Machaut Estructura y Contrapunto

Line, 'Contrapunctus' and Structure in a Machaut Song
Author(s): Sarah Fuller

Source: Music Analysis, Vol. 6, No. 1/2 (Mar. - Jul., 1987), pp. 37-58
Published by: Wiley
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/854215 .
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SARAH FULLER
LINE,
CONTRAPUNCTUS AND STRUCTURE
IN A MACHAUT SONG
Enough
has been written about structural
plan
and order in the
songs
of
Guillaume de Machaut to establish the
prolific poet
as a
composer
of formidable
skill
and,
in
Wolfgang
D6mling's
phrase,
'reflective awareness'.1
Nevertheless,
there is much still to be learned about Machaut's
compositional practice,
not
only
as embodied in his musical oeuvre as a
whole,
but also as
expressed
in
individual
genres,
in
specific chronological
strata
(insofar
as these can be
determined),
within
groups
formed
by particular
vocal
scorings,
or in
any
other
natural subset of works.
Indeed,
detailed
study
of the oeuvre leads more often
to
recognition
of
heterogeneity
and
variety
than to
limpid
visions of standard
procedures.2
Musical structure has been at the forefront of discussion:
motivic, rhythmic
or harmonic associations between
phrases
or sections of a
song; contrapunctus
foundations of florid
polyphony; design
of individual
lines;
middle- and
background
linear
progressions.
Amid the
plethora
of
contributing factors,
one
may
well ask how the
image
of essential structure in a
composition
is
conveyed,
and what is
thereby
revealed about the
techniques
and habits of its creator. The
present
focus for these
questions
is an
early two-part
ballade
by Machaut,J'aim
miex
languir (No.
7 in the modern editions of Machaut's musical
works).3
Besides
furnishing
an occasion for
contemplating design
and structure in a
supposedly representative song, J'aim
miex
also raises
analytical
issues
pertinent
to the
repertory
as a whole.
I
A first
necessary observation,
indeed a
guiding axiom,
is that
J'aim
miex
is a
setting
of a
poetic
text and that its structure cannot be
comprehended
adequately apart
from the text. This is not
simply
a claim about the creative
process,
a declaration that Machaut doubtless started with his ballade before
him,
and that his choices about where to
begin
and end
phrases,
where to
position
main tonal nodes and what
syntactical
units to articulate
musically
MUSIC
ANALYSIS 6:1-2,
1987 37
SARAH FULLER
should be understood as his considered
response
to the text.4 It is a critical
assertion about the
analytical process
to be
employed. Quite apart
from the
question
of how Machaut
proceeded, any analysis
of the
song's
structure cannot
but
depend
on textual factors that affect
perception
of
principal articulations,
accentual
emphases
and main
phrase components.
Relations between
poem
and
music are
reciprocal. Rhythmic
caesurae and cadential
progressions
delimit
textual
segments.
But at the same
time,
textual
syntax,
verse structure and sense
modules demarcate basic musical units.
They can, moreover, significantly
shape
the
music, weakening
a
phrase ending
with a
bridge
of
ongoing
textual
syntax,
or
obscuring parallel pitch
structures
positioned
athwart a
poetic
division.5 The two
partners
are
inextricably
bonded in that
composite
which we
receive as the
song.
The course of both influences our
analytical judgments.
An
introduction to the
text,
however
slender,
is an essential
step
in the
analytical
process.
J'aim
miex consists of three
strophes (the
standard number for a Machaut
ballade),
uniform in
layout
and
sung
to the same music.
They
sound the familiar
courtly-love
themes of ardour
unrequited, honour,
steadfast
constancy
and
painful longing. Only
the initial
strophe
need concern us at
present,
for it is the
one to which the musical
setting
adheres most
tightly:6
I
J'aim
miex
languir
en ma dure doleur
II Et
puis
morir s'Amour le
prent
en
gre
III
Qu'avoir mercy
se ce n'est a
l'onnour
IV De vous dame
que j'aim
sans faussete.
