dal XVI a1
XVIII secolo', Nuoua Rivista Musicale Italiana, 16 (1981), pp. 261-2, and F. E. Scogna, Vita
musicale a Savona dal X V I a1 X V I I I secolo (Savona, 1982), pp. 27-8.
It contains motets for a variety of feasts from both the Ambrosian
and Roman calendars, many of which are Marian, as well as two
occasional motets dedicated to local figures.78 Nineteen of the
motets are set in high clefs and the other sixteen are in low
clefs, thus suggesting that mixed-voice textures and equal-voice
textures were utilised with equal frequency at the Milanese court.
Moreover, this contrast in cleffing and texture appears to have
been associated with a basic difference in the composition of the
ducal choirs at La Scala and Sant'Ambrogio. Because juvenile
singers were brought in to sing on special occasions when the court
was in Milan, it is likely that the La Scala choir included no adult
sopranos. Although the earliest extant lists of beneficed singers at
La Scala admittedly include no indications of voice types, the
archival evidence demonstrates that adult sopranos are found less
frequently than boys in Milanese choirs during this period.
Between 1534 and 1557, for example, the Milanese cathedral choir
routinely employed three to six boys and only two adult sopranos,
and one of these was paid a lesser salary than the other adult
singers.7g The archival records further indicate that juvenile
singers were borrowed when the court was in Milan once or twice
a year at most, probably because the logistical and financial bur-
dens of such ventures were somewhat prohibitive. Since soprano
voices appear to have been unavailable at La Scala on a daily basis,
mixed-voice motets were likely associated only with special occa-
sions there. Thus, many of Ruffo's mixed-voice motets were prob-
ably performed in Vigevano, where the eight clerics were available
to sing the upper parts, while the equal-voice motets were per-
formed most frequently at La Scala. Ruffo's four-part Missa Alma
redemptoris muter, which was first published in Girolamo Scotto's
Missa cum quatuor uocibus decantandae of 1542 (= RISM 15423),is also
for equal voices and may have been intended for use at La Scala
The two occasional motets are C'xor sicut tua vitis abundans, a Baptismal motet suppos-
edly intended for Hermes Visconti, and Laudibus laudemus, a ceremonial motet for the
cavalry captain Melchoir Saavedra, who served under D'Avalos from 1532 to 1546.
'"attista da Bussero and Laurentio de Putheo; the latter, who was also designated in the
later years as 'falsettist', received the lesser salary. The cathedral choir consisted of no
fewer than eighteen members during this period. See the rosters for the Milanese cathe-
dral choir found in Appendices A a i d B bf Getz, 'The Milanese Cathedral Choir', pp.
208-2 1.
Christine Getz
as well.80 Although the contrasting cleffing systems featured in
Ruffo's motet book appear to reflect the differing timbral charac-
teristics of the ducal choirs at La Scala and Vigevano, it should be
noted that the collection may have been destined for use by other
Milanese performing forces as well. Unfortunately, the archival
documents muddy rather than clarify the matter. First of all, the
relationship between the Duomo choir and the Milanese court dur-
ing this period remains somewhat nebulous. The documentary
evidence indicates only that the cathedral choir performed on
state occasions8' and that at least some of its members were held
in retainer by the governors serving Charles V and Philip II.82
Consequently, any assertion that Ruffo's motets were sung either
by the entire Duomo choir, which included an adequate number
of singers to accommodate a variety of textures, or by a small
group selected from the Duomo still deserves consideration.
Secondly, it is still unclear how many singers were employed by
the Milanese court independent of the ducal choirs at La Scala
and Sant'Ambrogio and the choir of the Duomo of Milan, though
the records suggest no more than one or two at a time.83Thus the
hypothesis that Ruffo's motets were performed by a small group
of special singers assembled at the court remains valid as well. In
any case, an important distinction between the La Scala and
Sant'Ambrogio choirs did exist, and Ruffo's motet collection
appears to mirror that distinction. The choir at Sant'Ambrogio in
Vigevano depended so greatly upon the high-voice sound of its
eight juvenile singers that eight clerical benefices were regularly
A modern edition of the Mass can be found in L. Lockwood, ed., Vincenzo Ruffo. Seven
Masses Part I: Three E a r b Masses in Recent Researches i n Music of the Renaissance, 32 (Madison,
1979), pp. 1-35.
For example, services that included music were held at the Duomo during the triumphal
entries of Charles V in 1533 and 1541, Ferrante Gonzaga in 1546, and Philip I1 in 1548,
as well as during the official celebrations of the return of Francesco I1 Sforza to Milan
as Duke in February 1531. The funerals of both Francesco I1 Sforza and Alfonso d'Avalos,
both of which supposedly included music, were also held there. See Getz, 'The Milanese
Cathedral Choir', pp. 193-7; G. Bugati, Cronaca milanese di Gianmarco Burigoui merzaro dal
1500 a1 1544 (Milan, 1587), reprinted in Archivio Storico Ztaliano, Primo serie, 3 (1842), pp.
507, 513-14 and 525-6; C. Besozzo, Cronaca, trans. C. Malfatti (Trent, 1967), p. 43.
a2 This may have applied only to those who were awarded ducal benefices. See C. Getz,
'Hermann Matthias Werrecore and the North Italian Circle of Liberal Humanists in
Counter-Reformation Italy', Arte Lombarda, Nuova serie, 118 (1996-3), pp. 18-19.
a3 Documents for only five such singers have surfaced thus far for the years 1525-57. These
include Andrea de Germanis (1530-I), Guglielmus 'cantor flamengus' (1532), Otto 'can-
tore' (1532) Vincenzo Ruffo (1541-2), and Hoste da Reggio (1554-5).
provided to support them. The choral benefices at Santa Maria

della Scala, on the other hand, included no positions for juvenile
singers and, instead, seem to have been intended to enrich the
adult sound traditionally associated with the plainchant as sung
by the canons.
While Rosarino was recruiting young singers for Vigevano, the
Bishop of Vigevano and the Provost of La Scala were commis-
sioning additional liturgical books for use by their respective chap-
ters and choirs, including a Missal, a Gospel, and an Epistle. A
letter from the Provost of La Scala to Francesco I1 dated 30 May
1533 reveals that many of the books were prepared locally, and at
least one copyist was among those serving in the scriptorium at
Santa Maria della Scala. An illuminator was also readily available
to the Provost, but it is not clear that he was resident at La S ~ a l a . ~ ~
During this same period several previously prepared Graduals also
changed hands. Although the Provost of La Scala was involved in
the transaction as the advisor to the party purchasing the books,
it is not clear whether they were destined for Vigevano or La Scala.
However, the first of the two surviving documents related to this
transaction, both of which are undated and unsigned, is addressed
to an unnamed Bishop representing the chapter that owned the
gradual^,^^ while the latter is addressed to the Duke of Milan.@
Since both documents discuss Provost De Matia's examination and
subsequent approval of the books as the primary conditions for
agreement to purchase, it seems likely that the books were either
purchased from a church in the Diocese of Milan for use at
Vigevano or La Scala or acquired from the Diocese of Vigevano
for use at La Scala.
POLYPHONIC REPERTOIRE AND PERFORMANCE PRACTICE
The surviving documents clearly state that the eight choral

benefices at La Scala were originally intended to strengthen and
improve the singing of Ambrosian plainchant. However, the
numerous motet, mass, and magnificat collections composed by
84 ASM, Sfoorzesco 1445 (Milano cittl e ducato: 1533 aprile e maggio), busta 1533 maggio,
n.n. See Appendix, Document 10.
85 ASM, Sforzesco 1449 (Milano cittl e ducato: 1534 marzo), n.n.
86 ASM, Sfoqesco 1449 (Milano cittl e ducato: 1534 marzo), n.n.
Christine Getz
Orfeo Vecchi, La Scala's first identifiable maestro di cappella, indi-
cate that a polyphonic tradition was firmly ensconced there by the
year 1590. Additional evidence that a polyphonic practice flour-
ished at La Scala during the second half of the sixteenth century
is found in two documents dating from the year 1597 that discuss
the performance of certain musical items during the mass and
office^.^' Although these documents make clear references to
polyphony only in the directions for the Offertory, they repeatedly
make a distinction between music that is performed when the
organist and chorus of singers are present and music that is per-
formed when they are not. In addition to the Offertory, Gospel
and Epistles, moreover, they focus upon the Ingressa (Introit),
Confractorium (Agnus Dei) and Transitorium (Communion) of
the Ambrosian Mass, the very items for which the performance of
polyphony can be documented at the Milan cathedral as early as
1463.88The documents indicate that both polyphony and organ
alternatim pieces were performed during the Offertory, and reveal
that both the coordination of spoken and sung elements and the
smooth transition from one liturgical item to the next were con-
sidered so important that they were permitted to influence the
musical tempos of both plainchant and polyphony. In fact, the doc-
uments caution that the Ingressa, Epistle, Offertory and other sim-
ilar plainchant items be sung slowly enough that the celebrant is
able to recite all of the appropriate prayers underneath without
either disturbing the coordination between spoken and sung items
or interrupting the flow of the prayers and music,89 thus under-
scoring the importance attached to the uninterrupted flow of music
and text in Milan that is suggested by the motetti missales. The doc-
uments further suggest that the tempos be determined according
to the length of the musical item selected in order to achieve the
same goals:
Therefore, if the Offertory, Confractorium and Transitorium are short,
let as much time allowed for singing them as the Prefect of the choir
shall have indicated, taking into account the priest of the week; indeed,
not all men run at the same pace.
8' ASDM, San Fedele XIII-146 (Santa Maria della Scala: Visite pastorali e documenti
aggiunti), q. 4.
88 Prizer, 'Music at the Court of the Sforza', p. 150 and pp. 178-9.
89 ASDM San Fedele XIII-146 (Santa Maria della Scala: Visite pastorali e documenti
aggiunti), q. 4.
If they are long and extensive, the tempo may be increased. However,
be warned that in offertory, the part that is inscribed 'secunda pars'
should not be omitted but sung in its entirety, just as it is read in the
Missal.
These instructions are to be observed diligently at times when the organ
is not played or when the chorus of singers is not present.g0
Unfortunately, no early sixteenth-century manuscripts contain-
ing polyphonic works for the express use of the choir at Santa
Maria della Scala have yet surfaced. However, it is possible that
four printed motet collections associated, through their dedica-
tions and contents with the court of Alfonso d7Avalos, Marchese
del Vasto and governor of Milan between 1538 and 1546, were des-
tined for use at Santa Maria della Scala, though they may have
been utilised occasionally at Vigevano or the Duomo as well (Table
3). All four of these collections were published between 1539 and
1543, a period that coincides both with D'Avalos's tenure in Milan
and with the formulation of the statutes governing the choral
benefices at Santa Maria della Scala. Although the correspondence
among the date of the statutes, the dates of the prints, and
D'Avalos's tenure in Milan may be merely coincidental, it seems
likely that D'Avalos, an amateur poet, respected patron of the arts
and letters, and former student of Constanzo F e ~ t a ,would
~' have
taken a special interest in the newly created La Scala choir.
Responsibility for support of the choir had recently been trans-
ferred to Charles V, and D'Avalos functioned as his chief repre-
sentative in Milan. The formulation of the La Scala statutes likely
reflects D'Avalos's insistence upon strict and professional operat-
ing procedures, while the motet collections probably represent an
'Offertoria igitur, Confractoria, et Transitoria si brevia fuerint tantum temporis in ijs

canendis adhibeatur [quantum] (vocem mod0 ut Infracanatur et si longa fuerint non
mittantur) Praefectus ipse chori opus esse indicarit habita ratione sacerdotis hebdo-
madarij. Neque enim omnes eodem passu currunt . . . Si longa et prolixa fuerint celerius
et festinatius agi poterit, Illud tamen in offertorijs cavendum, ne secunda pars, quae
inscribitur, versus omittatur, sed totum canantur, prout in missali legitur. Huiusmodi
autem animaversiones diligentur observande sunt, quo tempore: organum non pulsatur,
aut Musicorum chorus desideratur'. ASDM San Fedele XIII-146 (Santa Maria della Scala:
Visite pastorali e documenti aggiunti), q. 4.
91 For information on D'Avalos as a patron, see L. Lockwood, The Counter-Reformation and
the Masses ofvincenzo Ruffo (Venice, 1967), pp. 22-5, and C. Getz, 'Francesco I1 Sforza's
Forgotten Cantor: Evidence of Image Propaganda in Sixteenth-Century Milan',
Explorations in Renaissance Culture, 18 (1992), pp. 27-54.
Christine Getz
attempt to provide a current and appropriate polyphonic reper-

tory. The four collections, which comprise the earliest body of
sacred polyphonic literature associated with post-Gaffurius Milan,
feature motets by local Milanese composers, including Vincenzo
Ruffo, who resided at the Milanese court during the year 1542,
and Matthias Werrecore, maestro di cappella at the cathedral of
Milan 1522-50, as well as internationally recognised figures such
as Morales, Gombert, Phinot and Jachet of Mantua. The four
motet collections differ from Werrecore's 1555 collection of five-
voice motets in that motet cycles, which make up the final section
of the Werrecore print, are conspicuously absent from them, thus
suggesting that the Werrecore collection stands alone as a com-
prehensive musical document of post-Gaffurius performance prac-
tice at the Duomo of Milan.92Instead, the four D'Avalos-sponsored
motet collections feature only one- and two-part motets for local
ceremonial, Marian, and general liturgical use, by a variety of con-
temporary composers, and would have appealed to the cosmopoli-
tan experience and discerning taste that Bernardino Calusco
ascribed to D'Avalos in the preface to the Mutetarum liberprimus of
1543.93Moreover, the motets contained could easily have been
inserted into one of the prescribed sections of the mass mentioned
in the performance-practice documents discussed above. In fact,
the correspondence between the dating of the four the prints and
the dating of the La Scala statutes suggests that these four col-
lections may even mark the point at which polyphonic music was
incorporated into the mass at Santa Maria della Scala on a regu-
lar basis. As was noted above, Ruffo's Missa Alma redemptoris mater
for four equal voices also dates from this period. It is Ruffo's ear-
liest surviving mass and was published by Scotto of Venice in 1542,
the same year in which Ruffo served D'Avalos at the Milanese
court. As the titular ducal chapel in Lombardy during the reign
92 H. M. Werrecore, Cantuum quinque uocum quos motetta vocant . . . liberprimus (Milan, 1555).
'AD ILLUSTRISSIMUM ALPHONSUM AVALUM// HYSTONII MARCHIONEM
MEDIOLANENSISN Provinciae ac reliquae totius Galliae Cisalpinae praefectum.// Epistola ded-
icatoria.// Et si videbam Princeps humanissime te maximis teneri Publicarum rerum occu-
//pationibus, quippe, ad quem. M. Imp. Cisalpinae galliae ac totius fer2 hetruriae negotia
deferri voluit, cui demandarunt suos exercitus Italia, Germania, & His-//pania, tamen,
cum nuperrim2 quasdam cantiones in lucem miserim, qualescunque N sunt, non dnbitavi
[sic.] eas nomini tuo velut certissimae tutelae consecrare: Quarum// non vulgari armo-
nia (quod procul ab arrogantia dictum sit) ubi liceret aliquando pu-//blicos labores inter-
mittere . . .' B. Calusco, ed., Mutetarum dzuinitatis liberprimus (Milan, 1543), dedication.
of Charles V,94 Santa Maria della Scala would have provided a n

ideal forum for the performance of the motets and masses asso-
ciated with D'Avalos's Milanese tenure. Following the publication
of Calusco's Mutetarum liberprimus 1543, approximately seven years
passed before another printed collection of sacred pieces associ-
ated with the city surfaced. In 1550 Innocentio Ciconario of Milan
issued a collection containing hymns, motets and magnificats sup-
posedly composed by Hoste da R e g g i ~ . Shortly
~j thereafter, six of
Hoste's three-voice motets appeared at the close of his Ilprimo libro
de madrigali a tre voci, a collection printed by Moscheni of Milan in
1554. The collection itself is dedicated to Hippolita Gonzaga,
daughter of D'Avalos's successor Ferrante Gonzaga, and was com-
piled in honour of her 1554 marriage to Carlo Caraffa. It is one
of four madrigal books issued in 1554 while Hoste was serving as
maestro di cappella in Ferrante's h o u ~ e h o l d and
, ~ ~ its dedication to
Hippolita states that the pieces included were heard and sung on
occasion in the company of her noble damsels and 'sweet-voiced
~ h o i r ' . ~The
' six motets included, like those of Ruffo, feature an
interesting variety of both high and low clef combinations.
The polyphonic repertoire that is preserved in the sixteenth-
century manuscripts and prints housed at Sant'Ambrogio in
Vigevano is more diverse and includes motets, masses and organ
pieces for a wide variety of Marian and general feasts, as well as
an anonymous setting of the Lamentations of Jeremiah and two cer-
emonial motets for Duke Ottavio Farnese by Michaele Varoti
(Table 4). A letter addressed to Francesco I1 by Galeazzo de Petra
in 1531 suggests that some of the anonymous works preserved
94 In Milanese documents dating from the reigns of Charles V and his successors, Santa
Maria della Scala is usually described as either the 'ducal chapel' or the 'royal ducal
chapel' of Santa Maria della Scala. The same cannot be said of Sant'Ambrogio in
Vigevano.
95 Spirito L'Hoste, Magnij5cat cum omnibus tonis hymnis et motetta (Milan, 1550). It should be
noted that the name Spirito is not used in any of nearly a dozen Milanese documents
dating from 1554 to 1571 that mention Hoste da Reggio. It is clear, however, that Hoste
was known in ecclesiastical circles as Bartolomeo Torresani. The documents to which I
refer will be discussed at length in a forthcoming article entitled 'The Milanese Career
of Hoste da Reggio'.
96 All four of the 1554 madrigal collections identify him as maestro di cappella at the Milanese
court of Ferrante Gonzaga. By the following year he had been awarded an ecclesiasti-
cal benefice in the diocese of Milan. O n 13 January 1558, Hoste was appointed maestro
di cappella at the Duomo of Milan. AVFDM, Ordinazioni XI (1552-1561), 22gr-231', and
ASDM, Metropolitans XXXIII-406 (Visite pastorali e documenti aggiunti), q. 9.
97 Hoste da Reggio, I1 primo libro de madrigali a tre voci (Milan, 1554).
Christine Getz
Table 3 Summary of motet prints associated with the
Milanese court of AFonso dAvalos
RISM G2977 Gomberti excellentis simi . . . Musica quattuor vocum vulgo motecta
nuncupatur.
Venice: Scotto, 1539.
Dedication: AL GRAN MARCHESE DEL VASTO.
Contents: 22 four-voice motets by Gombert.
RISM 1541 Nicolai Gomberti musici excellentissimi pentaphthongos harmonia . . . Liber
primus.
Venice: Scotto, 1541.
Dedication: None.
Contents: 26 five-voice motets by Gombert (9), Jachet of Mantua (5),
Morales (2), Phinot (l), and Ruffo (6). 3 unattributed motets. The six Ruffo
motets reappear in R3047, as well as in a number of later sources. Study of all
the concordances reveals 15413 to be the earliest extant source transmitting
them.
RISM R3047 Vincenzo Ruffo: I1 primo libro de motetti a cinque voci.
Milan: Castiglione, 1542.
Dedication: ALL'ILLUSTRISSIMO, ET ECCELLJ3NTISSIMO SIGNOR
ALPHONSO D'AVALI MARCHESENdel Vasto valore invito della militia, et
chiaro splendore//delle virtu supreme.
Contents: 35 five-voice motets by Ruffo, 6 of which are concordant with
15413.
RISM 15433 Bernardino Calusco compiler: Mutetarum divinitatis liber primus.
Milan: Castiglione, 1543.
Dedication: AD ILLUSTRISSIMUM ALPHONSUM A VALUM//HYSTONII
MARCHIONEM MEDIOLAYENSISN Provinciae ad reliquae totius Galliae
Cisalpina praefectum.//
Contents: 23 five-voice motets by Brumen = Briant ( I ) , Claudin ( I ) ,
Courtois ( I ) , J. Lupi (2), Maistre Jhan ( I ) , Morales ( I ) , Hilaire Penet ( I ) ,
Phinot (9), Tugdual (I), Richafort (I), Werrecore (3), and Willaert (1).
there may have been composed by Vigevano's first cantor,

Francesco Rosarino, for De Petra reports that as of 5 June 1531
Rosarino had already completed 'certain new songs for the Trinity
that are so sweet and pleasant to the ear'.98Although these appar-
ently have not survived, Rosarino probably continued to compose
works for the choir during the years that followed. De Petra's let-
ter of 5 June 1531 also describes both services recently held and
98 'certi canti novi de Trinitate, tanto dolci et gratti a1 horechia'. ASM, Autograj 12-1
(Galeazzo Petra, Vescovo di Vigevano 1530-1552), fol. 22.
142
Table 4 Sixteenth-century manuscripts and prints of vocal polyphony
and organ m u s i c j o m Sant'Ambrogio surviving i n the Archivio Curia
Vescouile, Vigevano
A W , Sezione 13, R5 N1, fasc. 1: 'Ignoto', Manuscript copy of bassus part of
Anonymous, Lamentatio hieremie prophete for six voices.
Incipit Lamentatio Jheremie prophete.
Lectio 2" a 5: Nun. Vigilavit iugumlJherusalem convertere ad Dominum.
Lectio 3a a 6: Lamech clamavit cor eorum/O vos omnes/Jherusalem convertere
ad Dominum.
Feria secontia lectio primo a 4: Thau. Recordata est JherusalemlJherusalem
convertere ad Dominum.
Lectio 2a a 5: Lamech clamavit cor eorum/O vos omneslJherusalem convertere
ad Dominum.
Lectio 3a a 6: Gimel. Adhesit tacetl Zai. Lubricaverunt vestigia/ Jherusalem
convertere ad Dominum.
Sabbato sancto lectio primo a 6: Phe. Expandit Sionfiherusalem convertere ad
Dominum.
Lectio 2" a 6: Sade. Iustusest DominumlJherusalem convertere ad Dominum.
Oratio Jheremie a 5: Incipit oratio Jheremie prophete.
A W , Sezione 13, R5 N1, fasc. 2: manuscript copy of 'Ignoto', Tenorper couri a
12.
11: Kyrie [hand 11
lr-v:Gloria
1-2': Credo
21: Sanctus and Agnus Dei
[ 2 blank]
~
31: Domine DeusIGloria Patri with instrumental incipits [hand 21
3': Hodierna die omnes with instrumental incipits [hand 31
3 ~ 4 Dixit
: Dominus with instrumental incipits
4-6": Mass with instrumental incipits
A W , Sezione 13, R5 N1, fasc. 4: 10. Baptiste Savonensis, Sacrum cantionum quae
vulgo motecta nuncupatur, quinque, sex, et octo vocum liber primus (Milan: Paulum
Gottardum Pontium, 1574), quintus partbook.
3 Hodie nobis coelorum rex, 1 pars [five voices]
4 Gloria in excelsis Deo, 2 pars
5 Ego sum panis vivus
6 Congratulamini mihi omnes
7 Hic est discipulus
8 Peccavi super arenae maris
9 Peccantem me quotidie
10 Salve regina
11 0 rex gloriae Domine virtutum
12 Lapidabant Stephanum
13 Panis quem ego dab0
14 Vidi speciosam sicut columbam
15 Descendit angelus domini
16 Beatus vir, 1 pars
17 Non sic impii, 2 pars
Christine Getz
Table 4 continued
18 Surge propera amica mea
19 Vidi Dominum
20 Iste est Augustinus, quintus 1 [six voices]
21 Iste est Augustinus, quintus 2
22 Regina coeli laetare
23 Quae est ista quae ascendit
24 Ad dominum dum tribularer clamavi
25 Ad dominum dum tribularer clamavi [cont.]
26 Iubilate gentes in conspectu Domini (pro victoria contra Turcas), quintus 1
27 Iubilate gentes in conspectu Domini (pro victoria contra Turcas), quintus 2
28 Impetum inimicorum meorum non timui, quintus 1
29 Impetum inimicorum meorum non timui, quintus 2
30 Inviolata integra et casta es Maria
3 1 Non vos relinquam
32 Beata est Maria
33 Quem vidistis pastores
34 Eripe me Domine, tenor secundus [eight voices]
35 Eripe me Domine, altus secundus
A W , Sezione 13, R5 N1, fasc. 5: Michele Varoti, Domini Michaelis Varoti
A'ovarensis Sacrae Cantiones in omnes annfestivitates, tum vive voci, tum omnibus musice~
instrumentis aptiss. Quinque vocum. (Venice: Antonio Gardano, 1568), quintus
partbook.
1 Farnesi heroum soboles, 1 pars (ded. Octavio Farnese, Duke of Parma)
2 Ergo omnes leti, 2 pars
3 Miserere mei Domine (On Sundays)
4 Quoniam tu Domine, 2 pars
5 Canite tuba, 1 pars (Advent)
6 Annuntiate et auditum, 2 pars
7 Alleluia Dies sanctificatus (Nativity)
8 Elegerunt apostoli Stephanum (St Stephen)
9 Iste est Johannes, 1 pars (St John the Evangelist)
10 Hodie caeli aperti, 2 pars
11 Sub tuum praesidium (Purification)
12 Ave Maria gratia plena (Annunciation)
13 Lamentabatur Jacob, 1 pars (Ash Wednesday)
14 Prosternens se Jacob, 2 pars
15 Dum transisset sabbatum, 1 pars (Resurrection)
16 Et valde mane una sabbatorum, 2 pars
17 0 rex glorie Domine (Ascension)
18 Factus est repente (Pentecost)
19 Benedicta sit sancta Trinitas (Trinity)
20 Quam suavis est Domine (Corpus Christi)
21 Puer qui natus est nobis (St John the Baptist)
22 Hodie Simon Petrus ascendit (Sts Peter and Paul)
23 In diebus illis Mulier (Mary Magdelene)
24 Beatus Laurentius (St Laurence)
25 Que est ista quae ascendit (Assumption)

Table 4 continued
26 Beatissime Virginis Marie (Feasts and Birth of the Virgin)
27 Princeps gloriosissime Michael (Michael Archangel)
28 0 quam gloriosum (All Saints)
29 Estote fortes in be110 (Apostles)
30 Laetabitur iustus in Domino (Martyrs)
31 Sancti et iusti in Domino gaudete (Anniversaries [of Apostles and
Evangelists])
32 Euge serve bone et fidelis (Confessors)
33 Veni sponsa Christi (Of Virgins)
34 Quam metuendus est locus iste (Dedication of a Church)
35 Congratulamini mihi omnes, 1 pars (Resurrection of the Lord)
36 Recedentibus discipulis, 2 pars
A W , Sezione 13, R5 N1, fasc. 8:
I1 Primo Libro de Ricercare da cantare, a quattro voci di Claudio Merulo da Correggio
(Venice: Antonio Gardano, 1574), altus partbook: 20 numbered ricercari.
Ricercari di Ottavio Bariolla organists in S . Marco di Milano. Nuovamente composti et
dati in luce. Libro primo. (Venice: Antonio Gardano, 1579), altus partbook: 12
numbered ricercari.
A W , Sezione 13, R5 N1, fasc. 13.
Orfeo Vecchi, Motectorum quinque vocibus liber secundus (Milan: eredi di Simon
Tini e Giovanni Francesco Besozzi, 1595) = RISM V1066, tenor partbook.
Vecchi, Gabussi, Limidi, Cimi, Stephanio, Cabieto, Ardemanio, etc., tenor
partbook from a printed collection of Masses, Motets, and a Magnificat dated
c. 1598 that is concordant with Vecchi's Messe, Motetti, e un Magnijcat. Di diversi
eccellentissimi autori, raccolti da Guglielmo Berti, musico nella ducal Chiesa di S. Maria
della Scala di Milano. Col basso principale per l'organo (Milan: herede di A. Tradate,
1610) = RISM 1610'.
those currently being planned at Vigevano, and indicates that

polyphony was sung during the Mass and at Vespers there, a prac-
tice that was observed at both the Duomo of Milan and Santa
Maria del Fiore in F l o r e n ~ eI. have
~ ~ discovered no documents that
explicitly discuss the manner in which polyphonic pieces were to
be inserted into the mass at Vigevano, but a section of the 1532
gg ASM, Autografi 12-1 (Galeazzo Petra, Vescovo di Vigevano 1530-52), fol. 22. See
Appendix, Document 11. ASM, Autografi 12-1 (Galeazzo Petra, Vescovo di Vigevano
1530-52), fol. 23, which is an addendum to the 5 June 1531 letter, outlines preparations
for the esequie to be held in memory of Francesco 11's older brother Duke Massimiliano
Sforza. The services were to include polyphonic performance during the mass and the
office. The practice of performing polyphony during Mass and Vespers at the Duomo of
Milan and at Santa .Maria del Fiore in Florence is discussed in Prizer, 'Music at the
Court of the Sforza', p. 150 and pp. 178-9, and F. D'Accone, 'The Musical Chapels at
Florentine Cathedral and Baptistery during the First Half of the 16th Century', Journal
ofthe American Musicological SocietJ;,24, no. 1 (197 l ) , pp. 1-5 1, respectively.
Christine Getz
addenda to t h e 153 1 statutes of governance that outlines the con-
duct expected of the singers during the service suggests that solo
organ or organ alternatim pieces were preferred during the
Offertory, while polyphony was sung elsewhere, perhaps during
the Elevation and Post-Communion:
That no one among the dignitaries, including either a canon or beneficed
cleric as above, should dare or presume to sing counterpoint in the choir
while the liturgy is being celebrated unless given permission by the
Reverend Cantor. But all should sing the cantus firmi together in the
proper manner, and not otherwise, under penalty of 5 soldi to be applied
as above . . .
That no one among the dignitaries, including either a canon or another
beneficed cleric as above, sleep, laugh unrestrainedly, quarrel, or behave
foolishly in the choir under the penalties contained in the statutes.
Further, that no one assigned to the choir should say the office privately
or other prayers while the liturgy is celebrated except when the organ is
played during the offertory, or when polyphony is sung, or during the
time from the elevation to the post-communion of the mass, under
penalty of 5 soldi for each offense to be applied as above.'OO
OTHER CEREMONIAL DUTIES O F THE DUCAL CHOIRS
T h e cappelle musicali a t Santa Maria della Scala and Sant'Ambrogio

in Vigevano were originally erected to serve the ducal court of
Francesco I1 Sforza. Following his d e a t h in 1535 they passed into
t h e service of t h e governors representing Charles V and Philip I1
in Milan, a n d continued to serve the Milanese court by providing
the daily services in t h e Ambrosian and Roman rites as described
loo 'Item quod nullus etiam in dignitate constitutus aut Canonicus aut beneficiatus ut supra
in choro dum divina celebrantur: audeat nec presumat contrapontezare nisi de licentia
Domini Cantoris: sed omnes parimodo cantent iuxta formam cantus firmi et non aliter
sub pena soldorum quinque applicandorum ut supra . . . Item quod nullus etiam in dig-
nitate constitutus aut Canonicatus aut alius beneficiatus ut supra in choro dormiat aut
Imodeste rideat aut aliquid rixibile faciat aut nugetur sub penis continentibus in statutis:
et quod nullus ut supra in choro dicat officium private aut alias orationes dum divina cel-
ebrantur nisi// aut quando pulsatur organum pro offertorium: aut quando cantatur in
cantu figurato: aut dum facta fuerit ellevatio missae: usque ad post comunionem sub
pena soldorum quinque pro quamlibet vice applicandorum ut supra.' ASM, Culto p.a. 2218
(Vescovi e Vescovati: Vigevano A-Z), Addenda. The performance of motets during sim-
ilar sections of the Mass in sixteenth-century Rome is discussed in A. M. Cummings,
'Toward an Interpretation of the Sixteenth-Century Motet', Journal of the American
Musicological Socieb, 34, no. 1 (1981), pp. 43-59.
above. In addition, a practice was developed under the Spanish in
which various churches in Milan were responsible for the court
celebration of at least one special feast or series of feasts per year.
By the early seventeenth century, for example, special masses for
the governor's party were usually held either in the Duomo or at
San Giorgio a1 Palazzo, Holy Week services were held at San
Gottardo, and the Blessing of Candles on the feast of the
Purification of the Virgin was held at Santa Maria della Scala. All
processions, including that of Corpus Christi, were initiated at
Sant'Ambrogio (in Milan), Santa Maria presso San Celso, or San
Simpliciano, as dictated by the governor.lO'Additionally, a Corpus
Christi procession was organised by Sant'Ambrogio in Vigevano
for the city of Vigevano.lo2The annual Corpus Christi procession
in Vigevano was staged as early as 1531, for the aforementioned
letter dated 5 June 1531 from Galeazzo de Petra, Bishop of
Vigevano, to Francesco I1 Sforza mentions that the procession was
being planned and would be held shortly.lo3 Although little is
known about the procession itself, the ceremony for the Blessing
of the Candles at Santa Maria della Scala is described in detail in
a ducal ceremoniale dating from around 1629. It included the bless-
ing of the candles followed by a procession and a mass, both of
which were sung by La Scala's choral beneficiaries.lo4
The extant documents from the period also describe several
other Milanese services in which Santa Maria della Scala partici-
pated. The first of these was an annual penitence service held on
the evening of 24 March each year, presumably in honour of the
feast of the Annunciation, which was customarily celebrated the
following day. It evidently consisted of a processional litany and
vespers held simultaneously at various locations throughout the
city. A description of the proclamation of the Indulgence of 1533
found in a letter written by the episcopal officer Jacopo Picenardo
Biblioteca Trivultiana, Milano [hereafter 'BTM'], Codice 1252 (Ceremoniale Spagnolo,

lo'
1629), fols. 31-24, and Codice 1490 (Ceremoniale per i governatori di Milano, 1591), fols.
11-131. These two codices were dated by the scribes as shown above, but actually con-
tain miscellaneous records and entries from a number of different years surrounding
the date given at the head of the manuscript.
A W , Visite pastorali 8 (1578), Divina officia.
Io2
ASM, Autografi 12/1 (Galeazzo de Petra, Vescovo di Vigevano 1530-52), fol. 22.
Io3
BTM, Codice 1252 (Ceremoniale Spagnolo, 1629), fols. 9-1@. The responsibilities for
Io4
the plainchant items of the mass appear to be divided among the beneficiaries in a man-
ner derived from the directions found in the 1539 statutes.
Christine Getz
to Francesco I1 indicates that the senate and court officials

attended the services associated with this event at La Scala, while
the ecclesiastical dignitaries convened at the Duomo.Io5 La Scala
likely also hosted the Christmas Mass attended by the court of
Philip I1 of Spain during his triumphal entry into Milan and suc-
ceeding visit to the city, which occurred between 19 December
1548 and 2 January 1549. According to the account of the
Tridentine chronicler Cerbonio Besozzo, a choir with talented solo
singers sang Matins and a Mass for the royal entourage on
Christmas:
At midnight the Cardinal of Trent went in pontifical dress with His
Majesty to hear mass at the old court, where Matins was sung in music
of the greatest solemnity, [including] the T e Deum with organ responses
and a divine voice that sang within. And such [was] the mass with solemn
ceremonies in the Spanish style truly deemed worthy to be heard and
seen by such a prince and [his] gentlemen.106
Guglielmo Barblan has suggested that the solo singer may have
been Orlando di Lasso, who supposedly accompanied Ferrante
Gonzaga to Milan when he assumed the mantle of governor in
1546.17However, no evidence has yet been found in either the
Milanese archives or the Archivio Gonzaga di Guastalla in Parma
to support the contention that Lasso was in the city at the time
of Philip's visit. The soloist was probably one of the eight choral
beneficiaries from La Scala, all of whom auditioned and success-
fully completed a three-month probationary period as a singer in
the choir. La Scala supported the ducal choir lodged closest to the
Palazzo Reale, and its high mass was usually performed after
Matins and Prime, as Besozzo seems to describe. As can be
seen from the statutes discussed above, Christmas was one of the
many feasts on which the entire La Scala choir was required to be
lo5ASM, Sforzesco 1444 (Milano cittP e ducato: 1533 marzo e aprile), busta 1533 marzo,
n. n. See Appendix, Document 12.
Io6 'I1 Cardinal di Trento in sula mezza notte in pontificale andb a udir Messa in corte vec-
chia con sua Maesta dove con solennit%grandissima di Musica si cantb il Matutino, il Te
Deum con la risposta dell'organo et una divina voce che dentro cantava. E cosi la messa
con solenne ceremonie alla Spagnola degne veramente da esser da un tanto Principe e
Signori udite e vedute.' C. Besozzi, Cronaca, p. 43. Also see Barblan, 'La vita musicale
in Milano', p. 873. During the sixteenth century, the Palazzo Reale was often described
as the 'corte vecchia' in order to distinguish it from the newly constructed Castello
Sforzesco.
lo' Barblan, 'La vita musicale in Milano', pp. 873-4.
present for Matins and Prime. Moreover, the plainchant items
sung in each of La Scala's services were divided among the eight
singers according to their respective positions, thus supplying
numerous opportunities for solo performance during the course of
each high mass and canonical hour.
The establishment of the cappelle musicali at Santa Maria della
Scala and Sant'Ambrogio in Milan marks the link between Milan's
reputation as Italy's principal musical centre under the Sforza and
its ascent to the role of a leader in the development of late
Renaissance sacred music. These chapels continued to serve as the
ducal choirs for the governors representing Charles V (1535-56)
and Philip I1 (1556-98) in Milan throughout the remainder of the
sixteenth century. However, during the late sixteenth and seven-
teenth centuries their roles became increasingly civic and decreas-
ingly royal as the number of Milanese musical chapels with 'royal
ducal' designations increased and several of the newer chapels,
most notably San Gottardo in Corte,lo8 eventually replaced them
as the primary musical chapels. While Sant'Ambrogio's sphere of
influence was relegated to that of a local church by the late six-
teenth century, Santa Maria della Scala continued to occupy its
position as one of the region's leading institutions for the compo-
sition and performance of sacred music throughout the late six-
teenth and seventeenth centuries. Santa Maria della Scala's
cappella musicale owed its continued prominence during the seven-
teenth century both to its location and to the political acumen of
its administrators. As the primary ducal chapel in sixteenth-
century Milan, a large Italian city that was regarded as Spain's
principal territorial possession on the Italian peninsula, Santa
Maria della Scala stepped naturally and unobtrusively into the
role of an internationally respected civic institution. Moreover,
Santa Maria della Scala's administrative officers not only
ensured its political, economical and ecclesiastical autonomy at the
point of its foundation, but also retained it throughout this trans-
formation by maintaining the church's institutional ties to the
Milanese nobility, the Milanese merchant classes, and the Spanish
Io8 By the early eighteenth century San Gottardo in Corte had a number of singers as well
as a full string orchestra. Documentation of musical activity surviving from the period
is found in ASM, Culto p.a. 1079 (Chiese, Communi-Milano: San Gottardo in Corte,
Musica).
Christine Getz
aristocracy during the remainder of the sixteenth century. La
Scala's personnel were selected exclusively from those groups, and
subsequently were required to participate cooperatively in the
panoply of both the declining Sforza dynasty and the rising Spanish
state, thus reflecting the desired public image of a newly plural-
istic Milanese society. In contrast, both Sant'Ambrogio's location
and the design of its economic foundation unwittingly ensured its
musical downfall. Located in a satellite city of Milan, staffed pri-
marily with beneficiaries from the outlying regions of Lombardy
and Piedmont, and subject to the financial whims and woes of the
Milanese chancery, Sant'Ambrogio in Vigevano was quickly mar-
ginalised. As its role in state pageantry was diminished, so too was
its musical influence. Yet the Sant'Ambrogio choir did continue to
flourish, albeit on a local basis. The capitular and episcopal
archives in Vigevano, which were only recently reorganised and
catalogued, contain numerous seventeenth- and eighteenth-cen-
tury archival documents relating to music and musicians, as well
as music manuscripts and prints surviving from the sixteenth, sev-
enteenth and eighteenth centuries.logThese sources demonstrate
that the cappella musicale at Sant'Ambrogio in Vigevano continued
to play an integral role in Vigevano's liturgical and musical life.
Thus, its destiny as a civic institution, though tailored to life in a
small borough rather than a cosmopolitan city, was fundamentally
the same as that of Santa Maria della Scala. The ducal cappelle
musicali at Santa Maria della Scala in Milan and Sant'Ambrogio in
Vigevano, each of which survived its respective transformation
from a ducal to a civic chapel, were the last enduring musical gift
of the Sforza to the Duchy of Milan.
Baylor University
109 These archives, which had been open to scholars during the mid 1990s, were closed
indefinitely for restoration when I visited them in June 1997.
150
APPENDIX
Archival Documents
Document 1: Unsigned letter to Jacopo Picenardo, Episcopal Officer

in Milan. ASM, Sfoqesco 1428 (Milano cittB e ducato: 1530 ottobre e
novembre), busta novembre, n.n.
Laude 28 novembre 1530

