Luis Rodriguez

Mus Lit and Analysis

Prof. Marsh

11/15/16

Journal 3

Many composers of the fifteenth century, and before then, committed themselves to

staying in one court or town. Composers were different from other artists of the time. For

example they wouldn’t take credit for their compositions. This is because music was seen as a

divine inspiration. Only few composers took credit for their work. Hildegard of Bingen and

Guillaume De Machaut were two composers who were forward thinking, and wanted to leave

their mark on future generations.

Another composer who made their mark was Guillaume Du Fay (ca. 1397-1474). He was

also a forward thinking composer. For instance, while many composers confined themselves to a

court or a city their entire lives, Du Fay traveled to many places including Poland, Spain and

Italy. He left an important body of work everywhere he traveled. I will be discussing his Missa

Se la face ay pale. Three things will be discussed. Firstly what I focused on when listening.

Second will be my feelings regarding this work. Lastly, I’ll discuss the elements that interest me

or prevent me from enjoying this work.

When I listened to this work, I focused on the movement and interaction of the voices. I

noticed how the entrances flow together. They weave together to create a lush texture. There
aren’t any abrupt entrances in this work. Another thing I noticed was the consonant interaction of

the voices. There are very few dissonances and usually they are treated in a way that contributes

to a cadential point in the piece.

The performance of the piece made me feel tranquil. The consonance that governs the

work makes every moment of the piece pleasant. Also, the incredible use of isorhythm that Du

Fay applies gives a very nice sense of proportion as far as rhythm goes. This is a beautifully

balanced work all around.

There are a few things that interest me about this piece. The clever use of isorhythm is

one of the things that interests me the most. The way that the lower voices carry the top ones by

singing slower rhythms is aesthetically pleasing to me. Another thing that caught my interest was

the way that consonance prevails throughout the whole piece. Combined with the well

proportioned rhythm, this makes a very beautiful piece of music.