V
N'onques
en
moy
n'ot autre volente
VI Ne
ja
n'avra
pour peinne que j'endure
VII Et
mefussies
cent
millefois plus
dure.
Rather would I
languish
in
my
harsh
pain
and then
die,
if Love so
please,
than receive
relief,
if it is not to
your honour,
Lady,
whom I love without dissemblance.
Never have I wished
otherwise,
and never
shall,
whatever
pain
I
endure,
were
you
a hundred thousand times more severe.*
This
strophe
consists of seven
lines,
each ten
syllables long, rhymed
a b a b b c c.
The final line is a refrain which recurs
unchanged
in
subsequent strophes.
Syntactically,
the
strophe
consists of two
long
sentences. The first
comprises
lines I-IV and
juxtaposes
the lover's
agony
with his dedication to the
lady's
honour. The second
spans
lines V-VII and affirms the sufferer's
willingness
to
endure even harsher treatment from the
lady. (Does
he
protest
too
much?)
This
bipartite
division well suits a musical convention of
AoAcB
form
('o'
and 'c'
*
I am indebted to Leslie
Morgan
of the State
University
of New York at
Stony
Brook for
help
with the translation.
38 MUSIC
ANALYSIS 6:1-2,
1987
LINE,
CONTRAPUNCTUS AND STRUCTURE IN A MACHAUT SONG
stand for ouvert and
cldos
cadences
respectively).
The first sentence coincides
with the
AoAc
section and ends
emphatically
with the
cldos
cadence. The second
corresponds
with the B section.
Textually,
the fusion of lines
I-II
and III-IV
by
enjambement gives
rise in the musical
setting
to
phrases spanning syllables
1-10
and 1-4 of lines I and II
respectively,
and
syllables
1-10 and 1-4 of lines III and
IV
respectively.
Lines V and VI are
separate syntactically,
but Machaut takes
advantage
of the balanced
N'onques
en
moy
.
..
Ne
ja
avra .
.. construction
to
link them in the same
way
as
I-II
and III-IV
(Ex.
1).7
The consistent
pattern produced jointly by
verbal units and musical
phrase
cuts across the uniform
poetic
lines
defined
by rhyme
and creates
asymmetrically
divided
couplets responsive
to verbal
syntax. Phrasing separates
each even-numbered line into 4 + 6
syllables
and
joins
the first
segment
to the
preceding
line. It sustains each odd-numbered line in an unbroken
unit,
and
also
elongates
each
by
four additional
syllables. Only
the climactic refrain line
stands
independently,
neither subdivided nor fused with
part
of another line.
Just
as this
hyperbolic
declaration
brings
each stanza to an
apex,
so it blocks off
the final
stages
of linear and tonal closure
accomplished
in the last musical
phrase.
II
In
approaching
the
music,
two
fundamentally
different
perspectives may
be
imagined.
One is that of an individual
performer learning
or
practising
his or her
part alone, apart
from the other strands of the
polyphony.8
Another is that of a
listener attuned to
contrapunctus,
sensitive to a firm framework of consonances
between the
participating
voices.9 The two modes of
perception
-
one
tracking
the
single line,
the other
reacting
to the
polyphonic entity
- are not to be
understood as antitheses. A skilled
composer
can be assumed to have
kept
both
in mind to some
degree;
an
experienced
listener to react to both.
They
are
simply
different
standpoints
from which
images
of the
song may
be formed. Not
only
the
images
themselves but also the
convergences
and
divergences
between
them contribute information about the
shaping
of the music and its
fundamental structure.
Because it offers the most direct initiation into the
song
and is closest to
the initial
impression
of the
performer,
the
single-line perspective
makes an
appropriate starting-point.10 Example
2
plots
the essential structure of the
cantus alone as I
interpret
it at a
middleground
level. To facilitate
comparison
with the
song text,
the breve count is indicated above the
staff,
the distribution
of
poetic
lines below.