Don picenardo Icconomo generale
Essendo ferma Intentione nostra di redur' chilla Ghiesa di Santa Maria
della Scalla di Milano sij celebrati li divini offitij secondo le laudabile
institutione delli Illustrissimi signori predecessori nostri. Vi dicemo
debbiati admonir' a1 preposito canonica et capitol0 d'essa che tutti senza
excettione alcuna vogliano ritrovarsi la vigilia della Nativita di Nostro
Signor Iesu Christo futura alla residentia per celebrar' dicti divini offitij
et far' quanto Li contiene in esse institutione et contra l'inobedienti
procedireti sin' alla privatione senza rispetto alcuno perche in cio
exegreti nostra volunta, Ricercati I1 venerabile Don Giovanni Maria Toso
vicario archiepiscopale et Canonico in dicta ghiesa ad deliberarsi di far'
la residentia secondo 2 dovuto altri menti Intendemo chel resigni dicto
Canonicato in favor' di persona che facci el debito suo et circa questo
particolar' expettiamo resoluta risposta,
Venerabili Domino Vicario Curie episcopalis Laude,
nostro Dilectissimo
Lodi, 28 November 1530
To Don Picenardo, Episcopal Officer
Given that it is our intention to reinstate the practice of celebrating
the divine office in the admirable style of our illustrious forefathers at
the church of Santa Maria della Scala of Milan, we inform you that
you must remind its provost, canonry and chapter that all members,
without any exception, must be in residence for the coming vigil of the
Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in order to celebrate the aforemen-
tioned divine offices and fulfil their obligations in this church. And you
will proceed to punish the disobedient up to deprivation without
exception, because in this you will carry out our wish. Admonish the
venerable Don Giovanni Maria Toso, vicar of the Archbishop and
Canon in this church, to take residence as he should; otherwise we
intend that he should resign his canonry in favour of someone who can
assume his obligation. And regarding this we await your final response.
To our most beloved, the venerable lord vicar
of the episcopal curia at Lodi
Christine Getz
Document 2: Excerpt from a letter to Francesco I1 Sforza from
Hieronymo Brebbia dated 17 December 1530. ASM, Sforzesco 1429
(Milano citta e ducato: 1530 dicembre e non datato), n.n.
Per il presente Cavalaro mando a vostra Excellentissima certi paramente
de giesa che ali di passati furono ordinato per il Reverendo proposito de
la Scala con ordine chi0 li facessi esser'ogi a Vigevano, ma piu presto
che in questa hora non si sono potuto haver' dal Magistrato che glia
facto.
By the present messenger I am sending Your Excellency certain
vestments for the church that were ordered previously by the Reverend
Provost of La Scala with the command that I send them to Vigevano
today, but they were not available earlier than now from the director
who made them for him.
Document 3: Excerpt from a letter to Francesco I1 Sforza from

Hieronymo Brebbia dated 23 December 1530. ASM, Sforzesco 1429
(Milano cittb e ducato: 1530 dicembre e non datato), n.n.
Eri per il Reverendo preposito della Scala ebbi una di vostra Excellentissima
e cossi subito ordinato a uno mio che con Illustrissimo del danareo
andasse con I1 prefatto preposito ad proveder ad questo si poteva di qua
da la festa e cossi van0 togando a quelle cose che restavano non se li
manchera di niuna cossa so che vostra Excellentissima resti piu satisfatta
che sia possibile.
Yesterday the Reverend Provost of La Scala gave me a letter from
Your Excellency, and I immediately ordered that one of my [men] with
the most Illustrious del Danareo go with the aforementioned Provost
to arrange for whatever can be done from here for the feast. Thus
they are taking care of those things that remained to be done; nothing
will be overlooked. I know that Your Excellency should remain as
satisfied as possible.
Document 4: Unsigned letter to Jacopo Picenardo, Episcopal Officer

in Milan. ASM, Sforzesco 1431 (Milano citta e ducato: 1531 febbraio),
n.n.
[Viglevani primo februarij]
Don picenardo Ecconomo generale

Per augment0 del culto divino et devotione nostra havemo determinato
aggionger' alli redditi della prepositura di Santa Maria della Scalla di
quella nostra Citta libre cinquecento valet 500 Imperiali ogni anno et non
solo da termini golduti per il modern0 preposito ma etiam diviso per tutti
quelli verano presso luj. Et piG accrescere a1 choro di dicta ghiesa

cappellani quattro con libre cento cinquanta della Intrata per ciascuno,
Dui mansionarij con libre 200 per l'anno et dui leviti con libre cento per
cadauno ogni anno ut supra. Et per supplir' a1 parte di dicte Intrate
desiderariamo in tutto levar' le cappellani che sonno di nostro
Iurispatronato in la ghiesa di Santo Giovanni alla vedra tutta rinnovata,
et unirle et Incorporarle al' capitol0 della ghiesa di Santa Maria della
Scalla ut supra Et comprar' tanti beni per supplire alla summa predetta,
Perche accio che se possi exeguire questo di sopra vi caricamo ad far
bona consideratione sopra tal nostro disegno et Incaminarlo talmente
che possiamo veder' I1 fare con far' far' la forma della expeditione
opportuna per rispetto di dicta unione et Incorporatione per che il
Reverend0 Domino Eminentissimo Vescovo verumtamen Nuntio appellate
presso nui non mancara di conpiacerni. Et del soccesso dartini adviso.
Alla Iopolitaria lire 500
Alli 4 capellanij lire 600
Alli 2 mansionarij lire 400
Alli 2 leviti lire 200.
[In Vigevano, 1 February]
T o Don Picenardo, Episcopal Officer
In order to improve the quality of our liturgy and worship we have
decided to increase the incomes of the provostship of Santa Maria
della Scala, [a church] of our city, by 500 Imperial lire every year, not
only to the limits of the benefits enjoyed by the current provost but
also all those who will come after him. And [we] further [intend] to
increase the choir of the aforementioned church [by] four chaplains
with an income of 150 lire each, two mansionarii with an income of
200 lire each per year, and two deacons with a n income of 100 lire
each per year as above. And in order to make up for a part of the
aforementioned incomes we will wish totally to remove the chaplains
that are supported by us in the wholly renovated [church of] San
Giovanni alla vedra,' and unite them and incorporate them into the
chapter of the church of Santa Maria della Scala as above, and to buy
sufficient property to add to the aforementioned sum. In order to carry
out the above plan, we charge you to consider our design and initiate
it so that we can see it done, by undertaking the necessary form of the
undertaking with respect to the said union and incorporation, because
the Reverend Father and Most Eminent Bishop, indeed the legate
designated to us, will not fail to be pleased with it. You will give us
notice of the outcome:
1. San Giovanni ad viperam, as is made clear in Document 6.
Christine Getz
To the provost 500 lire
To the four chaplains 600 lire
To the two mansionarii 400 lire
To the two deacons 200 lire
Document 5: Letter from the Provost of Santa Maria della Scala to

Francesco I1 Sforza. ASM, Sforzesco 1431 (Milano cittb e ducato: 1531
febbraio), n.n.
Subito fuj gionto In milano Andaj dal signor Thesorero et gli presentaj
la della vostra Excellentia dove luj mi resposte chel mj pregava che per
questa septimana non gli volesse dar fastidia per che haveva da far
questa cossa che ha da fare et poi chel faccia ogni cosa per exeguire in
commissione della vostra Excellentia et cossi anchora mj disse de quella
cosa per la Scalla
Li canonij et 10 havemo comenzato afar praticha di hominij da bene
et gia ne havemo in posta una parte Dove pensemo de far honor ad
vostra Eccellen tia
Presentaj la di vostra Eccellentia a Monsignor Pizenardo di che ebbi
tanta alegreza de questa cosa che non potria dil pih et dice che
exeguira quanto vostra Excellentia gli cometti et dice che de presente
fara che li cappellani di Sancto Giovanni la vedra officianano in la
Scalla Et dice che vostra Excellentia non poteva far la pih bella ne la pih
meglior cosa che e questa alla qualle humilmente quanto piu posso me
recomando da milano alli 5 de febraro 1531 Da vostra Excellentia
Humillissimo Servitor
El prevosto da la Scalla.
As soon as I arrived in Milan I went to the Treasurer and presented
him with the letter of Your Excellency, and in response he asked me
not to bother him this week because he had something else that he
has to do, and after that he will do everything possible to fulfil the
charge of Your Excellency, and thus he told me also regarding that
thing for La Scala.
The canons and I have begun to engage good men and already have
some of them in place, with which we think we shall honour Your
Excellency.
I presented Your Excellency's letter to Monsignor Picenardo, and he
could not be happier about this thing, and he says that he will execute
what Your Excellency commands him to and says that from the
present he will see that the chaplains of San Giovanni alla vedra
officiate in La Scala. And he says that Your Excellency could not do a
more beautiful nor a better thing than this, to whom I commend
myself as humbly as I am able. From Milan on 5 February 1531. From

Your Excellency's most humble servant
The Provost of La Scala2
Document 6: Excerpt from a letter of Jacopo Picenardo, Episcopal

Officer in Milan, to Francesco I1 Sforza dated 10 February 1531. ASM,
Sforzesco 1431 (Milano citth e ducato: 1531 gennaio), n.n.
Per comintiar' ad dar' principio a quanto vostra Excellentia ha ordinato
circa lo augment0 del culto divino In Sancta Maria della Scalla sono
stato col' Reverendo vicario archiepiscopale per intender sel po auctoritate
ordinaria unire le due cappelle sono in la ecclesia de Santo Giovanni
Baptista ad viperam, quale havendo studiato il caso, mi ha resposto
ch'lo po far', et cosi ho facto formar uno mandato de procura in
persona mia ad consentiendum huiusmodi unioni, quale qui alligato
mando a vostra Excellentia acio ch'lo possi far' stipular da uno notario
et mandarmelo per ch' subito havuto se procedera ad ulteriora et se
dara principio a quanto la desidera.
In order to initiate that which Your Excellency has ordered regarding
the improvement of the worship at Santa Maria della Scala, I met with
the Reverend Archbishop to find out whether he is able to unite the
two chapels that are in San Giovanni Baptista ad viperam through
customary authority. Having studied the case, he responded that he is
able to do it, and so I have prepared a mandate of power of attorney
in my name consenting to the union in this manner, which I am
sending to Your Excellency in the enclosed, in order that you can have
it drawn up by a notary and sent to me, because as soon as I have it I
shall proceed and will initiate that which you desire.
Document 7: Letter from Jacopo Picenardo, Episcopal Officer in

Milan, to Franceses I1 Sforza. ASM, Sforzesco 1432 (Milano citth e
ducato: 153 1 marzo), n.n.
Illustrissimo et excellentissimo signor mio singolarissimo . . .
I1 Reverendo Preposito de la Scala mi ha significato quanto vostra
excellenza gli ha commisso circa la erectione deli mansionarij et capel-
lani et leviti ch' vostra excellenza de novo vol far' in la ecclesia de Santa
Maria dela Scalla et essendo stato con il Reverendo Vicario et examinato
ben quest erectione, Trovamo non potersi far' se quella di presente non
2. The Treasurer to whom Provost De Matia refers in the first paragraph is likely the court
treasurer Hieronymo Brebbia.
Christine Getz
gli assigna quella dote ch'gli vole dar'Et per ch'il Thesaurero non ha
anch' potuto ritrovar' questa dote, et volendo vostra excellenza ch' di
presente se facia questa erectione se gli potra assignar' tanto terreno
nel giardino quale poi se potra contracambiar in quello ch' il
Thesaurero haveva ritrovato et non se perdera tempo in proceder' ad
ulteriora et alla Illustrissima signoria vostra sempre mi raccomando
bassandoli le mani. Mediolani 4 martij M.D. XXXI Da vostra
Illustrissima [Signoria] humillissimo servitor Ja: picenardus.
My most illustrious, excellent and singular sir . . .
The Reverend Provost of La Scala has notified me of that which Your
Excellency has asked him to do regarding the creation of [the posts ofl
mansionarii, chaplains and deacons that Your Excellency wishes to
newly establish in the church of Santa Maria della Scala, and having
met with the Reverend Archbishop and examined this installation well,
we find that it cannot be done at present if you do not assign him that
endowment that you wish to give him. Because the Treasurer was still
not able to obtain this endowment if Your Excellency wishes to make
this installation at present, [it is suggested that] if you donate to him
a good deal of territory from the garden, which can then be exchanged
with that which the Treasurer has found, then time will not be lost in
proceeding toward the goal. And to your Illustrious Lordship I always
commend myself, kissing your hands. In Milan on 4 March 1531. From
Your Illustriousness's most humble servant Jacopo Picenardo.

Francesco I1 Sforza. ASM, Sforzesco 1432 (Milano citth e ducato: 1531
marzo), n.n.
Illustrissimo et Excellentissimo signor
Questa sera per dar aviso ad vostra Excellentia come in questa matina
comenziamo afar officiare li capellanij da vostra Excellentia agionti alla
madonna de la Scalla et volemo cantar la messa de spiritu sancto et
faremo processione per la canonica et cossi pregavamo dio per vostra
Excellentia che gli dia sanita e longa vita et cossi daremo bon principio
et andaremo de ben In meglio.
Questi canonici ringratiano quanto pih possono vostra Eccellentia et
gli ne restano perpetuj obbligati et servj pregavamo dio per vostra
Excellentia et cossi farb 10 Insieme con lori.
Mando ad vostra Eccellentia uno paramento de damascho verdi credo
che piacera ad vostra Eccellentia. 10 so ben che in Milano non e li pih
belli di questi dico di seta solicitiano per far li altri et cossi tutte le
altre cose altro non achad se non che in bona gratia di vostra Excellentia
quanto piu posso me recomando da milano alli 19 di marzo 153 1 Da

vostra Excellentia Humilissimo Servitore
El prevosto da la Scalla.
Most illustrious and excellent sir:
This evening [I wish] to notify Your Excellency that this morning we
begin to make the chaplains added by Your Excellency officiate at
Santa Maria della Scala. We wish to sing a mass of the Holy Spirit and
process through the presbytery, and so we prayed to God for the
health and long life of Your Excellency; thus we shall ensure a strong
foundation upon which we shall improve.
These canons thank Your Excellency as much as they are able and
remain perpetually obligated servants of Your Excellency, and we
prayed to God for Your Excellency, and so will I along with them.
I am sending Your Excellency a hanging of green damask. I believe
that it will be pleasing to Your Excellency. I know well that in Milan
there is none more beautiful than these, that is, of silk; others are
being commissioned and all the other things of this kind. Nothing else
is occurring except that I commend myself to the good grace of Your
Excellency as much as I am able. From Milan on 19 March 1531. Your
Excellency's most humble servant,
The Provost of La Scala
Document 9: Excerpt from the 1531 Statutes of the Cathedral

Chapter at Sant'Ambrogio in Vigevano. ASM, Culto p.a 2218 (Vescovi
e Vescovati: Vigevano A-Z), Statuti del Capitolo di Vigevano, fol. 2".
Item: statuimus et ordinamus: quod cantor habeat locum et vocem
imediate post Decanum in capitulo et processionibus omnibus et stallo
in loco inferiori ante lectorille et ante Archipresbiterum cum baculo:
iuxta modum et morem Cantoris: Et habeat intonare introitum misse:
gradualia: offerenda: antiphonas et omnia que preintonare solent ab
aliis in missa. In vesperis autem et aliis horis denuntiare dignitatibus et
canonicis et hebdomadariis antiphonas gradatim: Et teneatur ad
regendum chorum: in omnibus que ad officium dicendum et cantandum
pertinent: et quad cantet missas sibi attributas et assignatas in Tabula
posita in Sacristia.
Likewise we establish and order that the cantor have a position of
authority immediately under that of the deacon in the chapter, and
follow him in all processions. He is to occupy the lower stall in the
choir immediately in front of the lectern and archpresbyter with a
staff in the manner and custom of the cantor. And he is to intone the
introit of the mass, the gradual, the offertory, the antiphons and
157
Christine Getz
everything else that is customarily preintoned by others during the

mass. However, in vespers and other canonical hours he is to announce
to the dignitaries and canons the weekly antiphons one by one. And he
is held responsible for directing the choir in everything that pertains
to the office of reciting and singing. Finally, he is to sing those masses
allotted and assigned to him on the schedule posted in the sacristy.
Francesco I1 Sforza dated 30 May 1533. ASM, Sforzesco 1445 (Milano
citta e ducato: 1533 aprile e maggio), busta 1533 maggio, n.n.
El Reverendissimo viglevanense mi ha scripto chel nova che facesse
scriver dui psalterij da questo nostro prete qua1 ha scripto el messale
Evangelistario et Epistolario Et cossi non che se scrivesse el manuale
zive quello libro dove cantano le oratione et capitulij Dove gli ho
resposto che lo far0 ma questo prete non vol scriver piu di qua da
pascha ma subito passate queste feste lo far0 Incomenzare et cossi de
man In man se seguira.
El miniatore va direto Et non gli mancha et certo fa bene et non
manchara a1 tempo ha promesso dico del messale lo Evangelistario non
e anchor comenzo dico de miniare ma fornito de scrivere gia un mese
fa.
The Bishop of Vigevano has written me the news that he has commis-
sioned two psalters from our priest who wrote the missal, Gospels and
Epistles, and so inquired as well whether he has written the manual or
that book from which they sing the prayers and chapter items. I
responded that I would arrange it. However, this priest does not wish
to copy more before Easter, but as soon as these feasts are over I will
see that he begins, and, thus little by little it will follow.
The illuminator continues and will not fail and certainly does well,
and he will finish when he promised, I mean the missal. The Gospel is
not yet begun, that is, being illuminated, but the copying was finished
a month ago.
Document 11: Excerpt from a letter of Galeazzo de Petra, Bishop of

Vigevano, to Francesco I1 Sforza dated 5 June 1531. ASM, AutograJi
12/1 (Galeazzo Petra, Vescovo di Vigevano 1530-52), fol. 22.
. . . Como anchor' a1 presente de l'officiar del suo choro et chiexa, con
tanto ordine, tanta devocione, con ceremonie, et belli modi che niente
se li po opponer di sorte che chi vora reformare chiexa penso verrano
a casa nostra, Eri se si cantorono messa et vespere sollemne per la festa
correva in canto figurato da dece nostre cantori, Tocho a1 Dechano con
tante ceremonie belli modi quando piu dir' se potessi ala presentia mia,
che li giuro per la Vera et cordiale servitu li porto che In Italia non si
celebro simile messa, che duro circa tre hor', et vespero grad con il
resto piu de due hor', degli derava'ppresso la Illustrissima signoria vostra
esser In vostre cantorie.
. . . How at present the officiating of your choir and church still
[continues] with such order, devoutness, ceremonies, and beautiful
ways that nothing could be objected to, so that I think those who
would wish to reform the church will come to our house. Yesterday
mass and solemn vespers for the current feast were sung in polyphony
by ten of our singers. The dean presided with such ceremony and
beautiful ways that could be said in my presence, that I swear by the
true and cordial service that I bear him that in Italy a similar mass
has never been celebrated, which lasted about three hours, and solemn
vespers with the accompanying ceremonies of more than two hours
like those which were held near Your Illustrious Lordship in your
choirs.
Document 12: Excerpt from a letter of Jacopo Picenardo, Episcopal

Officer in Milan, to Francesco I1 Sforza. ASM, S'rzesco 1444 (Milano
citt2 e ducato: 1533 marzo e aprile), busta 1533 marzo, n.n.
Hoggi si 2 messa la Indulgentia second0 il solito in la Chiesamagior' di
questa Citta: Et il senato, et tutti li Magistrati sono convenuti in la
chiesa di la Scala: Et havemo accompagnato detta Indulgentia nel
Domo, Dove siamo stati a1 vespero: Et sin' alhora presente tutto passa
con bon ordine, et quietamente: Basando la mano di vostra Excellentia et
humilmente me li rewmmando. Mediolani 24 Martij 1533.
Today as usual the Indulgence was proclaimed in the cathedral of this
city. And the senate and all of the magistrates were assembled in the
church of La Scala. And we accompanied the said Indulgence to the
Duomo, where we were at vespers. And up to the present everything is
happening quietly and in an orderly fashion. Kissing the hand of Your
Excellency and humbly commending myself to you. From Milan on 24
March 1533.
Ear& Music History (1998) Volume 17. 0 1998 Cambridge University Press
MUSIC, IDENTITY AND T H E
INQUISITION IN
F I F T E E N T H - C E N T U R Y SPAIN*
'Citola, odrecillo non amar cagmil hallaco.'
(The citola and the bagpipes do not suit an Arab man)'
Sometime between the years 1330 and 1343,Juan Ruiz, Archpriest

of Hita in Castile, included this maxim in his literary masterpiece,
the Libro de buen amor. This verse, like others in the poem, attrib-
utes an ethnic identity both to objects and to vocal music, a form
of ethnic marking that has been preserved in Spanish culture by
linguistic usage: the Arabic particle a[l] in the prefix to words for
musical instruments such as a d u j (square tambourine), ajabeba
(transverse flute) or anajl (a straight trumpet four feet or more
in length) is a possible reminder of this phenomenon.* About a
century later, the chronicler Alonso de Palencia (d. 1492) applied
similar ethnic markings when speaking of the music of a young
Castilian converso who was to become one of the most powerful
courtiers of King Enrique IV,Diego Arias DBvila: 'per rura sego-
biensia . . . cantibusque arabicis advocabat sibi coetu rusticorum'.3
When, some forty years ago, Mentndez Pidal attempted to
reconstruct the historical context of the Libro de buen amor (includ-
ing its verses on music and musical instruments) in a way that
would both explain its historical background and confirm its his-
torical validity and accuracy, he considered the particular case of
* This article is a revised version of a paper presented to the Hispanic Cultures Research
Group directed by Dr Inger Enkvist at the Romanska Institution of the University of
Lund, Sweden, in September 1996. I should like to express my gratitude to Dr Enkvist
and all the other participants for their comments and encouragement.
I Libro de buen amor. The Book ofTrue Love, trans. S. R. Daly, ed. A. N. Zahareas (Philadelphia,
1973), lines 151617.
R. Stevenson, Spanish Music in the Age ofColumbus (The Hague, 1960), pp. 22-3.
Palencia, Crdnica de Enrique ed. A. Paz y Melia (Madrid, 1973), DCcada I (lib. iii, cap.
5), and MenCndez Pidal (see note 4).
Eleazar Gutwirth
this fifteenth-century Jewish c o n v e r ~ o .There

~ is some significance
in the fact that, on the one hand, the fourteenth-century Christian
Castilian masterpiece appears to show such familiarity with Arabic
music and that, on the other, MenCndez Pidal should have used,
as historical embodiment of the poet's views, the case of a musi-
cian of Jewish birth and cultural background who became a
courtier. Of course, the texts used by MenCndez Pidal now appear
to be far more problematic and ambiguous than they did at the
time5 (he claimed, for example, that in the songs of the Sephardi
women of North Africa, as sung in the early twentieth century,
could be heard 'the sounds of the Castile of the Catholic
monarch^').^ Nevertheless, his emphasis on the significance of
fifteenth-century Hispano-Jewish musical practice has now become
an accepted part of scholarly concern. Whether or not they accept
the fifteenth-century dating for the origin of the musical traditions
that have been collected and studied only in the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries, historians of music have repeatedly returned,
for more than a century, to the problem of th; musical practices
of fifteenth-century hispanic Jewry, that is to say to the music
which the Jews exiled from Spain i n 1492 may have taken with
them to their various destinations.' Paradoxically, despite the rich-
& R. Mentndez Pidal, Poesfajuglarescay juglares (Madrid, 1957), p. 229.
5 O n the Latin and French sources or analogues of some of the references to musical
instruments in the Libro de buen amor, see F. Lecoy, Recherches sur le Libro de buen amor, ed.
A. D. Deyermond (Farnborough, 1974), p. 260, who discusses the list of instruments
which greet Love and its dependence on previous models even in apparently local details
such as Moorish instruments. See also D. Devoto, 'La enumeraci6n de instrumentos
musicales en la poesia medieval castellana' in Miscelinea en Homenage a H . AnglLs
(Barcelona, 195&61), pp. 21 1-22. Similarly problematic is the other source, though for
different reasons. The problems of using Palencia's chronicle for anyone connected with
Enrique IV are well known, and in the case of Diego Arias they may be compounded by
his Jewish origins. On the problem of the representation of Jews and judaisers in
Castilian chronicles of the period, see E. Gutwirth, 'The Jews in 15th-Century Castilian
Chronicles', Jewish Quarterly Review, 84, no. 4 (1984), pp. 379-96. There is little evidence
to show that Palencia knew either Arabic or Hebrew, or that he could distinguish between
these differing musical traditions.
6 R. Mentndez Pidal, Poesia populary poesia traditional en la literatura espariola. Conferencia leida
en A l l Souls' College 26/6/1922 (Oxford, 1922).
See for example E. Gerson Kiwi, 'On the Musical Sources of the Judeo-Spanish
Romance', Musical Q-uarterly, 50 (1964), pp.,31-43; H. Avenary, 'Old Melodies to Sephardic
pizmonim' (in Hebrew), in Tesoro de losjudtos s e j i r d i e 3 (1960), pp. 149-53; idem, 'Cantos
esparioles antiguos mencionados en la literatura hebrea', Anuario Musical, 25 (1971), pp.
67-79; J. Etzion and S. Weich-Shahak, 'The Spanish and the Sephardic Romances:
Musical Links', Ethnomusicology, 32 (1988), pp. 1-37; idem, 'The Spanish "Romances viejos"
and the Sephardic Romances: Musical Links across Five Centuries', Atti del X V I Congreso
della Societd Internazionale di Musicologia (1989), pp. 7-16.
Music, Identity and the Inquisition in Fifteenth-Century Spain
ness of the repertory, and the evident importance and the frequent
use made of the songs that have been collected in our own cen-
tury (in disciplines such as the literary history of fifteenth-century
Spain), the fifteenth-century sources mentioned in the scholarly
literature on the subject are both scant and problematic. A recent
study has gone so far as to affirm that 'existing data concerning
the music of the Jews in Spain prior to the expulsion is almost
The question would appear to be why such a rich tradition
seems to have left so very few traces in the pre-expulsion evidence.
It is against this background of the paucity of sources mentioned
in the scholarly literature and their problematic nature that it may
be suggested that there does, in fact, exist a type of fifteenth-
century evidence which, though neglected, may nevertheless be
used to reconstruct some aspects of HispanoJewish musical prac-
tice and their meaning: namely, the records of the Spanish
Inquisition. Here attention may be focused on Diego Arias DBvila
himself, because of the importance attributed to his music by
his contemporaries (Palencia is only one of them) and by later his-
torians (such as Mentndez Pidal) on the one hand, and because
of the relative wealth of material provided by the Inquisition
records themselves on the other.
Diego Arias (d. 1466) was a civil servant of some social and polit-
ical importance, being, at various times, contador mayor (an office
akin to chief treasurer of the kingdom of Castile), secretary to the
king, chief notary of the king's privileges throughout his royal and
seigneurial lands, notary public in the king's court, and a member
of the royal council. His name appears in the marriage contract
drawn up in 1455 between Enrique IV and Juana, the sister of the
King of Portugal, thus showing his active involvement in the dynas-
tic affairs of the crown. Arias was also part of the alliance between
Enrique IV and the most powerful men of the realm: Alfonso de
Fonseca, Archbishop of Seville; Don Pedro Gir6n, Master of
Calatrava; ~ l v a r ode EstGniga, Count of Plasencia; Juan Pacheco,
Marquess of Villena; and Alfonso Pimentel, Count of Benavente.
H e was in turn the founder of a dynasty which included the Bishop
of Segovia; a prothonotary of the kingdom; a n early conquistador
See E. Seroussi, 'Between Eastern and Western Mediterranean: Sephardic Music after
the Expulsion from Spain and Portugal', Mediterranean Historical Review, 6 (1991), pp.
198-206.
Eleazar Gutwirth
who founded Panama and was the first governor of Nicaragua; and
the counts of Pu~ionostro.~ For us, it is his cultural and artistic
activities that are of greater interest. His opulent mansion in
Segovia excited the envy even of noble families such as the
Mendozas because of features of its design and furnishings such
as the golden ceilings, the cups and vases encrusted with precious
jewels, and the bedsheets of fine holland linen. Ostentation on this
scale naturally evoked comparisons with the magnificence of
emperors, popes and cardinals, and the reports of contemporaries
mention the numerous seekers for his favour who would wait on
him laden with presents. It is probable that Arias was a patron of
poets and of the manuscript illuminators and painters who stayed
in his house. His wife's reading habits were considered remark-
able by her Segovian neighbours, who recalled in detail the splen-
did bindings of her books. His son, the bishop of Segovia, and his
book-collecting activities are famous and are a source of pride to
Segovians to this day. The bishop has been credited with the early
introduction of features of Renaissance architecture into Spain,
particularly in the design of the bishop's palace at Turtgano.l0
From the fifteenth-century Inquisition evidence on Aria's one may
reconstruct aspects of musical practice which are usually ignored:
information about repertory, the places in which musical perfor-
mance took place, the nature of the audience and its critical
responses, and, most importantly for us here, the significance of
this music in its social and historical context.
On the conversos in fifteenth-century Castile in general, see Y. Baer, A History ofthe Jews
in Christian Spain, vol. I1 (Philadelphia, 1978). On Diego Arias's Inquisition file and its
historical interpretation, see E. Gutwirth, 'Jewish-Converso Relations in XVth c.
Segovia', Proceedings ofthe Eighth World Congress ofJewish Studies, B (Jerusalem, 1982), pp.
49-53; idem, 'Elementos ttnicos e hist6ricos en las relaciones judeo-conversas en Segovia',
Jews and Conversos, ed. Y . Kaplan (Jerusalem, 1985), pp. 83-102; idem, 'On the Background
to Cota's Epitalamio Burlesco', Romanische Forschungen, 97, 1 (1985), pp. 1-14; idem,
'Abraham Seneor: Social Tensions and the Courtdew', Michael, 11 (1999), pp. 169-229;
idem, 'From Jewish to Converso Humour in Fifteenth Century Spain', Bullettn ofHispanic
Studies, 67 (1990), pp. 223-33. All references are to the excellent transcriptions by C.
Carrete Parrondo in Fontes Iudaeorum Regni Castellae, v ~ lI11. (Salamanca, 1986), hereafter
cited as 'FIRC'.
'0 On Diego Arias see the notes to the studies of his Inquisition file mentioned above; also
J. Rodriguez Putrtolas, Poesfa crlticay satirica delsiglo xu (Madrid, 1984), and J. M. Aziceta,
El Cancionero de Juan Ferndndez de Ixar (Madrid, 1956) pp. 447ff.
T H E SPACES O F JEWISH MUSIC
The Inquisitors' records relating to the Arias DBvila family show

the extent to which his contemporaries felt the places where his
music was performed to be important. A number of descriptions
of his singing have been preserved in these documents, and of
course there may have been other depositions given before the
Inquisition tribunal which have not survived. The file itself repre-
sents only a selection from the books of the Segovian and other
Inquisition tribunals, and the depositions were given at least
twenty years after the events which they describe. This is in itself
an eloquent testimony to the memorable nature of his perfor-
mances. Moreover, some of these accounts were given at second
hand by witnesses who remembered hearing about his perfor-
mances but had not experienced them personally; evidently they
were also the subject of private conversations amongst Diego
Arias's contemporaries. Specifications of the place of performance,
usually included in these accounts, differ somewhat from the
better-documented ones of Christian secular music or Jewish and
Christian liturgical music in fifteenth-century Spain: the syna-
gogue, the church, the private chapel and the streets during pro-
c e s s i o n ~ .In
~ ~May 1489, Rabbi Simoel, doctor to the Duke of
Albuquerque, testified under oath that he had heard maestre
Josep, his father, speak about Diego Arias's music, and that it had
been performed 'while walking one day . . . [and] they were left
alone separated from the other people who were with them'.l2 In
April 1486, Rabbi David Gome testified that he had heard one
Jacob talk about Diego Arias's singing; this time the performance
l1 For the places where music was performed in fifteenth-century Spain and their analy-
sis, see e.g. K. Kreitner, 'Music in the Corpus Christi Procession of Fifteenth-Century
Barcelona', Early Music History, 14 (1995), pp: 153-204; see also T. Knighton, 'Ritual and
Regulations: The Organization of the Castilian Royal Chapel during the Reign of the
Catholic Monarchs', Misceldnea . . . Jose' Ldpez-Calo S. J . , coord. E . Casares and C.
Villanueva, vol. I (Santiago de Compostela, 1990), pp. 291-320, which emphasises that
the royal chapel was not so much a space as a body of clergy. There are images of per-
formance spaces in, for example, the breviary illuminated in Flanders during the last
decade of the fifteenth century for Queen Isabella (now London, British Library Add.
MS 18851) on fol. 164, where King David is shown surrounded by the singers of the 'old
song' of the Old Testament. See J. Backhouse, The Isabella Breviary (London, 1993), pl.
24. For the performance of Christian secular music in S ~ a i nsee also M. C. G6mez
Muntane, ~a-rnrisicaen la casa real catalano-aragonesa (1336-14'42), "01. I (Barcelona, 1979).
l2 FIRC No. 104, p. 62.
165
Eleazar Gutwirth
had taken place in an inn where Diego Arias had been lodged while
in Medina del Campo, in a room which had a table laid out with
tablecloth.13 Jacob Castellano, a Jewish vecino of Medina del
Campo, referring to the event, recalled that 'it happened twenty-
six years ago [that is to say, around 14601, when this witness was
about twelve years old . . . Diego Arias came to the said city of
Medina [del Campo]; he lodged in the house of Francisco Ruiz
and the late G6mez Gonshlez and don Ynse [i.e. Yuse = Joseph]
Abeata and don Gulema . . . and while being there in the said lodg-
ing . . . [in] Diego Arias's retraymiento where he was with the said
Jews.''* Rabbi Mosse aben Mayor testified that he had heard
[Ynge] Yuse aben Mayor talk about Diego Arias's singing in
Villalpando, where Diego Arias lodged in the house of the wit-
nesses' mother. 'Some nights after he came from the palace [. . .]
after he had dined he would ask for the said Yuse to be sent to
him, and he would go down to a great kitchen where he was and
he would order everybody out and would order the said Yuse to
shut the door and would tell him to sing.'15 Later, in May 1487,
Don Juda Saragoza testified how Diego Arias had sung to him 'one
day going on the way to Chinch6n'.16
So Diego Arias sang Jewish songs on the road, in Jewish house-
holds, in the privacy of his own house, in a kitchen and in his room
at an inn in Medina del Campo. These were not the public spaces
implied by Palencia's account but, on the contrary, places where
intimacy and privacy were of the essence of the occasion. Alonso
~ e n r i ~ u testified
ez in October of the same year that Diego Arias
had told him that 'if there was anything after this world for the
soul . . . it was the voices of the prayers of the Jews which would
do for him because behind the said monastery of La Merced there
was a synagogue'.'' The places where music was performed were
evidently present in these memories, but Diego's reported com-
l3 FIRC No. 179, p. 102.

