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Pérotin - Wikipedia
Pérotin - Wikipedia
Contents
Life, and problems of identification
Historical context
Notre Dame School
Magnus liber organi
Music
Forms and style
Compositions
List of works
Influence
List of selected recordings
Notes
References
Bibliography
Further reading
External links
There have been many speculative attempts to identify Pérotin with members of the Notre
Dame administration,[g] but these have not generally been accepted.[1][15] Of the several people
with that name (Petrus) that have been suggested, the commonest are Petrus Cantor (died
1197), who was a theologian, and another Petrus who was Succentor at Notre Dame ca. 1207–
1238.[11][14][16] Of these two, Petrus Succentor has been suggested as more probable, in part on
chronological grounds, and partly because of the succentor's role in overseeing the celebration
of the liturgy in the cathedral (whose choir was dedicated 1182),[1] but this is purely speculative,
resting on an assumption that the composer held some important rank in the cathedral
hierarchy.[16][17]
Pérotin is considered to be the most important member of the Notre Dame school of polyphony,
a group of composers working at or near the cathedral in Paris from about 1160 to 1250,
creators of the ars antiqua style.[18] The dates of Pérotin's life and works have long been a
subject of debate,[19] but are generally thought to be from about 1155/60 (or earlier) to around
1200/05 (or later), based on the evolution of French choral writing during this time (see
Works), in particular, his apparent absence from the flowering of the French motet that
occurred after 1210.[16][20][21]
Pérotin was one of very few composers of his day whose name has been preserved, and can be
reliably attached to individual compositions, most of which have been transcribed.[22]
Anonymous IV called him Magister Perotinus (Pérotinus the Master).[23] The title, employed
also by Johannes de Garlandia, means that Perotinus, like Léonin, earned the degree magister
artium, almost certainly in Paris, and that he was licensed to teach. However, only Anonymous
IV employed the epithet Perotinus Magnus (Perotinus the Great).[8] The name Perotinus, the
Latin diminutive of Petrus, is assumed to be derived from the French name Pérotin, diminutive
of Pierre. However "Petrus" was one of the most common names in the Ile de France during the
High Middle Ages, making further identification difficult.[8] The diminutive was presumably a
mark of respect bestowed by his colleagues. The title Magnus was a mark of the esteem in which
he was held, even long after his death.[1]
Historical context
Music
Two styles emerged from the organum duplum, the "florid" and "discant" (discantus). The
former was more typical of Léonin, the latter of Pérotin, though this indirect attribution has
been challenged.[44] Anonymous IV described Léonin as optimus organista (the best composer
of organa) but Pérotin, who revised the former's Magnus Liber Organi (Great Organum Book),
as optimus discantor referring to his discant composition.,[12] In the original discant organum
duplum, the second voice follows the cantus firmus, note on note but at an interval, usually a
fourth above. By contrast, in the florid organum, the upper or vox organalis voice wove shorter
notes around the longer notes of the lower tenor chant.[28][45]
Compositions
Anonymous IV mentions a number of compositions which
he attributes to Pérotin,[1] including the four-voice Viderunt
omnes and Sederunt principes, and the three-voice Alleluia
"Posui adiutorium" and Alleluia "Nativitas".[46] Johannes Square notes. Pérotin's Salvatoris
hodie
de Garlandia states that the Magnus Liber commences with
Perotin's four-part organa, and makes specific reference to
the notation in the three-part Alleluya, Posui adiutorium.[n][5] Other works are attributed to
him by later scholars, such as Heinrich Husmann, on stylistic grounds,[47] all in the organum
style, as well as the two-voice Dum sigillum summi Patris and the monophonic Beata
viscera[o][p] in the conductus style.[1] (The conductus sets a rhymed Latin poem called a
sequence to a repeated melody, much like a contemporary hymn.) By tradition, the four-part
pieces of the Notre Dame school have been attributed to Pérotin, leaving the two-part pieces to
Léonin.[18] The former include the three-part conductus Salvator hodie.[48][49] The latter is
placed in the Mass for the Circumcision in a 13th century French manuscript.[33][1] Of these, the
best known works are his Viderunt omnes and Sederunt principes.[31] These have been
described as representing the peak of musical development of the time.[11][41]
Most of Pérotin's works are in polyphonic form of discant, including the quadrupla and tripla.
