Medieval Motets - MUS00179C

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Module summary

This module will introduce medieval motets from their beginnings through to the time of Machaut. As we trace their historical development, we will consider questions of performance, listening, and musical meaning.

Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Summer Term 2022-23

Module aims

Medieval motets are complex, layered compositions, using plainchant alongside mathematical processes, setting Latin or vernacular texts of widely varying origins. Each part has its own role, its own voice, its own text. For musicologists today, the genre is central to understanding the development of polyphony, but the repertoire offers a puzzling range of pieces with a somewhat unclear function, that remain challenging to interpret.

This module will introduce a variety of medieval motets from the earliest example to the works Guillaume de Machaut. The debates about the interpretation of these musical works will be highlighted. The genre raises questions about performance, listening, and musical meaning. It straddles the binary of the sacred and secular, problematising a clear division between the two. We will examine the debates of modern scholars about the performance, audience, origins, taxonomy, and meanings of medieval motets. We will also discuss analytical approaches, notations, and sources.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the taught part of the project all students should be able to:

• Understand and engage meaningfully with the earliest motets, drawing upon knowledge of their historical context and varied uses;

• Analyse the relation of words, music, and performance in specific medieval motets;

• Consider on the status of medieval motets within the historical periodisation of the later Middle Ages;

• Engage critically with recent analytical interpretations of motets by De Vitry and Machaut.

On completion of the module, in their independent work, students should demonstrate Learning Outcomes A1–6 and 9.

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100.0

Special assessment rules

None

Additional assessment information

Essay of c. 2500 words, on a topic chosen in consultation with the module tutor.

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100.0

Module feedback

Mark and report within University designated turnaround time.

Indicative reading

Reference Books

Earp, Lawrence. Guillaume de Machaut: A Guide to Research. New York and London: Garland, 1995.

Crocker, Richard and David Hiley, eds. New Oxford History of Music, Volume 2: The Early Middle Ages to 1300. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990. (Look especially at “French Polyphony of the Thirteenth Century”, 636–78.)

Hughes, Anselm and Gerald Abraham, eds. Ars Nova and the Renaissance, 1300-1540. London: Oxford University Press, 1960.

Manuscript sources

For a general compilation of sources: https://eeleach.blog/2012/07/03/manuscript-sources-for-the-thirteenth-century-motet/

For images of Machaut’s manuscripts specifically: https://web.stanford.edu/~blalbrit/MachautMSS/