I4 FIRC No. 187, p. 106. O n the significance of the retraymiento, see E. Gutwirth, 'Habitat
and Ideology: The Organization of Private Space in Late Medievaljuderlas', Mediterranean
Historical Review, 9 (1994), pp. 205-34. For yet another place where music was possibly
performed (it was certainly a place for prayer), the huerta of Diego Arias near the gate
of San Martin, see FIRC No. 82.
IS FIRC No. 11 1, p. 203.
l6 FIRC No. 219, p. 115.
l7 FIRC No. 66, p. 43.

ment is a n observation on the intersection between space, musi-
cal meaning and the conflict between Church and Synagogue.
What Arias was affirming, in fact, was that near his tomb two kinds
of music would be voiced: the Christian music of the monastery
of La Merced and the Jewish music of the nearby synagogue. Music
was not seen as divorced from the spaces of religious identity. The
idea has wider implications, some of which are expressed in liter-
ary texts; for example, a poem by Pero Ferrus in the Cancionero de
Baena is based precisely on the contrast between two musical tra-
ditions which represent, metonymically, the two religions. This
poem also appeals to stereotypes of what was thought in medieval
Spain to be a distinctive 'Jewish voice'. What may need emphasis
is that such ideas, despite first impressions, were not mere liter-
ary topoi that existed exclusively within the bounds of written
literary texts, but formed part of a wider spectrum of social men-
talities; the archival records of the Inquisition provide us with
evidence of their oral currency.18
AUDIENCE
We may also partly reconstruct the audience for Diego Arias's

singing from the Inquisition records. Most of the witnesses who
testified to Diego Arias's singing were neither conversos nor
Christians, but Jews. This has a certain significance. Previous
neglect of this kind of archival material may have been based on
preconceptions about its exclusive concern with conversos. But the
file, it may be argued, has left evidence not only about the activ-
ities of the Inquisition and of the conversos but also about the men-
tality of the Jews and, in particular, of a relatively well-defined
group within Jewish society that may be loosely described as the
leaders of the community and their associates, people who moved
within a concrete geographic area (central Castile) and who had
relations with Segovia. Abraham Seneor, for example, was a resi-
dent of Segovia and a chief tax collector as well as being Chief
Judge and Chief Rabbi of the Jews; Jacob Castellano, the Jewish
This topos will be studied in detail elsewhere. Pero Ferrus's Cantiga has been frequently
cited in the literature; see, for example, the Cancionero de Baena (Leipzig, 1860), p. 319.
In the usual interpretation, the reverse of my own, it is seen as an unproblematic model
of 'convivencia'.
Eleazar Gutwirth
vecino of Medina del Campo, was an official of the Jewish commu-

nity; Rabbi David Gome is described as someone who was resident
in Medina del Campo; Rabbi Samuel was the doctor of the Duke
of Albuquerque, while the Segovian Alonso Henriquez was also a
Jew in Diego Arias's lifetime. They were all part of Diego Arias's
circle, that is to say people who were in contact with well-placed
officials in Enrique IV's administration, and as such can hardly be
described as a popular audience. Nevertheless, according to one
testimony given in 1486, those 'who lived with Diego Arias' would
talk about his Hebrew songs: 'que oyo decir a muchos que vivian
con Diego Arias'; 'people who lived with him' is a frequent phrase
in the romance literature of the period to describe 'his servants',
i.e. the servants who lived in his house. This reported remark may
be used to reconstruct Diego Arias's behaviour in the privacy of
his home.lg Some of the testimonies given before the Inquisition
show that Arias's audience also included a number of conversos. O n
19 April 1489 a description of one of his performances was given
by the uncle of Fernando ~ l b a r e z ,who, after describing Diego
Arias's singing, added, 'y estale escuchando e oyendo Alonso
G o n ~ a l e zde la Oz e otros biejos' ('and Alonso G o n ~ a l e zde la Oz
was listening and hearing him, with other old men').*O These fam-
ilies (de la Oz, del Rio, etc.) also belong to a well-defined group
within Segovian society in the second half of the fifteenth century.
Their names appear frequently in Segovian business and admin-
istration records; they belonged to the city council and were part
of the upper echelons of the urban oligarchy.
REPERTORY
The Inquisition records repeatedly refer to specific items of music,

in contrast to other texts (theoretical texts in this or other
Inquisition files with less detailed testimonies) where the music is
not described. Nevertheless, some of these testimonies refer to
Jewish songs not sung by Diego Arias, while others refer to songs
19 On these individuals, see the studies mentioned in note 9 above. Other recorded lis-
teners are the Jew Abraham Saragossi, Diego Arias's majordomo in Segovia; Culema
aben Shushan, a Jewish tax-collector; and Judah Saragossa, a Segovian Jewish commu-
nity official c. 1482. See FIRC p. 74; p. 73; p. 115 and p. 102.
20 FIRC No. 111.
without giving their titles (e.g. 'las bozes de las oraciones de 10s
judios'). For the sake of convenience we may try to itemise them
as they appear in the documents:
1 un pismoni que dicen 10s judios Col meuacer
2 la hararu
3 vendiciones cantadas
4 canta el berso que dize el capellan judio quando saca la
Tora en hebrayco
5 Mismad y cohay etc
6 cadis
7 Vay hod lo asamay
8 el pizmo
9 algun salmo cantado
10 el sediente
The highly corrupt character of the transcriptions from the
Hebrew in the records tells us a good deal about the lack of sig-
nificance of the individual musical items for Christian notaries. It
must be added that while it is true that these documents are later
copies of fifteenth-century originals, the mis-transcription of
Hebrew words or Jewish names by Spanish notaries is very com-
mon indeed, even in fifteenth-century texts. Nevertheless, most of
these references may be identified, either by emendation or
through their contexts, as follows:
1 A pizmon [see below] which the Jews call 'Qol Mevaser'
2 the Haftarah
3 the blessings sung for the Haftarah
4 Atah Horetah and other verses
5 Nishmat Kol Hay
6 Kaddish
7 Va-Yekhulu Ha-Shamayim [i.e. Kiddush - the
Sanctification over the wine]
8 the pizmon
9 a sung psalm
10 'el ~ e d i e n t e ' ~ '

2' For this transcription of a prayer's name, see E. Gutwirth, 'Fragmentos de Siddurim
espafioles de la Geniza', Sefarad, 40 (1980), pp. 389-401. The evidence for the musical
character of 'Barukh She-'Amar' and the practice of 'prolonging its tune' is from the
thirteenth century and from the Franco-German region, and therefore is not directly
relevant here. Kiddush is transcribed as hedi (cf. No. 182) and also as beraha. Ata Horetah
is mentioned in Yuda Pillos's testimony. Fernan Alvarez's testimony refers to the verses
after removing the Scroll.
Eleazar Gutwirth
TALKING ABOUT MUSIC
These references to music in the records of the Inquisition reveal

a field which previously has not been developed by students of late-
medieval HispanoJewish music, by articulating, in Castilian, a
specifically Jewish discourse about music. This orally transmitted
and everyday material contrasts sharply in character from the cor-
pus of theoretical and learned texts about music in Hebrew from
the period. These generally refer to music from a perspective
grounded in natural philosophy, medicine, cosmology, magic and
mysticism; as such they are well defined and delimited by the con-
ventions of their respective genres and textual sources, rather than
being spontaneous appreciations of musical experien~e.~z The
Inquisition records help to reconstruct something which is not a
staid repetition of ancient ideas about music: rather, it is a dis-
course - possibly more original and certainly more spontaneous -
of appreciation and evaluation of musical experience.
O n one occasion, for example, we are told that Diego Arias asked
a Jew 'whether he knew how to sing something in his Hebrew, and
he answered that he did'.Z3 Music is here not only a question of
knowledge, 'si sabia', but also of ethnicity, 'su hebrayco', where the
possessive pronoun indicates the converso's perception of the Jews'
'possession' of Hebrew language, poetic texts and songs. Diego
Arias uses the termpizmon (transcribed by the notary as 'pismoni'),
and it is of some interest that he does not use other terms. 'Qol
Mevaser' is indeed a pizmon (the term was defined by medieval
Jews such as Tanhum Yerushalmi in his dictionary (s.v. pauem) as
the unchanging refrain to be performed in chorus by the audi-
ence),24 but it seems that by this time the Hebrew term had
entered the romance vernacular in use in the daily speech of Jews
and conversos as a generic designation for Jewish songs from the
22 Cf. e.g. M. Idel, 'Music and Prophetic Kabbalah', Yuual, 4 (1982), pp. 150-69; N. Allony,
'The Term musiqah in Medieval Jewish Literature' (in Hebrew), Yuual, 1 (1968); I. Adler,
ed., Hebrew Writings Concerning Music (Munich, 1975).
z3 FIRC No 104, p. 62. Another witness described an occasion when Diego Arias was singing
'a una sola voz' (solo) in Hebrew and all the others responded. See FIRC No. 71. Another
description of his singing was 'a voces', i.e. loudly. See FIRC No.81.
24 H. Shay's critical edition of the dictionary on the basis of the St Petersburg and other
Geniza fragments is imminent. In the meantime, see the quotation and comments of
Y. Ratzhavi, 'Form and Melody in the Jewish Song of Yemen' (in Hebrew), Tazlil, 8
(1968), p. 16.
liturgy. Another witness tells us how 'the said Diego Arias helped
him and said that he did not get the melody right but that it was
the way he started to sing, and then they both sang':25'ajudo' may
have little meaning beyond 'helping' but it may also be a term
with resonances from synagogal institutions where a 'helper' of
the precentor (hauan) acted as a one-man Another Jewish
witness described Diego Arias's performance as follows: 'cantalo
muy bien y bienelo cantando paso a pas^',^^ using Spanish musi-
cal terminology; even today the expression 'paso a paso' retains
the meaning of 'cada una de las mudanzas que se hacen en un
baile', although it also denotes the precision and deliberate pace
of a n activity. In another case a witness described the Jewish liturgy
using the term responso taken from the Christian liturgy: 'he began
to sing a responso which the rabbi sings at the beginning of the
prayer "Mismad y cohay" . . .'z8 or, elsewhere, 'to say the said respon-
sos'. In modern Castilian, responso has a relatively wide range of
associations; not only 'responsorio que separado del rezo se dice
por 10s difuntos', but also 'ciertas preces y versiculos que se dicen
en el rezo despues de las lecciones en 10s maitines y despues de
las capitulas de otras horas'. In another testimony made before
the tribunal we read that 'he began to sing according to his voice
a responso which he sang very tunefully as the Jews do and with as
much grace or even better . . . for about a quarter of an
(Note that this witness used the phrase 'mucho a son' - 'in tune'.)
So the impression left on this Jewish listener, Jacob Castellano,
more than two decades after the performance was not only musi-
cal but was also inseparable from ethnicity: Diego Arias sang 'en
la forma que 10s judios lo dicen y con tan buena gracia o mejor':
'as the Jews do and with as much grace or even better'.30
25 FIRC No. 104, p. 62.

26 R. Solomon ben Adret, She'elot W-Teshuvot,vol. I (Bne Beraq, 1982), p. 300, refers repeat-
edly to 'the helper' of the Huescan community's precentor. I interpret the references
to 'helper as replacement' of the cantor as only one aspect of the 'helper's' functions.
27 FIRC No. 111.
FIRC No. 179, p. 102.
2q FIRC No. 187, p. 166.
30 Ibid.
Eleazar Gutwirth
MUSIC AND SOCIETY
These considerations bring us to the more general question of the

significance of Diego Arias's performance of Hebrew songs. While
on the one hand the music of the Jews and the conversos has not
been a subject of much interest to students of the records of the
Inquisition, on the other the study of conversos' activities in general
is a field with a long history. Some attention, albeit brief, to the
positions expressed in the historiography of the subject is neces-
sary to clarify some of the ways in which it contrasts with our own.
As is well known, there are a number of studies of what are usu-
ally termed the 'ritos y costumbres' (rites and customs) of the con-
versos.31These bring together reports from the Inquisition's records
from the 1480s onwards, in which witnesses describe what they
believe to be the 'judaising' practices of neighbours or acquain-
tances, such testimonies usually being used by the prosecution.
Students of Spanish history in the period of the Inquisition
have often used these accounts as evidence of the 'judaising' or
'Judaism' of the conversos. The reader of such studies cannot help
forming the impression that there is a certain homogeneity about
their description of these practices, that is to say that they func-
tion through a general category of 'judaising' or 'Judaism' (depend-
ing on the writer) and that all the 'rites and customs' are more
or less similar and equally placed examples or exponents of this
general category.
Our particular case, that of music performances as recorded in
the file of Diego Arias, is related to (though not identical with -
see below) a defined and particular field, namely liturgy. Within
the conventions of the study of the conversos based on Inquisition
records, these cases of singing Jewish prayers belong to a general
homogeneous and somewhat shapeless category of 'rites and cus-
toms'. If we cannot follow these historiographic traditions, it is in
part because the apparent shapelessness and homogeneity of the
resulting image thus constructed trivialises the importance of the
evidence and is belied by the methods adopted in related and
neighbouring areas of recent research, such as the history of
Christian and Jewish liturgy. Indeed, historians of liturgy know full
3 1 R.Santa Maria, 'Ritos y costumbres de 10s hebreos espafioles', Bolettn de la Real Academia
de la Historia, 22 (1893), pp. 181-8, is an early exponent of this long tradition.
well that not all prayers are identical or interchangeable, and that
there are categories of prayers, functions, placement and devel-
opments within liturgy. It is only too easy to ascribe these con-
tradictions to a technical explanation, namely that students of
Spanish paleography, medieval documents and fifteenth-century
Romance - i.e. the general historians of the conversos' 'rites' - have
been unaware of the corpus of scholarship dealing with Jewish
liturgy in Hebrew in general and of the intense late-medieval pro-
ductivity of codification of HispanoJewish liturgy in particular.
Conversely, students ofJewish liturgy have had little contact with
these medieval documents or with detailed studies of the conversos
of fifteenth-century Spain. Yet such an explanation, while it is
partly true, does little justice to the more profound problem
touched on by such students of liturgy as, for example, HoffmanS3*
He has recently written on the difficulties of describing religious
experience and appropriately cites Wittgenstein, who observed
that it is impossible for the non-religious person to contradict
the religious. Putting himself in the position of the former,
Wittgenstein writes:
I think differently. . . I have different pictures . . . [In attempting to con-
tradict a religious person] I give an explanation: 'I don't believe in . . .'
but the religious person never believes what I describe. I can't say. I can't
contradict the person . . .' We work with different pictures that we take
for granted and with which we order e ~ p e r i e n c e . ~ ~
Perhaps unwittingly, students of the conversos' practices seem to
have adopted the Inquisitors' point of view, in as much as all these
practices have been considered to be equally indicative of the
'heresy' of Ijudaising'. But for the twentieth-century historian who
wishes to come to terms seriously with the understanding of the
significance of the songs of conversos such as Diego Arias, mere para-
phrase of the Inquisition records is not sufficient, despite the ven-
erable historiographic tradition that lies behind it. Historians who
search for some coherence in these apparently incongruous lists
(which include both morning and evening liturgies, festivals and
the Sabbath), rather than adopting the Inquisitor's perspective,
might turn instead to recent scholarly research in the field of
32 L. A. Hoffman, Beyond the Text:A Holistic Approach to L i t u r ~(Bloomington, Indiana, 1987),
p. 36.
33 offm man, Beyond the Text, p. 37.
Eleazar Gutwirth
liturgy. Here much recent writing has expressed a certain dissat-

isfaction with exclusive concentration on the texts of the liturgy,
and has tried to create a more inclusive approach which takes the
worshipper's experience into account. This trend, it might be
argued, is not entirely dissimilar to the historians' dissatisfaction
with the incoherent and heterotopic lists of 'rites and customs'.
Hoffman34 speaks of the process of discovering some underlying
message that a prayer communicates despite variations in its spe-
cific wording. That is to say that a first step in moving away from
traditional studies of the Inquisition records would be to pay some
attention to the liturgical status of converso music.
The 'Col meuacer' of the Inquisition file is a liturgical poem by
the seventh-century poet Eleazar Ha-Qalir; as such it is a n addi-
tion to the original older liturgy which belongs to the prayers for
rain on Hoshana Rabba, the penultimate day of the Feast of
Tabernacles. There is no evidence in the text that the occasion on
which Samuel and Diego were walking with other people was that
particular feast. Neither of them was fulfilling a religious com-
mandment by singing in a duo, separated from a quorum. Another
example would be the testimony about the prayer shawl: 'Diego
Arias quando esta de gorja o de placer . . . toma una gran toca y
ponesela sobre 10s hombros e cabeza a forma de taler.' To put on
'a great shawl' is not fulfilling the commandment of &it or tas-
sels. In fact, if the cloth has four corners, has a certain measure
and has no ?@t, a Jew wearing it might be transgressing the com-
mandment. The phrase 'a forma de taler' indicates that it was not
a talit proper.35 Diego Arias was not fulfilling a religious com-
mandment by putting a tablecloth over his head in a n inn in
Medina del camp^.^^ Another witness tells us that Diego 'canta
el berso que dize el capellan judio quando saca la Tora en hebrayco
y cantalo muy bien y bienelo cantando paso a paso como el capel-
lan faze quando saca la T ~ r a ' . ~Diego
' Arias, who was not taking
3+ Hoffman, Beyond the Text, pp. 36ff.
35 FIRC No. 111. Another version which circulated in Segovia was that it was a bedsheet
- 'sPbana' - rather than a tablecloth. See FIRC No. 77. David Gome's testimony is that
'en aquellos mesmos dias 10s decia el dicho Diego Arias' ('he said it on those very days'),
p. 102. This seems to be the exception to the general rule of not specifying the liturgi-
cal season.
36 FIRC No. 179, p. 102.
37 FIRC No. 111.
out a Torah scroll from the Ark, was not engaging in a liturgical
act. But for the readers of these records it might be helpful to
bear in mind that some of the verses to be recited on the occasion
of the taking out of the Torah from the Ark on the Sabbath morn-
ing and festival morning prayers are relatively late additions,
which some medieval congregations thought to be tiresome
[ t i r k h ] . They have recently been discussed by historians of the
liturgy. For Reif,38 the addition of these verses to the liturgy is a
manifestation of an important trend related to the history of
Spanish Jewry in this period and, more precisely, according to Reif,
to the search for grandeur and institutionalisation. Such a devel-
opment is expressed in, amongst other fields, that of late-medieval
HispanoJewish architecture, where 'the styles of the synagogues
became more elaborate and absorbed at least some limited amount
of the grandeur of their neighbours' houses of worship'.3g It may
be concluded that this example - like various other acts which
neighbours or inquisitors, or even certain modern students of
Inquisition records, might have thought to be 'rites and customs'
of the Jews - turns out, upon an inspection which does not ignore
Jewish liturgical codification, to be something else entirely.
Diego Arias's musical tastes were not restricted to the Arabic
songs with which, according to Palencia's account and MenCndez
Pidal's analysis, he captivated audiences in the countryside around
Segovia during his youth. Nor does an awareness of Jewish litur-
gical practice permit us to describe his performance of Jewish
songs as merely the fulfilment ofJewish liturgical duties. It seems
quite clear that we are confronted with a case of what may be
called 'cultural identification', in which the converso perceives music
that was originally liturgical as an expression of ethnic and cul-
tural identity. The equivalent in the field of music to the litur-
gists' attempt to reconstruct the liturgical experience as a whole
(rather than just its texts, isolated from any human experience)
would be to take into account the experience of performance,
something that could be done by considering the late-medieval
Hispano-Hebraic evidence. This also involves searching for a
'shape' to the musical experience, however difficult such a search
may be and however distanced from the shapeless list provided by
38 S. C . Reif, Judaism and Hebrew Prayer (Cambridge, 1993), p. 210
39 Ibid.
Eleazar Gutwirth
Inquisition notaries. The search for such 'shapes', forms or struc-

tures is, however, an integral part of the work in the field of litur-
gical history; liturgists themselves speak of 'introductory' prayers
and 'final' prayers, of prayers as 'the form of communal expres-
sion', and so forth.40
These are not the approaches of the 'Ritos y Costumbres' school.
Rather, they attempt to understand the worshipper's different
experiences of different prayers. A careful reading of the evidence
suggests that Arias's fifteenth-century contemporaries were aware
of the particular character of any given musical performance.
Thus, one witness remarked that Diego's singing was done when
he was 'de gorja o de p l a ~ e r ' , ~and
' however simplistic that opin-
ion, it does show that contemporaries were well aware of some
particular state of mind or attitude related to singing. 'De gorja',
however, also has some further associations. Covarrubias, who was
closer to Diego's language, recalled the associations of these same
words in terms which denote a pre-linguistic stage. Derived from
the Latingurges, it refers to the singing bird's throat or to the child
'who wishes to speak and attempts it without using other instru-
m e n t ~ ' Similarly,
.~~ the meaning of 'scoffing', a characterisation of
Diego Arias's singing by another witness, refers to a deliberate
message in the singing. Somewhat closer to the mark was the
implication of another witness, Don Abraen Seneor, who on 21
April 1486 'said that he had heard many who lived with Diego
Arias . . . that he sang in Hebrew in order to contrahacer the singing
of the Jews'.43 Here Abraham Seneor uses the verb contrahacer to
describe the character of Diego Arias's music, which is to say that
a Jewish contemporary of Diego Arias may be said to be alluding
to a musical phenomenon which has counterparts in a number of
medieval cultures. In a related area, that of literature, it may be
noted first of all that Hebrew poetry had used the contrafacta
mode from a very early date, and that in Spain the use of themes
or metres taken from Hebrew secular love poetry in the composi-
tion of religious and liturgical poetry in Hebrew is particularly well
documented for the eleventh and twelfth centuries. The Hebrew
O' Ibid.
4' FIRC No. 111.
42 Covarrubias, Tesoro de la lengua espaiiola (Madrid, 1610) S.V. gorja.
43 FIRC No. 190, p. 107.

liturgical or religious muwashahat or Paramuwashahat are classic
examples. But even in the fifteenth century a poem could be writ-
ten in a conscious attempt to create a variation on an earlier poem.
The case of Bonafed's dream poem or his 'muwashshah in the form
of a mustagib' (that is to say, a love song in a form usually used in
the composition of penitential liturgical hymns) are examples from
Saragossa dating from the first half of the fifteenth century.44In
Christian Spain, the literary textual parody of the canonic hours
in the Libro de buen amor or the 'vuelta a lo divino' of popular songs,
especially the villancicos, are well-known cases of what may be
termed a constant movement between sacred and profane written
texts.45Perhaps more relevant is the case of the incipits or tune
markers of fifteenth-century Hebrew lamentation poems which
inform us about the non-Jewish melodies used in Hebrew prayer.
These are similarly relevant examples of the currency of phe-
nomena related to musical contrafacta in Diego Arias's time.46
This recognition of the need to study the resonances of the music,
rather than trivialise it, is similarly the underlying assumption of
Tess Knighton's search for and successful identification of the
tunes of the troubadours which underlie some of the compositions
of fifteenth-century Spain and their cultural ~ o n t e x t . ~Romeu's
'
extensive discussion of the transposition of secular and religious
themes and melodies in the songs of the Cancionero de Palacio may
be relevant even if the dates of the compositions are at times some
decades later than Diego Arias's death.48Such features of musical
44 E. Gutwirth, 'A muwashshah by Solomon Bonafed', ed. A. Sienz Badillos, Actas. . . Congreso
Poesia Estrdjca (Madrid, 1991), pp. 137-44.
45 0. Green, 'On Juan Ruiz' Parody of the Canonical Hours', Hispanic Review, 26 (1958),
pp. 12-34; M. P. Saint Amour, A Study of the Villancico up to Lope de Vega: Its Euolutionffom
Profane to Sacred Themes and Specijicalb to the Christmas Carol (Washington, 1940); M. Frenk,
Entrefolkloreg literatura (Mexico, 1971), pp. 58-63; F. MBrquez Villanueva, Inuestigaciones
sobre Juan Alvarez Gato (Madrid, 1960); J. Rodriguez Putrtolas, Fray Ifiigo de Mendoza:
Cancionero (Madrid, 1968) pp. xxvi ff.
46 E. Gutwirth, 'Language and Hispano-Jewish Studies' (in Hebrew), Pe'amim, 41 (1989),
pp. 156-9.
" T. Knighton, 'New Light on Musical Aspects of the Troubadour Revival', Plainsong and
Medieval Music, 2/1 (1993), pp. 75-83.
L a mlisica en la corte de 10s R y e s Catdlicos (siglos X V - X V J , vol. iv-i: Cancionero de Palacio,
introducci6n y estudios por J. Romeu Figueras (Barcelona, 1965), cap. v. For him the
songs of the Cancionero de Palacio are like Proven~altroubadour and goliardic poetry in
their hyperbolic use of divine metaphors and in their employment of the language of
devotion in speaking of profane love. Thus we find a bacchic song which is a parody of
a Marian hymn; love masses; the agony of love depicted in terms taken from the litur-
gical offices of Easter and the dead; and the gospels quoted in profane love songs.
Eleazar Gutwirth
sensibility did not change overnight. These are by no means iden-
tical with Diego Arias's case. He was certainly not turning any-
thing 'a lo divino', but neither was he creating an erotic parody of
the liturgy. However, such comparisons help us to get closer to the
mentality from which sprang his 'contrahacer' - to use Seneor's
term. It may be argued that the most relevant parallels are those
late-medieval cases where religious
- music is performed in secular
settings with secular (such as regional or political) or at least non-
liturgical messages or functions. The studies of Christopher Page
are a most useful case in point. As he writes: 'The idea of hymn-
melodies torn from their liturgical setting and set adrift in a world
of domestic and public performance need not surprise us; John
Stevens pointed out long ago that some plainsong hymns had cur-
rency as popular songs in later-medieval England.'49In his research
on the music of the Thomas of Lancaster cult, Page points out
that 'When clerics familiar with the use of Hereford sang
Lancaster's piece a wealth of liturgical meaning would be released
and channelled into the new cult, Thomas would be implicitly com-
pared with St Ethelbert . . . the parallels would assuredly not be
seen as accidental; he would also be assimilated to his namesake,
Thomas of Hereford.'j0 The case of Diego Arias, rather than being
an example of one of the usual literary textual contrafacta, is pre-
cisely one of 'hymn-melodies torn from their liturgical setting and
set adrift in a world of domestic and public performance'. But what
could be the 'wealth of liturgical meaning'that 'would be released
and channelled' by Diego Arias's singing?
In this context, bearing in mind the difference in the pace of
research in these different fields, it may be possible to suggest
some possibilities for understanding the way in which Enrique IV's
courtier could have perceived the vocal music he performed and,
by implication, how to treat such evidence in general.
The first possibility might be a musical one. Although the music
is lost, we do have some pointers and musical traditions. It is also
evident from the context that these prayers were sung, and
nowhere is there a sense that it was the music itself that was a n
49 J. Stevens, Music and Poetly i n the Early Tudor Court, 2nd edn (Cambridge, 1979), p. 50; C.
Page, 'The Rhymed Office for St Thomas of Lancaster: Poetry, Politics and Liturgy in
Fourteenth Century England', Lee& Studies i n English (KS), 14 (1983), pp. 134-51.
50 Page, 'The Rhymed Office', p. 138.
innovation. (We may recall that 'Nishmat' is described as a song

as early as the Babylonian Talmud, where in BT Pes.ll8a it is
called a 'song', birkat ha-shir.) Some of the others have preserved
a musical character to this day.
The second possibility would focus upon the question of mem-
ory. The converso's singing was related to and relied on the earli-
est sources of his identity, namely his documented Jewish
childhood. The songs were memorable, it may be argued, because
most of them had something in common. They were accompanied
by some symbolic action which set them apart in his memory from
the rest of the liturgy. In the case of 'Qol Mevaser' the action is
the hitting of the branches - hoshanot - although Diego Arias was
doubtless unaware of and uninterested in its probable early func-
tion as a magic ritual which imitated the sound of the rain. But
it would doubtless (because of its impacting character) leave a n
indelible trace on the memory of a Jewish child who, like Diego
Arias, attended services. The raising of the wine cup at the
Kiddush ceremony would be a similar case, and the ascent to the
Torah of young men at puberty would be equally memorable. The
solemn ceremony accompanying the removal of the Torah scroll
from the Ark, prior to the reading, is a n equally symbolic and dra-
matic action.
The third explanation would similarly have to do with the expe-
rience of music by the congregation and, more precisely, with the
deeper structures of the liturgy, in this case the position of the
individual songs within it. Thus 'Qol Mevaser', which seems to be
based on a dialogue between precentor and congregation, occurs
at the end of a series of prayers for rain and before a liturgical
act. The song, then, has a specific position between prayers for
rain and the action; it occupies a transitional space. 'Nishmat',
another song remembered and sung by Diego Arias, is the prayer
which marks the change from the weekday morning liturgy to the
special liturgy of the Sabbath morning prayers, and so again delin-
eates the transition from one liturgical stage to another. The
verses to be recited on taking the Torah scroll out of the Ark have
been seen as part of the process of the formalisation of Jewish
communities in late-medieval Spain. It is quite evident that it is
a transitional prayer from the recited morning liturgy, which
is left behind, to the institution of the Reading of the Law,
Eleazar Gutwirth
which is characteristic of the Sabbath morning services. Unlike the
early havdalah, for example, which for Hoffman5' contained a clear
'message' of a diadic nature which separated light from darkness
and confirmed that opposition, the songs which attract Diego Arias
are of a different kind. Their 'shape' or, rather, placement within
the liturgy suggests a contrary significance: they disturb the clear
differentiation between two opposites.
It is by now well known that in constructing a written image of
Diego Arias's group - the conversos - fifteenth-century writers of
various tendencies (chroniclers, poets, theologians) did not always
see a clear distinction between Jewish conversos and non-Jewish con-
versos. Rather, they used various means to express a certain dis-
quieting blurring of these clear distinctions. Some speak of the
conuersos as people who were 'neither Jews nor Christians'; others
used metaphors of symbolic clothing or space to suggest that the
main trait was change rather than the identity with one religion
or the other. A poem written in fifteenth-century Castile expresses
this visually, by a technique in which the meaning changed when
the poem was read in one column or in two columns. The case of
the Alborayque is one of the better known and most frequently men-
tioned of these writings. In later centuries these underlying images
would develop into a theology which would centre upon biblical
models of indeterminacy such as Queen Esther, whose Jewishness
was a secret.52Needless to say, I am not arguing that Diego Arias
had analysed his early experiences of liturgical music in this way.
Nevertheless, it is quite unlikely that he would have failed to intuit
j'
Hoffman, Beyond the Text.
j2 The royal chronicler Pulgar's evaluation, 'ni guardauan vna ni otra ley', is well known,
as is the general tenor of the anonymous Libro del Alborayque, which compares the con-
versos to the hybrid horse of Mohammed; so is the parody of a will by Alfonso Ferrandes
Semuel, who ordered the Torah to be placed by his head, the Quran at his breast and
the Cross at his feet. For the representation of the conuersos, see the studies mentioned
in note 9 above, and their bibliographic notes. For the 'popular motif amongst 'the mar-
ranos in Spain' of 'holy Queen Esther', who had changed her religion to bring salvation
to Israel, see G. Scholem, Sabbetai Sevi (London, 1973), p. 761. For its currency in the
messianic movement see ibid., pp. 803, 804, 851, 887. There is no need to discuss here
the theological duality of the hidden God amongst some ex-conversos in the seventeenth
century. Nevertheless, when analysing the duality theme in discussions of Esther by writ-
ers such as Penso de la Vega, one should also bear in mind the impact of baroque cul-
ture and the conventions of rhetoric as pointed out by M. Bnaya, 'La nLusea del manjar
ordinario. Agudeza y hermenCutica en J. Penso de la Vega', in Los judaizantes en Europa,
ed. F. Diaz Esteban (Madrid, 1994), pp. 55-63.
that music had a character, or that he would have seen the vari-
ous different songs only as interchangeable, homogeneous expres-
sions of one religion or heresy, as did the Inquisitors and some
modern readers.
Tel Aviv University
Early Music History (1998) Volume 17. 0 1998 Cambridge University Press
0 REX M U N D I TRIUMPHATOR:
HOHENSTAUFEN POLITICS
I N A SEQUENCE F O R SAINT
CHARLEMAGNE*
In March 1152, the German princes gathered in the city of

