In Western music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions. Western music is the genres of music originating in the Western world (Europe and its former colonies) including Western classical music, American Jazz, Country and Western, pop music and rock and roll. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

The name comes either from the Latin movere, ("to move") or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is "motectum". If from the Latin, the name describes the movement of the different voices against one another. For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories corresponding roughly to the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from around 1000 to 1300. ...

According to Margaret Bent (1997), "'a piece of music in several parts with words' is as precise a definition of the motet as will serve from the thirteenth to the late sixteenth century and beyond. This is actually very close to one of the earliest descriptions we have, that of the late thirteenth-century theorist Johannes de Grocheio." Grocheio was also one of the first scholars to define a motet. Grocheio believed that the motet was "not intended for the vulgar who do not understand its finer points and derive no pleasure from hearing it: it is meant for educated people and those who look for refinement in art."[1] Johannes de Grocheio (Grocheo) (ca. ...

Medieval motets

The earliest motets arose, in the thirteenth century (Bent, 1997), out of the organum tradition exemplified in the Notre Dame school of Léonin and Pérotin. The motet arose from discant (clausula) sections, usually strophic interludes, in a longer sequence of organum, to which upper voices were added. Usually the discant represented a strophic sequence in Latin which was sung as a discant over a cantus firmus, which typically was a Gregorian chant fragment with different words from the discant. The motet took a definite rhythm from the words of the verse, and as such appeared as a brief rhythmic interlude in the middle of the longer, more chantlike organum. Organum (pronounced , though the stress is now sometimes incorrectly put on the second syllable) is a technique of singing developed in the Middle Ages, and is an early form of polyphonic music. ... The group of composers working at or near the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris from about 1170 to 1250, along with the music they produced, is referred to as the Notre Dame school, or the Notre Dame School of Polyphony. ... Léonin (also Leoninus, Leonius, Leo) (fl. ... Pérotin was a European composer, believed to be French, who lived around the end of the twelfth and beginning of the thirteenth century. ... Descant or discant can refer to different things in music; A form of medieval music where one person sang a fixed melody, and others accompanied with improvisations. ... In Western musical theory a cadence (Latin cadentia, a falling) is a particular series of intervals (a caesura) or chords that ends a phrase, section, or piece of music. ... Strophic form, or chorus form, is a sectional and/or additive way of structuring a piece of music based on the repetition of one formal section or block played repeatedly. ... In Latin poetry, a sequence (Latin sequentia) is a poem written in a non-classical metre, often on a sacred Christian subject. ... In music, a cantus firmus (fixed song) is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition, often set apart by being played in long notes. ... Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song of the Roman Catholic Church. ...

The practice of discant over a cantus firmus marked the beginnings of counterpoint in Western music. From these first motets arose a medieval tradition of secular motets. These were two or three part compositions in which several different texts, sometimes in different vernacular languages, were sung simultaneously over a Latin cantus firmus that once again was usually adapted from a passage of Gregorian chant. It is suspected that, for the sake of intelligibility, in performance the cantus firmus and one or another of the vocal lines were performed on instruments. For other uses, see Counterpoint (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article concerns secularity, that is, being secular, in various senses. ... Look up Vernacular in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Increasingly in the 14th and 15th centuries, motets tended to be isorhythmic; that is, they employed repeated rhythmic patterns in all voices—not just the cantus firmus—which did not necessarily coincide with repeating melodic patterns. Philippe de Vitry was one of the earliest composers to use this technique, and his work evidently had an influence on that of Guillaume de Machaut, one of the most famous named composers of late medieval motets. Isorhythm (iso or same) consists of an order of durations or rhythms, talea (cutting, plural taleae), which is repeated within a tenor melody whose pitch content or series, color (repetition), varied in the number of members from the talea. ... Philippe de Vitry (October 31, 1291 – June 9, 1361) was a French composer, music theorist and poet. ... Guillaume de Machaut (around 1300 – 1377), was a French composer and poet of the late Medieval era. ...