Here the upper voices move in discant, as rhythmic counterpoint above the sustained tenor
notes. This is consistent with Anonymous IV's description of him as optimus discantor.
However, like Léonin, he is likely to have composed in every musical genre and style known to
Notre Dame polyphony.[17] Pérotin's dates of activity have been approximated from some late
12th century edicts (Statuta et donationes piae)[50] of the Bishop of Paris, Odo (Eudes de
Sully)[q] (1196–1208), in 1198 and 1199. Rebuked by Peter of Capua, the papal legate of the
time, the bishop sought to reform the rituals around the Christmas season, forbidding the
boistrous costumed performances that existed at the time, in particular, the Feast of Fools.[51]
His preference was for elaborate music in its stead,[38][52] calling for performance in organa
triplo vel quadruplo for the Responsory and Benedicamus and other settings.[r][31] The bishop's
edicts are quite specific, and suggest that Pérotin's organum quadruplum Viderunt omnes was
written for Christmas 1198, and his other organum quadruplum Sederunt Principes was
composed for Saint Stephen's Day 1199, for the dedication of a new wing of the Notre Dame
Cathedral.[s] If written after this, they could not have been written till late 1200 or 1201, since
for most of 1200 France lay under an interdict of Pope Innocent III which suppressed the
celebration of church services.[55] Hans Tischler dates the revision of the Magnus Liber to
around 1180/90.[16] Between the accounts of Anonymous IV, the episcopal edicts and the
arrangements in the Magnus liber, the key compositions appear to be corroborated and
assigned to this period.[38]
Pérotin composed music to at least five of the poems of the Chancellor of the cathedral, Philippe
le Chancelier (Philip the Chancellor).[56] Philip, also a canon there, held that title at the
cathedral from 1218 till his death in 1236,[57] suggesting a possible later date for Pérotin's
setting of the former's Beata viscera (ca. 1220), or at least a terminus ante quem.[1] Others
believe this poem was written much earlier, and hence place Pérotin's death as no later than
1205,[16] the bishop's edicts implying that Pérotin's work was well before this.[t][38] Philip
appears to have written a number of poems with the intention of them being set to music by
Pérotin,[u] and with him is given credit for the development of the motet.[58]
List of works
Anonymous IV identified seven works, that he presumably considered worthy of singling out,
and these represent the only direct attribution. Subsequent authors have attributed works on
stylistic and chronological grounds. These include Friedrich Ludwig (1910),[59] Heinrich
Husmann (1940),[47] Hans Tischler (1950)[16] and Ethel Thurston (1970).[49] Husmann added
an additional nine three-part organa, and five clausula to which Ludwig added numerous other
clausula.[1] Other authors have attributed all the three-part organa in the Magnus Liber to
Pérotin, which is unlikely. Nevertheless, two of the only three known four-part organa can be
attributed to him.[16]
Four-part organa
Three-part organa
Conductus
3 part clausulas
In odorem (H)
Et illuminare (H)
Et gaudebit (H)
Et exaltavi (H)
Doubtful
Influence
Pérotin has been described as the first modern composer in the Western tradition, radically
transforming the work of his predecessors from a largely improvisatory technique to a distinct
musical architecture.[57] Pérotin's music has influenced modern minimalist composers such as
Steve Reich, particularly in Reich's work Proverb.[61][62]
Notes
a. Pérotin's name is recorded in many variants, including Perrotinus, Perotinus Magnus,
Magister Perotinus, and Perotinus.[1]
b. Sed proprietas praedieta vix tenetur in aliquibus, quod patet in quadruplieibus magistri