Frankfurt and elected Frederick 'Barbarossa' of Hohenstaufen
(r. 1152-90) their new king. The dynamic young Swabian duke
took the throne with a sense of entitlement unknown since the
days of the Emperor Henry I11 (r. 1039-56). Shortly after his elec-
tion, he confidently notified Pope Eugenius I11 of his new station.]
Seeking neither warrant nor approval, Frederick informed the
pope of a new relationship between the imperium and the Roman
Church. Barbarossa portrayed his election, as well as his subse-
quent anointment by Pope Hadrian IV in 1155, as the fulfilment
of preordained circumstance^.^ The new king was determined to
* Earlier versions of this article were read at the 60th annual meeting of the American
Musicological Society in Minneapolis, Minn. (October 1994), and at the Institute for the
Advanced Study of Religion at the University of Chicago (December 1993). My work
has benefited greatly from the valuable comments of Martha Feldman, Nancy Lorimer
and Anne W. Robertson. All translations are my own unless noted otherwise; most of
the biblical quotations are taken from The New Revised Standard Version Bible (1989).
' Monumenta Gennaniae Historica (hereafter MGH), Bplomata regum et imperntorum Gennaniae, X,
Fridmici IBplomata (hereafter DH),ed. H. Appelt (Hannover, 1979), pt. 1, p. 10-1 1 (no. 5 ) .
A brief general survey of Staufen politics is T. Reuter, 'The Medieval German Sondetweg?
The Empire and Its Rulers in the High Middle Ages', in Kings and Kingship in Medieval
Europe, ed. A. J . Duggan (London, 1993), pp. 179-21 1. Other important research includes
H. Appelt, 'Die Kaiseridee Friedrich Barbarossas', in Friedrich Barbarossa, ed. G. Wolf,
Wege der Forschung 390 (Darmstadt, 1975), pp. 208-44; B. Topfer, 'Kaiser Friedrich
Barbarossa - Grundlinien seiner Politik', in Kaiser Friedrich Barbarossa: Landesausbau -
Rrpekte seiner Politik - Wirkung, ed. E. Engel and B. Topfer (Weimar, 1994), pp. 9-30; M.
Lindner, 'Fest und Herrschaft unter Kaiser Friedrich Barbarossa', in ibid., pp. 151-70;
K. Leyser, 'Frederick Barbarossa and the Hohenstaufen Polity', in Communications and
Power in Medieval Europe: The Gregorian Revolution and Beyond, ed. T . Reuter (London and
Rio Grande, Ohio, 1994), pp. 115-42; R. M. Herkenrath, 'Regnum und Imperium in den
Diplomen der ersten Regierungsjahre Friedrichs 1', in Friedrich Barbarossa, ed. Wolf, pp.
323-59; and G. Wolf, 'Imperator und Caesar - zu den Anfangen des staufischen
Erbreichsgedankens', in ibid., pp. 360-74.
Michael McGrade
make the imperial title more than a hollow honour, and from the
first years of his reign he sought to strengthen his position by
adding to his dominion the wealth and resources of Italy, riches
he deemed the rightful assets of his office.
For more than a quarter of a century, the principal goal of
Frederick's administration was the subjugation of I t a l ~ . ~
Barbarossa often justified his claims on the peninsula by citing the
exemplary acts of past emperors, especially Charlemagne (r.
768-8 14), Constantine (r. 306-37) and Justinian (r. 527-65),
recalling how they too had exercised their sovereignty over the
ancient Roman heartland. In addition to emphasising the life and
deeds of these legendary figures, Frederick set out to establish that
he was the genuine heir to the realm they once governed.
Thirteen years into his reign, Frederick reaffirmed his official
pedigree with an especially dramatic gesture when he canonised
Charlemagne in the collegiate Marienkirche in Aachen. This church,
endowed with the tomb of its Carolingian patron, the throne of
the Germanic realm and a rich treasury of sacred relics, enjoyed
a level of esteem that surpassed all but the wealthiest royal foun-
dations in medieval Europe. The basilica was an emphatic symbol
of Carolingian power and stood as a tangible link between the
deeds of late medieval rulers and the legendary acts of their
eighth- and ninth-century forebears. Frederick's elevation of the
eponymous Carolingian ruler stimulated the composition of new
liturgical chants, the most renowned of which was Urbs aquensis,
urbs regalis, a widely disseminated sequence that acclaimed the
accomplishments of Charles the Great in terms of Hohenstaufen
aspirations and i d e ~ l o g i e sAs
. ~ we shall see, the values and ideals
Scholars have spent much time researching Frederick's endeavours in Italy. General sur-
veys include H . Boockmann, Stauferzeit und spates Mittelalter: Deutschland 1125-1517 (Berlin,
1987), pp. 88-1 10; H . Keller, Propyliien Geschichte Deutschlandf, 11, Zwischen regionaler
Begrenzung und universalem Horizont: Deutschland im Imperium der Salier und Staufer 1024 bis
1250 (Berlin, 1986), pp. 391-414; H. Fuhrmann, Germany in the High Middle Ages c.
1050-1200, trans. T. Reuter (Cambridge, 1986), pp. 142-9 and pp. 157-62; and A.
Haverkamp, Medieval Germany 1056-1273, trans. H. Braun and R. Mortimer (Oxford,
1988).
The charter commemorating the canonisation mentions the hymns and sacred songs
that accompanied the event Lymnis et canticis spirit[u]alibus),but there is no way of know-
ing whether Urbs aquemis was composed before or after the ceremony; M G H DFI, pt 2,
p. 433 (no. 502). The sequence survives in fourteen manuscripts spanning 250 years; the
earliest version appears in the late-twelfth-century Aquensian gradual Aachen, Domarchiv,
H S G13; see Analecta hymnica, 55 vols., ed. G. M. Dreves, C. Blume and H. M. Bannister
(Leipzig, 1886-1922), LV, p. 226.
Hohenstaufen Politics in a Sequence for Saint Charlemagne
expressed in Urbs aquensis served the needs of a government in

crisis.
When Frederick became king, his chief concern was to ensure the
continuity of his house, but formidable challenges rooted in the
events of the early twelfth century hampered his endeavour^.^ The
disputes that had so deeply divided the Roman Empire and the
Papacy during the late eleventh century had ended in a compro-
mise on 23 September 1122, when Emperor Henry V (r. 1106-25)
announced the terms of an agreement that brought the Investiture
Controversy to a nominal c10se.~Drawn up in the city that hosted
the Imperial bishops when they deposed Pope Gregory VII in 1076,
the Concordat of Worms attempted to strike a balance between
the rights of the Germanic king and the jurisdiction of the
Church.'
A sea change in the ideology of kingship exacerbated the polit-
ical power struggles that beset the mid-twelfth-century Germanic
realm, and, as we shall see, new ideas about the foundations of
royal authority are an important topic in Urbs aquensis. The a priori
Leyser, 'Frederick Barbarossa and the Hohenstaufen Polity', pp. 135-40. For a summary
of Frederick's election and the early years of his reign see Fuhrmann, Germany in the
High Middle Ages, pp. 135-57; and for an interesting analysis of the imperial position vis-
a-vis the king of England, see K. J. Leyser, 'Frederick Barbarossa, Henry I1 and the Hand
of St James', in Medieval Germany and Its Neighbors 900-1250 (London, 1982), pp. 215-40.
Leyser has also discussed how the empire changed under Frederick in 'Frederick
Barbarossa: Court and Country', in Communications and Power in Medieval Europe, ed.
Reuter, pp. 143-70. A stimulating discussion of the symbiotic relationship between the
G e r m a n ~ caristocracy and the emperor during the twelfth century appears in B. Arnold,
Princes and Tem'tories in Medieval Germany (Cambridge, 1991), pp. 40-60.
For a brief overview of these disputes and their relevance to the liturgy of the Marienkirche
in Aachen, see my 'Gottschalk of Aachen, the Investiture Controversy, and Music for
the Feast of the Divisio apostolorum', Journal of the American Musicological Society 49 (1996),
pp. 351-408, especially pp. 351-64.
' An English translation of the Concordat appears in B. Tierney, The Crisis of Church and
State 1050-1300 (Toronto, 1988), pp. 91-2; general surveys of the Worms agreement and
its ramifications appear in Fuhrmann, Germany in the High Middle Ages, pp. 93-95, and I.
S. Robinson, The Papacy 1073-1198: Continuity and Innovation (Cambridge, 1990), pp.
421-41. A careful analysis of the events preceding the agreement is S. Chodorow,
'Ecclesiastical Politics and the Ending of the Investiture Controversy: The Papal Election
of 11 19 and the Negotiations of Mouzon', Speculum 46 (1971), pp. 613-46. See also P.
Classen, 'Das Wormser Konkordat in der deutschen Verfassungsgeschichte', Vortrage und
Forschungen herausgegeben vom Konstanar Arbeitskreisj~rmittelalterliche Geschichte 17 (1973),
pp. 41 1-60.
Michael McGrade
sacred nature of kingship - a premise of late-Ottonian and early-
Salian hegemony and a theme still prominent in twelfth-century
legends of Charlemagne - had lost its credibility by the time
Frederick came to the throne in 1 152.8The young king recognised
this, and while he certainly did not deny the sacred aspect of his
office, he set out to place the royal government on a new founda-
tion, one that had been prepared, in part, by the canon lawyers
who followed in the footsteps of the eleventh-century reformer
popes Leo IX, Alexander I1 and Gregory VII. Just as these clerics
found ancient legal codes a valuable source of ideas for reforming
the Church, Frederick likewise invoked the authority and prestige
of Roman law to revise the philosophical basis of royal a ~ t h o r i t y . ~
Frederick and his advisors never made a serious attempt to
restore the laws of ancient Rome, nor did they seek to reinstate
the legal processes that had produced them. Staufen appeals to
antique legislation are common in edicts sent to Italy, and they
reflect the king's effort to establish a timeless, unimpeachable
right to govern south of the Alps.1 Moreover, invocations of
age-old laws were especially good politics at a time when interest
in jurisprudence was flourishing in Italian cities, universities
and seminaries. The late Roman law codes contained many
statutes that favoured Frederick's position vis-a-vis the Church.
Consequently, the Staufer gained valuable allies among the stu-
dents and legal scholars of Italy, where the project to recover
ancient Roman law had been under way for more than fifty years."
The starting point for studies of this change is E. Kantorowicz, The King's Two Bodies: A
Study in Medieval Political Theologv (Princeton, 1957), pp. 87-97; see also idem, 'Kingship
under the Impact of Scientific -Turisprudence', in Selected Studies (Locust Valley, N.Y.,
A
i965), pp. 151'-66.

See H. A ~ ~ e,l'Friedrich
.A
t. Barbarossa und das romische Recht'. in Friedrich Barbarossa, ed.
Wolf, pp. 58-82; R. L. Benson, 'Political Renovatio: Two Models from Roman Antiquity',
in Renaissance and Renewal in the TweEfth Century, ed. R. L. Benson and G. Constable with
C. D. Lanham (Cambridge, Mass., 1982), pp. 359-79; a study of the imperial chancery's
role in the Staufen revival of Roman law appears in M G H DFI, pt 5, pp. 123-38, and
Appelt, 'Die Kaiseridee', pp. 227-9. A brief introduction with source documents is
Tierney, The Crisis of Church and State, pp. 97-126.
'0 Appelt, 'Friedrich Barbarossa und das romische Recht', pp. 75-9; Benson, 'Political
Renovatio', p. 362.
l 1 For a general overview see S. Kuttner, 'The Revival of Jurisprudence', in Renaissance and
Renewal in the Twe@h Century, ed. Benson et al., pp. 299-323; and K. W. Norr, 'Institutional
Foundations of the New Jurisprudence', in ibid., pp. 324-38, esp. pp. 324-5 for a dis-
cussion of Bologna. A study that investigates the limited practical effect of the revival
on Frederick's government is H. Koeppler, 'Friedrich Barbarossa and the Schools of
Bologna', English Historical Review 54 (1939), p. 577.
Of course, Frederick did not rely exclusively on the twelfth-
century ideology of Roman law in his quest to reinvent Germanic
kingship. The hundreds of diklomata issued during his thirty-eight-
year reign also make frequent reference to Germanic customs and
the Roman essence (Romanitas) of the imperial office. His appeals
to Romanitas often accompanied official references to the sacrality
of kingship, a quality eroded by the caustic debates of the
Investiture Controversy. Frederick was the first Germanic king to
call himself ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, and he claimed to
govern by unmediated divine indulgence in spite of the polemics
that had vexed his predecessors.'*
Although laws, customs and historical precedents were the basis
of Staufen propaganda, Barbarossa once turned to the Roman
liturgy to further his ambitions, as few institutions could provide
a more auspicious setting for the preservation of Hohenstaufen
ideals. O n 29 December 1165, in an august ceremony at the main
altar of Aachen's Marienkirche, Frederick personally removed
Charlemagne's body from its tomb and proclaimed the Carolingian
ruler a saint.13
'2 The term 'sacrum imperium' first appears in a chancery document dated March 1157;
see M G H D F I , pt 1, p. 280 (no. 163). See Appelt, 'Die Kaiseridee', pp. 213-18; and
G. Koch, 'Sacrum imperium. Bemerkungen zur Herausbildung der staufischen
Herrschaftsideologie', in Ideologie und Herrscha) im Mittelalter, ed. M. Kerner, Wege der
Forschung 530 (Darmstadt, 1982), pp. 268-302.
l 3 Rainald of Dassel, the Archbishop of Cologne and royal chancellor, was the mastermind
who arranged the canonisation. Few of Frederick's administrators were as zealous and
successful in promoting Staufen interests. Important studies of this complicated figure
include R. M. Herkenrath, 'Reinald von Dassel als Verfasser und Schreiber von
Kaiserurkunden', Mitteilungen des Imtitutsfur osterreichische Geschichtsjorschung 72 (1964), pp.
34-62; and W. Grebe, 'Studien zur geistigen Welt Rainalds von Dassel', in Frederick
Barbarossa, ed. Wolf, pp. 245-96. Interest in saint-kings, and in Charlemagne's canoni-
sation in particular, has grown in the past twenty years. A general study of the subject
is R. Folz, Les Saints rois du moyen age en occident PI<-XIIP sidcles) (Brussels, 1984). Folz
has also written the most extensive studies of Charlemagne's cult, namely Le souvenir et
la ligende de Charlemagne d a m l'empire Genanique midiLval (Geneva, 1973), Etudes sur le culte
liturgique de Charlemagne d a m les iglises de l'empire (Geneva, 1973), and 'Le chancellerie de
Frtdtric F et la canonisation de Charlemagne', Le moyen iige 70 (1964), pp. 13-31. See
also J. Petersohn, 'Kaisertum und Kultakt in der Stauferzeit', in Politik und
Heiligenuerehrung im Hochmittelalter, ed. J . Petersohn, Vortrage und Forschungen 42
(Sigmaringen, 1994), pp. 10146, esp. pp. 108-12; and idem, 'Saint-Denis-Westminster-
Aachen: Die Karls-Translatio von 1 165 und ihre Vorbilder', Deutsches Archiufur Erforschung
des Mittelalters 31 (1975), pp. 420-54. A still useful study on the political implications of
twelfth-century canonisations is E. W. Kemp, Canonization and Authority i n the Western
Church (London, 1948).
Michael McGrade
An event as momentous as the canonisation of Charlemagne would

have been incomplete without the composition of new chants to
celebrate the occasion.14Just as the establishment of a feast for
Charles advanced Barbarossa's efforts to strengthen the basis of
Staufen authority, the new sequence Urbs aquensis, urbs regalis like-
wise supported Frederick's political strategies. Employing a series
of melodic and textual references that invoked the Bible, legal doc-
uments and musical compositions, this contrafact of the Victorine
sequence Laudes crucis attollamus justified the power and pretentions
of the German king.15
Like many twelfth-century sequences, the text of Urbs aquensis
follows a clear three-part rhetorical plan (see Appendix 1; a tran-
scription appears in Example 1). The first two versicles constitute
an invocation, a call to the citizens of Aachen to celebrate 'the
presence of king Charlemagne'. Versicles three through six
recount 'the great deeds of the great king', while the lines of the
seventh and eighth versicles are prayers to Charles, Mary and
Jesus for intercession and guidance. Not surprisingly, the passages
that recollect the acta Karoli magni show the strongest links to
Staufen interests.
The putative role of Roman law in Carolingian government,
the ideological model for Frederick's administration, receives
prominent attention in the fifth versicle of the sequence for
Charlemagne, where one hears that:
l4 The original date of the feast was 29 December, but soon after the canonisation the ser-
vice was moved to the date of Charlemagne's death, 28 January, as reported by Einhard
in his Vita Caroli, N, $30. Perhaps this change in date took place after the martyrdom
of Thomas of Canterbury on 29 December 1170. A translation feast was added to the
Aquensian liturgy in July 1215, when Charlemagne's remains were moved into a new
gilded shrine.
l5 There has been disagreement over the melodic model for Urbs aquensis. Some have main-
tained that the source is Lauda sion salvatorem, a sequence composed in the diocese of
Litge for the feast of Corpus Christi during the thirteenth century. This controversy is
briefly summed up in B. J. Lerman, ' "Urbs aquensis, urbs regalis . . ." - Versuch einer
Deutung der Karlssequenz', in Karl der G r d e und sein Schrein in Aachen, ed. H . Miillejans
(Aachen, 1988), pp. 168-70. The date of Urbs aquensis, however, is much earlier than that
of Lauda sion based on Erika Eisenlohr's paleographic study of the piece in 'Die alteste
Niederschrift der Sequenz Urbs Aquensis Urbs Regalis im letzten Viertel des 12.
Jahrhunderts und ihre mogliche Verbindung zum Karlskult Barbarossas', a i t s c h n i des
Aachener Geschichtsvereins 96 (1989), pp. 35-68. The textual similarities between the
Charlemagne sequence and Laudes crucis presented here make it clear that the latter
was the source for Urbs aquensis.
d
Y
.-
."
-0
3
-
0
8 B
-
d
2
8
8
2
a
00
2 3
*
8 5
-
P
5
00 L
P,
+
a E
VI
Tb
.-
e
I
'a,
8
3
-
.-
a
a
$
8
B
P
0 fi
*
a
e!
d
B
9
.-c
i?o
2 2
a
m
d
Hic est Chri - sti mi - les for - tis, Hic in - vi - cte dux co - hor - tis Du - cum ster - nil mi - Li - a;
Ter- ram pnr - gat lo - li - o At - que me - tit gla - di - o Ex mes - se zi - za - ni - a.
-
CD
o 4b
A
Hit
-
est ma-gnus
-
im - pe - ra
- -
-
-
tor, Bo - ni fmc
-
-
0
tus
-
-
bo - nus sa
0 -
--
-
- tor Et pm
I
- -
l
- dens a - gri - w
1
-
- la.
-
*
-z
6
In-ti-de-les hiccon-ver - tit. Pha-na de - os hic e-ver - tit

0
Et w n - frin - git
m . a
y - do - la.
B
P
Hic su - per - bos do - mat re - ges, Hic re - gna - re sa - cras le - ges Fa - cit cum iu - sti - ci - a.
A -
-. - - r o - f
*i m - - - - - -- -
-
A
5b
d
I a
\
- -
Quam tu-e-tur e - o fi - ne Ut et iu - stus sed nec si - ne Sit mi - se - ri - cor - di - a.
O l e - o l e - t i - c i - e Un-cms do-no gra - ti - e Ce - te - ris pre re - gi - bus.
Cum co - ro - ua glo - ri - e Ma - ie - sta - tis re - gi - e In - si - gni - tur fa - sci - bus.
0 rex mun - di tri - um - pha - tor. Ihe - su Chri - sti wn - re - gna - tor,
- r-
C
2 m 0 - m
A A
o = -- m - 0 -
-, m
-
1
I - -
Sis pro no - bis ex - o - ra - tor San - cte pa - ter Ka - m - le;
E - mun - da - ti a pec - ca - tis Ut in re - gno cla - ri - ta - (is
c,
Nos plebs tu - a cum be - a - tis Ce - li si - mus in - w - le.

Stel - la ma - ris 0 Ma - ri - a. Mun - di sa - lus, vi - te vi - a, Va-cil-Ian-tum re - ge g r e s - sus
Et ad re - gem des ac - ces - sus In per - [hen] - ni glo - ri - a
L$*
A
Chri- ste splen
-
a
.-
-
- dor de - i
-
pa
-
- his.
-

=;=;
In - c o - mp -
=
le
m
fi -
0
li
a
ma- his,
0 .
a
P a bunc san-clam cu - ius
-
a 0
I .-
a
- -
\
a
fe - sta
Ce - le - bra - mus no - bis pre - sta Sean - pi - t a na gau di - a.
Liquescent pitches are indicated by small noteheads that follow higher or lower pitches; when a small notehead repeats the preceding
pitch it indicates a virga strata or repercussive neume in the source. Syllables enclosed in brackets denote an editorial change in the
music. Minor orthographic changes have been made without comment.
5a Hic superbos domat reges [Charles] tames savage kings

Hic regnare sacras leges [and] makes sacred laws to rule
Facit cum iustitia with justice.
5b Quam tuetur eo fine He defends [these laws] to
Ut et iustus sed nec sine the end so that he may be
Sit misericordia. just, but not without mercy.
For many generations, Germanic kings saw themselves as defend-

ers of the law, not as legislators, but that began to change under
Frederick, as evidenced by an event early in his reign.16 Late in
the spring of 1155, as he journeyed to Rome, Barbarossa was met
by four professors from the schools of law in Bologna. They peti-
tioned the emperor to address the problems of the students and
their teachers: the onerous debts they bore, the dangers they
encountered in their travels, and other hardships. Frederick
charged the four jurists to draft a law that placed scholars under
imperial protection. The edict, customarily known by its opening
word, Habita, concluded with a line instructing the bearer to insert
it into the ancient Roman legal codes.I7 The significance of this
move was twofold. First, Frederick presumed the codes were still
open to modification, and secondly, it implicitly gave him the
authority to legislate for Italy.18
The fifth versicle of Urbs aquensis proposes a Carolingian prece-
dent for the legal licence Barbarossa arrogated to himself, but it
ultimately looks back to Justinian for validation. Charlemagne's
subordination of 'savage kings', for example, echoes a similar claim
made by Justinian in the opening of the Institutiones, an introduc-
tory textbook for students of law completed in 533 CE and the
l6 H. Fichtenau,Arenga: Spatantike und Mittelalter im Spiegel von Urkundenfomeln, Mitteilungen

des Instituts fiir Osterreichische Geschichtsforschung 18 (Graz and Cologne, 1957), pp.
54-5 and pp. 178-9. See also Benson, 'Political Renouatio', p. 381.
l7 M G H D F I , pt 2, p. 40 (no. 243) 'Hanc autem legem inter imperiales constitutiones sub
titulo "Ne filius pro patre etc." inseri iussimus.' O n the date of this important decree,
see W. Stelzer, 'Zum Scholarenprivileg Friedrich Barbarossas (Authentica "Habita")',
Deutsches Archiujkr Eforschung des Mittelalters 34 (1978), pp. 123-65; see also Benson,
'Political Renouatio', pp. 363-4.
hluch later, in May 1182, Frederick reiterated his role in the establishment of law with
an allusion to Justinian's Civil Lam: 'Truly, just as it is our [prerogative] to establish
laws, it is likewise [for] Us benevolently to interpret those that are unclear' ('Quoniam
vero sicut nostrum est leges condere, ita et, quae dubia sunt, benigne interpretari'),
M G H D F I , pt 4, p. 34 (no. 827); see Corpus Iuris Civilis, ed. P. Krueger, 11 (Berlin, 1877),
p. 67 (Book 1.14.1); and S. P. Scott, The Civil Law, VI (New York, 1972), p. 85. The pas-
sage is discussed in Fichtenau, Arenga, pp. 178-9.
Michael McGrade
focus of study for twelfth-century jurists. At the very outset of his

compendious treatise, the ancient emperor proudly reports that
he subdued 'barbarian peoples' and subjected them to the order
of Roman law.I9
Frederick officially drew attention to Charlemagne's legislative
activities in a decree he signed on 8 January 1 166.20Issued ten days
after Charles's canonisation, Barbarossa's diploma 'renewed' a series
of rights allegedly held by Aachen's residents since the ninth century.
The decree tells us that the canons of the Marienkirche fortuitously
'discovered' a Carolingian charter shortly after the canonisation, and
that the document not only granted the people of Aachen imperial
protection but also exempted them from taxes throughout the
realm.2' Frederick quotes the entire fraudulent pledge, introducing it
with words that echo the language of the Imtitutiones:
After all these things [i.e., the canonisation ceremony] had been brought
to a solemn close, we searched with diligence in that same place founded
by Charlemagne, [to learn] about the free status of the [city] itself, the
foundations of the laws, of peace and of the justice with which he gov-
erned the entire Earth. [And] lo, the brothers of [the Marienkirche]
brought into our midst a charter by St Charlemagne on the foundation
and dedication of this most noble church, and of the institutions of the
laws of men and of civil laws.22
l9 J. A. C. Thomas, The Institutes of Justinian: Text, Tramlation and Commentary (Amsterdam
and Oxford, 1975), p. 1. 'The barbarian races brought under our subjection know our
military prowess; and Africa and countless other provinces have after so long a time been
restored to Roman obedience through the victories which we, with divine guidance, have
achieved and proclaim our empire. But all these peoples are also now governed by the
laws which we have made or settled' ('et bellicos quidem sudores nostros barbaricae
gentes sub iuga nostra deductae cognoscunt et tam Africa quam aliae innumerosae
provinciae post tanta temporum spatia nostris victoriis a caelesti numine praestitis iterum
dicioni Romanae nostroque additae imperio protestantur, omnes vero populi legibus iam
a nobis vel promulgatis vel compositis reguntur'). English translation by Thomas.
20 M G H D F I , pt 2, p. 433 (no. 502). For an interpretation of this decree, see E. Meuthen,
'Karl der GroBe - Barbarossa - Aachen: Zur Interpretation des Karlsprivilegs fiir
Aachen', in Das Nachleben, Karl der GroJe, N , ed. W . Braunfels (Diisseldorf, 1967), pp.
54-76. Meuthen sees the charter as a foundation for a capital city (Hauptstadt). From a
practical standpoint, however, one cannot speak of medieval Aachen as an administra-
tive centre analogous to Paris or London.
2' For remarks on this forgery see D. Hagermann, 'Urkundenfalschungen auf Karl den
GroBen', in Falschungen i n Mittelalter, III, Diplomatische Falschungen ( I ) , MGH Schriften 33
(Hannover, 1988), p. 440.
22 MGH DFI, pt 2, p. 433 (no. 502). 'His autem omnibus gloriosae peractis cum in pre-
dicto loco, cuius ipse fundator extiterat, de ipsius loci libertate, institutis legum et pacis
atque iusticiae, quibus totum orbem rexerat, diligenter inquireremus, ecce fratres eius-
dem aecclesiae privilegium sancti Karoli de fundatione et dedicatione ipsius nobilissi-
mae aecclesiae et de institutionibus legum humanarum et civilis iuris eiusdem civitatis
nobis in medium protulerunt.'
T h e distinction between 'the laws of men' and 'civil laws' may be
a reference to similar categories drawn up in the late-antique legal
codes, where statutes uniquely observed by Roman citizens (ius
civilis) stand in contrast to legal principles recognised by peoples
of all nations (ius g e n t i ~ m ) . ~ ~
Urbs aquensis tells us that the laws drafted by Charlemagne were
sacred, and in the decree Frederick promulgated for the citizens
of Aachen he likewise wrote of the 'sacratissime constitutiones beatis-
simi Karoli'. Frederick frequently attributed a numinous quality to
legal statutes in a n effort to enhance the status of his position. In
Habita, for example, he spoke of the 'professors of sacred laws',
and in 1157, in a n edict that shielded the monastery of Baume-
les-Messieurs from Cluniac attempts to reform it, the Staufer
again referred to the 'sacred constitutions of [former] emperors'.Z4
T h e most explicit statement of a relationship between sacred
laws and Barbarossa's precursors appears in a decree issued on 26
September 1165, just three months before the canonisation of
Charlemagne. Passing judgement on a disputed inheritance,
Frederick supported his decision by citing his predecessors and
their sacred injunctions:
We, therefore, clinging to the traces of our predecessors, the divine
emperors - namely Constantine the Great, Justinian and Valentinian,
and also Charlemagne and Louis [the Pious] - venerating their sacred
laws like divine oracles, we are not ashamed to imitate the emperor
Constantine [who] established the most holy churches, their possessions
and their privileges.Z5
23 Thomas, Imtitutes ofJustinian, pp. 4-13.

24 The reform of Baume-les-Messieurs was initiated by Barbarossa himself in 1153 at the
request of Abbot Peter the Venerable; see MGH DFI, pt 1, pp. 98-9 (no. 58). When
Frederick reversed his position, he wrote that 'since properly it should have been recalled
that [the reform] had been accomplished by unlawful ventures against the most sacred
laws of the emperors, we absolve the church of Baume-les-Messieurs from all the extra-
neous and insufficent power of the Cluniac monks' ('quia digne revocandum erat, quod
contra sacratissimas imperatorum constitutiones illicitis ausibus patratum fuerat, aec-
clesiam Balmensem ab omni extranea et incompetenti Cluniacensium potestate
absolvimus'). MGHDFI, pt 1, p. 324 (no. 193).
2j 'NOSigitur predecessorurn nostrorum divorum imperatorum magni Constantini videlicet
et Iustiniani et Valentiniani nec non Karoli et Ludowici vestigiis inherentes et sacras

leges eorum tamquam divina oracula venerantes imitari non erubescimus Constantinum
imperatorem de sacrosanctis ecclesiis et rebus et priuilegiis eorum constituentem.' MGH DFI,
pt 2, p. 416 (no. 492); the italicised passage is taken from the Corpus Iuris Civilis, Book
1.2.1; see Krueger, Corpus Iuris Civilis, 11, p. 12, and Scott, The Ciuil Law, VI, p. 15.
Michael McGrade
In the opening paragraphs of his legal primer, Justinian also speaks
of 'sacred laws'.26Moreover, the Eastern emperor derived his equa-
tion of imperial will and sacred legal authority from the premise
of holy r u l e r ~ h i p . This
~ ' was the relationship Barbarossa sought to
revive, and the principle behind the paeans to Charlemagne the
legislator and judge in Urbs aquensis and other Staufen writings.
Another interesting manifestion of imperial judgement appears
in the third and fourth versicles of Urbs aquensis, where the author
introduces a series of agricultural metaphors:
3b Hic est Christi miles fortis This is the brave soldier of

Hic invicte dux cohortis Christ; this leader of an uncon-
Ducum sternit milia. querable crowd overthrows a
thousand leaders.
Terram purgat lolio He purges the earth of darnel
Atque metit gladio and cuts the tare from the crop
Ex messe zizania. with his sword.
4a Hic est magnus imperator This is the great emperor; the

Boni fructus bonus sator good sower of the good fruit and
Et prudens agricola. the wise cultivator.
Throughout the New Testament, cultivation and harvesting are

used as metaphors of the Last J ~ d g e m e n t In
. ~Revelation,
~ for exam-
ple, St John reports that an 'angel swung his sickle over the earth
and gathered the vintage of the earth, and he threw it into the
great wine press of the wrath of God' (Apoc. 14.19). And indeed,
the verb metit in versicle 3b beautifully unites both the agricultural
and the military aspects of these lines, since it most commonly
denoted reaping a harvest or cutting down an adversary in battle.
The lines of the third and fourth versicles reflect the place
Charlemagne and his realm were thought to hold in the plan of
salvation. As we shall see below, these ideas influenced both the
26 Thomas, Institutes of Justinian, p. 1 (Prooemium.2). 'After bringing into lucid harmony

the august constitutions which were previously in disarray' ('Et cum sacratissimas con-
stitutiones antea confusas in luculentam ereximus consonantiam'). English translation
by Thomas.
27 Thomas, Institutes ofJustinian, p. 5 (Book 1.2.6). 'But also the will of the Emperor has
the force of law since, by the lex regia which regulated his imperium, the people conceded
to him and conferred upon him all their authority and power' ('Sed et quod principi
placuit legis habet vigorem, cum lege regia, quae de imperio eius lata est, populus ei et
in eum omne suum imperium et potestatem concessit'). English translation by Thomas.
28 See Mt. 9.37-8, Mk 4.29, Lk. 10.2, Jn 4.35-8, and Apoc. 14.14-20.
eighth-century decoration of the church and the twelfth-century
liturgical celebration of Charles's feast.
The legal foundations Frederick postulated for his government
also underlie the opening line of the seventh versicle in Urbs
aquensis, '0 rex mundi triumphator', but here those assumptions merge
with the language of Christian victory. The characteristically
Roman title triumphator began to reappear in imperial documents
in the eleventh century; among Frederick's output it occurs only
once, in a difiloma issued by Barbarossa's chancery on 10 March
1170.29The epithet stands prominently in the first sentences of
Justinian's Institutiones, however, where he explains that the proper
application of arms and laws is the cornerstone of an effective
administration. As a result of just and wise rule,
the Roman Emperor emerges victorious not only in the struggle against
his enemies, but also in repudiating by legal means the injustices of the
deceitful. Thus he will be a triumpher [triumphator] not only as an ardent
defender of the law but also as master over enemies.30
This language clearly owes a debt to New Testament narratives
that promise the return of Christ to judge humanity according to
divine laws. Images of Christ triumphant exerted a powerful influ-
ence on twelfth-century imaginations shaped by the ethos of cru-
sade, and the rhetoric of Christian vindication voiced by Urbs
aquensis recalls the theme of its parent, the Parisian sequence
Laudes crucis attollamus.
Every year, on the day when they honoured the Invention of the
True Cross by St Helena (3 May), the Aquensian canons sang
Laudes crucis in their basilica. Closely associated with the success
of the First Crusade, the chant exemplified the ascendence of a
cult that revered the Cross as an emblem of Christian triumph.31
Sumptuous cross-shaped reliquaries, often decorated with jewels
and precious stones, symbolised divinely ordained kingship and
29 M G H D F I ,
pt 3, p. 30 (no. 563). 'Fridericus divina favente dementia Romanorum imper-
ator a deo coronatus magnus et pacificus, inclitus triumphator et semper augustus'. See
Benson, 'Political Renovatio', p. 373, and P. E. Schramm, Kaiser, Rom, und Renouatio, I
(Leipzig and Berlin, 1929), pp. 283-4.
30 Thomas, Institutes ofJustinian, p. 1 (Proeemium). 'et princeps Romanus victor existat non
solum in hostilibus proeliis, sed etiam per legitimos tramites calumniantium iniquitates
expellens, et fiat tam iuris religiossimus quam victis hostibus triumphator'. English
translation mine.
3 1 M. Fassler, Gothic Song: Victorine Sequences and Augustinian Reform i n Twelfth-Century Paris
(Cambridge, 1993), p. 65.
Michael McGrade
represented the power of the Cross to convert kings and chase
enemies, as this line from Laudes crucis notes32
Reges credunt hostes cedunt Kings believe, enemies fall

Sola cruce Christo duce By the cross alone, with Christ
Unus fugat milia. leading,
One gives flight to thousands.
The relationship of Laudes crucis to crusade and conquest, there-

fore, made it a n excellent candidate for contrafacting, especially
for a new text that would celebrate the victorious life of a brave
soldier of Christ, a Christi miles fortis (cf. Urbs aquensis, verse 3b).
Crusade and triumph were the thematic points at which Urbs aque-
nsis and Laudes crucis intersected. By creating specific verbal corre-
spondences between their texts, the author of the Charlemagne
sequence strengthened the affiliation of these chants. The second
and last versicles end with similar lines, the third versicles share
rhetorical features, and rhyme schemes occasionally agree (see
Appendix 1). The greatest exegetical significance, however, lies in
the correspondence between the seventh versicle of Urbs aquensis and
its analogue. Charlemagne, valorised as the rex mundi triumfihator,
stands in place of the triumphant wood of the Cross, the crux lignum
triumfihale. The new text not only takes over the salvific powers of
the Cross; it also renders the sequence for Charles literally unthink-
able without Laudes crucis. When the Aquensian canons sang the
Parisian chant to observe the Invention of the Cross, they would
have been compelled to recollect the praiseworthy acts of their
Carolingian patron. And since Laudes crucis (and thus the
Charlemagne chant) quoted the famed Alleluia, Dulce lignum, a chant
proper to the feast of the Invention of the Cross, the relationship
between the vanquishing king and the conquering Cross received
even greater musical r e i n f ~ r c e m e n tThe
. ~ ~ musical plan of Urbs aque-
nsis also places special emphasis on the text of versicle seven. As the
comparison of texts in Appendix 1 illustrates, the Charlemagne
sequence does not borrow all the music of Laudes crucis; rather, it
'2 A complete translation of Laudes crucis, from which this excerpt is taken, appears in
Fassler, Gothic Song, pp. 70-2.
33 There are other preclse verbal references connecting Urbs aquensis and Laudes crucis. The
second and last versicles end with similar lines, the third versicles share rhetorical fea-
tures, and rhyme schemes occasionally agree. The correspondence with the seventh ver-
sicle, however, has the greatest exegetical significance.
leaves out four versicle pairs after the fifth stanza. The sixth versi-
cle of Urbs aquensis adapts the melody of the Cross sequence, lead-
ing into the straightforward borrowing that resumes on the words
'0 rex mundi triumphator' versicle 7a; see Example 2). Thus the return
to exact musical quotation in versicle seven coincides with a clear
verbal association between Charles and the cross. Support for the
connection that linked the subjects of Urbs aquensis and Laudes crucis
also appeared in contemporary legends. Some accounts of the
Carolingian's exploits in the Holy Land even credited the ruler with
the recovery of the Cross, as an illumination in one thirteenth-
century manuscript vividly shows (see Figure 1).
The cross played a crucial role in another well-known story of
victory and conversion. The fourth-century Roman emperor
Constantine the Great, son of St Helena, met his brother-in-law
Maxentius in battle at the Milvian bridge near Rome in 312 GE.
According to Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea, the emperor, before
his foray, saw the cross appear in the sky along with the words
'Conquer by this'.34 The sequence Salve crux arbor, sung annually in
the Marienkirche on the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross
(14 September), relates this detail of Constantine's victory and
conversion, so the canons could have noted the thematic bond with
Charlemagne on that day as well.35Salve crux arbor also praises the
Cross as 'the scales of our justice' and 'the sceptre of the king'.36
Following his victory at the Milvian bridge, Constantine's enthu-
siasm for Christianity grew. In 313 he issued the Edict of Milan,
establishing Christianity as the state religion. Later in his reign,
his spiritual ardour manifested itself in his many building projects,
the most acclaimed of which was the construction of the Church
of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Inspiration for this basilica
'4 Eusebius of Cesarea, The Lij'i ofthe BlessedEmperor Constantine, trans. anon. (London, 1845),
pp. 26-7 (Book 1.28). 'And while [Constantine] was thus praying with fervent entreaty,
a most marvellous sign appeared to him from heaven . . . He said that about midday,
when the sun was beginning to decline, he saw with his own eyes the trophy of a cross
of light in the heavens, above the sun, and bearing the inscription, "Conquer by this".'
35 The sequence appears in Aachen, Domarchiv, HS G13, fol. 14P. The Aquensian source is
the oldest for this chant, and it is the only non-French witness. Geographical disagree-
ment notwithstanding, the text reads:
Tu properantis contra Maxentium You, the glory of Constantine, hastening
Tu preliantis iuxta Danubium against Maxentius, engaging [him] along the
Constantini Gloria Danube . . .
36 Crux est nostre libra iusticie The cross is the scales of our justice; the
Sceptrum regis virga potentie . . . sceptre of the king, the rod of power . . .
d
Ip- sa suos for - ti - o - res sem-per facit et vi - cto- res mor-bos sanat et Ian-guo - res re- premit de - mo- ni - a
h7 Urbs aauensis. versicle 6
cr
0-le - o le- t i - c i - e un-ctus dono gra - ti - e ce - te- ris pre re - gi- bus
Example 2 Kcvision of Laudes crucir