The
melody
is characterised
by registral
balance about c' and
sharply
chiselled
phrase units,
each of which closes on a sustained breve. Two melodic
processes
dominate. One is direct linear
motion, mainly downward,
as is
established in the first
long
breath (bs 1-8).
The other is
disjunctive motion,
followed
by
the closure of
gaps
created
by
melodic discontinuities. Either the
MUSIC ANALYSIS
6:1-2,
1987 39
SARAH FULLER
Ex. 1
J'aim
miex
languir
2 4
6
SIF
Jaim miex lan
guir
en ma dure do
n
leur
[III
Et puis
mo
-
[III
Qua-
- - -voir mer
cy
se ce nest a Ion nour [IV]De
vous da
-
8i 1
10 12
-
rir sA-
-
mour le prent
en
-me
que
j'aim
sans faus-
- se-
-OP
14a 15a 14b 15b
1618
8
gre
[V] N'on- - ques en
- te.
20
22
24
moy
not autre vo-len- te [VI] Ne ja n'a-
vra
pour pein-ne que
j'en-
A26
28r-
1
30 .
32
du-
-re[VIII Et
me fus- sies cent
du-
.re
344
36 38
40
mil-le fois plus du-
- -re.
mil-le
fois
plus du-
-re.
?*IL
40
MUSIC ANALYSIS
6:1-2,
1987
LINE,
Ex. 2
Phrase
(Da 8
2
Breve 6 8
,
10 12 14a 6 8 10 12 15b
rf.. *
.--
Text I 1-1()
II
11-4 5-10( III
1-o0
IV -4 5-10
17 21 23
,
24 29 31 34 35 37 40
V -l1() VI
1-45-(
VII 1- 9-
1()
KEY
an
important structural
pitch
S a
significant adjunct
to a structural
pitch
(e) a
pitch
of
equivocal
status
*
registral disjunction
between structural
pitches,
as in
bs
1()-12
between
g'and
c'
consecutive linear motion between structural
pitches
S / Interrupted
linear motion, as in bs 24ff., where a line
rising
from c' is
interrupted by
a
leap
to
g'
subsequent resumption
of a line
previously
left
hanging
MUSIC
ANALYSIS
6:1-2,
1987 41
SARAH FULLER
line
converges
from both outer boundaries to some
pitch
within the
gap (as
in
bs
9-14a,
where lines from
g'
and from
c1
converge
on
el),
or it returns
conjunctly
to the
point
at which the
interruption
occurred
(as
in bs
35-7,
subsequent
to the
leap
in
b.34).
These two
processes
of melodic motion
complement
each
other,
for the
continuity
of the
stepwise
movement acts as a
foil to the
disjunctive
motion
and, moreover,
arouses
expectation
for the closure
of melodic
gaps.
Alternation between the
processes
can be said to
govern
the
melodic
design.
The first
phrase
is
uniformly stepwise
in its
course,
while the
second commences with a
spectacular leap
and is later cut
by
a
sharp registral
disjunction.
The second
couplet (bs 17-30) repeats
the
juxtaposition.
Its first
phrase
unwinds
smoothly
and
predictably through adjacent pitches,
but the
next
(bs 24-9)
is a series of
interrupted fragments.
Its erratic character is
confirmed
by
an inconclusive
ending
on
e1,
an audible
parallel
to the
ouvert
phrase (2a),
which is also
disjunctive
in nature. The refrain reconciles the
opposing
tendencies
by combining
them in a
single
extended
period.
In this
extended
phrase,
a
single
medial
gap (b.34)
is closed
by
two smooth lines which
converge
from the
registral extremes, gI
and
g,
onto c'.11 This
interpretation
regards
the
melody
as
embodying
an active
process whereby conjunct
and
disjunct middleground motions,
contrasted in
alternating phrases, finally
coalesce in terminal
synthesis (Fig. la).