Perrotini per totum in principio magni voluminis, quae quadrupla optima reperiuntur et
proportionata et in eolore eonservata, ut manifeste ibidem patet[2]
c. Johannes de Garland was long thought to be the author, but is more likely to have been the
editor of an existing manuscript
d. At one stage Anonymous IV was thought to be a pupil of Johannes de Garlandia, but this is
unlikely,[4] and the name is a misnomer, derived from the title of notes by Charles-Edmond-
Henri de Coussemaker, Anonymus IV. These were probably notes taken by the student in
lectures[7]
e. Robertus de Sabilone fl. 1250[11]
f. Et nota, quod magister Leoninus, secundum quod dicebatur, fuit optimus organista, qui fecit
magnum librumorgani de gradali et antifonario pro servitio divino multiplicando. Et fuit in usu
usque ad tempus Perotini Magni, qui abbreviavit eundem et fecit clausulas sive puncta
plurima meliora, quoniam optimus discantor erat, et melior quam Leoninus erat. Sed hoc
non [est] dicendum de subtilitate organi etc. Ipse vero magister Perotinus fecit quadrupla
optima sicut Viderunt, Sederunt cum habundantia colorum armonicae artis (...) similiter est
tripla plurima nobilissima sicut Alleluia Posui adiutorium Nativitas
g. For instance the elaborate reconstruction of his career by Craig Wright[14]
h. Folio 8 of illuminated ms. I-Fl MS Pluteus 29.1 (F), a major source for the Magnus liber
i. Three different versions of the Magnus liber exist, and also some additional fragments[30]
j. Viderunt omnes fines terrae All the ends of the earth have seen
k. One of the earliest, ca. 1227 being the Beauvais manuscript[33]
l. Sederunt principes et adversum me loquebantur Princes sat and plotted against me
m. At Notre Dame Viderunt was sung at the new feast of the Circumcision on January 1[38]
n. Alia regula de eodem. Sed non probatur per istam artem, sed bene probatur per exemplum,
quod invenitur in Alleluja Posui adjutorium, in triplo scilicet quatuor cum proprietate et
perfectione et tres et tres et tres cum proprietate etc., ut sumitur in hoc exemplo
o. O blessed womb
p. Asensio 1997 maintains that the Beata was attributed to Pérotin by Anonymous IV [18]
q. Odo de Soliaco Parisiensis Episcopus
r. Matutini ab episcopo, vel decano, vel capellano incipiantur ordine debito consummandi, hoc
adjecto quod tertium et sextum responsorium in organo (vel in triplo, vel in quadruplo)
cantabuntur Matins by the bishop or dean or chaplain shall be conducted in the proper order
so that the 3rd and 6th responsories be sung with organum (either in triple, or in quadruple
(for an English translation of the 11998 edict, see Wright (1989, 239))[53][54]
s. The bishop's letters attest to the development of organum duplum at Notre-Dame from the
1160s and its subsequent integration into all the great feasts of the liturgical calendar, not
only in the responsorial chants of the Mass proper but also the Benedicamus Domino of
vespers[52]
t. It cannot be ascertained with certainty that Pérotin's works were not written before the
episcopal edict[1]
u. set as clausulae[16]
u. set as clausulae[16]
v. Beata from Wolfenbüttel 1099 (W2) MS.
References
1. Roesner 2001a.
2. Garlandia 1972, i:96.
3. Garlandia 1994.
4. Baltzer 2001.
5. Waite 1960.
6. Dittmer 1959, 21,36,40,66.
7. Taruskin 2006, 242.
8. Wright 1989, 288.
9. Anonymous IV 1967, i:46.
10. Dittmer 1959, 36.
11. Jenny 1942.
12. Vellard 1986.
13. Haines 2006.
14. Wright 1989, 294.
15. EWB 2004.
16. Tischler 1950.
17. Roesner 2018.
18. Asensio 1997.
19. Gastoué 1917.
20. Tischler 1963.
21. Sanders 1967.
22. Anderson 1972.
23. Pinegar 1995.
24. The illustration from Dictionnaire raisonné de l’architecture française du XIe au XVIe siècle (
https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionnaire_raisonné_de_l’architecture_française_du_XIe_au_
XVIe_siècle/Chœur) is based on written descriptions from 1532 & 1612.