Michael McGrade
came from a series of discoveries, including the relics of the cross
uncovered by his mother; indeed, the shrine includes the site of
Helena's invention within its walls. Eusebius' description of the
groundbreaking is a testimonial to Christian dominance. In his
Vita Constantini, he writes that Constantine
gave further orders that the materials of what was thus destroyed, both stone
and timber, should be removed and thrown as far from the spot as possible
. . . fired with holy ardor, he directed that the ground itself should be dug
up to a considerable depth, and the soil which had been polluted by the foul
impurities of demon worship be transported to a far and distant place.3'
Having demolished the pagan temple, the Roman emperor ordered every
trace of its former presence removed. As a result, Eusebius tells us,
Constantine succeeded in constructing a new Christianised J e r ~ s a l e m . ~ ~
A similar zeal for driving out idolatry characterises the fourth ver-
sicle of Urbs aquensis. Here one learns that Charlemagne 'converts
infidels, tears down pagan temples and gods, and smashes idols'.
Though lacking the destructive strain of these lines, the legend
describing the events that prompted Charlemagne to build the
Marienkirche has thematic similarity. In the Staufen forgery ofJanuary
1166, Charles recalls how he 'renovated' (renouaui) the Roman (i.e.,
pagan) buildings that would become part of his palace in Aachen:
I was out on one of my customary hunts, but I lost my way in the thicket
of the forest and was separated from the hunting party. There I found
the thermae of hot springs and the palaces which Granus, one of the Roman
princes, brother of Nero and Agrippa, once built. I have renovated these
buildings, [which were] decayed and deserted because of their age and
overgrown with brush and thorns. There, in the woods where the horse
I rode unearthed the rivulets of hot water with its hoof, I built the basil-
ica to St Mary . . . using all the expense and labour I could.39
37 Eusebius of Caesarea, Vita Constantini, pp. 138-9 (Book 111.27); quoted in G. Bowman,
'Pilgrim Narratives of Jerusalem and the Holy Land: A Study in Ideological Distortion',
in The Anthropology ofPilgrimage, ed. A. Morinis (Westport and London, 1992), pp. 156-7.
38 Eusebius of Caesarea, Vita Constantini, p. 143 (Book 111.33); in Book 111.28, Eusebius cred-
its Constantine with uncovering the Holy Sepulchre; see ibid., p. 139.
3g MGH, Diplomatum Karolinorum (hereafter D Karol.), I, ed. E. Miihlbacher (Hannover,
1906), pp. 441-2 (no. 295). 'Nostis, qualiter ad locum, qui Aquis ab aquarum calidarum
aptatione traxit vocabulum, solito more venandi causa egressus, sed perplexione sil-
varum, errore quoque viarum a sociis sequestratus inveni termas calidorum fontium et
palatia inibi reperi, que quondam Granus, unus de Romanis principibus, frater Neronis
et Agrippe, a principio construxerat, que longa vetustate deserta ac demolita, frutectis
quoque ac vepribus occupata nunc renovavi, pede equi nostri, in quo sedi, inter saltus
rivis aquarum calidarum perceptis et repertis. Sed et ibidem monasterium sancte Marie,
matri domini nostri Iesu Christi, omni labore et sumptu quo potui edificavi.'
Frederick glossed this account of Aachen's foundation, explaining
that the city, once the residence of the 'heathen sinner Granus',
was turned over to the 'catholic emperor Charlemagne' by divine
guidance, thus emphasising the direct connection between the
emperor and P r o ~ i d e n c e .The
~ ~ forgery and its gloss instantiate
the historical awareness that characterised Frederick's diplomata.
Like a saint's vita, the decree has a narrative quality that enabled
later writers to include it in longer chronicles that traced the life
and deeds of the Carolingian king. Moreover, the tale is a figura-
tive account of the translatio imperii, the long-term migration of
power from East to West that St Augustine described in his City
of God and that played such a central role in the writings of Staufen
historians and apologist^.^' Thus at a single stroke, the author of
the forgery delineated the local connection to ancient Rome and
narrated the submission of that ancient heritage to the present
regime.42The tale has important affinities with Constantine's con-
struction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Coming upon the
palace of Granus, Charlemagne resolves to renew it, conducting
repairs that would make the old structure a suitable dwelling for
a n orthodox king and a n apt companion to the Marian basilica.
Similarly, Eusebius tells us that Constantine ordered all the traces
of a pagan temple removed before construction on the Holy
Sepulchre could begin. It was surely no accident that the
Aquensian canons chose to celebrate the feast of their Carolingian
founder by contrafacting a sequence that commemorated the
Invention of the Cross, a n event so closely linked to the construc-
tion of the Holy S e p ~ l c h r e . ~ ~
'O MGH DFI, pt 2, p. 433 (no. 502). 'Haec enim mutatio est dexterae excelsi, quod pro
Grano fratre Neronis fundatorem habet sanctissimum Karolum pro pagano et scelesto
imperatorem catholicum.'
Augustine of Hippo, The City ofGod, Book XVIII.2.
42 A focus on Roman history and its manifestations in twelfth-century politics is one aspect
common to writings some historians have identified as 'Staufen historiography'. According
to the historian Timothy Reuter, other characteristic themes include a cultivation of local
histories, especially when there is evidence of a Roman settlement or some other simi-
larity to Rome, and an interest in eschatology. See T. Reuter, 'Past, Present and No
Future in the Twelfth Century Regnum Teutonicum', in The Perception ofthe Past in Twelfth-
Centuly Europe, ed. P. Magdalino (London and Rio Grande, Ohio, 1992), p. 20.
43 Preaching the first crusade in 1198, Pope Urban 11 urged his listeners to recall
Charlemagne's efforts to propagate the Christian faith. The Carolingian's successes,
Urban noted, were evidenced by the churches he built: 'Rise up and remember the manly
deeds of your ancestors, the prowess and greatness of Charlemagne, of his son Louis,
and of your other kings, who destroyed pagan kingdoms and planted the holy church in
Michael McGrade
The legendary establishment of the Marienkirche gave Frederick
and Aachen a new history, one that could be used to advance the
imperial cause.44 Frederick metaphorically reenacted the founda-
tions of the past by 'discovering' Charlemagne's discovery, by
inventing the invention of Aachen. The story of the Carolingian
ruler's findings reappears verbatim in the mid-twelfth-century
Karlsvita, a hagiographic narrative probably composed for Charles's
canonisation. And since the readings for the Octave of
Charlemagne's feast were drawn from the vita, the forged
Carolingian charter itself may have been read annually as part of
a liturgical ~ e l e b r a t i o nThese
. ~ ~ wishful histories, by appearing in
the charter and other narratives that might have been part of
annual liturgical celebrations, took on an agency in the political
present. Just as the powers of saints lived on in their relics,
their territories. You should be especially aroused by the fact that the Holy Sepulcher
of the Lord our Savior is in the hands of these unclean people, who shamefully mistreat
and sacreligiously defile the Holy Places with their filth.' Translation in J. A. Brundage,
The Crusades: A Documentary Study (Milwaukee, 1962), pp. 18-9. 'Moveant vos et incitent
animos vestros ad virilitatem gesta praedecessorum vestrorum, probitas et magnitudo
Karoli Magni regis, et Ludovici filii ejus aliorumque regum vestrorum, qui regna pagano-
rum destruxerunt et in eis fines sanctae Ecclesiae dilataverunt. Praesertim moveat vos
sanctum Domini Salvatoris nostri Sepulcrum, quod a b immundis gentibus possidetur, et
loca sancta, quae nunc inhoneste tractantur et irreverenter eorum immundiciis sordi-
dantur.' Recueil des historiens des Croisades, 111, Historiens occidentaux (Paris, 1866), p. 728.
44 This new history could challenge the account given in an edict promulgated by Pope
Hadrian IV on 22 September 1157 or 1158, in which he takes the Marienkirche under his
protection because the church had the honour of a consecration by Leo 111: 'antecessor
noster Leo papa, qui, prout superius diximus, prefatam basilicam propriis manibus con-
secravit'. The text appears in E. Meuthen, Aachener Crrkunden 1101-1250, Publikationen
der Gesellschaft fiir rheinische Geschichtskunde 58 (Bonn, 1972), pp. 185-93, at p. 192
(no. 29). The counterfeit foundation charter, however, describes the consecration as a
cooperative effort: 'This [i.e., the establishment of Aachen as capital of the new Roman
empire] was confirmed and made irrevocable by the reverend apostolic Roman pontiff
Leo and by me, Charles, august emperor of the Romans and first founder of this basil-
ica and this [place], that this our statute and decree might remain fixed and unde-
stroyed, and that the seat of the realm north of the Alps might be held here, and that
it might be the capital of all the cities and provinces of Gaul' ('Confirmatum et sancc-
itum est hoc a domno apostolico Leone Romano pontifice et a me Karolo Romanorum
imperatore august0 et primo auctore huius templi et loci, quatinus ratum et inconvul-
sum hoc statutum et decretum nostrum maneat et hic sedes regni trans Alpes habea-
tur sitque caput omnium civitatum et provinciarum Gallie') M G H D Karol., I, p. 442 (no.
295).
45 The rubric for the matins readings on Charlemagne's feast day is Piissimus igitur Karolus
(Aachen, Domarchiu, H S G I , fol. 60r), the same as the incipit for a chapter on the life and
merits of Charles in the twelfth-century Karlsvita (Book 1.3); see G. Rauschen, Die Legende
Karls des GroJen i m 11. und 12. Jahrhundert (Leipzig, 1890), p. 24; and Aachen, Domarchiu,
H S G 1 2 , fol. 4'. O n the octave, the rubric instructs the celebrant to read Lecciones degesta
beati karoli (Aachen, Domarchiv, H S G I , fol. 60").
the efficacy of Charlemagne's deeds, recounted in the present

tense throughout Urbs aquensis, endured, persisting even into
Barbarossa's day.
Along with its invocations of triumph, references to the Cross,
and celebration of ecclesia militans, the sequence for Charlemagne
raises up another emblem of power, the Roman fasces, a collection
of rods bound together to make a club, often to mount an axe-
head. The implement signified the authority of Roman magis-
trates, and it was typically carried before them in public
processional c e r e m o n i e ~In
. ~ ~the sixth versicle of Urbs aquensis, it
is Charlemagne who stands apart from his peers, 'marked by the
fasces (insignitur fascibus)'. This quintessentially Roman insignia
appears once in Frederick's charters, in the arenga, or formal intro-
ductory address, of a decree he signed on 3 February 1154, less
than a year after his election. In a phrase that seems to place
Romanness at the service of holiness, Barbarossa writes:
Under the insignia of royal magnificence [sub fasce regalis magn$centiae]
we intend to raise up and embellish the sighing churches of God.*'
The fasces did not serve as the only indication of the Roman
emperor's position with respect to other earthly rulers. The sixth
versicle also notes that the 'oil of joy' and 'the crown of glory'
marked Charlemagne's place before all other kings. These
phrases, drawn from the Bible, further contribute to Staufen ideas
about government and authority. Oleo laetitiae originates in Psalm
45.7:
Dilexisti justitiam, et odisti You love righteousness and hate
iniquitatem: propterea unxit te wickedness. Therefore God,
Deus tuus oleo laetitiae prae your God, has anointed you
consortibus tuis. with the oil of gladness beyond
your companions.
Following the versicle that honoured Charlemagne for drafting

sacred laws with justice, this reference to Psalm 45 continues
the same line of thought. The 'crown of glory' in the second half
of versicle six calls up several Biblical concordances, the most
46 Schramm, Kaiser, Rom, und Renovatio, I, pp. 56-7; Benson, 'Political Renouatio', pp. 355-7.
47 MGHDFI, pt I, p. 116 (no. 70). 'sub fasce regalis magnificentiae suspirantes aecclesias
dei sublimare et amplificare intendimus.'
Michael McGrade
relevant of which appear in the first epistle of St Peter and the
book of Isaiah. After exhorting his readers to tend the Christian
flock, the Apostle of Rome promises a reward for their diligence
(1 Pet. 5.4):
Et cum apparuerit princeps And when the chief shepherd
pastorum percipietis appears, you will win the crown
immarescibilem gloriae coronam. of glory that never fades away
Isaiah, on the other hand, tells of a messiah who will be 'a crown
of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand
of your God'.48 In Frederick's time, a mosaic shone in the cupola
of the Marienkirche, portraying the maiestas domini surrounded by
the twenty-four elders of the apocalypse. Rising from their gilded
seats, the elders remove their crowns, ready to 'cast [them] before
the throne' of Christ triumphant and to worship.49 In short, the
sixth versicle of Urbs aquensis, with its references to Roman fasces
and biblical images of kingship, complemented the decoration of
the church and asserted the inseparable Romanness and holiness
of the Staufen empire.
An effort to show that the Roman emperor stood before all other
kings may have further motivated the choice ofLaudes crucis as the
source for Urbs aquensis. The Aquensian sequence is not only a musi-
cal trope of the Victorine chant; it is a literary trope as well. Laudes
crucis was perhaps the most widely known of the Parisian
sequences, and its associations with Paris in particular, and France
in general, were certainly recognised by the canons of the
Marienkirche, as its placement in the section of ParisianNictorine
sequences in the oldest sequentiary from Aachen shows.50Using a
French melody to celebrate the patron of the 'locus regalis et caput
Gallie trans Alpes' - Aachen rather than Paris - is fantastically
'Et eris corona gloriae in manu Domini, et diadema regni in manu Dei tui' (Is. 62.3).
49 Apoc. 4.10; on such scenes in general see Yves Christie, 'The Apocalypse in the
Monumental Art of the Eleventh through Thirteenth Centuries', in The Apocahpse i n the
Middle Ages, ed. R. K. Emmerson and B. McGinn (Ithaca, N.Y., and London, 1992), pp.
234-58, esp. p. 236 and pp. 246-55. A drawing from 1699 shows us how the original
mosaic appeared; a restored version completed in 1881 preserved the theme, but the
elders' thrones are no longer shown. See W. Maas, DerAachener Dom (Cologne, 1991), p.
18-20.
The sequences in Aachen, Domarchiv, HS GI3 are grouped into FrenchNictorine and
German/St Gall style pieces. See R. Hesbert, Monuments musicae sacrae, 111, Le Prosaire
d'Aix-la-Chapelle, XIIP szdcle dlbbut (Rouen, 1961), pp. 22-36.
ironic.jl While each performance of Urbs aquensis would have called

to mind Laudes crucis, it would also tend to displace the text of the
Cross ~ e ~ u e n c e .The
~ 2 celebration of Charlemagne and Aachen
would be expressed explicitly on 28 January, but implicitly on 3
May as well, perhaps at the expense of the 'Frenchness' of the
melody. The Aquensian setting, in a limited sense and in this spe-
cific case, has commandeered the French tune, and perhaps even
the whole Victorine strategy of melodic exegesis associated with
this chant, in that the music correlates Charlemagne's 'holy' deeds
with the sacred properties of the Cross in terms of the Germanic
imperial office.j3 Scholars who interpret the canonisation of
Charlemagne as a challenge or response to French claims on the
Carolingian ancestry - as illustrated, for example, by Abbot
Suger's efforts to promote the royal heritage of the Abbey of St
Denis - will find support for their thesis in the Aquensian con-
trafact of Laudes c r ~ c i s . ~ ~
For Frederick, as for his predecessors, heirs and colleagues all
over Europe, Charlemagne was the apotheosis of transalpine lead-
ership. Through the office he inherited from the Carolingian
saint-king, the Staufer sought both administrative legitimacy and
earthly priority. No doubt the recondite connections that linked
M G H D Karol., I , p. 442 (no. 295); the quotation is from Frederick's forgery.

s2 See H. White, Tropics ofDiscourse: Essays i n Cultural Criticism (Baltimore and London, 1978),
p. 2. White writes that a trope 'is always not only a deviationfrom one possible, proper
meaning, but also a deviation towardr another meaning, conception, or ideal of what is
right and proper and true "in reality".'
s3 There are other Aquensian sequences based on Victorine melodies, but this is the only
one that seems to lend itself to such an interpretation. No other Aquensian contrafacts
were written for such politically charged feasts.
j4 For the relationship between the Charlemagne legend and patronage of the Abbey of
St Denis, see Petersohn, 'Saint-Denis - Westminster - Aachen', pp. 441-4; Folz, Le sou-
uenir et la ligende, pp. 205-7; C. van de Kieft, 'Deux diplBmes faux de Charlemagne pour
Saint-Denis du XIIe sikcle', L e moyen cige 64 (1958), pp. 401-36. Charlemagne's canoni-
sation was not unique in the twelfth century, and some scholars have sought to link it
with the canonisation of Edward the Confessor in 1163 and that of Knut of Denmark
in 1165. Apparently, the monks of St Denis contested the claims of the Aquensian canons
in a decree attributed to Charlemagne that calls the Royal Abbey the caput omnium eccle-
siarum regni nostri. Moreover, the fake charter stipulates that all the successors of Charles
the Great ought to receive the crown of the Franks at St Denis: 'Prohibemus insuper,
ne successores nostri Franciae reges alibi quam in ecclesia saepe fati domni Dionysii
sint coronati.' See M G H D Karol., I, p. 429 (no. 286). Although Charlemagne was crowned
at St Denis along with his father and brother in 754, his cult was never adopted in the
abbey; see A. W. Robertson, The Seroice-Books of the Royal Abbey of Saint-Denis: Images of
Ritual and Music i n the Middle Ages (Oxford, 199 I), pp. 25ff and p. 466.
Michael McGrade
the life of Charles the Great as told in Urbs aquensis to Justinian's

laws, Staufen politics and the Bible would have remained hidden
to many worshippers, but there was one moment during the annual
celebration of Charlemagne's feast when the charismatic Duke of
Swabia took centre stage, when his position in the royal lineage
would have been clear to everyone at hand.
Each year at the mass of St Charlemagne, during the performance

of Urbs aquensis itself, the canons of the Marienkirche lowered a
grand, octagonal copper lamp known as the corona and lit its forty-
eight candles. The magnificent fixture hangs in the middle of the
basilica, above the place where the shrine of Charlemagne once
stood, and it bears a poetic inscription that identifies Frederick as
its donor (See Figure 2 and Table 2). The first stanza of the inscrip-
tion tells us that the lamp represents St John the Divine's vision
of the Heavenly Jerusalem, while the second invites the reader to
note the 'shape and number' of Aachen's basilica, the basis of the
corona's design. Calling the lamp a 'crown' reasserted the royal
pedigree of the chapel, and its status as a gift may have prefig-
ured the ultimate donation of crowns depicted in the tesserae of
the Apocalypse mosaic high above.j5
The figurative relationship between the Marienkirche and the
luminary representation of the New Jerusalem received additional
support in Staufen documents. The inscription on the lamp por-
trays the post-apocalyptic city 'glittering with fine gold and shim-
mering with jewels, descending from a starry sky', echoing the
language of the charter Frederick drafted for the residents of
Aachen on 8January 1 166. Near the end of that difiloma, Barbarossa
used the same descriptive conventions, calling Aachen the 'diadem
of the realm', a city that 'gleams with the splendour of precious
Based on the reference to Frederick's wife Queen Beatrice in the inscription, the lamp
jj
can be dated to the years between their marriage in 1156 and Beatrice's death in 1184.
The most important recent studies of this lamp are G. Minkenberg, 'Der
Barbarossaleuchter im Dom zu Aachen', Zeitschrzj2 des Aachener Geschichtsvereins 96 (1989),
pp. 69-102; and C. Bayer, 'Die beiden gronen Inschriften des Barbarossa-Leuchters', in
Celica Iherusalem: Festschrii fur Erich Stepharp, ed. C . Bayer, T. Jiilich and M. Kuhl
(Cologne-Siegburg, 1986), pp. 213-40. See also H. Giersiepen, Die Deutschen Inschnj2en,
xxx~, Die Inschriien des Aachener D o m (Wiesbaden, 1992), pp. 24-7.
Michael McGrade
gems' set 'in the peak of the crown'.56 Allusions to the New
Jerusalem descending through the firmament appear elsewhere in
the writings of the Staufen chancery. In an epistle to the cathe-
dral chapter of Cambrai, Frederick wrote to remind the clerics
that he would exercise his imperial prerogative and appoint a new
bishop if they could not elect one on their own. Paraphrasing
St John's vision, the arenga offers a summary of Staufen political
philosophy:
When the beauty of the homeland rests most securely on a foundation
of solid and immobile columns, when the surpassing glory of the Roman
Empire is upheld by the forbearance of the most illustrious emperors,
[then] the sound condition of each [i.e., the beauty and glory of the
realm] is protected, and [only] with difficulty will [the empire] suffer
some destruction or ruinous calamity.j7
The concordant passage in Revelation is part of the greeting to the
seven churches, the message to the angel of Philadelphia that
encouraged the sixth church to defend itself. Referring to stead-
fast columns and the descent of the city, the messenger promises
his listener lasting rewards:
I am coming soon; hold fast to what you have, so that no one may seize
your crown. If you conquer, I will make you a pillar in the temple of my
God; you will never go out of it. I will write on you the name of my God,
and the name of the city of my God, the newJerusalem that comes down
from my God out of heaven.j8
When the Aquensian canons lowered Barbarossa's lamp, they
dramatised the culmination of the Apocalypse. The fixture com-
plemented the image of the worshipping elders in the cupola, and
the lamp and mosaic together created a frame for St John's
56 MGH DFI, pt 2, p. 433 (no. 502). 'Laetetur igitur et exultet ineffabili gaudio
Aquisgranum caput civitatum, venerabilis clerus cum devotissimo populo, quod in diade-
mate regni aliis principibus et gloriosis locis speciosissimo ornament0 distinctis in capite
coronae positum quasi prelucidarum gemmarum splendore coruscat et illo singulari et
corporali gaudet patrono, qui christianae fidei illustratione et legis, qua unusquisque
vivere debeat, Romanum decorat imperium.'
57 MGH DFI, pt 2, pp. 486-7 (no. 539). 'Cum firmissime domus decor et firmamentum
immobilibus et solidis columpnis innititur, cum Romani imperii supereminens gloria
illustrissimorum principum sustentatione fulcitur, utriusque status servatur incolumis
et difficile alicui destructioni vel ruinose calamitati poterit subiacere.'
58 Apoc. 3.1 1-12. 'Ecce veni cito: tene quod habes, ut nemo accipiat coronam tuam. Qui
vicerit, faciam illum collumnam in templo Dei mei, et foras non egredietur amplius: et
scribam super eum nomen Dei mei, et nomen civitatis Dei mei novae Jerusalem, quae
descendit de caelo ad Deo meo, et nomen meum novum.'
Revelation, enclosing events from the opening of the seven seals to
the fall of Babylon. Reminding the canons of these eventualities,
Barbarossa's donation gave the basilica an ultimate place in
Christian eschatology. This location at the end of time accorded
with the plan of history outlined in Otto of Freising's Two Cities.
Like St Augustine, Otto envisioned history as a directed course of
events whose centre of activity moved gradually from East to
West.jg The series of translationes imperii that plotted this inevitable
westward trajectory reached its endpoint in the Roman Empire.
Since the known world stretched to the westernmost shores of
Europe in the twelfth century, many believed time would reach its
end in the near future. Thus, the numerical affiliation of Frederick's
lamp and Charlemagne's church, a relationship voiced explicitly in
the dedicatory inscription, drew both monuments into an exegesis
that saw the Roman Empire as the goal of earthly history.
No medieval witness articulates a connection between the art
and architecture of the basilica and Urbs aquensis, but the text of
the sequence seems nevertheless guided by an effort to express the
numeral eight, allying it with the designs of the lamp and the
chapel. Unlike its Victorine model, Urbs aquensis has eight pairs of
versicles. Whether pairing the first line and omitting four versicles
in the middle of Laudes crucis contributed to some numerological
rule of design in the new composition will remain an open ques-
tion, but the conspicuous alterations to the Cross chant are at least
suggestive. Moreover, the eight pairs of versicles in Urbs aquensis find
an echo in the plan of the basilica: an eight-sided inner atrium
nested within a sixteen-sided outer wall. These Aquensian mani-
festations of the number eight in turn invoke Constantine's eight-
sided baptistery in the Lateran, the rotunda of the Holy Sepulchre,
and the theme of renewal and rebirth signified by Christ's cross.60
59 See Augustine of Hippo, The City ofGod, Book XVIII.2, and Otto of Freising and Rahewin,
The Deeds of Frederick Barbarossa, trans. C. C . Mierow (Toronto, 1994), pp. 146-7 (Book
11.12-13).
60 Eight-sided buildings were considered round in the Middle Ages; many such structures
were baptisteries or mausolea. See R. Krautheimer, 'Introduction to an "Iconography of
Medieval Architecture" ', in Studies i n Early Christian, Medieval, and Renaissance Art (New
York, 1969), pp. 122-3. In 877 Charles the Bald founded a chapel dedicated to the Virgin
in CompiPgne. The new octagonal building, modelled on the Marienkirche in Aachen,
inspired the poet Eriugena to write about the special qualities symbolised by its eight
walls. See M G H , Poetae latinorum medii aevi, 111, Poetae latini aevi Carolini, 111, ed. L. Traube
(Berlin, 1896), pp. 550-2 (esp. lines 31-49).
Michael McGrade
A more direct connection between the Marienkirche and the

sequence that commemorated its founder and patron may lie in a
secondary use of Laudes crucis. In Paris and the lands to its north,
monks and canons often sang the Cross chant on the anniversary
of the dedication of their church.61 One of the standard matins
responsories for the dedication feast is drawn from the end of
Revelation: 'I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, descending from
heaven prepared by God."j2 Thus the biblical passage invoked by
Barbarossa's lamp was the very text used in a widespread office
formulary for the Dedication of a Church, and the tune that cel-
ebrated the Marienkirche's founder, sung while the canons lit the
lamp, had strong associations with a chant that often honoured
the establishment of churches.
By adorning Aachen's church with sumptuous gifts and by aug-
menting its liturgy, Frederick followed the path established by a
long line of ancient Roman and Germanic emperors who embell-
ished the church with lavish donations. To guarantee his place in
that line, and to secure his alliance with Charlemagne in partic-
ular, he granted the citizens of Aachen the right to mint currency,
stipulating that the coins bear his own likeness and name on one
side, the image and seal of Charlemagne on the other.63Issued
only one day after the bogus foundation charter, Frederick's war-
rant to strike specie in Aachen also instituted two annual markets
and promised the fortification of the city with towers and walls.'j4
61 Fassler, Gothic Song, p. 69.

In the liturgy of the Marienkirche, this text is the first responsory of the third nocturn of
matins; see Aachen, Domarchiv, H S G 2 0 , fol. 133r. Interestingly, the text in this manu-
script is missing the words 'descendentem de caelo'. O n the rarity of texts from Revelation
in the chant repertory, see C. C. Flanigan, 'The Apocalypse and the Medieval Liturgy',
in The Afocalyise i n the Middle Ages, ed. Emmerson and McGinn, pp. 333-51, esp. p. 334.
63 M G H D F I , pt 2, p. 435 (no. 503). 'Forma vero denariorum talis erit, quod in una parte
erit imago sancti Karoli et eius superscriptio, ex altera parte nostra imago cum nostri
nominis superscriptione.'
64 M G H D F I , pt 2 , p. 434 (no. 503). 'Quoniam Aquisgranum locus regalis tum pro sanc-
tissimo corpore beati Karoli imperatoris inibi glorificato, quod solus ipse fovere cerni-
tur, tum pro sede regali, in qua primo imperatores Romanorum coronantur, omnes
provincias et civitates dignitatis et honoris prerogativa precellit, congruum et rationabile
est, ut exemplo domni et sancti Karoli aliorumque precessorum nostrorum eundem
locum imperialis defensionis et nostrae clementiae privilegiis et libertatis institutione
quasi muro et turribus muniamus. Inde est, quod bis in anno universales et sollempnes
nundinas Aquisgrani celebrari decrevimus ex consilio mercatorum vicinarum civitatum
iura eatenus conservantes, quod nundinae istae non solum illarum nundinas non impe-
diant, verum earum adaugeant emoluments.' According to the Annales Aquenses, the res-
idents of Aachen resolved to build a new wall around the city at Frederick's prompting
Thus, while the charter of 8 January 1166 founded the city de iure,
the edict Frederick signed on the next day established the city de
facto by setting up markets, removing impediments to trade, and
defining city limits, all according to the example of Charles the
Great.
Despite the energy and resources Frederick mobilised to acquire
Italy during the first quarter-century of his reign, he never reached
his goal. In the summer of 1167, the Staufen army occupied Rome,
but its brief success ended when a virulent disease decimated its
ranks. Not until 1 177, however, did Barbarossa finally give up his
campaigns south of the Alps. As we have seen, the legal principles
cited to justify Frederick in his lengthy and destructive quest sur-
vive not only in royal charters and decrees, but in liturgical music
and ritual as well.65 Although Frederick invoked ancient legal
statutes to defend his politics, he sought to obtain his goals
through conquest. In 1155, he declared to the ambassadors of the
self-styled Roman Senate that the imperial crown had been won
for the Germanic kings through Carolingian and Ottonian war-
fare. By using the melody of Laudes crucis - a tune associated with
the triumph of ecclesia militans - the composer of Urbs aquensis
strongly reinforced this proposition.
Long after Hohenstaufen political ideologies had become a dim
memory, canons in Aachen and elsewhere continued to sing the
sequence for St Charlemagne. In the late thirteenth century, Urbs
aquensis seems to have acquired the status of municipal anthem:
its opening lines were inscribed on the f a ~ a d eof the first city hall
in Aachen, constructed late in the 1 2 6 0 ~In. ~addition,
~ the ordo for
the Octave of Charlemagne's feast, preserved in an early-
thirteenth-century ordinal from the Marienkirche, refers to the cel-
ebration as festum c i ~ i u m The
. ~ ~ transformation of Aachen from
in 1172: 'Aquenses ab imperatore commoniti iuraverunt, in 4 annis muro et menibus

civitatem munire' Annales Aquenses, ed. G. Waitz, MGH, Scriptorum, X X N (Hannover,
1879), p. 38.
65 The institution of Charlemagne's feast in Aachen also inspired the composition of a
rhymed office containing thirty-six antiphons and responsories. The texts of these chants
revisit and elaborate many of the themes treated in Urbs aquensis. See my dissertation,
'Affirmations of Royalty: Liturgical Music in the Collegiate Church of St Mary in Aachen,
1050-1350' (Ph.D. diss., University of Chicago, 1998).
66 See H. Giersiepen, ed., Die Deutschen Znschri,Ren, XXXII, Die Znschnien der Stadt Aachen
(Wiesbaden, 1993), pp. 10-12.
6i Aachen, Domarchiv, H S G I , fol. 6lV
Michael McGrade
settlement to city in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries owes

much to the canonisation of Charles the Great. In this respect,
Urbs aquensis did indeed help to memorialise the achievements of
Frederick I as much as it glorified the accomplishments of
Charlemagne.
APPENDIX 1
Texts and translations of Urbs aquensis and Laudes crucis attollamus
Text and translation of Urbs aquensis Text and translation ofLaudes crucis att01lamus~~
l a City of Aachen, royal city, Urbs aquensis, urbs regalis no correspondence
principal seat of the kingdom Regni sedes principalis
first court of kings: Prima regum curia
Ib Sing to the King of kings Regi regum pange laudes Laudes crucis attollamus Let us raise praises of the cross
the praises with which you Quae de magni regis gaudes Nos qui crucis exultamus We who exult
celebrate the presence of king Karoli praesentia Speciali gloria By the special glory of the cross.
Charlemagne.
2a Let this joyful assembly Iste coetus psallat laetus Dulce melos tangat celos Let the sweet melody touch heaven.
sing, let this sonorous chorus Psallat chorus hic sonorus Dulce lignum dulci dignum We believe the sweet wood is
sing with vocal concord. Vocali concordia Credimus melodia Worthy of sweet melody.
2b For when the hand does At durn manus operatur Voci vita non discordet Let not life be in discord with voice:
the good that the heart Bonum quod cor meditatur Cum vox vitam non remordet When the voice does not disquiet life,
contemplates sweet is the Dulcis est psalmodia Dulcis est ymphonia The harmony is sweet.
psalmody.
3a On this day, this festive Hac in die, die festa Servi crucis crucem laudent Let the servants of the cross praise the c
day, let the Church recall the Magni regis magna gesta Qui per crucem sibi gaudent Who rejoice to be given for themselves
great deeds of the great king. Recolat ecclesia Vite dari munera The gifts of life through the cross.
Kings of the earth and all Reges terre et omnes populi Dicant omnes et dicant singuli Let all say together and singly,
people, let everyone rejoice Omnes simul plaudant et singuli Ave salus tocius seculi
'Hail salvation of the entire race,
united together in joyful Celebri laeticia Arbor salutifera

Salvation-bearing tree.'
celebration.
68 Translation of Laudes m c i s attollamus from Fassler, Gothic Song, pp. 70-2 (with minor adjustments). The Latin text given here is found in
Aachen, Domarchiv, HS G13, fols. 1311-33P.
3b This is the brave soldier of Hic est Christus miles fortis 0 quam felix quam preclara 0 how splendid, how beautiful
Christ; this leader of an Hic invictae dux cohortis Fuit hec salutis ara Was this altar of salvation,
unconquerable crowd Ducum sternit milia Rubens agni sanguine; Red with the blood of the Lamb;
overthrows a thousand leaders. Terram purgat lolio Agni sine macula Of the Lamb without stain
He purges the earth of darnel Atque metit gladio Qui mundavit secula Who cleansed the world
and cuts the tare from the crop Ex messe zizania. Ab antiquo crimine. From the ancient crime.
with his sword.