Fig.
1
a) Melody:
Process
conjunct
I
disjunct
I 1-10 II 1-4 I 115-10
III 1-10 IV 1-4 IV 5-10
'V 1-io VI 1-4 'VI 5-10
VII 1-10
b) Melody:
Association
ouvert clos
SI-II
III-IV
ouvert clos
V-VI VII
42 MUSIC ANALYSIS 6:1-2,
1987
LINE, CONTRAPUNCTUS AND STRUCTURE IN A MACHAUT
SONG
Fig.
1
(cont.)
c)
Tenor
G G
SI-II
,,
C
III-IV
C
G
V
C
G
VI-VII
C
d) Contrapunctus
*
systematic
X
51
I
1-1o II
1-4
I1
5-10
voice
leading
I
III 1-10 IV 1-4 IV 5-10
V
1-10 VI 1-4 VI
5-10
unsystematic
voice
leading
VII 1-10o
*
Rxx i-,,,I1
indicate motivic
correspondences
MUSIC
ANALYSIS
6:1-2,
1987
43
SARAH FULLER
From a more conventional
angle,
the melodic
design
can be described in
terms of two
parallel
blocks. The first block consists of the first section with its
repetition,
which
together
constitute a coherent unit with an ouvert
couplet
(phrases
la and
2a, ending
on
e')
answered
by
a
clos
couplet (phrases
lb and
2b,
ending
on
c').
The second section forms a
parallel,
foreshortened block whose
successive
open (b.29)
and closed
(b.40)
cadences echo the
preceding syntactical
group.
Not
only
is the
sequence
of cadential
pitches
identical
(e' ouvert,
c'
clos),
but the
f'-el-f'-d'
motive which
appears
before each of these cadences
(and
nowhere else in the
melody)
enhances the association. The motivic link between
the two
clos
endings,
a musical
'rhyme'
three breves
long,
is
especially
pronounced.
This
interpretation
views the melodic construction as
essentially
passive,
based on flat sectional balances
(Fig. ib).
These two accounts of the melodic action
-
the one a threefold
juxtaposition
of
conjunct/disjunct
motion followed
by synthesis,
the other an
essentially
passive,
architectural balance between the
settings
of lines I-IV and of V-VII
-
suggest
different
options
for
hearing
and
performing
the
song.
Common to both
is a
conception
of the tune as an
integrated
whole
possessed
of its own internal
integrity.
This is not to
imply
that the cantus was conceived as a
monophonic
entity
to which another
part
was added.
Indeed,
various
features,
such as the
rests in bs
9,
12 and 35 and the
elongated f'-el
in bs
28-9,
seem to assume the
presence
of another voice. It is
simply
to observe a
significant
trait of the
melodic line.
Compared
with the texted
cantus,
the tenor is
decidedly
restricted in
rhythmic figures
and in melodic
activity.
It moves
mostly
in breves and
spends
much time within the
upper
half of its six-note
range,
on
f, g
and a. The absence
of textual
signals complicates
decisions about main musical
segments
when the
line is taken in isolation. Because the cantus
phrases
do
ultimately impinge upon
the
tenor, they
are indicated in the sketch of essential linear motion
(Ex. 3). Just
as in the case of the
melody,
the reduction reveals two sorts of tenor
activity:
movement within
f-g-a
with
g
as its central
axis,
and direct linear descent from
g
to c. These two activities alternate in
orderly
fashion. The
g-centred plateau
always
stands at the
beginning
of a formal unit
(as
defined
by
sections and
phrase breaks);
the descent to c at the end. In the first section of the
song,
the
alternation coincides with the melodic
design,
the motion about
g
corresponding
with
conjunct,
the move to c with
disjunct process.
But in the
second section it cuts across the melodic
design.
Whereas the
melody groups
lines V-VI
against
VII
(in
both
process-orientated
and associative
interpretations),
the tenor
completes
a
pattern
within line V and
groups
VI and
VII in another
pattern (Fig. Ic).