25. Cedarville 2018.
26. Bradley 2018, 1.
27. Sherr 2019.
28. Johnson 2012, 24.
29. Bradley 2018, 3.
30. Tischler 1984.
31. Wallace 1993.
32. Baltzer 1987.
33. GB-Lbl Egerton 2615 2019.
34. Fassler 1987.
35. Bradley 2018, 4.
36. EB 2016.
37. Perotin 1999.
38. Taruskin 2006, 243.
39. Latham 2011, Sederunt principes.
39. Latham 2011, Sederunt principes.
40. Latham 2011, Viderunt omnes.
41. Hiley 2011.
42. Wilson-Dickson 2003, 51.
43. Berger 1996.
44. Berger 2005, 40.
45. Planchart 2000, 30.
46. Anonymous IV 1967, 1:46, 82.
47. Husmann 1940.
48. Gattermayer 2006, 94.
49. Perotin 1970.
50. Migne 1855, 70–74.
51. Wright 1989, 239.
52. Gross 2011.
53. Migne 1855, 72.
54. Huglo 1982, 103.
55. Clarke 2007, 179.
56. Vauchez 2000, Pérotin.
57. Wright 1989, 289.
58. Wright 1989, 295.
59. Ludwig 1978.
60. Wright 1989, pp. 288–289.
61. Reich 2019.
62. Lewis 2018.
Bibliography
Books
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Anonymous IV (1967). Reckow, Fritz (ed.). Der Musiktraktat des Anonymus 4 (supplement
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gle.com/books?id=sK8JAQAAMAAJ) [The Musical Treatise of Anonymous IV: Supplements
gle.com/books?id=sK8JAQAAMAAJ) [The Musical Treatise of Anonymous IV: Supplements
to the Archive of Musicology: Concerning measures and discants] (in German). Wiesbaden:
Franz Steiner Verlag. pp. 1:22–89., see also
Coussemaker, Charles Edmond Henri De, ed. (2015) [1864–1876 Durand: Paris].
"Anonymous 4. De mensuris et discantu". Scriptorum de Musica Medii Aevi. Nova series
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BiblioBazaar. pp. 1:327–64. ISBN 978-1-346-24291-0., English translation available as,
Dittmer, Luther A. (1959). Anonymous IV concerning the measurement of polyphonic
song (https://books.google.com/books?id=0V0VAwAAQBAJ). New York: Institute of
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Garlandia, Johannes de (1994) [c. 1240]. Hayes, Stephen E.; et al. (eds.). De Mensurabili
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Encyclopaedia Britannica (2016). Pérotin (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Perotin).
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Emmerson, Richard K., ed. (2013). Key Figures in Medieval Europe: An Encyclopedia (https
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Kennedy, Michael, ed. (2006). The Oxford Dictionary of Music (https://books.google.com/bo
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Pinegar, Sandra (1995). Pérotin. pp. 1356–1357., reprinted in Emmerson (2013, 513)
Roesner, Edward (2001a). "Perotinus [Perrotinus, Perotinus Magnus, Magister Perotinus,
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membership (https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/page/subscribe#public) required)
Bent, Ian (1980). Pérotin. pp. 14:540–43., in Sadie (1980)
Sadie, Stanley, ed. (1980). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians 20 vols (https
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Vauchez, André, ed. (2000). Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages: 2 vols (https://books.google.c
om/books?id=ejQOAQAAMAAJ). Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Incorporated.
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Articles
Asensio, Juan Carlos (February 1997). "Before Quasimodo: Very Early Polyphony". Early
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arlyj%2Fxxv.1.145). JSTOR 3128176 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/3128176).
Baltzer, Rebecca A. (July 1987). "Notre Dame Manuscripts and Their Owners: Lost and
Found". The Journal of Musicology. 5 (3): 380–399. doi:10.2307/763698 (https://doi.org/10.2
307%2F763698). JSTOR 63698 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/63698).
Berger, Anna Maria Busse (July 1996). "Mnemotechnics and Notre Dame Polyphony". The
Journal of Musicology. 14 (3): 263–298. doi:10.2307/764059 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F76
4059). JSTOR 764059 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/764059).
Fassler, Margot E. (April 1987). "The Role of the Parisian Sequence in the Evolution of
Notre-Dame Polyphony". Speculum. 62 (2): 345–374. doi:10.2307/2855230 (https://doi.org/
10.2307%2F2855230). JSTOR 2855230 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2855230).
S2CID 161832131 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:161832131).