4a This is the great emperor, Hic est magnus imperator Hec est scala peccatorum This is the ladder of sinners
the good sower of the good fruit Boni fructus bonus sator Per quam Christe rex celorum Through which Christ, King of heaven,
and the wise cultivator. Et prudens agricola. Ad se traxit omnia. Drew up all things to Himself;
4b He converts the infidels; Infideles hic convertit Forma cuius hoc ostendit The form of that which
he tears down pagan

- - temples Fana, deos hic evertit Que terrarum comprehendit Encompasses the four regions of the earth
-
N
and gods and smashes idols.
o, 5a He tames the savage

Et confringit ydola.
Hic superbos domat reges

Quatuor confinia.
Non sunt nova sacramenta

shows these things.
These are not new signs,
kings, he makes sacred laws Hic regnare sacras leges Nec recenter est inventa Not recently was this religion
to rule with justice. Facit cum iusticia. Crucis hec religio. Of the cross invented:
5b He defends these laws to Quam tuetur eo fine Ipsa dulces aquas fecit It made waters sweet,
the end so that he may be just, Ut el iustus sed nec sine Per hanc silex aquas iecit Through it the rock gave water
but not without mercy. Sit misericordia. Moysi officio. By Moses' office.
no correspondence Nulla salus est in domo No salvation is in a house
Nisi cruce munit homo Unless a man protects
Super liminaria. With the cross on his threshold:
no correspondence Neque sensit gladium None felt the sword
Nec amisit filium Nor lost a son
Quisquis egit talia. Who did so.
no correspondence Ligna legens in sarepta

Gathering sticks in Zarephath
Spem salutis est adepta

The poor woman
Pauper muliercula.
Obtained the hope of salvation:
no correspondence Sine lignis fidei Without the sticks of faith
Nec lechitus olei Neither the cruse of oil
Valet nec farinula. Nor the little pile of meal is any good.
no correspondence Roma naves universas Rome saw all the ships sunk
In profundum vidit mersas In the deep
Una cum Maxentio. Together with Maxentius.
no correspondence Fusi Traces cesi Perse Thracians fled, Persians slain,
Sed et partis dux adverse And the leader of adverse foes
Victus ab Eracleo. Conquered by Heraclius.
no correspondence In scripturis sub figuris In Scripture under figures
Ista latent sed iam patent These benefits of the cross are hidden
Crucis beneficia. But now lie open:
no correspondence Reges credunt hostes cedunt Kings believe, enemies fall
Sola cruce Christo duce By the cross alone, with Christ leading
Unus fugat milia. One gives flight to thousands
6a Anointed with the oil of Oleo leticie Ipsa suos fortiores This ever makes its own courageous
joy and with the gift of grace Unctus dono gratie Semper facit et victores And victorious;
before all kings ceteris pre regibus. Morbos sanat et languores Makes well the sick and languishing
Reprimit demonia. Restrains demons.
6b With the crown of glory of Cum corona glorie Dat captivis libertatem It gives freedom to the captives,
the majestic kingdom he is Maiestatis regie Vite confert novitatem Confers the newness of life:
marked by the fasces. Insignitur fascibus. Ad antiquam dignitatem The cross restores all things
Crux reduxit ornnia. To the former worth.
7a 0 king, triumpher of 0 rex mundi triumphator 0 crux lignum triumphale 0 cross, triumphant wood,
the world, co-ruler with Ihesu Christi conregnator Mundi vera salus vale True salvation of the world, farewell!
Jesus Christ, be an advocate Sis pro nobis exorator Inter lignum nullum tale Among woods, none is such wood
for us, holy father Charles. Sancte pater Karole. Fronde flore germine. With leaf, or flower, or seed.
7b So that cleansed of Emundati a peccatis Medicina Cristiana Christian medicine
sins we, your people, might Ut in regno claritatis Salva sanos egros sana Save the well, make well the sick:
be residents in joyful heaven Nos plebs tua cum heatis Quod non valet vis humana What human power cannot do
during the reign of glory. Celi simus incole. Sit in tuo nomine. Is done in your name.
8a Star of the sea, 0 Stella maris 0 Maria Assistentes crucis laudi Consecrator of the cross, hear
Mary, salvation of the earth, Mundi salus vite via Consecrator crucis audi Those standing by for praise of the cross,
way of life, guide the Vacillantum rege gressus Atque servos tue crucis And, after this life,
unsteady step and grant Et ad regem des accessus Post hanc vitam vere lucis Take the servants of your cross
access to the King in In perhenni gloria. Transfer ad palatia. To the palace of true light;
perennial glory.
Co
8b Christ, splendour of Christe splendor dei patris Quos tormento vis servire Those whom you are willing to subject to
God the Father, Son of the Incorrupte fili matris Fac tormenta non sentire torments
incorrupt mother, oKer us Per hunc sanctum cuius festa Sed cum dies erit ire Make them not feel the torments;
everlasting joy through this Celebramus nobis presta Nobis confer et largire But when the day of wrath will come,
saint whose feast we Sempitema gaudia. Sempiterna gaudia. Confer to us and grant to us
celebrate. Eternal joys.
APPENDIX 2
Inscription on the lamp donated by Frederick Ifig
Celica Iherusalem Signatur imagine tali The heavenly Jerusalem is represented by this
Visio pacis certa Quietis spes ibi nobis image, the 'Vision of Peace'; there for us is certain
Ille Iohannes gracia Christi preco salutis hope for rest. [St] John [the Divine], harbinger of
Qua(m) patriarche qua(m)q(ue) P(ro)ph(et)e deniq(ue) virtus good will by the grace of Christ, saw glittering with
Lucis apostolice Fundavit dogmate vita fine gold and shimmering with jewels, descending
Urbem siderea laben[-] tem vidit ab aetthra from a starry sky, the city of the patriarchs, of the
Auro ridentem mundo Gemmisque nitentem prophets, and finally of the virtue of apostolic light
Qua nos in patria Precibus pia siste Maria founded in life and teaching. Holy Mary, let your
prayers admit us to this homeland.
-
10
w
Cesar catholicus Romanoru(m) Frideric(us)
Frederick, the catholic emperor, pious king of the
Sumunt munera formam Cogens attendere cleru(m)
Romans, absolved himself and pledged to holy
Ad templi normam sua Cum specie numerum
Mary this gift of a royal octagonal crown. He calls
Istius octogone Donu(m) regale corone
the clergy to note not only its number but also its
Rex pius ipse pie Vovit solvitq(ue) Marie
shape; his gift takes its form from the church [i.e.,
Ergo stella maris Astris prefulgida claris
the Marienkirche]. Star of the Sea that outshines the
Suscipe munificum Prece devota Fridericum
brightest stars, take also into your devoted prayers
Conregnatricem sibi Iunge suam Beatricem
the generous Frederick. Bind to him his co-ruler
Queen Beatrice.
6y The original sequence of the lines on the lamp is not known. The order given here follows that recorded in H. Giersiepen, Die Deutschen InschriJen,
XXXI, Die Inschnften des Aachener D o m , p. 25, hut the translation follows the textual reconstruction proposed in C. Bayer, 'Die heiden groBen
Inschriften', pp. 223R my translation is guided by Bayer's German translation.
E a r b Music History (1998) Volume 17. O 1998 Cambridge Uniuersity Press
Printed i n the United Kingdom
JOHN ARTHURSMITH
MUSICAL ASPECTS O F O L D
TESTAMENT CANTICLES I N THEIR
BIBLICAL S E T T I N G
The Hebrew Old Testament contains, besides prose narratives and

laws, a considerable amount of poetry. The books of Lamentations,
Proverbs and Psalms and the Song of Solomon, together with the
prophetic oracles that make up the books of Amos, Habakkuk,
Joel, Micah, Nahum, Obadiah and Zephaniah, consist entirely,
or almost entirely, of poetry. In several other books, especially
Job and the books of the prophets Haggai, Isaiah and Jeremiah,
poetry predominates, while in the books of history and law,
although prose predominates, poetry is never entirely absent, brief
though its manifestations sometimes are.' The vast majority of
the poetry is sacred, as would be expected from texts that occur
within religious writings. The relatively small amount of profane
poetry consists of a handful of short examples and the Song of
Solom~n.~
A certain amount of the sacred poetry is cultic. In the present
context the adjective 'cultic' has two possible senses: it can mean
simply that the poetry was used in worship at the Temple in
' In the Hebrew text of the Old Testament it is sometimes difficult to differentiate
between poetry and prose. On this problem and the criteria used to determine what is
poetry and prose in biblical Hebrew, see e.g. W. G. E. Watson, Classical Hebrew Poetry: A
Guide to Its Techniques, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Supplement Series
26 (Sheffield, 1984), pp. 44-65; D. N. Freedman, 'Another Look at Biblical Hebrew
Poetry', Directionr i n Biblical Hebrew Poetry, ed. E. R. Follis, Journal for the Study of the
Old Testament, Supplement Series 40 (Sheffield, 1987), pp. 11-28; S. E. Gillingham,
The Poems and Psalms ofthe Hebrew Bible, Oxford Bible (Oxford, 1994), pp. 18-43, 122-35.
The Hebrew Old Testament is cited here and throughout according to the Masoretic
Text [MT] in the edition Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, ed. K. Elliger, W. Rudolph and
H. P. Riiger (Stuttgart, 1984), hereafter cited as 'MT' or 'Hebrew'.
The Song of Solomon consists entirely of profane love poetry, but from Rabbinic times
(first century CE) onwards some commentators have regarded it as sacred allegory. See
A. Brenner, The Israelite Woman, The Biblical Seminar (Sheffield, 1985, repr. 1989), p.
47; Gillingham, Poems and Psalms, pp. 113-15.
John Arthur Smith
Jerusalem, or it can mean that in its literary setting the poetry is

presented as celebrating events or ideas that were of religious sig-
nificance for the ancient Israelites and earlyJ e w ~ There
.~ is a small
amount of poetry that is cultic in both senses together. The adjec-
tive does not necessarily imply that material to which it is applied
was originally cultic. The largest repository of such poetry in the
Old Testament is the Psalter (or Book of Psalms). The traditional
view of the Psalter is that it is a collection of the items that were
sung liturgically by the Levites in the Jerusalem Temple, espe-
cially the Second Temple (516 BCE - 70 C E ) .A ~ study from 19905
points out, however, that of the 150 psalms that comprise the
Psalter, only fourteen are mentioned by biblical and other ancient
sources as having been sung by the Levites in the Jerusalem
Temple. The study goes on to show that although there is a strong
likelihood that the Levites in reality sang many more psalms than
this, the total number probably amounted to no more than 126 at
the most and may have been as low as 109. It is therefore ques-
tionable whether all the contents of the Psalter may be regarded
as cultic.
Many passages of Old Testament poetry from books other
than the Psalter display marked similarities to psalms, being
hymnic in style, self-contained and composed in relatively short,
often bifurcated lines. Also like psalms, they lend themselves to
musical performance in worship. In ancient Judaism, for example,
two such poems are known to have been sung by the Levites in
the Temple, and in Christianity many Old Testament poems (as
well as some New Testament ones), subsequently referred to
variously as 'canticles', 'odes', 'psalms outside the Psalter' and
'songs', have been sung alongside canonical psalms in the
Office of the Church since at least the fifth century C E . ~Some
canticles are in fact designated 'song' in the Old Testament, and
several contain references to song, singing and musical instru-
See the discussion in Gillingham, Poems and Psalms, pp. 136-69.

4 The general chronology used here and throughout is as given in J. A. Soggin, A n
Introduction to the History ofIsrael andjudah, trans. J. Bowden (London, 1993), pp. 394-417.
5 J. A. Smith, 'Which Psalms Were Sung in the Temple?', Music @Letters, 71 (1990), pp.
167-86.
6 For ancient Judaism, see below; for Christianity, see M. M. VelimiroviC, R. Steiner and
I\'. Temperley, 'Canticle', The New Groue Dictionary $Music and Musicians, ed. S. Sadie
(London, 1980, repr. 1995), vol. 111, pp. 723-6.
Musical Aspects of Old Testament Canticles in their Biblical Setting
ments. Yet while canticles have much in common with psalms,
they differ from them in one significant respect: in the Old
Testament they are placed within literary contexts, whereas
psalms typically are not. This inevitably gives them meaning over
and above that of their poetic texts alone. In some instances the
contexts contain musical information that has direct bearing on
the canticles.
A superficial reading of the canticles in their scriptural setting
produces the impression that many of them were sung by specific
people in given situations, sometimes apparently with instrumen-
tal accompaniment. A deeper reading, however, such as is pre-
sented in the following study, reveals that their musical aspects
and their relationship to their literary contexts are much more
complex than might at first appear.
The study is based on the poetic texts and immediate contexts
of fifteen Old Testament canticles. Musical information is not
available for all Old Testament canticles, and even where it exists
it is sometimes exiguous or vague. The fifteen canticles to be stud-
ied here have been selected for the relative clarity of the musical
information in their texts and contexts. Nevertheless, selection was
not always a straightforward matter, and some of the excluded
canticles are borderline cases. These, together with other excluded
canticles, are discussed in a separate section at the end of the
study. For convenience of reference the fifteen selected canticles
are listed below, enumerated as items 1-15. Items 1-13 are listed
in the order in which they occur in the Hebrew Old Testament;
items 14 and 15 are listed in the order in which they occur in the
Septuagint (the ancient Jewish translation of the Hebrew
Scriptures into Greek).' The short titles in parentheses that fol-
low the biblical references are in most cases based on the titles
supplied editorially in the New Revised Standard Version of the
Bible.8 The exceptions are item I, which in NRSV is called 'The
Song of Moses', and items 3 and 9, which are untitled in NRSV.
' The Septuagint is cited according to the edition Septuaginta, ed. A. Rahlfs (Stuttgart,
1935), hereafter 'LXX' or 'Greek'. LXX parallels with MT are cited normally only where
there is divergence or other noteworthy matter.
ThedVezvReuised Standard Version Bible, (Copyright O 1989, Division of Christian Education
of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America),
hereafter 'IqRSV', from which most of the biblical quotations in English are taken. 'EV'
= English Versions.
John Arthur Smith
The titles form no part of the Hebrew or Greek texts. The fifteen
selected canticles are:
I Exodus 15: 1-18 (the Song of the Sea)
2 Exodus 15:2 1 (Miriam's Song)
3 Numbers 2 1: 17-18 (the Song of the Well)
4 Deuteronomy 32:l-43 (the Song of Moses)
5 Judges 5:2-31 (the Song of Deborah, or of Deborah and Barak)
6 2 Samuel 1:19-27 (David's lament over Saul and Jonathan)
7 2 Samuel 22:2-5 1 (David's song of thanksgiving)
8 Isaiah 12: lb-6 (thanksgiving and praise)
9 Isaiah 26: lb-6 (a song of victory)
10 Isaiah 42: 10-1 7 (Isaiah's hymn of praise)
11 Ezekiel 19:2-14 (Ezekiel's lament for the princes of Israel)
12 Habakkuk 3:2-19 (Habakkuk's prayer)
13 1 Chronicles 16:8-36 (psalm of thanksgiving)
14 LXX Judith 16: 1-1 7 Uudith's hymn of praise)
15 LXX Daniel 3:52-90; NRSV Apocrypha: The Prayer of
Azariah and the Song of the Three Jews, verses 29-68 (the
Song of the Three Jews)
These items will be treated in groups: items 1-13 in groups within
the conventional tripartite division of the Hebrew scriptures
(Pentateuch, Prophets and Writings, the Prophets divided into
Former Prophets and Latter Prophets), and items 14 and 15 as a
group within the extra-canonical scriptures in the LXX.
CHRONOLOGICAL, LITERARY AND MUSICAL SURVEY
Items 1, 2, 3, 4
These items are to be found in the Pentateuch, the first five books
of the Old Testament. The Pentateuch (also known as the Torah,
or Law) is the repository of the historical, religious and and legal
traditions fundamental to Jewish culture. Although it did not reach
its final form until probably the late sixth century BCE, after a
long and complex textual history, the Pentateuch preserves some
very old material among which are the present four itemsg
The dating and other background details presented here and henceforward are those
generally accepted by the majority of present-day writers. The information is drawn
mainly from the following: Watson, Classical Hebrew Poetv, pp. 39-40; relevant volumes
Items I and 2 are two of the most famous songs in the Old
Testament outside the Book of Psalms. Item I is the song of
thanksgiving that according to Exodus 14: 10-15: 19 was sung by
Moses and the Israelites when they escaped from slavery in Egypt
and were delivered from the pursuing Egyptian army at the Red
Sea.lo Known usually as the Song of the Sea, it celebrates one of
the most significant events in the Old Testament narratives of
Israel's early history. Item 2 is the song that according to Exodus
14:10-15:2 1 was sung by Miriam in celebration of the same event.
The texts of Exodus 15: 1-2a (which includes the beginning of the
Song of the Sea) and Exodus 15:20-1 (which includes the whole
of Miriam's Song) are as follows:
[15:1] Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: 'I will
sing [or Let me sing] to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; / horse
and rider he has thrown into the sea. / [2] The Lord is my strength and
my might [or song] . . .'
[15:20] Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in
her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and
with dancing. [21] And Miriam sang to them: / Sing to the Lord, for he
has triumphed gloriously; / horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.'
There is much about the historical and literary background of
these two songs that is uncertain." Although they are among the
most ancient songs preserved in the Old Testament, they cannot
be dated with certainty.I2 The question of their age is a complex
of the larger standard Bible commentaries such as those in the series The Anchor Bible
(New York), The J[ewish/ P[ublication] S[ocieQ/ Torah Commentary (Philadelphia and New
York), The Old Testament Library (London) and Word Biblical Commentary (Waco and lat-
terly Dallas, Texas) and the excellent introductions and annotations by various authors
in The HarperCollins S t u 4 Bible, ed. W. A. Meeks et al. (New York, 1993), hereafter 'HCSB'.
Writers sometimes differ widely in their dating of an individual item; the dates given
here should not be regarded as finally settled.
l o I use the name that is traditional in EV; the Hebrew Old Testament hasgam sliJ 'sea
of reeds'. The transliteration of Hebrew words follows the rules of scientific transliter-
ation given in the EncyclopaediaJudaica, VIII, p. 90 herein EJ, but with the following minor
modifications for the sake of greater precision: (l)sEr&+y8d= & (given as 'e' for bibli-
cal Hebrew in EJ); (2) l$req+y8d = i (given as 'i' in EJ); (3) h d e m = 6 (given as '0' in
EJ); (4) simple shewa (here e') transliterates unvocalised as well as vocalised shewa; (5)
composite shewa hatef-qames = " (i.e. superscript '0'; not represented in EJ); (6) qi%nes-
he' at the end of a word = B (not represented in EJ).
I'
For detailed discussion of the points that follow, see F. M. Cross, Jr, and D. N. Freedman,
'The Song of Miriam', Journal ofNear Eastern Studies, 14 (1955), pp. 237-50; B. S. Childs,
Exodus: A Commentary, Old Testament Library (London, 1974, repr. 1987), pp. 242-8; J.
I. Durham, Exodus, Word Biblical Commentary 3 (Waco, Texas, 1987), pp. 202-5;
Gillingham, Poems and Psalms, pp. 118, 120, 145.
l 2 See, for example, P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50, Word Biblical Commentary 19 (Waco, Texas,
1983), p. 25; Watson, Classical Hebrew Poetry, p. 40.
225
John Arthur Smith
matter, complicated further in the case of the Song of the Sea by

its reference in Exodus 15: 13-17 to events that, according to the
chronology of the Old Testament narrative, took place much later
than the crossing of the Red Sea. Whether these anachronisms
are later additions to an otherwise shorter text, or whether the
Song of the Sea as a whole did not come into being until after the
latest event to which it refers - the establishment of the Temple
in Jerusalem (c. 960 BCE) - is not known. Likewise with regard to
the relationship of the songs to each other, we know nothing about
their relative chronology, whether they emanated from one tradi-
tion or more, or whether one song is textually dependent on the
other. Many commentators have drawn attention to the similari-
ties of circumstance and performance between Miriam's Song and
the song with which women welcomed home Saul, his army and
David after their victory over the Philistines (1 Samuel 18:6-7;
referred to also in 1 Samuel 2 1: 12 (EV 2 1: 11) and 29:5).13 Such
songs are usually extremely old, and the possibility exists, there-
fore, that Miriam's Song predates the Song of the Sea, perhaps
even being a primary text of which the Song of the Sea is a later
expansion. l 4
As they have come down to us in the Hebrew text of the Old
Testament, the Song of the Sea and Miriam's Song are cultic songs
- poetic celebrations of an event of cultic significance. The reduc-
tion to writing of the songs and the narrative of the event they
celebrate probably went hand in hand with the gradual formali-
sation of Israelite cultic worship, and the eventual centralisation
of this worship at the Temple in ~ e r u s a l e m The
. songs as we have
them are obviously set pieces that have been interpolated in the
narrative; indeed, the prose text surrounding them (that is to say
the prose text surrounding the whole of Exodus 15: 1-21) makes
complete narrative sense without them. It would seem, therefore,
that the song texts were settled independently of the text of the
narrative, then at some later stage combined with the latter.
l3 E.g. A. Brenner, The Israelite Woman, The Biblical Seminar (Sheffield, 1985, repr. 1989),
p. 52; S. M. Sarna, Exodus, The J[ewish] P[ublication] S[ociety] Torah Commentary
(Philadelphia and S e w York, 5751/1991), p. 82 (Sarna here adduces also Judges 11:34,
which relates the homecoming of the victorious warrior Jephthah, and his welcome by
his daughter 'with timbrels [betuptm] and with dances', but this passage does not men-
tion song); Gillingham, Poems and Psalms, p. 120.
l4 See especially Gillingham, Poems and Psalms, pp. 118, 145.
Exodus 15 preserves ancient traditions about the performance

of the songs. It is impossible to say with certainty how old these
traditions are, but it is reasonable to suppose that they stem from
the use of the songs in cultic worship in the period of the First
Temple (c. 960-587/6 BCE). That the songs are placed on the lips
of Moses, the Israelites and Miriam and that they are assigned to
the occasion of Israel's triumph at the Red Sea should be regarded
as part of the cultic tradition of the exodus and not as having any
literal, much less historical, value. This point is important in rela-
tion to the discussions that follow.
The traditions about performance place considerable emphasis
on singing. The songs are introduced into their contexts by means
of short preambles that announce sung performance, while the
song texts themselves contain direct references to singing.15 In this
connection, the preamble to the Song of the Sea contains two sig-
nificant elements: identification of the singer(s) and designation
of what is to be sung: 'Then Moses and the Israelites sang @iiStr)16
this song (kt-haSStra hau'ot)' (verse la). The text of the Song itself
begins with the words, 'I will sing ('iiStra) to the Lord' (verse lb).
The part of the preamble to Miriam's Song that announces sung
performance is somewhat simpler, identifying the singer but lack-
ing the second element: 'And Miriam sang (watacn) to them' (verse
21a). The text of her song, however, begins at once with a direct
reference to singing: 'Sing (Strii) to the Lord' (verse 21b). The word
Str, which occurs several times with various prefixes and suffixes
in the preceding quotations, is the normal one in biblical Hebrew
for 'song' and 'sing'. The word translated 'sang' in the phrase 'and
Miriam sang to them' is less common and stems from the root 'nh,
which can mean 'answer' and 'repeat' as well as 'sing', although
'sing' is its most usual meaning. The same Hebrew word is used
in 1 Samuel 18:7 for the singing by the women who welcomed
home victorious warriors (see above).
We know for certain that the Song of the Sea was sung in cul-
tic worship at the Second Temple. A passage in the Babylonian
Talmud, Ra'S haSSanci 31a,I7 says that the Levites recited the Song
'j See further Smith, 'Which Psalms Were Sung in the Temple?', at pp. 182-4.
l6 On the Hebrew syntax and its significance, see below.
l7 Cited according to The Babylonian Talmud, trans. & ed. I. Epstein (London, 1934-60),
Mo'ed, vol. VII, p. 147.

John Arthur Smith
of the Sea at the afternoon sacrifice on the Sabbath. Although the

Babylonian Talmud is a fairly late source - it was not completed
until c. 600 C E - the passage in question is probably valid for the
last fifty years or so of the Second Temple. So far as further back
in time is concerned, the song's interpolation in the exodus nar-
rative is in itself probably a consequence of its having acquired a n
established place in cultic worship, perhaps in connection with a
Passover liturgy,18 by the time of the final redaction of the
Pentateuch in the early post-exilic period (that is, after 539 BCE).
Ancient sources do not tell us how the Levites sang the Song of
the Sea, but we know from many passages in the Old Testament
books of Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah that the Levites sang as
a choir and were sometimes under the direction of individuals who
led the singing. At several places in the Mishnah (compiled c. 200
CE) the composition and musical activities of the Levitical choir
are described, and at two places in that work mention is made of
Hygros ben Levi, who was in charge of the Levitical song and a
noted solo singer.lq It is probably safe to assume, therefore, that
a responsorial method of performance, between soloist and choir,
would have been used.
The Hebrew text of the preamble to the Song of the Sea con-
tains details that strengthen this assumption. To demonstrate this,
a transliteration of the Hebrew text is given below, with a literal
English translation beneath it:
'82 yZtj.ir-mciSeh d&nt yis'e'rd$l kt-haSStni

Then sang Moses and the sons of Israel the song
hau'iit, laYHWH wayy'cimerii le inor

this to YHWH and they spoke to say
There are two main points to note. First, the first verb, yaStr
('sang'), is singular and has Moses as its subject. Second, the con-
junction that is prefixed to he'd ('the sons of'), transliterated ii
Cf. Soggin, A n Introduction to the H i s t o v ofIsrael and Judah, pp. 108-27, especially pp. 122
(and note 31 there) and 124-7.
'Hygros b. Levi was over the singing' (Mishnah Se@lirn 5:l); and, 'Hygros b. Levi had a
special art in singing but he would not teach it [to any other]' (Mishnah, Ybmci 3 : l l ) .
Quoted here from The Mishnah Translated j o m the Hebrew with Introduction and Brief
Explanatov Notes, trans. & ed. H. Danby (Oxford, 1933), pp. 157, 166.
above, can, and in this instance probably should, be understood as
indicating succession rather than simultaneity. The sense of the
preamble should probably be: 'Then Moses sang this song to the
Lord, and then [so did] the sons of Israel, and they spoke, saying.'
This implies a tradition in which the Song was sung twice in suc-
cession: first as a solo by a male ('Moses'), then chorally by males
('the sons of Israel'). These details are often obscured in transla-
tion. Modern English idiom, for instance, requires 'sang' to be
placed after the phrase 'Moses and the Israelites', causing that
verb to be understood as third person plural. This in turn produces
a discrepancy of number between the preamble ('Moses and the
Israelites sang') and the first two verses of the Song ('I will sing',
'I will praise', 'I will exalt'; and 'The Lord is my strength and my
might', 'my salvation', 'my God', 'my father's God')*O where there
is no discrepancy in the H e b r e ~ . ~ '
The preamble to Miriam's Song is in two parts. The first (Exodus
15:20) reflects the tradition, well attested for ancient Israel, of
accompanying festive song with percussion instruments and danc-
ing: 'Then the prophet Miriam . . . took a tambourine in her hand;
and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with
dancing.' The words 'tambourine' and 'tambourines' translate the
Hebrew t$ (singular) and LupEm (plural) respectively. The tuptm
were small hand-held frame drums similar to modern tambourines
but without jingles (the singular form of the Hebrew word has a
noticeable onomatopoeic quality).22These instruments, as well as
hand-held idiophones called in Hebrew SdiStm (probably shakers
with metal jingles - also noticeably o n o m a t o p o e i ~ ) ,were
~ ~ associ-
ated particularly with religious singing and dancing on festive
20 Note that the first person singular formulations in 15:9 occur in a quotation of what an
enemy said.
21 Although the penultimate verb of the preamble is plural ('and they spoke'), it does not
strike a discrepant note since it is naturally interpreted in the light of the information
that precedes >t and is therefore understood in the sense of 'and they spoke severally'
(the NRSV does not translate the last two Hebrew verbs in the preamble, but replaces
them by a colon). At Exodus 15:l in the Septuagint, the Vulgate and certain other
ancient Versions there is also a discrepancy of number between the preamble and the
first line of the Song, but the opposite way round from in modern English translations:
'Then Moses sang ... "Let us sing to the Lord . . ." '. The Vulgate (the ancient Latin
version of the Bible) is cited according to Biblia sacra iuxta vulgatam versionem, ed. B.
Fischer, O.S.B., et al. (Stuttgart, 1969, repr. 1995).
22 A. Sendrey, Musik i n Alt-Israel (Leipzig, 1970), pp. 344-7.
23 Ibid., pp. 352-4.
John Arthur Smith
occasions, and were often played by women,24 who were usually

also the singers and dancers (e.g. Judges 1 1 :34; 1 Samuel 18:6-7;
2 Samuel 6:5; Psalms 68:25-6 (EV 24-5)' 149:3, 150:4). The sec-
ond part of the preamble (Exodus 15:21a) reflects a tradition that
the song was sung as a solo by a female: 'And Miriam sang to
them', as noted above.
The text of Miriam's Song begins with the imperative Strli
laYHWH ('sing to the Lord'). The form of the Hebrew verb is mas-
culine second person plural, which implies that the addressees are
either all males or else a mixed group. The imperative could be
understood as a rhetorical exclamation or as an outburst of charis-
matic e n t h u ~ i a s m but
, ~ ~ it is perhaps most naturally regarded as
an actual exhortation to people to sing - especially in view of the
possibility that the song was used on festive occasions, as is implied
already in its preamble.
A striking feature of the text of Miriam's Song is that it is almost
identical with the first two clauses of the Song of the Sea. The only
difference is the initial word of each song: whereas the Song of
the Sea begins 'aSfrh ('I will sing' or 'let me sing'), Miriam's Song
begins, as we have seen, with an imperative, Sfrzi ('sing!'). In the
LXX, the Vulgate and certain other ancient versions, Miriam's
Song and the opening clauses of the Song of the Sea are identi-
cal, both beginning with a first person plural imperative: 'We will
sing' (or 'let us sing'). Perhaps on account of this close identity,
together with the fact that Miriam's Song is placed in order after
the Song of the Sea in Exodus 15, some translators have regarded
Miriam's contribution as a refrain - presumably to the Song of the
Sea, although this is not explicitly stated. At Exodus 15:21a, the
Jerusalem Bible (1966)' for example, has 'And Miriam led them
in the refrain'; at the same place the NewJerusalem Bible (1985)
has 'while Miriam took up from them the refrain'; and the New
24 Ibid., pp. 344-5. O n these instruments see also 'Biblische Musikinstrumente' in L.

Finscher (ed.), Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, hereafter 'MGG', Subject Reference,
vol. I (1994), cols. 1503-37, at cols. 1518-20, 1525-8, 1533; 'Jiidische Musik', ibid., vol.
VIII (1996), cols. 151 1-69, at cols. 1521 ['2. Israel und Juda der Eisenzeit (ca. 1000-586
v.Chr.)']-1524 ['3. Die persische und hellenistisch-rornische Zeit (586 v . C h r . 4 . Jh.
n.Chr.)']. Eric Werner's statement in The A7ew Grooe, vol. IX, p. 619, that the t6f'was
exclusively a women's instrument' is incorrect: see M G G , Subject Reference, vol I (1994),
col. 1526; cf. Sendrey, Musik in Alt-Israel, pp. 344-5.
25 Cf. S. Mowinckel, The Psalms in Israel's Worship, trans. D. R. Ap-Thomas (Oxford, 1962,
repr. 1967), vol. 11, pp. 92-3.
English Bible (1970) and its later version, the Revised English
Bible (1989), have 'and Miriam sang them this refrain'. Nowhere
in Exodus 15, however, are the clauses of Miriam's Song identi-
fied as a refrain; and neither the Greek of the LXX nor the Hebrew
of the M T says anything about Miriam singing a 'refrain'.
Admittedly, at a crucial point, where the NRSV has 'sang to them',
the Hebrew and Greek texts do not agree in meaning: whereas
the Hebrew, where the NRSV has 'sang', uses a word built on the
root hh (as we have seen above), the Greek has ex~rchen. . . legousa
('led them . . . saying'). But there is no suggestion that Miriam's
two clauses are a refrain.26
We do not know for certain whether Miriam's Song was sung at
the Jerusalem Temple, but its individual interpolation in Exodus
15 probably reflects its established use in connection with cultic
worship by the time of the final redaction of the P e n t a t e ~ c h . Here
~'
we are concerned with Miriam's Song rendered according to the
cultic traditions recorded in Exodus 15:20-1, namely by a female
singer who plays a tambourine and is followed by other women
who dance and play tambourines. If it were sung in the Temple it
would probably not have been sung as an intrinsic part of the sac-
rificial rites, since by tradition only men performed liturgical musi-
cal duties in the Temple. Furthermore, there was no tradition of
dancing during the sacrificial rites. Ancient sources show, however,
that it was customary for there to be extra-liturgical processions
round, or into, the Temple, and that these were conducted with
the playing of musical instruments - including the playing of hand-
held percussion instruments by young women - and with dancing
and singing.28 The context of Judith's song of thanksgiving, for
example, as it appears in the book of Judith 16:l-17, is a proces-
sion to the Temple at Jerusalem, with Judith going 'before all the
people in the dance, leading all the women, while all the men of
Israel followed, bearing their arms and wearing garlands and
singing hymns (humnoun)' (Judith 15:13 end). Her song opens with
the words 'Begin a song [the Greek does not have "a song"] to my
26 See the remarks in Brenner, The Israelite Woman, p. 51.

27 See above, p. 226, and the passages cited in note 18.
E.g. Psalms 42:5 (EV 42:4), 6825-6 (EV 6824-5); 1 Chronicles 15:25-9; Nehemiah
12:31-43; 1 Maccabees 13:15; 2 Maccabees l0:5-7; Josephus, TheJewish War, vol. 11, 15:4;
Mishnah, Bikfirim 3:4, Sukd 4:5, 5:l-4.
John Arthur Smith
God with tambourines (turnpanois), sing (asate) to my Lord with

cymbals (kumbalois)' (Judith 16:la). That Miriam, according to
Exodus 15:20-1, took up a 'tambourine', was followed by 'all the
women' with 'tambourines and . . . dancing' and enjoined singing
strongly suggests that the tradition reflects a procession of this
sort. It is quite possible, therefore, that Miriam's Song was sung
at the Temple, but extra-liturgically rather than liturgically.
The Jews of antiquity regarded the text of the Old Testament
as the holy word of God, sacrosanct and immutable. Most sacred
of all was the text of the books of the Pentateuch (or Torah or
Law). These books are also sometimes known as the five books of
Moses, after the tradition that Moses wrote them, or wrote them
down, under divine inspiration. It is this tradition that lies behind
the statement of the ancient Jewish historian Josephus (CE 37 or
38 - c. 100) that Moses composed a hymn of thanksgiving to God
after the deliverance of the Israelites at the Red Sea.2gJosephus
was no doubt referring to the Song of the Sea.
A natural consequence of the Jews' attitude to the text of the
Old Testament was their implicit belief in what that text said. For
them there was no doubt that the Song of the Sea and Miriam's
Song were sung at the Red Sea. But the related matter of how
these songs were sung there was evidently open to interpretation,
since in ancient Judaism there were differing views as to the songs'
original methods of performance. This we know from sources dat-
ing from the first to the turn of the fourth century CE, a period
that coincides with the activities of some of the foremost early
Rabbinical scholars and overlaps with the end of the era in which
the Song of the Sea, and perhaps Miriam's Song also, were in reg-
ular use at the Jerusalem Temple.
The methods of performance envisaged are basically two:
responsorial and corporate, each with a number of different forms.
The forms of responsorial performance are five in number and are
concerned solely with the Song of the Sea. The pertinent sources
are Rabbinical opinions, preserved in the Mishnah, the Tosefta,
the Jerusalem Talmud, the Babylonian Talmud and the Midrash
Rabbah,30as to how Moses and the sons of Israel sang their Song
29 Josephus, The Jewish Antiquities, vol. 11, 16:4.
30 Mishnah and Jerusalem Talmud (= Talmud of the Land of Israel), So^@5:4; Tosefta,
So^@6:2-3; Midrash Rabbah: Exodus Rabbah 23:9 on Exodus 15:l.

at the Red Sea. The five responsorial forms are summarised below.
After each summary the name and the approximate period of
activity of the Rabbi whose opinion has been summarised are given
in brackets. The sources do not state precisely the sizes of the
units of biblical text involved; they may or may not coincide with
verse divisions in modern printed editions and translations of
Exodus 15. The forms of performance apply equally to singing and
saying.
1. The Israelites repeated each unit of text after Moses, as when
a child recites the hallFl (Psalms 113-18) at school. Thus, for exam-
ple, Moses sang verse 1, and the Israelites responded by repeat-
ing it; then Moses sang verse 2, and the Israelites responded by
repeating verse 2; and so on. (Rabbi Aqiba, active c. 120-40 CE.)
2. T h e Israelites sang the opening clause as a refrain after each
unit that Moses sang, as when an adult recites the halkl with the
congregation in synagogue worship. Thus, for example, Moses sang
the first verse, and the Israelites responded with, 'I will sing to the
Lord'; then Moses sang veSse 2, and the Israelites responded with,
'I will sing to the Lord'; and so on. (Rabbi Eleazar ben Rabbi YosC
the Galilean, active c. 40-65 CE.)
3. The Israelites completed each unit begun by Moses, as when
men recite the Se'md (Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11: 13-2 1; Numbers
15:37-41) in synagogue worship. Thus, for example, Moses sang
the first half of verse 1, and the Israelites responded with the sec-
ond half of verse 1; then Moses sang the first half of verse 2, and
the Israelites responded with the second half of verse 2; and so
on. (Rabbi Nehemiah, active c. 140-65 CE.)
4. Moses sang the incipit of each unit; the Israelites repeated
the incipit and completed the unit, as when a scripture teacher
teaches children in school. Thus, for example, Moses sang, 'I will
sing to the Lord', and the Israelites responded with, 'I will sing to
the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has
thrown into the sea.' Then Moses sang, 'The Lord is my strength
and my song', and the Israelites responded with, 'The Lord is my
strength and my song, and he has become my salvation', and so
on. (Rabbi Abbahu, active c. 300 CE, citing Rabbi YosC ben Rabbi
Haninah, active c. 80-120 CE.)
5. Moses sang the whole of the Song of the Sea, then the
Israelites sang it. (Joshua ben Levi, active c. 240 CE.)
John Arthur Smith
Viewed in the light

- of the Hebrew text of the preamble to the
Song of the Sea, all the forms of responsorial performance can be
justified on the grounds that they require Moses to sing first and
the sons of Israel afterwards. The preamble, however, nowhere
implies any division of the Song, such as would be required by the
first four forms described above. The form that seems most natu-
rally in keeping with the sense of the preamble, therefore, is the
last one summarised above, according to which the Song of the
Sea was sung twice in succession: first by Moses alone, then by the
Israelites. In fact Joshua ben Levi, whose opinion is summarised
at 5 above, went so far as to claim that the fact that the first verb
of the preamble to the Song of the Sea is singular actually 'proves
that this section [of scripture (i.e. the Song of the Sea)] was first
recited by Moses, and afterwards repeated by our forefathers at
the Sea'.31
The forms of corporate performance are three in number and
are concerned variously with each song separately and both songs
together. The details are as follows.
1. With regard to the Song of the Sea, a passage in the Tosefta,
SGtd 6:4, quotes Rabbi YosC the Galilean (active c. 120-40 CE) as
saying, 'When the Israelites came up out of the sea and saw their
enemies strewn as corpses on the seashore, they all burst into song
- even a child lying on his mother's lap and an infant sucking at
his mother's breast.'32
2. With regard to Miriam's Song, an ancient Jewish midrash says
that the singers were Miriam and the women with her, and that
they sang not just the two-clause text of Exodus 15:21 but the
whole of the Song of the Sea.33This presupposes that the text of
Miriam's Song in Exodus 15:21 is an incipit of the Song of the Sea.
3. With regard to both songs together, the ancient Jewish
philosopher Philo of Alexandria (c. 15 BCE - c. 50 CE) envisages
that Moses, the Israelites, Miriam and the women with her sang
3l Exodus Rabbah 23:9 on Exodus 15:l. English from Midrash Rabbah, ed. H. Freedman and
M. Simon, vol. III: Exodus, trans. S. M . Lehrman (London, 1961), p. 288.
32 Tosefta, So^@ 6:4. English from The Talmud of the Land of Israel: A Preliminay Translation
and Explanation, ed. J . Neusner, vol. XXWI: Sotah, trans. J. Neusner (Chicago & London,
1984), p. 153.
33 Sarna, Exodus, p. 82. Sarna does not name his source, but it is possible he is referring
to Midrash Rabbah: Exodus Rabbah 23:7 on Exodus 15:l. English edn (as at note 31
above), p. 286.
- as one group - a conflation of the Song of the Sea and Miriam's