Figure
1
shows three different formal
groupings
which
emerge
from
consideration of the individual lines. Each involves aural associations over
somewhat different
temporal spans
and confers
precedence
on different musical
elements: linear
process (a),
motivic and cadential
parallelism (b), pitch
succession
(c).
The
disparities among
the
groupings
create a subtle web of
formal tensions within the
song.
44
MUSIC
ANALYSIS 6:1-2,
1987
LINE,
Ex. 3 Linear Motion of Tenor
Phrase
Breve 3 8
, 1()
12 14a 3 8
,
10 12 15b
17 23
,
25 28 31 36 40
-- - U
III
Another sort of structural
depth
is
apparent
in the
interplay
between line and
contrapuntal
framework. Once cantus and tenor
join together, impressions
of
each
individually
are
subject
to modification
by
the context of
primary
consonances
they produce.
The succession of
consonances,
the
contrapunctus
structure,
can confirm and reinforce certain linear
features,
alter or efface
others. In this
particular case,
the intervallic framework
substantially
modifies
impressions
of
pitch relationships
within the
opening phrase
of the tenor. If the
tenor is considered in
isolation, g
is the stable axis in bs
1-10,
due to its extended
duration and
centrality
in relation to f and a
(Ex. 3).
In the
contrapunctus
structure, however,
the f and the a are the
pitches
associated with stable
perfect
intervals in the first
phrase (Ex. 4).
The
g
receives an unstable
imperfect
third
and is
thereby
defined as
tonally subsidiary
to the f and the a. Not until breve
9,
when a cantus
f#
'
pushes
the tenor a down to
g
is the
g-centring proposed
in
the tenor line
acknowledged
at the
contrapuntal
level. But even this is short-
lived,
as the voices move
directly
on to a C octave. Line and
contrapunctus
are
here linked in a subtle
play
between the
potential
and the actual. The forces of
imperfect-to-perfect
consonance in the first
phrase
override a
plausible g
focus
in the tenor
line,
but that
potentiality
to some
degree prepares
the sudden move
to a G octave which
inaugurates
the second
phrase,
as well as the
subsequent
predominance
of the G octave in the
composition (bs 17, 31).
The tenor is not alone in
being shaped by
the
polyphonic
context.
Contrapuntal
elements also
significantly
colour the c' in the
opening
cantus
phrase. Although plainly
the
goal
of the line down from
fl,
the c first makes a
third,
then an extended dissonant fourth with its
partner.12 Only
at the end of
the
poetic line (doleur)
is it allowed the
support
of a
perfect consonance,
and even
then the
memory
of its
prior instability
is fresh
enough
for the
phrase
to
slip
MUSIC
ANALYSIS
6:1-2,
1987 45
SARAH FULLER
Ex. 4
Contrapunctus
Framework
*
=
Cantus
* = Tenor
2 4 6 8
J'aim
miex lan-
guir
en ma dure doleur Et
puis
morir
Intervals 8
5-(4)-3-
5
(4) +3 5 5-
(4)
-3--
-1
10
1,2
_
14a
s'A- mour le
prent
en
gre
+6- -8 5 6- +6-- 8 5-6 8- 6 +6
12
A
.
14b
faus- se- te
--8 5-6 8- 6 6 +6 - 8
17
17
20 22
N'on-
ques
en
moy n'ot
autre volente Ne
ja
n'a- vra
8 5-
(4)-
3 +6 5 1 3 +6 8
28
24
26 30
8
Pour
peinne que j'en- du
- -
-re
5 1 5 6
-
8 8 -6 6- 5
0(
32 34 36 38
40
Et me fus - sies cent
mille fois
plus
du
- - - - -
-re
8 6-5 6 8 5 1 3 5-6 8-10 5-6 8-6 6 +6 -8
46 MUSIC
ANALYSIS 6:1-2, 1987
LINE,
discreetly
down to a. Because of such intervallic
shadings,
a distinct cantus
pitch
focus does not
really emerge
until the second section. This
phenomenon
is
intimately
connected with
aspects
of tonal
organization
to be discussed
below.13
These observations
naturally propel
attention towards the
song
as a whole and
its
contrapunctus
structure. The
contrapunctus
framework of consonant sonor-
ities,
the idealized core of the
polyphony,
must be abstracted from the
skilfully
worked surface of the
piece.