Renaissance motets

The name of the motet was preserved in the transition from medieval to Renaissance music, but the character of the composition was entirely changed. While it grew out of the medieval isorhythmic motet, the Renaissance composers of the motet generally abandoned the use of a repeated figure as a cantus firmus. Guillaume Dufay was a transitional figure; he wrote one of the last motets in the medieval, isorhythmic style, the Nuper rosarum flores which premiered in 1436 and was written to commemorate the completion of Filippo Brunelleschi's dome in the Cathedral of Florence. During this time, however, the use of cantus firmi in works such as the parody mass tended to stretch the cantus firmus out to great lengths compared to the multivoice descant above it; this tended to obscure the rhythm supplied by the cantus firmus that is apparent in the medieval isorhythmic motet. The cascading, passing chords created by the interplay between multiple voices, and the absence of a strong or obvious beat, are the features that distinguish medieval and renaissance vocal styles. Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 to 1600. ... Du Fay (left), with Gilles Binchois Guillaume Dufay (Du Fay, Du Fayt) (?August 5, 1397 – November 27, 1474) was a Franco-Flemish composer and music theorist of the late Middle Ages/early Renaissance. ... Events April - Paris is recaptured by the French End of the Hussite Wars in Bohemia. ... Sculpture of Brunelleschi looking at the dome in Florence Filippo Brunelleschi (1377 – April 15, 1446) was an Italian architect, engineer and one of the first architects to be associated with the Italian Renaissance in Florence. ... For other uses, see Dome (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the city in Italy. ... A parody mass is a mass that uses a piece of secular music, typically a fragment of a motet or chanson as part of its melodic material. ...

Instead, the Renaissance motet is a short polyphonic musical setting, sometimes in imitative counterpoint, for chorus, of a Latin text, usually sacred, not specifically connected to the liturgy of a given day, and therefore suitable for use in any service. The texts of antiphons were frequently used as motet texts. This is the sort of composition that is most familiarly named by the name of "motet," and the Renaissance period marked the flowering of the form. Polyphony is a musical texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice (monophony) or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords (homophony). ... A liturgy is the customary public worship of a religious group, according to their particular traditions. ... This article is about the musical term. ...

In essence, these motets were sacred madrigals. The relationship between the two forms is most obvious in the composers who concentrated on sacred music, especially Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, whose "motets" setting texts from the Canticum Canticorum, the Biblical "Song of Solomon," are among the most lush and madrigal-like of Palestrina's compositions, while his "madrigals" that set poems of Petrarch in praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary would not be out of place in church. The language of the text was the decisive feature: if it's Latin, it's a motet; if the vernacular, a madrigal. Religious compositions in vernacular languages were often called madrigali spirituali, "spiritual madrigals." Like most madrigals, Renaissance motets developed in episodic format, with separate phrases of the source text being given independent melodic treatment and contrapuntal development; contrapuntal passages often alternate with monody. A madrigal is a setting for two or more voices of a secular text, often in Italian. ... Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (between 3 February 1525 and 2 February 1526[1] - 2 February 1594) was an Italian composer of the Renaissance. ... For other uses, see Song of Solomon (disambiguation). ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... From the c. ... “Our Lady” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... A madrigale spirituale (Italian; pl. ...

Secular motets continued to be written; these motets typically set a Latin text in praise of a monarch, commemorating some public triumph, or even praising music itself; the themes of courtly love often found in the medieval secular motet were banished from the Renaissance motet. Many secular motets are known as "ceremonial motets" ^[1] Characteristic of ceremonial motets was a clarity of diction, for the audience was not presumed to be familiar already with the text, as would have been true with Latin hymns; and also a clear articulation of formal structure, for example a setting apart of successive portions of text with sharp contrasts of texture or rhythm. Adrian Willaert, Ludwig Senfl, and Cipriano de Rore were among the most prominent composers of ceremonial motets during the first half of the 16th century. ^[2] For other uses, see Monarch (disambiguation). ... Court of Love in Provence in the 14th Century (after a manuscript in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris). ...

The motet was one of the pre-eminent forms of Renaissance music. Other important composers of Renaissance motets include: Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 to 1600. ...