Song. This is evident from his work On the Contemplative Lfe, which
contains a detailed description of the Therapeutae, a Jewish con-
templative religious community that lived in Upper Egypt in the
first century CE. The description includes an account of choral
singing at the night-long vigils that were part of the corporate reli-
gious
- observances of the Therapeutae. Towards the end of his
account he writes:
Then when each choir has separately done its own part . . . they mix and
both together become a single choir, a copy of the choir set up of old
beside the Red Sea in honour of the wonders there wrought . . . This won-
derful sight and experience [i.e, the deliverance at the Red Sea] . . . so
filled with ecstasy both men and women that forming a single choir they
sang hymns of thanksgiving to God their Saviour, the men led by the
prophet Moses and the women by the prophetess Miriame3+
(This too presupposes that the text of Miriam's Song in Exodus
15:21 is a n incipit of the Song of the Sea.)
Modern pentateuchal criticism regards the book of Exodus more
as a theological work than as a historical one. The events related
in the book are seen as legends that express theological ideas. The
ancient Jewish views as to how the Song of the Sea and Miriam's
Song were sung at the Red Sea must therefore be regarded as
belonging to the realm of hermeneutics rather than history. It is
nevertheless possible that certain of them reflect something of the
methods and circumstances of performance of those songs in
ancient Judaism. With regard to the responsorial performance of
the Song of the Sea, there are two points in particular that are
relevant in this connection. To begin with, in the first four of the
five forms summarised above, the Rabbis express their opinions
by referring to contemporary examples. Besides its obviously ped-
agogical purpose, this has a cultural significance. It is a n example
of retrojection, a procedure which for the Jews of antiquity was a
means of demonstrating the continuity of tradition. In equating
performance methods at the Red Sea with those employed in con-
temporary situations, the Rabbis imply that the methods in con-
temporary use were traditional and had always been in use, even
from the earliest times.
34 Philo of Alexandria, On the Contemplative L i j , 11:85-7. English from the Loeb Classical
Library series, Philo, vol. IX,trans. F. H. Colson (London, repr. 1985), pp. 165-7.
John Arthur Smith
Second, none of the Rabbis' examples are drawn from the con-
temporary use of the Song of the Sea itself. Why is this? The most
obvious reason would seem to be because the Song of the Sea was
not sung in any of these ways in the post-Second Temple period
when the Rabbis formulated their opinions. This is conjecture, but
in its favour we may note that the forms of responsorial perfor-
mance described are somewhat formalised, and that they are con-
cerned entirely with men ('Moses and the sons35of Israel'). These
are features that are also outwardly characteristic of Levitical
liturgical song in the Jerusalem Temple. It is therefore by no
means beyond the bounds of possibility that such responsorial
forms as are described in 1-4 above were used for the Song of the
Sea only when it was sung in the Temple ritual, and never when
it was sung elsewhere or after the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE.
Thus the possibility exists that the first four forms of responsor-
ial performance summarised above reflect ways in which the Song
of the Sea was sung in the Temple.
In contradistinction, the last of the responsorial forms is justi-
fied not by appeal to tradition but by academic argument from the
grammar of the Song of the Sea's preamble. The fact that the pre-
amble's initial verb is singular does not of course 'prove' that at
the Red Sea the Song of the Sea was sung first by Moses and then
by the sons of Israel as Joshua ben Levi claimed (see above, p.
234). It does no more than support the hypothesis of performance
in this way. As far as Joshua ben Levi's own times are concerned,
he gives no clue as to whether or not he was speaking from per-
sonal knowledge of the use of such a form.
With regard to corporate performance, its forms clearly repre-
sent popular traditions about how the songs were sung. These may
well go back to actual ancient methods of performance. As far as
corporate forms 2 and 3 are concerned, there could be no question
of their liturgical use in the Temple since they involve women. They
could, however, reflect extra-liturgical performance at the Temple,
and performance elsewhere than the Temple, perhaps during pop-
ular religious festivities. It is not impossible that the traditions of
corporate performance of the Song of the Sea and Miriam's Song
date back to a time before the Jerusalem Temple existed.
3j hlT, LXX and Vulgate all have 'sons' (MT: see above; LXX: huioi; Vu1gate:jlii).
At this stage, before proceeding further, we may briefly review

the main points that have been presented so far. The Song of the
Sea and Miriam's Song are cultic poems which, according to
ancient tradition, were sung. We know that the Song of the Sea
was sung liturgically at the Temple in Jerusalem. It is highly likely
that Miriam's Song was also sung at the Temple, but extra-litur-
gically rather than liturgically. Some translators have regarded
Miriam's Song as a refrain, but there is no justification for this in
either the Hebrew or the Greek texts of Exodus 15.
The text of the preamble to the Song of the Sea suggests a
responsorial method of performance between soloist and choir.
This is in full accord with what is known of Levitical choral prac-
tice at the Jerusalem Temple. The preamble to Miriam's Song
points to a tradition in which this song was sung by a female soloist
and was accompanied by women dancing and playing small hand-
held frame drums.
Certain ancient Jewish sources from the first century CE to the
turn of the fourth hold that the songs were sung variously respon-
sorially and corporately at the Red Sea. This has no more than
hermeneutical value in relation to the Red Sea narrative in the
book of Exodus, but may reflect performance practices prevalent
in ancient Judaism, for instance at the Temple during the sacrifi-
cial rites (male-only responsorial singing), extra-liturgically at the
Temple (corporate singing), and elsewhere during popular reli-
gious festivities (also corporate singing).
It is true to say that no other Old Testament canticles have
received as much attention from commentators and historians,
ancient and modern, as these two. The extensive treatment given
above to items I and 2 reflects something of the weight of that
attention, which in turn reflects the degree to which the canticles
in Exodus 15 were and are important in Jewish religious culture.
Items 3 and 4 belong together with the Song of the Sea and
Miriam's Song among the most ancient poetry in the Old
Testament. Item 3, the Song of the Well in Numbers 21:17-18, is
probably the older. According to its context, it was sung by the
thirsty Israelites on the miraculous provision of water for them in
the wilderness. Although the song is about a well, there is noth-
ing in its text that specifically binds it to this event alone, and the
song is clearly an interpolation. It was perhaps originally a work-
John Arthur Smith
song, although its opening has something of the character of an

apotropaic incantation.
Its preamble (2 1: 17a) is a straightforward announcement of
sung performance that succinctly identifies the singers and indi-
cates what is to be sung: 'Then Israel sang lyiijtr) this song (haSStrd)
[LXX adds "at the well (epi tou phreatos)"]'. The text of the Song
refers directly to singing by means of an imperative form of the
verb izh (which has been encountered earlier). It begins, 'Spring
up, 0 well! - Sing 'nz2) to it!' The song's use in cultic worship is
attested by a late source: the same Rabbinical tractate that
informs us that the Song of the Sea was sung by the Levites in the
Temple at Jerusalem (Babylonian Talmud, Rii'S haSSdnd 3 l a ) also
tells us that the Song of the Well was so sung. From this infor-
mation and that contained in the song's preamble, we may assume
that the song was performed chorally.
Item 4, the Song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32, is presented in
its literary context as a valedictory poem uttered by the Israelites'
first national leader at the end of his life. Opinions are divided as
to how far the text as we have it represents an ancient (eleventh-
century BCE) or a late (sixth-century BCE, see below) version of
the Song.36 This long psalmodic poem contains no reference to
singing or playing. It is introduced by a preamble (Deuteronomy
31:30) that draws attention to the text of the song: 'Then Moses
recited (waye' daber) the words of (kt-dibirt) this song (haSStrd
hax'ot), to the very end, in the hearing of the whole assembly of
Israel'; the LXX equivalents of 'recited' and 'this song' are elalZsen
and tZs ade~tautes respectively. Nevertheless, the words were sung:
a song (Str) in biblical Hebrew is always for singing. Unusually for
interpolated lyrical material in the Old Testament, the appear-
ance of the song is prepared for in advance in verses 16-22 of
the preceding chapter (31). According to verse 19 of that chapter,
God tells Moses, 'Now therefore write this song (kt-haSSlrd hau'fit),
and teach it to the Israelites; put it in their mouths, in order that
this song (haSStrd hauY&)may be a witness for me against the
Israelites.' In verse 22 the narrative confirms that this was done:
'That very day Moses wrote this song ('et-haSStrd ha='&) and taught
36 For various recent opinions about the date of the Song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32,
see B. Gosse, 'DeutCronome 32,l-43 et les rCdactions des livres d'Ezechiel et d'Isai'e',
Zeitschnz fur die Alttestamentliche Wissenrchaj, 107 (1995), pp. 110-1 7, at p. 11 1.
it to the Israelites.' In the next chapter, in a subscription to the
Song itself, the basic information of the preamble is reiterated
almost verbatim and is extended to include Joshua (who was to be
Moses' successor) as a singer: 'Moses came and recited (waye'dab&)
all the words of ('et-kol-dibirt) this song (haSSfrd ha='@) in the hear-
ing of the people, he and Joshua son of Nun' (32:44). Thus, accord-
ing to Deuteronomy 31 and 32, the song was created by divine
command and under divine inspiration, was disseminated - also
by divine command - throughout the population, and was placed
on the lips of two of the greatest men in Israel's early history.
These features attest to the cultic importance of the song in
ancient tradition.
Items 5, 6 , 7
These items occur in the group of Old Testament books tradi-
tionally known as the Former Prophets. Modern biblical criticism
regards these books as the products of a process in which Israel's
ancient historical tradition was edited and brought up to date in
the period of exile (587/6-539 BCE) that followed the destruction
of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 587/6 BCE. The main redac-
tional activity began in the wake of the reforms of Josiah, king of
Judah from c. 640-609 BCE, and resulted in the books of Joshua,
Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings. These, together with the
edited version of the book of Deuteronomy, are known collectively
as the Deuteronomic Historye3'
The extent to which the canticles in the Deuteronomic History
preserve their pre-redactional form is often difficult to decide.
Item 5 , however, probably belongs to the oldest period of biblical
Hebrew poetry, namely the twelfth century BCE.In its literary set-
ting this item, the Song of Deborah in Judges 5:2-31, celebrates
an Israelite victory over the Canaanites in the period c. 1200-1020
BCE - a victory that Deborah and Barak were instrumental in help-
ing to secure. The Song is introduced by a preamble (5:l) which,
like the preamble to Miriam's Song, identifies the singer but does
not designate the material to be sung. O n the other hand, although
the preamble appears to name two singers, 'Deborah and Barak',
37 The now widely accepted hypothesis of the Deuteronomic History was first developed
by M. Noth in his Ube~liefeenrngsgeschichtlicheStudien, 1 (Halle, 1943).
John Arthur Smith
the initial verb, 'sang', is singular, as in the preamble to the Song
of the Sea. Translated literally, the preamble states, 'Then sang
(watdSar [LXX: kai ?sen - singular]) Deborah and Barak son of
Abinoam on the day itself, saying [LXX: "and said (kai eipen [sin-
gular])"] '.
The text of the Song contains two references to singing. The
second verse (5:3) opens with, 'Hear, 0 kings; give ear, 0 princes;
to the Lord I will sing ('Gtrd)', and nine verses later (5: 12) Deborah
is exhorted to awake and 'utter a song (dabe'rt-Sir)'. The text of the
second half of the second verse, however, implies instrumental
music: 'I will make melody ('azamm~r)to the Lord'. The Hebrew
verb translated 'make melody' stems from the root zmr, which,
besides meaning 'to prune' (which is obviously not appropriate
here), has the sense of 'play' as of a musical instrument. The Greek
verbpsaltj used in the LXX here also has this sense. In this verse,
'I will make melody' (Hebrew root zmr) is paired parallelistically
with 'I will sing' (Hebrew root 9 r : see the quotation at the begin-
ning of this paragraph). In the Book of Psalms there are several
instances of this word-pair, in the order Syr-(w)zmr, meaning
's .~ n g - p l a y ' ,and
~ ~ there is no reason to doubt that the same applies
here.39
The first four verses of the song (5:2-5) have been singled out
as a 'liturgical opening',40 and it is likely that the song was used
in worship. There are, however, several details of the text of the
Song that are inconsistent with its having been sung by Deborah
and Barak, whether separately, in dialogue or together at the same
time. The texts of 5:3 and 5:9 use the first person singular, but in
5:7 and 5:12 Deborah and Barak are addressed separately in the
38 See M. Dahood, SJ., and T. Penar, 'The Grammar of the Psalter', in M. Dahood, Psalms
IIE 101-150, The Anchor Bible, ed. W. F. Albright and D. N. Freedman, 1 7 (New ~ York,
1970), pp. 361-456, at p. 456. The authors identify nine instances in the Psalms and one
similar instance in a Ugaritic text.
s9 B. Lindars, Judges 1-5: A New Translation and Commentary (Edinburgh, 1995), p. 228, iden-
tifies this word-pair (in Judges 5:3) but interprets it as meaning 'sing<hant' (see also
his translation, ibid., p. 209). It is difficult to accept 'chant' as the translation of the sec-
ond element. Singing and the playing of musical instruments are features of women's
victory songs reported in the Old Testament (Exodus 15:20-1; 1 Samuel 18:6-7), and
in one case where song is not specified, instruments are (Judges 11:34). In this light and
in view of the meanings given by Dahood and Penar (see the preceding note), it is appro-
priate to render the present word-pair 'sing-play' (or 'sing-make melody' as in NRSV).
40 Lindars, Judges 1-5, pp. 209, 218, 223-8.
second person singular, and in the first two clauses of 5: 15 Deborah

and ~ a r a kare the named objects of the prepositions 'with' and
'to' respectively. It is possible that the changes of pronoun and
person are a residue from ancient performance practice. They sug-
gest a fourfold division of the Song (5:2-5, 6-1 1, 12-18, 19-3 l ) ,
the divisions distributed among three singers or their ritual sub-
stitutes: Deborah, Barak, and the poet as 'chorus'. It is possible
that the version of the song's preamble given by Pseudo-Philo (first
century CE) in the Liber antiquitatum biblicarum 32:l reflects actual
popular cultic use: 'Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abino [sic]
and all the people together (et omnispopulus unanimiter) sang a hymn
(hymnum dixerunt [plural]) to the Lord on that day, saying . . .'41
Items 6 and 7 are, according to their preambles (2 Samuel 1: 17
and 22: 1 respectively), Davidic utterances. Many writers believe
that they originated either with or at the time of David (c.
1000-961 BCE) and have been preserved as part of the tradition
collected in the Deuteronomic History (to which 2 Samuel
belongs). According to its narrative context, item 6 was uttered by
David when he learned of the death in battle of Saul and his son
Jonathan, David's close friend. It is one of the most poignant
expressions of grief in the whole of the Old Testament. The first
of the two verses of its preamble (1: 17-18) designates the poem
as a 'lamentation': 'David intoned this lamentation over Saul and
his son Jonathan.' In ancient Israel and Judah the lamentation, or
'lament' (qtnd in the MT, threnos in the LXX), was a formal expres-
sion of deep sorrow in words and song. That it was a sung genre
is attested by a note in 2 Chronicles 35:25 to the effect that 'all
the male and female singers (kol-haSSartm wihaSSardt) have spoken
of Josiah in their laments (qtndt) to this day'. The verb 'lament' is
expressed in Hebrew and Greek by qlin and threneo respectively,
each a cognate of its respective noun. In English translation the
verb is often rendered paraphrastically, especially when in the
original the noun follows closely on the verb, as in the present
verse. In the Hebrew this verse (1:17) begins, 'Then lamented
Pseudo-Philo, Liber antiquitatum biblicarum 32:l. English from D. J. Harrington's intro-

41
duction to, and annotated English translation of, this work in The Old Testament
Pseudepigrapha, ed. J. H. Charlesworth (London, 1983-5), vol. 11, pp. 297-377, at p. 345;
Latin from D. J. Harrington, J. Caxeau, C. Perrot and P.-M. Bogaert, Pseudo-Philon, Les
Antiquitb Bibliques, Sources Chretiennes, 229 (Paris, 1976), p. 244.
John Arthur Smith
(waytqfinnh) David (diiwid) this lamentation (kt-haqqtnd hau'ai)
. . .' Thus David is identified as the singer of the ensuing lament.
The meaning of the next verse (1:18) is much d i ~ p u t e d , ~but
2 it
seems to point to the dissemination of the lament throughout
Judah and its committal to writing in the 'Book of the Upright'
(or 'Book of the Song', see LXX: 3 Regnorum [= MT: 1 Kings]
8:53=) so that it became a popular cultic lament.43
The text of the lament itself contains no reference to music.
The clause 'how the mighty have fallen' occurs three times at irreg-
ular intervals (end of verse 19 and beginnings of verses 25 and
27), somewhat like a refrain. The presence of a repeated phrase
suggests responsorial performance, and this would be in keeping
with the Mishnaic view of the qtnd as responsorial singing between
leader and group (Mishnah, Md '.?d Qztiin 3:9).
In contrast to the near unanimity of commentators about the
antiquity of item 6, opinions vary considerably about the age of
item 7, David's song of thanksgiving in 2 Samuel 22:2-51 and its
double, Psalm 18. They mainly polarise to c. 1000 BCE and the
sixth century B C E . ~The
~ item's preamble (2 Samuel 22: 1) displays
several similarities with the preamble to item 4, the Song of Moses
in Deuteronomy 31:30. In fact, the elements of the Hebrew texts
that are significant for the present study are identical: 'Then
[omitted in NRSV 2 Samuel 22:1] spoke ["recited" in NRSV
Deuteronomy 3 1:30] (waytdab&) David ["Moses"] . . . the words of
('el-difit) this song (haSSPrLi hau'a) . . .' Thus the preamble names
the singer and designates what is to be sung as a 'song' (see also
the comments made in connection with the preamble of item 4).
42 The problems presented by the text are described and discussed in J. P. Fokkelman,
Narrative Art and Poetry in the Book of Samuel, Studia Semitica Neerlandica 23
(Asseflaastricht and New Hampshire, 1986), pp. 649-51.
43 Cf. J. L. Mays, 'The David of the Psalms', Interjretation, 40 (1986), pp. 143-55, at p. 148.
44 In Watson, Classical Hebrew Poetry (1984), p. 40, it is assigned by implication to c. 1000
BCE on account of its very close identity with Psalm 18, which is assigned to that time.
Some eighteen years earlier, M. Dahood wrote, 'In both places [i.e. Psalm 18 and 2
Samuel 221 it [our item 7 is attributed to David and there is no internal evidence mil-
itating against such an attribution' (Dahood, Psalms l: 1-50 (1966), p. 104). The opin-
ions of recent commentators, on the other hand, are reflected in the following sentence
from the note by P. K. McCarter, Jr, on 2 Samuel 22:l-51 in H C S B (1993), p. 501: 'The
theme of conquest in the second section [verses 29-51] may have led to the poem's asso-
ciation with David, but features of the language show that it was composed centuries
after his lifetime.'
The text of item 7 contains a reference to music at 22:50. In
the NRSV this verse is translated: 'For this I will extol you, 0
Lord, among the nations, and sing praises to your name.' The
phrase 'sing praises' translates the Hebrew word 'azamm?r (LXX [2
Regnorum 22:50]: psaltj). This word not only is built on the root
zmr, but also is the second element in a word-pair, 'extol-sing
praise'. In view of what has been said earlier about the probable
meaning of zmr in the word-pair @r-zmr, and considering that here
the word 'extol' is equivalent to @r inasmuch as it is an element
that carries text (as opposed to consisting only of musical sounds),
it would seem logical to translate 'azammi?r as 'play' or 'make
melody' rather than 'sing praise'.
Item 7 is nothing more than the text of Psalm 18 interpolated
after 2 Samuel 21. The Psalm contains several features that point
to its having been sung by the Levites in the Jerusalem Temple.
To begin with, its superscription (which has some differences from
the preamble to item 7) refers to it as 'this song'. Secondly, the
Psalm itself is generally regarded as having been 'composed for
cultic use by the whole community' and is characterised as a royal
psalm with the form of a lament.45Third, the reference to extolling
the deity 'among the nations', or rather 'among the gentiles
(bagbim)' (Psalm 18:50 (NRSV 49); 2 Samuel 22:50), is most likely
a reference to the Court of the Gentiles at the Temple in
Jerusalem, where the psalmist will also 'sing praises' or 'make
melody' to the deity's name46 (cf. 2 Samuel 22:50 quoted above).
Since item 7 also contains these features, it must be regarded as
equally likely to have been sung in worship at the Temple in
Jerusalem.
Items 8, 9 , 1 0 , 11, 12
These items are prophetic utterances in prophetic books that
belong to the group of books known as the Latter Prophets. Apart
from their common general purpose of communicating divine rev-
elations, they are very different from each other in character, as
is immediately evident from their descriptive titles in the list at
45 Gillingham, Poem and Psalms, pp. 1 8 4 6 , 216.
46 Smith, 'Which Psalms Were Sung in the Temple?', at p. 171.
243
John Arthur Smith
the beginning of this study, and as will be shown in greater detail
presently. Items 8 and 9 occur within the section of the book of
Isaiah comprising chapters 1-39 and known as Proto-Isaiah. This
was written largely by Isaiah of Jerusalem in the period c. 738-688
BCE. Item 9, however, falls within a subsection (chapters 24-7)
thought to have been written in the sixth century BCE during the
period of the Babylonian exile of large numbers of the Jews
(587/6-539 BCE). The texts of these items are made up of stock
phrases as well as quotations from, and allusions to, passages from
other Old Testament books. Item 10 occurs within the section of
the same book comprising chapters 40-55 and known as Deutero-
Isaiah. This was written by a n anonymous author in Babylonia in
the sixth century BCE during the exile. Item I 1 is also exilic, occur-
ring within the book written by the prophet Ezekiel, who was taken
into exile already in 597 BCE in advance of the main deportation.
His book reflects the situation of the Jews first in the turbulent
period surrounding the devastation ofJerusalem in 587/6 BCE and
then in the more stable subsequent period of the exile. With
regard to item 12, the prophet Habakkuk is reckoned to have lived
only about 150 years earlier than Ezekiel and the author of
Deutero-Isaiah. However, the third chapter of the book that bears
his name - which here constitutes item 12 - may have originated
as early as the eleventh century BCE.
Item 8 may have originated specifically during earlier periods
of exile in the eighth century BCE. It is presented in context as a
projection of the thanksgiving and praise that will be uttered when
the tribes of Israel are reunited and freed from oppressors. It is
in fact two short songs: Isaiah 12: lb-2 and 4b-6, with 12:3 form-
ing a prose link between them. In the English translations and the
LXX they are introduced by identical preambles in the form of
predictions: 'And [omitted in 12: l a in NRSV] you [i.e. Israel] will
say in that day' (12:la, 4a). Whereas in the Greek of the LXX
'you' is singular in both 12: l a and 12:4a, in the Hebrew of the M T
it is singular in 12:la and plural in 12:4a, thus providing a differ-
ent perspective for each song. The Hebrew should nevertheless be
understood as referring to Israel in both places - in the first as
one entity, in the second as many individuals. In the first of the
songs, 12:2b quotes Exodus 15:2 and Psalm 118:14, with the same
ambiguity at the word 'might/song' (see above, p. 225, the quota-
tion of the beginning of item 1).4' Such ambiguities are a feature
of ancient Hebrew poetry,48and it is likely that the word was meant
to convey, or suggest, both meanings. In the present context it
may be regarded as a probable reference to song.
The text of the second of these two songs contains a n allusion
to Psalm 105:l in 12:4b-c. There is a musical reference at the
beginning of 12:5. The LXX at this point has humnzsate, which sup-
ports the NRSV translation 'sing praises'. The Hebrew, on the
other hand, has zamme'rd, which, as we have seen, has more to do
with playing a musical instrument than with singing. The NRSV
translation of the beginning of the subsequent verse (12:,6), 'Shout
aloud and sing for joy,' is misleading: neither the Greek nor the
Hebrew text says anything about singing.
Item 9, a song of victory, may be looked upon as a song to encour-
age the Jews in exile in Babylonia to keep faith. It is full of opti-
mism for the time when the faithful will be able to return to
Jerusalem. The preamble clearly announces sung performance:
'On that day this song (haSS4r-haueh) will be sung lydiar) in the
land of Judah' (Isaiah 26:la). The text of the song contains many
Old Testament allusions, particularly to Psalms 24,46,48, 118 and
125 and to Deuteronomy 32. It does not mention musical perfor-
mance, but it praises Jerusalem and calls for the gates of the city
to be opened 'so that the righteous nation that keeps faith [i.e.
Israel] may enter in' (26:2), thereby connecting the song with the
centre of Jewish cultic worship.
Item 10, Isaiah 42:lO-17, is one of several creation hymns in
Deutero-Isaiah.49It appears within a longer section concerned with
the deity's choice of Israel as the nation through which salvation
will be manifested. This item is unusual among the Old Testament
canticles in that it has no preamble. Instead it begins straight away
with 'Sing (SPrd) to the Lord (laYHWH) a new song (SET hdaS)'
(Isaiah 42: lOa), a phrase that occurs also in Psalm 96: l a and Psalm
47 Dahood, Psalms IIA 101-150, p. 158, gives 'my sentinel' in Psalm 118:14, whereas several
other English translations (but not NRSV) have 'my song'. The LXX at the equivalent
place (LXX Psalm 117:14) has humnZsis mou, literally 'my hymning'.
48 See Watson, Classical Hebrew Poetry, pp. 237-8; cf. Gillingham, Poem and Psalms, pp. 22,
144.
49 Gillingham, Poems and Psalms, pp: 141-2. The unity of Isaiah 42:lO-17 is disputed: see
P. E. Dion, 'The Structure of Isaiah 42.10-17 as Approached through Versification and
Distribution of Poetic Devices', Journal for the S t u 4 ofthe Old Testament, 49 (1991), pp.
113-24.
John Arthur Smith
98: la. Its text otherwise recalls Psalms 96 and 98 in several places.
The NRSV at 42:l l c translates 'let the inhabitants of Sela sing for
joy', but neither the M T nor the LXX mentions singing.
With regard to item 11, Ezekiel's lament in Ezekiel 19:2-14,
Leslie C. Allen has described the genre of the prophetic lament
as 'a variation of the oracle of judgment, a sophisticated way of
pronouncing divinely sent destruction on the addressee^'^^ in this
case the 'princes [or "heads of state"] of Israel'. This lament is
introduced by a preamble that is a divine command to Ezekiel
(addressed as 'you') to 'raise up a lamentation (qind) for the princes
of Israel, and say . . .' (Ezekiel 19:l-2). We have already noted in
connection with item 6 that the lament (qfnd) was a sung form.
The text of Ezekiel's lament contains no musical references. It is
followed, however, by a subscription showing that it was a recog-
nised lament and thereby suggesting that it was employed (per-
haps after its reduction to writing) in the context of cultic worship:
'This is a lamentation (qfnd), and it is used as (watch?) a lamen-
tation (lcq?nd)' (Ezekiel 19:14 end).
Item 12, Habakkuk's prayer in Habakkuk 3:2-19, is a declara-
tion of trust in the deity. It is the second of the two independent
prophetic oracles that comprise the three chapters of the book of
Habakkuk (the first oracle extends over chapters 1 and 2). This
item is unique among the Old Testament canticles in that it dis-
plays certain external features that appear otherwise in connec-
tion with psalms of the Psalter (many of which were, or are likely
to have been, sung in the Temple) and only exceptionally else-
where. To begin with, the preamble (3:l) is a superscription rather
than a preamble of the type we have encountered hitherto in con-
nection with the canticles. It states, 'A prayer of the prophet
Habakkuk according to Shigionoth ('a1 Sige'y5nGt)'. This last term is
found in the Old Testament otherwise only in the superscription
to Psalm 7, where it appears in a slightly different form in the
phrase 'a Shiggaion (SigqGn) of David'. It has been suggested that
this obscure term is a reference to a mode or style used for cultic
lamentation^,^' and most commentators agree. The LXX equiva-
50 L. C. Allen, Ezekiel 1-19, Word Biblical Commentary 28 (Dallas, 1994), p. 287.

5' E.g. Mowinckel, The P s a l m i n Israel's Worship, vol. 11, p. 209. Cf. J. H. Eaton, 'The Origin
and Meaning of Habakkuk 3', Zeitschri f u r die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, 76 (1964), pp.
144-1 7 1, at pp. 144, 146, 158-9, and Dahood, Psalms 1: 1-50, p. 41.
lents are meta 5dZs ('with a song') in Habakkuk 3: 1 and psalmos ('a
psalm') in Psalm 7:l. Secondly, the word 'Selah' (seld; LXX: diap-
salma) is inserted three times in the text (between 3:3b and 3c,
between 3:9b and 9c, and between 3:13 and 3:14). This term occurs
otherwise in the Old Testament only in the Psalter, in the course
of thirty-nine psalms (forty-three in LXX). Although its meaning
is obscure, there is little doubt that it is a rubric that pertained
to the vocal and instrumental music at the sacrificial rites in the
Jerusalem Temple.52Thirdly, the item is furnished with a two-word
.. .
subscription (3: 19 end): lameizasst?ah binljfn6&, 'To the leader: with
[my] stringed instruments'. The two words are found together else-
where in the Old Testament only in the superscriptions of seven
psalms (the second word takes various forms): 4, 6, 54, 55, 61, 67
and 76, all of which are likely to have been sung in the Temple.53
Otherwise, the first word occurs without the second in the super-
scriptions of forty-eight further psalms (many of which were prob-
ably sung in the Temple), and the second word without the first
in Isaiah 38:20 (at the end of Hezekiah's thanksgiving for his recov-
ery from illness).54The implication of these features is that this
item was sung with an accompaniment of stringed instruments i n
the liturgy of the Temple in J e r ~ s a l e m The
. ~ ~ poetical text itself
contains no musical references.
Item 13
This item, 1 Chronicles 16:8-36, is the only one of the canticles
discussed here that occurs within the third division of the Old
Testament, the Writings. The two books of Chronicles were writ-
ten in the fourth century BCE, that is within the period of the
Second Temple. The present canticle occurs in the narrative that
relates the Davidic institution of liturgical music in Jerusalem (16:
4-6) at the time when the ark of the covenant (the Israelites'
portable shrine) was brought to the city by David, the elders of
Israel and the commanders of the army, and was placed in the
tent that David had pitched for it (15:25-16:3, retelling 2 Samuel
6:12-19). With regard to its literary composition, it is a deliber-
j2 Smith, 'Which Psalms Were Sung in the Temple?', at pp. 173-4.

j3 See ibid., the Table at p. 180.
j4 See ibid., at pp. 169, 175-6.
jj Cf. Eaton, 'The Origin and Meaning of Habakkuk 3', at p. 159.
John Arthur Smith
ate reworking of portions of three psalms from the Psalter:

105:l-15; 96:lb & 2b-13b; 106:l & 47-8.56
This canticle is often popularly attributed to David (as, for
example, editorially in NRSV between 16:6 and 16:7), but there is
no foundation for this either in 1 Chronicles 16 or in the psalms
from which the canticle is composed. The preamble (16:7) does
mention David, but as appointing Asaphites to offer thanksgiving
to the deity, not as the author of the thanksgiving: 'Then on that
day David as the leader arranged for thanksgiving to the Lord by
means of Asaph and his k i n ~ m e n . ' ~However,
' since one of the main
functions of the Asaphites was the provision of song in cultic wor-
ship (Asaph was a Levite clan), it is natural to infer song from the
preambular information that 'Asaph and his kinsmen' were
appointed to offer 'thanksgiving' in the cult. Support for this infer-
ence is found in the text of the preamble as it appears in three
early codices of the LXX,58where the word 8d?, 'song', is inserted
after the present text of the preamble and stands as a designa-
tion of the canticle that follows it.
The text of the canticle contains two musical references. At 16:9
there is a further incidence of the word-pair Syr-zmr in the double
command 'Sing to him [the Lord] (Sz^r2ilo^),sing praises to him [or
"make melody to him"] (zamme'r2i-lo^)' (also Psalm 105:2a). At 16:23
'all the earth' is commanded to 'Sing (Era) to the Lord' (also Psalm
96:lb). The NRSV rendering at 16:33, 'Then shall the trees of the
forest sing for joy', is a misleading translation of the metaphor.
The Hebrew does not mention singing but uses a word that means
rather 'rejoice' or 'be jubilant'.59
The liturgical use of the canticle is indicated by the presence of
a rubric near the end (16:35), 'Say also . . .', and by the subscrip-
tion which announces, 'Then all the people said "Amen!" and
j6 The textual differences between the present item and the portions of the psalms from
which it is composed are noted in the commentaries and noted and discussed in detail
in the study by J. W. Kleinig, The Lord's Song: The Basis, Function and Sknijicance ofChoral
Music i n Chronicles, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Supplement Series 156
(Sheffield, 1993), pp. 136-41.
j7 Translation from Kleinig, The Lord's Song, p. 92. The NRSV translation of this verse (1
Chronicles 16:7), crediting David with the appointment of 'the singing of praises . . . by
Asaph and his kindred', is misleading.
58 Codex Vaticanus gr. 1209 (fourth century CE), Codex Alexandrinus (fifth century) and
Codex Venetus (eighth century).
j9 See Kleinig, The Lord's Song, p. 141.
praised the Lord' (16:36b; cf. Psalm 106:48). There can be little
doubt that a n actual occasion of cultic worship lies behind the pre-
sentation of the canticle here. But although the surrounding nar-
rative is concerned with the time of David (tenth century BCE),
the present item is probably an example of liturgical song from
the Chronicler's own day, given the post-exilic date of the books
of chronicle^.^^ It may nevertheless 'demonstrate the basic pat-
tern of thanksgiving which David instituted for performance by
the singers in Jeru~alern'.~'
Items 14, 15
These two remaining items are from the Old Testament
Apocrypha in the LXX and are the two youngest canticles to be
considered here. The book of Judith, in which item 14, Judith's
hymn of praise, appears at 16:l-17, was probably written in the
late second or early first century BCE. The legend that constitutes
the book is set in the time just after the Israelites' return from
exile and their rededication of the restored Temple in Jerusalem
(Judith 4:3). The character ofJudith was much admired as a model
of piety and national heroism. Item 14 is probably contemporary
with the b0ok.~2
In the canonical Old Testament, chapters 1-6 of the book of
Daniel (the section of Daniel to which the LXX adds item 15 and
other writings) probably originated in the fourth and third cen-
turies BCE. The LXX addition that includes item 15 was probably
made in the second or first century BCE. This item could have
existed in an oral tradition alongside
- the fourth- and third-cen-
tury written one before it attained its present written form.
Item 14 celebrates a fictitious victory of the Israelites (led by
Judith) over the Assyrians. Its immediate context is a procession
to the Temple at Jerusalem, as the surrounding narrative shows.
In Judith 15:13 it is related that 'She [i.e. Judith] went before all
the people in the dance, leading all the women, while all the men
of Israel followed, bearing their arms and wearing garlands and
60 J. M. Myers, I Chronicles, Anchor Bible, 12 (New York, 1965), p. 121, as discussed and
quoted in Kleinig, The Lord's Song, pp. 133-4.
61 Kleinig, The Lord's Song, p. 67.
The author gives the book a pseudo-historical background by conflating historical situ-
ations. The resultant historical impossibilities are succinctly summarised in A. Weiser,
Introduction to the Old Testament, trans. D. M. Barton (London, 1961), pp. 400-1.
John Arthur Smith
singing hymns (humnoun).' Then immediately after the canticle the

narrative continues (16:18): 'When they arrived at Jerusalem, they
worshipped God. As soon as the people were purified, they offered
their burnt offerings, their freewill offerings, and their gifts.'
The canticle is furnished with a preamble rendered as follows
in NRSV, Judith 15: 14-16: 1: Judith began this thanksgiving before
all Israel, and all the people loudly sang this song of praise. And
Judith said . . .' Contrary to this translation, however, the Greek
version in the LXX does not specifically mention singing or a song.
Where the NRSV has 'loudly sang', the LXX has hufierefihonei -
'loudly shouted'; and where the NRSV has 'this song of praise', the
LXX has tZn ainesin tautan - 'this praise'. The canticle itself bears
internal indications that it was sung. Its opening verse (16:l) has,
'Begin a song [the Greek does not have "a song"] to my God with
tambourines (en tumpanois), sing (asate) to my Lord with cymbals
(kumbalois). Raise to him a new psalm (psalmon) [or "a psalm and
praise (kai ainon)"].' There is a further reference to singing in
16:13a: 'I will sing (humnzso) to my God a new song (humnon kainon).'
The item is probably a deliberate imitation of processional vic-
tory songs of the past. This being so, it strengthens the likelihood
of a cultic setting for songs such as Miriam's Song and the song
of Deborah.
The legend of Daniel in the Old Testament is set during the
exile of the Jews in Babylonia. The apocryphal LXX addition that
includes item 15 tells what happened to Daniel's three compan-
ions, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, in a blazing furnace into
which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Assyria 605-561 BCE, threw them
alive (and from which they eventually emerged unharmed). Item
15 is their song of praise to the deity, confirming their steadfast
faith even in the most extreme adversity (LXX, Daniel 3:52-90;
NRSV Apocrypha, The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the
Three Jews, verses 29-68). It is introduced by a preamble that indi-
cates sung performance (LXX, Daniel 3:51; NRSV, Song of the
Three, verse 28): 'Then the three with one voice praised [literally
"hymned" (humnoun)] and glorified and blessed God in the furnace
[LXX adds "saying" (legontes)]'. The text of the song makes use of
regular refrains to the verses. A tripartite structure is imparted
by the use of three different styles of refrain in turn. The second
clause of the last verse of the first part (LXX, Daniel 3:56b; NRSV,
250
Song of the Three, verse 34b) carries the first reference to song:
'and to be sung (humn~tos)and glorified for ever'. In the second
part (LXX, Daniel 3357-8813; NRSV, Song of the Three, verses
35-66b) the refrain enjoins song at each appearance: 'Sing praise
( h ~ m n e i t e )to~ ~him and highly exalt him for ever.' The third part
(LXX, Daniel 3:89-90; NRSV, Song of the Three, verses 67-8) is
a coda that has the words 'sing praise (humneite) to him and give
thanks to him' as the penultimate clause of the song. It is not
known whether this item was sung in cultic worship, but the pos-
sibility exists, since the Temple is mentioned in LXX, Daniel 3:53a
(NRSV, Song of the Three, verse 3 l a ) , and the presence of refrains
suggests a responsorial style of performance such as was probably
usual there.64 The two main portions of the song were perhaps
originally two separate items.
MUSICAL DISCUSSION
A considerable quantity of musical information about the canti-

cles has emerged during the course of the foregoing general sur-
vey. In the present part of the study this will be gathered together
and discussed in detail. First, however, it is appropriate to make
some remarks about dating in the light of the survey above. Dating
is not of course intrinsic to the musical discussion, but it does give
a general chronological framework for the origin, biblical presen-
tation and early use of the canticles.
Theoretically, there are four possible dates that are relevant to
each item. One is the date of the origin of the poetic material
itself; another is the date of the composition of the biblical book
- or portion thereof - in which the item appears; a third is the
date of the events that form the biblical context of the item; and
a fourth is the likely period of actual use of the item. It is rarely
possible to establish all of these dates for any one item, and, as
has been demonstrated in the survey above, dating is often uncer-
tain even in general terms. It is probably more helpful in the pre-
sent state of knowledge to approach questions of dating with
certain caveats in mind, rather than to expect clear answers.
63 Verse 74b (NRSV 52b) has humneit6 ('let it sing praise').