Because the
premises guiding
realization of the
contrapunctus
condition the construct and the conclusions based on
it, they
require
brief
summary
here. Particular details of execution
may
be discovered
by comparing
Exs
1
and
4.14
1)
The
accepted
structural intervals are
unison,
fifth and octave
(the perfect
consonances), major
and minor
thirds,
and sixths
(the imperfect
consonances)."
2)
Consonance
quality
takes
precedence
over relative duration: for
example,
in
b. 10 the
g'
is chosen as the structural
pitch
even
though
the f, sounds
longer.
3)
The main consonant interval
may change during
a sustained
pitch:
for
example,
in b.2 the tenor a bears both a fifth and a third.
4)
Textual
syntax, rhythm
and
voice-leading progressions
establish the
primary phrase
modules of the
contrapunctus,
numbered
1
to 5 in Ex. 4.
5)
The chief mensural units
(in
this case breve and
semibreve)
define the
temporal grid
within which
contrapunctus relationships
are heard.
The
contrapunctus
sketch of Ex. 4 shows both textual coordination and mensural
units,
for
they
affect the relative
weight
of individual intervals and
progressions.
It also indicates some dissonances
(represented by
x's in the
cantus)
that have
motivic or linear
significance.
As was observed with the
melody
of
J'aim miex,
the
design
of the
contrapunctus
can be considered from two
separate perspectives,
those of
process
and association. The former has to do with the course of
voice-leading
and
interval
progressions,
the latter with referential connections between individual
moments or
gestures.
From the
perspective
of
process,
two
opposite
modes of
proceeding
are
evident,
one
premised
on
regularity
and standard
voice-leading
progressions,
the other free from constraints of
pattern, seemingly spontaneous
and
unsystematic.
The more ordered
approach prevails
in the
opening
section
(phrases
1
and
2),
the less
systematic
one in the second section
(phrases 3-5).
To
the extent that
process
becomes loose and
unpredictable
in the second
section,
associative links between
phrases
increase. Both the third and the fifth
phrases
make
explicit
surface references to cardinal elements in the first section and to
each other. The two facets of
design
-
process
and association
-
thus stand to
some extent in a
complementary relationship.
The
opening
is a model of
contrapuntal clarity.
Over the
large span,
the
octave contracts to a unison via fifths and thirds. Over the small
span,
series of
fifths and thirds
propel
a linear return to
perfect
consonance on
f, the initial
tenor
pitch.
The fifth-third motive comes three times
(see
brackets in Ex.
4),
always
with a characteristic
intervening
fourth. The
underlying sequence
is
easily perceptible,
even
though
surface features mask the
repetition, saving
it
MUSIC
ANALYSIS 6:1-2,
1987 47
SARAH FULLER
from too mechanical an
aspect.
The first
5-(4)-3 progression
occurs within the
span
of one
breve,
the second extends over three
breves,
while the third
unexpectedly
ends on a unison instead of the
anticipated
fifth.'6
In its
confinement to
adjacent
consonances and its
regular
successions of
imperfect
to
perfect intervals,
the
phrase
as a whole is a textbook
example
of fourteenth-
century contrapunctus teaching.
The second
phrase
also holds to standard
contrapunctus progressions,
but
concentrates on the succession sixth-to-octave instead of third-to-fifth. With the
clos
ending (phrase 2b),
it falls into two
parallel segments,
each of which starts
with a 6
--
8
progression
and
proceeds
to a C octave
through
a series of sixths
(bs 9-12, 12-15b).