• Alexander Agricola
• Gilles Binchois
• Antoine Busnois
• William Byrd
• Johannes Vodnianus Campanus
• Loyset Compère
• Josquin Des Prez
• John Dunstaple
• Antoine de Févin
• Francisco Guerrero
• Nicolas Gombert
• Heinrich Isaac
• Pierre de La Rue
• Orlando di Lasso
• Cristóbal de Morales
• Jean Mouton
• Jacob Obrecht
• Johannes Ockeghem
• Martin Peerson
• Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
• Thomas Tallis
• John Taverner
• Tomás Luis de Victoria

In the latter part of the 16th century, Giovanni Gabrieli and other composers developed a new style, the polychoral motet, in which two or more choirs of singers (or instruments) alternated. This style of motet was sometimes called the Venetian motet to distinguish it from the Netherlands or Flemish motet written elsewhere. Alexander Agricola (1445 or 1446 – August 1506) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. ... Gilles de Binchois or Bins (c. ... Manuscript of Missa O Crux Lignum, a mass by Busnois. ... For other uses, see William Byrd (disambiguation). ... For other people named Johannes Campanus, see Campanus. ... Manuscript of Omnium bonorum plena, a motet by Compère, and possibly his earliest surviving work; the exact date is uncertain, but it was possibly written for the dedication of Cambrai Cathedral on July 2, 1472. ... Josquin des Prez Josquin Des Prez (French rendering of Dutch Josken, diminutive of Joseph; latinized Josquinus Pratensis, alternatively Jodocus Pratensis) (c. ... This page may meet Wikipedia’s criteria for speedy deletion. ... Antoine de Févin (c. ... Francisco Guerrero (October 4 (?), 1528 – November 8, 1599) was a Spanish composer of the Renaissance. ... Nicolas Gombert (c. ... Heinrich Isaac (also Henricus, Arrigo dUgo, and Arrigo il Tedesco) (around 1450 – March 26, 1517) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. ... Pierre de La Rue (c. ... Orlande de Lassus, a. ... Cristóbal de Morales (c. ... Jean Mouton (c. ... Jacob Obrecht Jacob Obrecht (November 22, 1458 – late July, 1505) was a Dutch composer of the Renaissance. ... Ockeghem (with glasses) and his singers Johannes Ockeghem (also Jean de; surname Okeghem, Ogkegum, Okchem, Hocquegam, Ockegham; other variant spellings are also encountered) (c. ... Martin Peerson (or Pearson) (born between 1571 and 1573, probably in March, Cambridgeshire; died 1650 or 1651 in London and buried 16 January 1651 in St Faiths Chapel under St Pauls Cathedral) was an English composer, organist and virginalist. ... Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (between 3 February 1525 and 2 February 1526[1] - 2 February 1594) was an Italian composer of the Renaissance. ... Thomas Tallis Thomas Tallis (c 1505–23 November 1585) was an English composer. ... John Taverner (around 1490 – October 18, 1545) is regarded as the most important English composer of his era. ... Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548 – August 20, 1611) was a gifted Spanish composer of the late Renaissance. ... Giovanni Gabrieli Giovanni Gabrieli (c. ... This article is about the musical term. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Baroque motets

The name "motet" was preserved into Baroque music, especially in France, where the word was applied to petits motets, sacred choral compositions whose only accompaniment was a basso continuo; and grands motets, which included instruments up to and including a full orchestra. Jean-Baptiste Lully was an important composer of this sort of motet. Lully's motets often included parts for soloists as well as choirs; they were longer, including multiple movement in which different soloist, choral, or instrumental forces were employed. Lully's motets also continued the Renaissance tradition of semi-secular Latin motets in works such as Plaude Laetare Gallia, written to celebrate the baptism of King Louis XIV's son; its text by Pierre Perrin begins: Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 and 1750[1] (see Dates of classical music eras for a discussion of the problems inherent in defining the beginning and end points). ... Figured bass, or thoroughbass, is a kind of integer musical notation used to indicate intervallic content (the intervals which make up a sonority), later chords, in relation to a bass note. ... For the song titled Orchestra, see The Servant (band). ... Jean-Baptiste de Lully, originally Giovanni Battista di Lulli (November 28, 1632 – March 22, 1687), was an Italian-born French composer, who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. ... Baptism in early Christian art. ... “Louis XIV” redirects here. ...

Plaude laetare Gallia

Rore caelesti rigantur lilia,

Sacro Delphinus fonte lavatur

Et christianus Christo dicatur.

(Rejoice and sing, France: the lily is bathed with heavenly dew. The Dauphin is bathed in the sacred font, and the Christian is dedicated to Christ.)

In Germany, too, pieces called motets were written in the new musical languages of the Baroque. Heinrich Schütz wrote many motets in a series of publications called Symphoniae sacrae, some in Latin and some in German. Coat of Arms of the Dauphins of France. ... Heinrich Schütz. ...