64 Cf. Smith, 'Which Psalms Were Sung in the Temple?', at pp. 184-5.
John Arthur Smith
Four caveats may be distilled from the discussions in the survey
above:
Very ancient material may have undergone considerable redac-
tional change before it reached its extant form.
A biblical book may have been composed much later than the
time of the events with which it is concerned, although this does
not preclude the possibility that a literary tradition about those
events originated contemporaneously with them.
The text of a song or canticle may originally have existed inde-
pendently of the events with which it is associated in its present
biblical context.
A song or canticle appearing within material that is legend or
fantasy may nevertheless have existed independently as a n actual
song.
With regard to the actual use of the items, it is probably safest
to assume a time within the Second Temple period; the most
ancient items, however, were probably employed already in the
First Temple era, if not earlier.
Turning now to matters that are more directly relevant to the
musical discussion, we may begin by noting that fourteen of the
fifteen selected canticles are furnished with preambles that intro-
duce them into their literary and narrative contexts. The only one
that is not is item 10, the hymn of praise in Isaiah 42:lO-17. While
the verse that precedes item 13, the psalm of thanksgiving in 1
Chronicles 16:8-36, is conventionally reckoned to be a preamble,
the possibility exists that it is not so but is simply the conclusion
of the notice, begun in 1 Chronicles 16:4, about David's institu-
tion of the Levitical musical service in the cult. In this case item
13 would be without a preamble in the Hebrew sources and would
have only iidz to preface it in the three LXX codices named above
in note 58 on page 248.
The norm is that the preambles provide musical information by
identifying the singer or singers and indicating what is to be sung.
This is so in seven instances: items 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 11 and 15. The
texts of the preambles to items 1 , 3 , 4 , 6 and 7 are built on a com-
mon formula. This consists of the following four components in
this order: an adverb or prefixed conjunction ('aor w l a , 'then' or
'and') to make a continuation from the preceding narrative; a verb
of utterance ( o r or dbr or qnn, 'sing' or 'recite' or 'lament'); iden-
tification of the performer(s) by name; and indication of the mate-
rial to be sung,-by means of the accusative particle 'et, the name
of the type of material, with definite article (haSStrd or haqqtnd, 'the
song' or 'the lament'), and the demonstrative adjective hau'6t,
'this'. All these components are readily discernible in the pream-
ble to the Song of the Sea. They are presented uncluttered by addi-
tional material in the preamble to item 3, the Song of the Well,
where the singer is identified as 'Israel' and the material to be
sung is indicated as 'this song'. The existence of a common pre-
ambular formula is a sign of a strong literary tradition65 with a
strong underlying tradition of cultic use.
In three instances, all of which are pre-exilic, the preambles
identify the singers but do not indicate what is to be sung: items
2, 5 and 8. In the preamble to item 8 the singer ('Israel') is iden-
tified by implication by the personal pronoun 'you'. The preamble
to item 2, in addition to identifying 'Miriam' as the singer, relates
that she played a 'tambourine' and was followed by women danc-
ing and playing 'tambourines'.
In a further three instances the preambles provide equivocal
musical information: items 12, 13 and 14. The 'Shiggaion' in the
Hebrew text of the preamble to item 12 may only possibly imply
music of lamentation; in the preamble to item 13 there is no
explicit connection made between the Asaphites referred to there
and the canticle that follows. Only in the LXX texts of the pre-
ambles to these two items are there unequivocal, if minimal, musi-
cal references: meta 6dZs ('with a song') and iidz ('song') respectively.
In the case of the preamble to item 14, although it names Judith
as the leader of the subsequent hymn of praise, the inference that
she is the singer (together with 'all the people') cannot be made
until the appearance of the clause 'I will sing to my God a new
song' well into the hymn. It may be noted here that a section of
the preamble to item 14 makes use of a form of words similar to
that of the formula noted above in the preambles of items 1'3, 4,
6 and 7, but without specific reference to music. Literally trans-
lated, this section reads, 'and shouted loudly all the people the
praise this'. The identity of the verbal formula employed here with
The strength of the tradition represented by the formula may be judged by the fact that
in the LXX versions of the present preambles the word order and syntax of the for-
mulaic components are the same in the Greek texts as in the Hebrew of the MT.
John Arthur Smith
that in very ancient preambles is likely to be the result of delib-
erate imitation, since the canticle as a whole was probably
intended as an imitation of a typical processional victory song of
the past.
The poetic texts of all the canticles except items 4, 9 and I1
contain musical information. In item 7 this is confined to the fact
that David will 'make melody [or "sing praise" according to NRSV]
('nzammi%-)'to the deity's name. Otherwise the texts of items 1-3,
5, 8, 10 and 13-15 refer to song or singing. A textual reference to
song or singing could be an indication that a canticle originated
as a song, whereas a preambular or superscriptional reference
alone may imply the later imposition of song on a canticle that
originally was not sung, especially where there is no other type of
musical information in evidence.
Singers are named in the texts of only two canticles: item 5
(Deborah) and item 15 (Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael).'j6 In
items I and 14 the identity of the respective singers may be
inferred from the personal pronouns, which seem to refer to pre-
viously named individuals (Moses and Judith respectively).
The texts of items 6 and 12 vouchsafe musical information, but
only indirectly or by implication. The former contains the phrase
'how the mighty have fallen', which appears three times in the
manner of a refrain, a feature suggesting responsorial, and there-
fore sung, performance. The text of the latter item is punctuated
three times by the word 'selah,' which, as was mentioned in the
general survey above, pertains to the liturgical music of the
Temple in Jerusalem.
The texts of items 5, 7 , 8 , 1 3 and 14 contain references to musi-
cal instruments. In all of these cases except the text of item 7, the
references to instruments appear in addition to references to song
or singing. In item 14 the playing of 'tambourines' and 'cymbals'
is urged; in items 5 , 7 , 8 and 13 instruments are implied by Hebrew
verbs built on the root zmr (see below).
In the canticles as a whole, musical instruments are implied or
referred to directly in one preamble, the texts of the five items
listed immediately above, and one subscription. Two types of
66 In item 15 the naming of these three at LXX Daniel 3:88a (NRSV Apocrypha, The
Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Jews, verse 66a) may be an addition. See
HCSB, p. 1636 at the note on verse 66.
instrument are mentioned directly: percussion and strings. The

percussion instruments are of two types: there are hand-held
frame drums without jingles, called 'tambourine' and 'tam-
bourines' (tif and tupfrn) in the preamble to item 2 and 'tam-
bourines' (tumpanois) in the text of item 14; and there are
hand-held cymbals, called 'cymbals' (kumbalois), again in the text
of item 14. Both items 2 and 14 belong to the tradition of victory
songs led by women (Miriam and Judith respectively).
The stringed instruments are unspecified but are referred to as
ne',@no^@('my stringed instruments') in the subscription of item
12. The verbs built on the root Zmr in the texts of items 5, 7 ' 8 and
13 (see above) probably imply the playing of stringed instruments,
since one of the basic meanings ofzmr seems to be 'strum' or 'pluck'
an i n ~ t r u m e n t . ~Plucked
' string instruments such as harps and
lyres should probably be envisaged.
The main points of the musical discussion so far are summarised
in Table 1.
Precisely how the canticles were performed is not always clear,
although it is reasonably certain that traditions of sung perfor-
mance applied to the majority of them. Here we may look briefly
at two related points: the form of the singing, and the accompa-
niment of the singing by musical instruments.
The form of the singing concerns only a small number of items.
The preambles of items I and 5 suggest that some sort of varia-
tion in the forces was envisaged. In the case of item I this proba-
bly meant responsorial song between soloist and group. In the case
of item 5 the wording of the preamble together with the distribu-
tion of names and pronouns in the text suggests a more varied
method of performance with perhaps three sets of singers -
whether groups (men, women, mixed) or individuals ('Deborah',
'Barak', solo 'Chorus') or a hybrid ('Deborah', 'Barak', 'the people')
as suggested by the version of the preamble in the Liber antiqui-
tatum biblicarum of Pseudo-Philo. The presence of repeated mater-
ial in the texts of items 6 and 15 suggests responsorial performance.
Item 12, Habakkuk's prayer, is punctuated in three places by
the word 'Selah'. This is probably a rubric indicating a break in
the singing for the worshippers to prostrate themselves.
67 Cf. Mowinckel, The Psalms i n Israel's Worship, vol. 11, p. 208.

Table 1 Tabular Summary of Musical Information in Preambles, Texts and Subscriptions of Old Testament Canticles
Item Lament/Lamentation/Sing/Song Singer(s) identified Musical instrument(s)
Preamble (L n S u)" Texl (L n S u)" Subscr. (L n S u)" Preamble Text Subscr. Preamble Text Subsm.
NO SUBSCR. Moses ((G sons [Moses (& NO SUBSCR. - - NO SUBSCR.

of Israel) sons of Israel)]'l
NO SUBSCR. Miriam - NO SUBSCR. Tambourines - NO SUBSCR.
NO SUBSCR. Israelites - NO SUBSCR. - - NO SUBSCR.
( v ) ~S n Moses Moses (G Joshua - - -
NO SUBSCR. Deborah ((G Barak) NO SUBSCR. - zmr NO SUBSCR.
NO SUBSCR. David NO SUBSCR. - -
- NO SUBSCR. David NO SUBSCR. - zmr NO SUBSCR.
Sn NO SUBSCR. [Israel]" NO SUBSCR. - - NO SUBSCR.
Sv (IXX) NO SUBSCR. [Israel] NO SUBSCR. - i p r (M'1') NO SUBSCR.
NO SUBSCR. NO SUBSCR. - - NO SUBSCR.

NO SUBSCR. NO SUBSCR. NO PREAMBLE - NO SUBSCR.
-
- - - - - hintEfn6t
- - 'All the earth' - - zmr -
NO SUBSCR. Uudith] Uudith] NO SUBSCR. - Tambourines NO SUBSCR.
Cymbals
NO SUBSCR. 'the three' Hananiah, Azariah NO SUBSCR. - - NO SUBSCR.
(G Mishael
a L=lament; n=noun; S=sing or song; v=verb.

I, 'Recited' in NRSV.
'Spoke' in NRSV; in the Hebrew text this word is the same as that rendered 'recited' in the preamble of item 4 in NRSV (see note b above).
'I In this column square brackets enclose names of people indirectly identified as singers.
'Raise up'.
The remaining items give no particular clues as to how they
might have been sung. The context of item 4, the preamble to
item 6 and the subscription to item I1 show, furthermore, that
even though an item may have been allotted to a n individual singer
in its literary context, when it was sung under different circum-
stances there was no requirement to retain solo performance. This
raises the question of the relationship of methods of performance
stated or implied in the literary tradition to those employed in
actual performance, when items were sung as hymns or canticles
in worship. This is a matter that requires further research, but it
is reasonable to suppose that much would have depended on the
relative status of the traditions to which the canticles are attached
in their literary sources, and on the circumstances of performance
in worship - for example, whether they were liturgical or extra-
liturgical, formal or informal.
That musical instruments are implied or referred to directly in
the texts and immediate contexts of items 2,5, 7 , 8 and 12-14 sug-
gests traditions of instrumental accompaniment for these items.
A close reading of the Hebrew and Greek, however, shows that
there is no explicit mention of instrumental accompaniment to
any of these items. Nevertheless, accompaniment seems to be
strongly implied by the references to the taking up of 'tam-
bourines' in the preamble to item 2, the exhortations to 'begin
. . . with tambourines' and 'sing . . . with cymbals' in the text of
item 14, and the prescriptive notice 'with my stringed instruments'
in the subscription to item 12. With regard to item 14, there is a
strong possibility that this is a literary composition and nothing
more, in which case there must be doubt as to whether it contains
traditions about its own musical performance. It could neverthe-
less reflect musical traditions associated with the performance of
other songs of this type.
In items 5, 7, 8 and 13 instrumental accompaniment can only
be an assumption on the grounds that stringed instruments are
implied by the verbs built on the root zmr. But only where the
word-pair 'sing-play' or 'extol-play' is used (items 5, 7 and 13) is
there any clear suggestion of instrumentally accompanied song.
While this could relate specifically to the items where it occurs, it
more probably relates generally to items of similar type and style.
A question that arises from the references to the playing of
John Arthur Smith
percussion instruments in relation to items 2 and 14 is whether

the playing is to be envisaged as an accompaniment to the singing
or as merely a coincidental musical element, a concomitant ingre-
dient, along with song and dance, of festal celebration. This is also
an area where further research is needed.
The question of whether the canticles were sung in cultic wor-
ship cannot be answered with certainty for all items. It is proba-
bly best approached by considering the canticles under four
headings: certain cultic use, probable cultic use, possible cultic use
and doubtful cultic use.
Certain cultic use. There is no doubt that items I and 3 were sung
in the cult. To begin with, in their literary contexts they celebrate
events that are of cultic significance in the religious history of
ancient Israel. Secondly, the evidence of their preambles and texts
points to cultic use. Thirdly, and decisively, there is extra-biblical
evidence that they were sung liturgically in the Temple at
Jerusalem: section 31a of the tractate RiiJ haSSan4 in the
Babylonian Talmud says that they were performed by the Levites
at the afternoon sacrifice on the Sabbath. It may seem curious that
item 3, a n otherwise secular song, should be reckoned amongst
cultic material. S. E. Gillingham explains this by pointing out that
'the literary context has changed the impact of this poem; a gen-
eral working song has been given a specific orientation by the edi-
tor, to ratify the divine provision of water as the people journeyed
through the w i l d e r n e ~ s ' .This
~ ~ suggests that the item, unlike the
majority of the canticles discussed here, did not become a cultic
song until after it was 'sanctified' by its inclusion in the narrative
tradition.
Probable cultic use. Items 2,4-7 and 11-13 belong under this head-
ing. Since arguments for their cultic use have already been pre-
sented in the general survey above, the discussion here will
summarise the relevant points. The evidence for item 2 comes
from a comparison of its style, type and context with other bibli-
cal material, in particular the style and context of the women's
victory songs in 1 Samuel 18:6-7 and Judith 16: 1-17 (item 14).
Only in item 5, which possesses a liturgical opening, does the text
of a canticle contribute direct evidence towards probable cultic
68 Gillingham, Poems and Psalms, p. 108.
258
use. The presence of the female element creates a difficulty in

respect of liturgical use; it may be that we should envisage a pop-
ular, non-sacrificial liturgy, as is suggested by the extra-biblical
evidence (see above, pp. 241, 255). In items 6, 11, 12 and 13 it is
the material immediately surrounding the texts - preamble, sub-
scription or superscription, and the occasional inserted rubric or
notice - that provides the evidence. In the case of item 4, the evi-
dence comes principally from the narrative context in the chapter
preceding the appearance of the canticle.
Possible cultic use. Although the apocryphal additions to the book
of Daniel are very late, this does not preclude the possibility that
item 15 was sung in worship, given the textual features described
earlier (see above, pp. 250-1). There is no evidence, however, that
would indicate more than the possibility of cultic use.
Doubgul cultic use. Under this heading fall the three canticles
from Isaiah (items 8, 9 and 10) and Judith's hymn of praise (item
14). Whether the Isaiah canticles were actually used in cultic wor-
ship is impossible to determine. They occur within prophetic ora-
cles, and these were usually delivered by the prophet as 'inspired
utterances', that is extempore while the prophet was in a trance
or state of ecstacy. The dependence of these items on pre-existent
Old Testament material and stock phrases is consistent with
extempore c o m p o ~ i t i o n .Much
~ ~ of the pre-existent material is
likely to have been familiar to the prophet from its use already in
cultic worship in Jerusalem. If the present three items were used
at all as songs in worship, this could probably not have been before
they had become known through dissemination in written form,
since they themselves are not pre-existent items. There is no evi-
dence, however, that suggests their use in worships, and on bal-
ance there seems little likelihood that they were so used.
With regard to item 14, while the deliberate imitation of archaic
features in its context and preamble may strengthen the likeli-
hood of a cultic setting for the songs of Miriam (item 2) and
Deborah (item 5), it does not do so for its own text. This late item
probably originated as a purely literary composition, perhaps even
as two separate ones since it consists of two self-contained sec-
tions. The first of these (Judith 16:l-12) rehearses in epic terms
69 Watson, Classical Hebrew Poetry, pp. 70-7.

John Arthur Smith
the main events of the Judith legend; the second (16: 13-17) is a
hymn extolling the power of God. Since the latter is couched in
very general terms and makes no reference to events in the book
of Judith, it could conceivably have had an independent existence.
From the point of view of cultic use, however, the first section
seems to place too much emphasis on the person of Judith to be
appropriate for use in the worship of the deity. The second sec-
tion actually mentions sacrifices, including burnt offerings (16: 16),
but says that for the deity their importance is minimal compared
with fear of him (ibid.).This would seem to invalidate the section
for use in cultic worship. All in all there are no good grounds for
believing that item 14 was sung in the cult.
OTHER CANTICLES IN T H E OLD TESTAMENT
There are several canticles in the Old Testament that do not have
a place in the present study on account of the paucity of musical
information in their texts and contexts. But inasmuch as any self-
contained item of lyrical Hebrew poetry was susceptible of being
sung, these canticles did not lack musical potential in Old
Testament times. It is therefore appropriate to give some consid-
eration to the canticles that were not chosen to be part of the main
study.
To consider here all of the Old Testament canticles not discussed
above would be tedious and would occupy a disproportionate amount
of space. Instead, attention will be directed towards nine items that
appear also in two early collections of religious poetry. We may begin
by noting 2 Samuel 23:2-7 and LXX Sirach 51:13-20a. The first is
presented as David's valedictory oration. Its preamble (2 Samuel
23: 1) announces it as 'the last words of David: / The oracle of David,
son ofJesse'. The second is a poem about its author's search for wis-
dom. It appears without preamble in the course of the longer poem
that constitutes the whole of Sirach 51. Neither passage contains
any reference to music, instruments or musicians.
These two items are found not only in the Jewish scriptures but
also together (both in Hebrew) in one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the
Psalms Scroll from Cave 11 at Qumran (document 1 1 QPsa).'O This
'0 Critical edition by J. A. Sanders, The Psalms Scroll ofQumran Cave I I , Discoveries in the
Judaean Desert 4 (Oxford, 1965, repr. 1997).
is a collection of various canonical psalms, apocryphal psalms and

other Jewish religious poetry (some of it otherwise unknown) that
belonged to the religious community of Essenes that lived at
Qumran from the middle of the second century BCE to c. 68 C E . ~ '
Exactly how the collection was used in the community is uncer-
tain. It could have been used for private or communal reading, for
edification, devotion or teaching (motives which, according to sev-
eral studies published during the last two decades, were the main
influences on the extant form of the P ~ a l t e r ~It
~ )could
, also have
been used as a 'hymn book' in corporate worship, in which case
the present two items would have been sung in the religious assem-
blies of the Qumran community, if not in those ofJudaism at large.
The remaining seven items are 1 Samuel 2:l-10, Isaiah 5:l-19,
Isaiah 26:9-20, Isaiah 38: 10-20, Jonah 2:3-10 (NRSV 2:2-9), LXX
Daniel 3:26-45 (NRSV Apocrypha, The Prayer of Azariah and The
Song of the Three Jews, verses 3-22) and LXX The Prayer of
Manasseh. The first is the so-called 'song' of Hannah, which
according to its narrative context she uttered as a thanksgiving
for the birth of her son Samuel. The first of the Isaiah items is an
allegorical love song about the author's beloved's vineyard; the sec-
ond is a plea for divine help and a prophecy of its answer; the third
is a thanksgiving, apparently for recovery from illness, attributed
to king Hezekiah. The passage from the book of Jonah is Jonah's
prayer in the belly of the large fish that swallowed him. The two
items from the LXX are respectively Azariah's prayer in the blaz-
ing furnace from which he and his two kinsmen eventually escaped
unharmed, and the prayer of confession and supplication attrib-
uted to Manasseh (king of Judah from c. 687 to c. 642 BCE). There
are musical references in, or connected with, only two of these
items. One is Isaiah 5:l-19, the preamble of which (5:la) has, 'Let
me sing ('~3rd)for my beloved my love-song (Strat) about his vine-
yard.' The song that follows is a prophetic oracle of judgement
couched as a n allegory of the consequences for the Israelites of
their breaking their relationship of trust with the deity. The
'singing' and 'song' should probably be understood figuratively
rather than literally. The other item is Isaiah 38:lO-20, the text
71 Historical details in G. Vermes, The Dead Sea Scrolls in English (4th edn, Harmondsworth,
1995), pp. 20-40.
72 This literature is surveyed in Gillingham, Poems and Psalms, pp. 232-7.
John Arthur Smith
of which contains a reference to the use of 'stringed instruments'
in the Temple (see below). (It may be noted here that the NRSV
translation of Isaiah 26:9-20 has 'sing for joy' at 26: 19. This is mis-
leading: the Hebrew means 'rejoice'.)
These seven items described above are to be found, together
with four other Old Testament canticles and some New ~ e s t a m e n t
ones, in a fifth-century Christian collection of fourteen biblical can-
ticles that were used in the Office in the Eastern (Greek-speak-
ing) church at that time, to which allusion was made in the
introduction to this study.'3 While the collection illustrates the
extrapolation of biblical canticles for use in worship, its compila-
tion of course reflects early Christian use, not ancient Jewish.
Nevertheless, of the eleven Old Testament items in the collection,
three have been shown above to have been definitely or probably
used in ancient Jewish worship (respectively items I and 4 & 12),
and it is possible that the seven items described above were also
so used. while this is no more than conjecture, two of the seven
items are of particular interest in this connection: Hezekiah's
thanksgiving (Isaiah 38: 10-20) and Jonah's prayer Uonah 2:3-10
(NRSV 2:2-9)). In the Old Testament text both are interpolations.
The former is preceded by a superscription (38:9) that announces
the ensuing poem as 'a writing of Hezekiah'. At the end of the
poem the text points to its utterance at a thank offering in the
Jerusalem Temple: 'The living, the living, they thank you, / as I
do this day / . . . / The Lord will save me, / and we will sing to
[Hebrew: "play on my"] stringed instruments / all the days of our
lives, / at the house of the Lord' (38:19-20). Jonah's prayer also
mentions a thank offering (2:lO (NRSV 2:9)), presumably at the
Temple since earlier in the poem he has expressed the fear that
he would not live to see it again (2:5 (NRSV 2:4)). It is possible,
therefore, that these items were cultic songs used in worship at
the Jerusalem Temple. It may be remarked in addition that
Hezekiah's thanksgiving could have originated at the time of
Hezekiah, perhaps even with Hezekiah himself, given that his
reign (c. 715-686 BCE or c. 728-700 BCE) was contemporaneous
with the period when Isaiah 1-39 (Proto-Isaiah) is thought to have
been composed (eighth to seventh century BCE).
73 Cf, note 6 above. The Greek text is available in Rahlfs's edition of the LXX (note 7
above), vol, 11, pp. 164-83.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Old Testament canticles are typically lyrical, psalm-like religious

poems interpolated in the scriptural text and introduced by short
preambles. In narrative passages they usually mark significant
events in the religious history of Israel or Judah; in prophetic pas-
sages they often summarise the theological themes with which the
adjacent texts are concerned. Their character is usually hymnic
and celebratory, although some canticles are laments.
Since singing or one or another form of song is referred to in
all of the fifteen selected items (taking into account preambles
and subscriptions as well as texts), there is no doubt that tradi-
tions of sung performance should be regarded as typical of Old
Testament canticles generally. Admittedly, these fifteen items are
not the only canticles in the Old Testament, but they are the
majority of them. It may be noted in addition that in the literary
traditions the preambles of eight of the present fifteen canticles
identify singers by name, and that the preambles of a further four
indirectly identify previously named people as singers. All the
singers are important people (David, Deborah, Ezekiel, Judith,
Miriam, Moses) or groups (Israel, the Israelites, the three Jews)
in the Old Testament and its Apocrypha. Thus Old Testament
canticles are typically songs placed on the lips of prominent scrip-
tural persons and groups.
It is impossible to say for certain whether the playing of stringed
instruments in conjunction with the canticles was typical. Stringed
instruments are referred to explicitly and implicitly in connection
with six canticles: five of the fifteen selected items and Hezekiah's
thanksgiving in Isaiah 38: 10-20. However, six canticles is a rela-
tively small proportion of the sample; moreover, the explicit
references are only two in number and the implicit references
are incidental. Furthermore, although four of the six canticles
appear to have had a connection with the Jerusalem Temple,
there are at least as many of the remaining canticles which,
although they probably (or definitely) had such a connection,
make no mention of stringed instruments. In view of the relatively
small number of the references to stringed instruments, their
uncertain nature and their lack of a consistent pattern of distrib-
ution, they are insufficient to permit any conclusions about the
John Arthur Smith
use of stringed instruments in conjunction with Old Testament

canticles.
The position is different in the case of percussion instruments.
In the fifteen items selected for examination above, hand-held per-
cussion instruments are associated with two of the three victory
songs led by women. As was noted early in this study, hand-held
percussion instruments are also associated with a song sung by
women welcoming home victorious warriors (1 Samuel 18:6-7).
Thus the playing of hand-held percussion instruments may be
regarded as a typical concomitant of songs of this type, although
not of Old Testament canticles generally.
It is also impossible to say whether use in cultic worship was
typical. While ten of the fifteen selected canticles are either cer-
tain or likely to have been sung in cultic worship (items 1-7 and
11-13), four have been adjudged unlikely (items 8-10 and 14), and
in the Jewish scriptures as a whole there are at least twice as many
more about which too little is known to enable sound opinions to
be formed.
Assiden kirke, Drammen, Norway
Early Music History (1998) Volume 17. 0 1998 Cambridge University Press
INSTRUCTIONS FOR CONTRIBUTORS
EDITORIAL POLICY
Early Music History is devoted to the study of music from the early Middle Ages to the end
of the seventeenth century. The journal demands the highest standards of scholarship from
its contributors, all of whom are leading academics in their fields. Early Music History gives
preference to studies pursuing interdisciplinary approaches and to those developing new
methodological ideas. The scope is exceptionally broad and includes manuscript studies,
textual criticism, iconography, studies of the relationship between words and music, and
the relationship between music and society.
1 . SUBMISSIONS
All contributions and editorial correspondence should be sent to: The Editor, Dr Iain
Fenlon, Early Music History, King's College, Cambridge CB2 IST, UK. The Editor can also
be contacted via email at iafl000@cus.cam.ac.uk.
Submission of an article is taken to imply that it has not previously been published,
and has not been submitted for publication elsewhere. Upon acceptance of a paper, the
author will be asked to assign copyright (on certain conditions) to Cambridge University
Press.
Contributors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce any material in
which they do not own copyright, to be used in both print and electronic media, and for
ensuring that the appropriate acknowledgements are included in their manuscript.
2. MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION
All contributions should be in English and must be double spaced throughout, including
footnotes, bibliographies, annotated lists of manuscripts, appendixes, tables and displayed
quotations. In the event of the manuscript being accepted for publication the author will
be asked to submit the text on computer disk (Apple Macintosh or IBM compatible PC)
as well as in hard copy, giving details of the wordprocessing software used (Microsoft Word
or Wordperfect). However, the publisher reserves the right to typeset material by conven-
tional means if an author's disk provei unsatisfactory.
Typescripts submitted for consideration will not normally be returned unless specifically
requested.
Artwork for graphs, diagrams and music examples should be, wherever possible, sub-
mitted in a form suitable for direct reproduction, bearing in mind the maximum dimen-
sions of the printed version: 17.5 x 11 cm (7" x 4.5"). Photographs should be in the form
of glossy black and white prints, measuring about 20.3 x 15.2 cm (8" x 6").
All illustrations should be on separate sheets from the text of the article and should be
clearly identified with the contributor's name and the figure/example number. Their
Instructions for Contributors
approximate position in the text should be indicated by a marginal note in the typescript.
Captions should be separately typed, double spaced.
Tables should also be supplied in separate sheets, with the title typed above the body
of the table.
3. TEXT CONVENTIONS
Spelling
English spelling, idiom and terminology should be used, e.g. bar (not measure), note (not
tone), quaver (not eighth note). Where there is an option, '-ise' endings should be pre-
ferred to '-ize'.
Punctuation
English punctuation practice should be followed: (1) single quotation marks, except for 'a
"quote" within a quote'; (2) punctuation outside quotation marks, unless a complete sen-
tence is quoted; (3) no comma before 'and' in a series; (4) footnote indicators follow punc-
tuation; ( 5 ) square brackets [ ] only for interpolation in quoted matter; (6) no stop after
contractions that include the last letter of a word, e.g. Dr, St, edn (but vol. and vols.).
Bibliographical references
Authors' and editors' forenames should not be given, only initials: where possible, editors
should be given for Festschriften, conference proceedings, symposia, etc. In titles, all impor-
tant words in English should be capitalised; all other languages should follow prose-style
capitalisation, except for journal and series titles which should follow English capitalisa-
tion. Titles of series should be included, in roman, where relevant. Journal and series vol-
ume numbers should be given in arabic, volumes of a set in roman ('vol.' will not be used).
Places and dates of publication should be included. Dissertation titles should be given in
roman and enclosed in quotation marks. Page numbers should be preceded by 'p.' or 'pp.'
in all contexts. The first citation of bibliographical reference should include all details; sub-
sequent citations may use the author's surname, short title and relevant page numbers
only. Ibid. may be used, but not op. cit. or loc. cit.
Abbreviations
Abbreviations for manuscript citations, libraries, periodicals, series, etc. should not be used
without explanation; after the first full citation an abbreviation may be used throughout
text and notes. Standard abbreviations may be used without explanation. In the text,
'Example', 'Figure' and 'bars' should be used (not 'Ex.', 'Fig.', 'bb.'). In references to man-
uscripts, 'fols.' should be used (not 'ff.') and 'v' (verso) and 'r' (recto) should be typed super-
script. The word for 'saint' should be spelled out or abbreviated according to language, e.g.
San Andrea, S. Maria, SS. Pietro e Paolo, St Paul, St Agnes, St Denis, Ste Clothilde.
Note names
Flats, sharps and naturals should be indicated by the conventional signs, not words. Note
names should be roman and capitalised where general, e.g. C major, but should be italic
Instructions for Contributors
and follow the Helmholtz code where specific (CI, CtC c c' c"cff> c' = middle C). A simpler
system may be used in discussions of repertories (e.g. chant) where different conventions
are followed.
Quotations
A quotation of no more than 60 words of prose or one line of verse should be continuous
within the text and enclosed in single quotation marks. Longer quotations should be dis-
played and quotation marks should not be used. For quotations from foreign languages, an
English translation must be given in addition to the foreign-language original.
Numbers
Numbers below 100 should be spelled out, except page, bar, folio numbers etc., sums of
money and specific quantities, e.g. 20 ducats, 45 mm. Pairs of numbers should be elided
as follows: 190-1, 198-9, 198-201, 212-13. Dates should be given in the following forms:
10 January 1983, the 1980s, sixteenth century (16th century in tables and lists), sixteenth-
century polyphony.
Capitalisation
Incipits in all languages (motets, songs, etc.), and titles except in English, should be cap-
italised as in running prose; titles in English should have all important words capitalised,
e.g. The Pavin $Delight. Most offices should have a lower-case initial except in official titles,
e.g. 'the Lord Chancellor entered the cathedral', 'the Bishop of Salford entered the cathe-
dral' (but 'the bishop entered the cathedral'). Names of institutions should have full (not
prose-style) capitalisation, e.g. Liceo Musicale.
Italics
Titles and incipits of musical works in italic, but not genre titles or sections of the
MassBnglish Service, e.g. Kyrie, Magnificat. Italics for foreign words should be kept to a
minimum; in general they should be used only for unusual words or if a word might be
mistaken for English if not italicised. Titles of manuscripts should be roman in quotes, e.g.
'Rules How to Compose'. Names of institutions should be roman.
4. P R O O F S
Typographical or factual errors only may be changed at proof stage. The publisher reserves
the right to charge authors for correction of non-typographical errors.
5. OFFPRINTS
Contributors of articles and review essays receive 25 free offprints and one copy of the vol-
ume. Extra copies may be purchased from the publisher if ordered at proof stage.
EARLY M U S I C HISTORY 1 7
CONTENTS
JOSEPH D Y E R (Universit) of Xlassachusetts, Boston)
770/)& setnper zn~.innlibus:Compositional stratcgirs in the offertorirs of Old
Roman chant 1
S A R A HF I T L L E K(State Uni\.crsity of Ke\v York at Stony Brook)
hlodal discourse and foi~rteenth-centuryFrench song: A 'medie\-al'
perspective recovered? G1
C H R I S T I NGETZ
E (Baylor University)
T h e Sforza restoration and the founding ofthc ducal chapcls at Santa
Maria della Scala in Milan and Sant'Ambrogio in 17ige\~ano 109
ELEAZAR G U T W I R T H (Tel A\iv Cni\.ersity)
hlusic, identity and the Inquisition in fifteenth-century Spain 161
~ I I C H A ERL~ C G R A D(Uni\.ersity
E of Chicago)
0 rex nzutzdi /riz~til/)hator:Hohenstaufen politics in a sequencr for Saint
Charlernagne 183
J O H N A R T H U RS M I T H(Drammen, h-or\vay)
hfusical aspects of Old 'Testament canticles in their biblical setting 22 1
Cove7 desigtz ly Jan van de 14hteritzg

Early Music History, Vol 17 (1998)

Transféré par

Informations du document

Copyright

Formats disponibles

Partager ce document

Partager ou intégrer le document

Options de partage

Avez-vous trouvé ce document utile ?

Ce contenu est-il inapproprié ?

Droits d'auteur :

Formats disponibles

Early Music History, Vol 17 (1998)

Transféré par

Droits d'auteur :

Formats disponibles

EARLY

Edited by Iain Fenlon

Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, United Kingdom

40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-421 1, USA

10 Stamford Road, Oakleigh, Melbourne 3166, Australia

O Cambridge University Press 1998

First Published 1998

Phototypeset in Baskerville by Wyvern 21 Ltd, Bristol

Printed in Great Britain at the University Press, Cambridge

In the introduction to the second volume of the series Monumenta

insatiabile bonum tropis semper variantibus innovatur.' Expositio psalmorum, ed. M.

No separate collections of offertories or their verses comparable to the Gregorian offer-

While the Gregorian offertory repertoire consists mainly of

form a body of music organised according to consistent principles,

The recitational element b makes no distinction between

Example 2a Conjtebuntur: Verse 2 (MM 410)

a se-cu-lo u s - q w in A c u - lumtues de -us.

Example 26 Refileti sumus: Verses 1 and 2 (MM 280-1)

(2) ex- al- - - ta-bisme a vi-ro in - - - - i - - quo . . .

Example 2c Intonuit de celo: Verses 1 and 2 (MM 41 1-12)

25 All references ( M M ) are to page numbers of the transcriptions in Monumenta Monodica

(Example 2c, M M 41 1) begin with the same melodic flourish before

ofDominus regnauit is expanded by the addition of an extended melo-

f ( 2 . N o - t u r n fe - c i t do - mi-nus sa-lu-ta - resu - - - - urn.

Example 3 Alleluia. Cantate domino (MM 194, excerpt)

chants de la messe selon la tradition musicale du chant romain ancien, improprement

pp. 19-97, especially pp. 83-9.

3j The evangelary is type n in the classification of T. Klauser, D m riimische Capitulare

The offertories that depend most heavily on ForrnA are: Conzrma

porates a podatus (part of element b) that can be repeated to

Elements e a n d 5 on the other hand, seem to be alternatives or

ence and location are indicated by asterisks in Appendix 2. The

19-20, 38 and 40), but the verses are transposed in CompiPgne.

53 Hucke characterised this refrain accurately as 'ramisches Eigengut'; see 'Die

reading similar to that found in the Verona Psalter and several

In addition to the offertories with one of the formulae just

62 Wagner observed the importance of melodic repetitions in the Gregorian offertories,

can shed on formal and historical questions. The refrain of the

'benediximus vos'. Its cadential gesture (b-a-c-b-a) would seem to

di- - es auam fe- -cit

8 2.L.- - - - pi--dem quemle-prwba-ve--runt he-di-fi- - - -

11) do- mi- - nus exul4e - - mus et le - te - - mur

(2) can - - tes hic fa- ctus

(2) est inca- put an-gu - li

(2) a d o - mi -no fa -ctum est

Example 11 Benedictus qui venit (C 74, fol. 87): Verses 1 and 2

and ingenuity in the three previous offertories are employed in a

sense of monotony, though such an inflexible application of repe-

Example 13 Benedicam dominum: Verses 1 and 2 (MM 285-6)

structures are concentrated in the m e l i ~ m a s There . ~ ~ are, more-

... gra- - - ti - - a in la - - - bi -is tu- - i s

Example 14a Dzfusa es: V e r s e 1 (MM 343)

I . . .etex-al-ta- vi e-lec--turn de ple-be me- a.

Example 14b Inveni David: Verse 1 (MM 343)

Example 15 Exulta satis: Final melisma of verses 1 and 2 (MM 339-40)

The melisma that concludes the single verse of the offertory

1( ...&I- -le- - - - - - - lu-ia.

Example 19 Deus: Deus meus: Refrain (MM 307)

O u r investigation of the repetition of melodic material as a guide

Gregorian Chant, p. 262.

*Vs. 2: Locutuslm est os meum in tribulatione mea . . .

*Vs. 1: Dixit Moyses et Aaron . . .

Bonum est: Bonum est conJiteri Domino . . .

*Desiderium: Desiderium anime eius tribuisti ei . . .