With the ouvert
ending (phrase 2a),
the second
segment
becomes stranded on a sixth whose resolution
prompts
the return to
phrase 1,
complementing
the verbal
continuity
that motivates it
textually.
No such obvious
patterning
controls the third
contrapunctus phrase.
It
is,
rather,
an
amalgam
of
gestures
from the first two
phrases.
The
very opening
recalls the first
phrase,
but the
parallel
lasts
only
two breves
(17-18).
Instead of
the
previous
smooth succession of
imperfect
to
adjacent perfect intervals,
the
sixth
g'-e' (b. 19)
is left
hanging
as an
'open'
or unresolved
interval.
The overall
octave-to-unison framework of bs 17-21 also relates to the move of the first
phrase
from F octave to a
unison,
but the sense of the
gesture
is
quite
dissimilar
here. The
progression
is
compressed
within the text
line,
not
expanded
over the
full
phrase,
and the unison is not the
goal
of
contrapuntal
motion but a
point
of
departure
for the
approach, by contrary motion,
to the C octave. The final
d6
--
c8 cadence recalls the characteristic sounds of
phrase
2 in
general,
and the
clos
ending
in
particular.
Contrapuntally,
the fourth
phrase
is the most 'disordered' of the
five, just
as
it is the most
disjunct melodically.
The succession of intervals neither follows
contrapunctus
norms nor exhibits
regular
internal
patterning.
Its tentative
ending
- a neutral
progression
to a
perfect
interval - leaves the listener
suspended uncertainly
in tonal
space.'7
The fifth
phrase
restores order to some
degree, by taking up
the thread of discourse from the third
phrase.
The
contrapuntal parallelism
between its first
progression g8-a5-g6
and the
opening
of
phrase
3 is reinforced
by
melodic resemblances in both voices
(Ex. 1,
bs
31-3,
17-19).
The G unison at
b.34, although rhythmically displaced,
recalls the
medial G unison of
phrase
3. The last half of
phrase
5
expands
the reference to
phrase
2 introduced at the end of
phrase 3, closing
with the literal
quotation
of
breves 13-15b.
The
contrapunctus structure, then, suggests yet
another
design
than those
projected
in the individual voices
(Fig. Id).
The
general dynamic
is from a
controlled
exposition,
bound
by
standard
contrapunctus progressions,
to loose
combinations and recombinations of familiar
elements,
a free
commentary upon
prior
material. The referential elements are so
arranged
as to link the
beginnings
of the first, third and fifth
phrases
and the ends of the
second,
third and fifth
phrases.
In
effect,
the initial and the terminal
gestures
of the first section are
taken
up
at the
phrase
level in the second section. This
parallelism
of odd-
48 MUSIC
ANALYSIS 6:1-2,
1987
LINE,
numbered
phrases
matches the
special couplet grouping
of the text lines so that
contrapuntal
and textual
segments
are in
phase.
In
standing apart,
the fourth
phrase
intensifies the sense of return and
summary
in the refrain.
An even more schematic abstract of the
contrapuntal
structure shows how
deeply
the
parallelisms
cut
(Ex. 5).
Both first and third
phrases begin
with a
Ex. 5 Abstract of
Background
Voice
Leading
II - I I 4 5 1
V
1- 1
VI 1- 4, VI 5- 10
VIII -
stable and
tonally
static unit framed
by perfect
consonances on a fixed
pitch
(f8-5
and
g8-1 respectively).
Each closes with a directed
progression
to an
interval situated on another
pitch degree.
This
partitioning
into 'initial' and
'terminal' elements is fostered
by
the verse structure. The first and final
syllables
of the odd-numbered lines coincide with the
perfect
consonances
delimiting
the settled initial element. The four
syllables
of the
conjoined
even-
numbered lines bear the directed cadential
progression.