Johann Sebastian Bach also wrote six surviving works he called motets; Bach's motets were relatively long pieces in German on sacred themes for choir and basso continuo. Bach's motets are: “Bach” redirects here. ...

• BWV 225 Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied (1726)
• BWV 226 Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf (1729)
• BWV 227 Jesu, meine Freude (?)
• BWV 228 Fürchte dich nicht (?)
• BWV 229 Komm, Jesu, komm! (1730 ?)
• BWV 230 Lobet den Herrn alle Heiden (?)

There is also a piece of a cantata that is classified as a motet. Events George Friderich Handel becomes a British subject. ... Events July 30 - Baltimore, Maryland is founded. ... Events Pope Clement XII elected September 17 - Change of emperor of the Ottoman Empire from Ahmed III (1703-1730) to Mahmud I (1730-1754) Anna Ivanova (Anna I of Russia) became czarina Births April 16 - Henry Clinton, British general (d. ...

• BWV 118 O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht (1736-1737?)

Aside from Bach, Antonio Vivaldi composed works that he called "mottetti" that were little more than sacred Italian Baroque cantatas written using crude texts in Latin. These texts were usually simple and dealt with common themes such as the mercy of Christ. Vivaldi, ever the pioneer of form and using it to his advantage, cast his motets in 4 movements. They borrowed his typical late cantata structure of two Da capo arias with a recitative sandwiched in between. A setting of the word "Alleluia" then followed, which was usually highly melismatic and allowed the virtuosity of the singer to be displayed. A particularly fiery example of this type of work is the motet "In furore iustissimae irae," RV 626. Events January 26 - Stanislaus I of Poland abdicates his throne. ... Events 12 February — The San Carlo, the oldest working opera house in Europe, is inaugurated. ... “Vivaldi” redirects here. ... Cantata (Italian for a song or story set to music), a vocal composition accompanied by instruments and generally containing more than one movement. ... The da capo aria was a musical form prevalent in the Baroque era. ... Recitative, a form of composition often used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas (and occasionally in operettas and even musicals), is melodic speech set to music, or a descriptive narrative song in which the music follows the words. ...

The motet since Bach

Later 18th-century composers wrote few motets, although Mozart's well-known Ave verum corpus is in this genre. “Mozart” redirects here. ... Wolfgang Amadeus Mozarts setting of the ancient hymn Ave verum Corpus, K.618, was written for Anton Stoll (a friend of his and Haydns) who was musical co-ordinator in the parish of Baden, near Vienna. ...

In the 19th century German composers continued to write motets occasionally, notably Johannes Brahms (in German) and Anton Bruckner (in Latin). French composers of motets included Camille Saint-Saëns and César Franck. Similar compositions in the English language are called anthems, but some later English composers, such as Charles Villiers Stanford, wrote motets in Latin. The majority of these compositions are a cappella, but some are accompanied by organ. Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (May 7, 1833 – April 3, 1897) was a German composer of the Romantic period. ... “Bruckner” redirects here. ... Charles Camille Saint-Saëns () (9 October 1835 – 16 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor, and pianist, known especially for his orchestral works The Carnival of the Animals, Danse Macabre, and Symphony No. ... César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck (December 10, 1822 – November 8, 1890), a composer, organist and music teacher of Belgian origin who lived in France, was one of the great figures in classical music in the second half of the 19th century. ... An anthem is a composition to an English religious text sung in the context of an Anglican service. ... Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (September 30, 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Irish composer. ... A cappella music is vocal music or singing without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. ...

In the 20th century, composers of motets have been conscious imitators of earlier styles, such as Ralph Vaughan Williams, Hugo Distler, Ernst Krenek, and Giorgio Pacchioni. A statue of Ralph Vaughan Williams in Dorking. ... Hugo Distler (June 24, 1908 – November 1, 1942) was a German composer. ... Ernst Krenek Ernst Krenek (August 23, 1900 – December 22, 1991) was an Austrian-born composer of Czech ancestry; throughout his life he insisted that his name be written Krenek rather than KÅ™enek, and that it should be pronounced as a German word. ... Giorgio Pacchioni (b. ...

Sources

• Margaret Bent (1997). "The late-medieval motet", Companion to Medieval & Renaissance Music. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-816540-4.
• The Development of the motet
• Blanche Gangwere, Music History During the Renaissance Period, 1520–1550. Westport, Connecticut, Praeger Publishers. 2004.

Notes