Gastoué, Amédée (April 1917). trans. H. Morette. "Three Centuries of French Mediæval
Music: New Conclusions and Some Notes" (https://zenodo.org/record/2266654). The
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%2Fiii.2.173). JSTOR 738083 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/738083).
Haines, John (2006). "Anonymous IV as an Informant on the Craft of Music Writing". Journal
of Musicology. 23 (3): 375–425. doi:10.1525/jm.2006.23.3.375 (https://doi.org/10.1525%2Fj
m.2006.23.3.375). ISSN 0277-9269 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0277-9269).
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Gross, Guillaume (2011). "L'organum aux xiie et xiiie siècles: le discours musical comme
stratégie de communication ou la légitimation implicite de l'autorité épiscopale" (https://www.
cairn-int.info/article-E_RHIS_113_0487--the-organum-in-the-twelfth-and.htm) [The Organum
in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries: Musical Discourse as Communication Strategy or
the Implicit Legitimating of Episcopal Authority]. Revue historique (in French). 659 (3): 487–
510. doi:10.3917/rhis.113.0487 (https://doi.org/10.3917%2Frhis.113.0487).
Jenny, Herbert J. (August 1942). "Perotin's "Viderunt omnes" ". Bulletin of the American
Musicological Society. 6 (6): 20–21. doi:10.2307/829204 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F82920
4). JSTOR 829204 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/829204).
Tischler, Hans (January 1950). "New Historical Aspects of the Parisian Organa". Speculum.
25 (1): 21–35. doi:10.2307/2850001 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2850001). JSTOR 2850001
(https://www.jstor.org/stable/2850001). S2CID 162168377 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/C
orpusID:162168377).
— (July 1963). "The Dates of Perotin". Journal of the American Musicological Society. 16
— (July 1963). "The Dates of Perotin". Journal of the American Musicological Society. 16
(2): 240–241. doi:10.2307/829944 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F829944). JSTOR 29944 (http
s://www.jstor.org/stable/29944).
— (1984). "New data on the evolution of the Parisian organa". Journal of Musicological
Research. 5 (1–3): 85–91. doi:10.1080/01411898408574546 (https://doi.org/10.1080%2F01
411898408574546).
Waite, William G. (April 1960). "Johannes de Garlandia, Poet and Musician". Speculum. 35
(2): 179–195. doi:10.2307/2851338 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2851338). JSTOR 2851338
(https://www.jstor.org/stable/2851338). S2CID 162963036 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/C
orpusID:162963036).
Wallace, Robin (January 1993). "The role of style in the Notre‐Dame period: A preliminary
study". Journal of Musicological Research. 12 (4): 253–271.
doi:10.1080/01411899308574670 (https://doi.org/10.1080%2F01411899308574670).
Audiovisual
Websites
Further reading
Books
Articles
Gross, Guillaume (2001). "La repetitio dans les organa quadruples de Pérotin: Nature
rhétorique de l'organisation du discours musica". Musurgia. 8 (1): 7–29. JSTOR 40591215 (
https://www.jstor.org/stable/40591215).
Heerings, Arnoud (2005). "Perotinus" (https://openmusiclibrary.org/article/553090/).
Gregoriusblad: Tijdschrift Tot Bevordering van Liturgische Muziek. 129 (1): 53–57.
Tischler, Hans (Spring 1984a). "The Evolution of the "Magnus Liber Organi" ". The Musical
Quarterly. 70 (2): 163–174. JSTOR 742208 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/742208).
Audiovisual
Hillier, Paul (1989). "Perotin". program notes to The Hilliard Ensemble: Perotin. CD ECM
New Series 1385 (837-751-2). Munich: ECM Records.
Websites
Daolmi, Davide. "Storia della musica medioevale e rinascimentale" (https://www.examenapi
um.it/meri). Temporum Stirpis Musica. Dipartimento di Beni culturali e ambientali, Università
degli Studi di Milano. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
External links
Pérotin
Free scores by Pérotin at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
Free scores by Pérotin in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
List of compositions by Pérotin (https://www.diamm.ac.uk/people/77) at the Digital Image
Archive of Medieval Music
Magnus Liber Organi: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Magnus Liber Organi (https://www.diamm.ac.uk/compositions/870) at the Digital Image
Archive of Medieval Music
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