Metric
position
also
plays
a
contributing role,
for each of the critical intervals is situated at the
beginning
of a breve. The fifth
phrase
follows the same
trajectory,
but is
shaped
quite differently,
for its constituent
parts
are
placed
so as to avoid
any
pronounced
interior articulation. The
single
text line blocks
any sharp
break
between initial and terminal elements of the
phrase.
Neither the fifth nor the
unison on
g (candidates
for
forming
a tonal unit with the initial G
octave)
coincides with a natural verbal subdivision or with the
inception
of a mensural
unit. The first move to the C octave
(b.36)
lacks cadential
weight,
for the cantus
melisma continues
right through it,
and a
strong
dissonant
adjunct
overshadows
MUSIC
ANALYSIS
6:1-2,
1987 49
SARAH FULLER
the
upper
c'.
The
phrase
flows in one unbroken
span
from its
starting-point,
the
G
octave,
to the final cadential
descent.
Not
only
is it the
longest phrase
in actual
duration,
it also
projects
the most
spacious contrapuntal arch,
for its
opening
is
fused
directly
with the cadential
progression,
not detached from it as in
phrases
1,
2 and 3. The
contrapuntal continuity gives
force to the climactic refrain line
and also
accomplishes
a tonal
purpose, explicitly binding
the
separate pitch
nodes of the
song.
IV
The
contrapunctus
framework
is,
of
course,
more than a
string
of local interval
progressions
and the seat of harmonic associations between
phrases.
It also
embodies broad tonal
emphases
and
pitch relationships. Putting
aside the
temptation
to attribute
hegemony
to the terminal
pitch
and claim C
automatically
as the
controlling
centre of the
music,
a
triangle
of
relationships
can be seen to dominate the tonal scheme. This
triangle
consists of
F,
G and
C,
the three
pitches
favoured
consistently
with
transparent
octave sonorities.
Beyond
their consonance
degree,
the three owe their
prominence especially
to
position
- to
strategic placement
at the
beginnings
and ends of
phrases
and
sections.
They
are cornerstones
tonally
because
they
stand at critical boundaries
of
syntactic
units.
F and G assume initial functions.
They
are
points
of
departure, places
from
which motion elsewhere is initiated. Not
only
does
every phrase
but the fourth
begin
with a
prominent
F or G
octave,
but the first and third
phrases (and
to a
lesser
degree,
the
fifth)
make firm medial articulations on their
starting
tenor
pitches.
As remarked
above,
the initial
segments
of all these
phrases
are
stabilized
tonally
within an area circumscribed
by
the
opening
octave and a
subsequent perfect
consonance on the same tenor
pitch,
F or G. These stable
initial areas stand out
prominently
at the structural level reached
by
a second
reductive
sweep (see
Ex.
5).
C is alone in
fulfilling
a
significant
terminal role. It is a
point
of
arrival,
the
place
towards which the
principal contrapunctus
units move.
(The
case of
A,
its
only possible competitor,
will be considered
below.)
The two main sections
both close on
C, preparing
the arrival with their series of
imperfect
consonances.
The third
phrase
is also directed toward C and
helps
to reinforce the C closure
of the first section.
Relationships
within this
triangular partnership
are not fixed and static but
fluctuate over the course of the
song.
The initial orientation is towards
F,
the
foundation of the octave-fifth unit that
encompasses
the first text line. Within
the
context
provided by
the first set of
voice-leading progressions,
the A cadence
at breve 8 seems but a
temporary deflection,
an
unanticipated departure
from
the F focus which
provides
a
fitting analogue
to the
unexpectedly
drastic future
foreseen
by
the
suffering
lover.'" Whatever its affective
qualities,
the
a, joined
by
a
bright
cantus
f# ',
also
sparks
a new orientation towards G.19 This, however,
50 MUSIC ANALYSIS 6:1-2,
1987
LINE,
is short-lived - a
suggestion
rather than an achieved
goal
- for the G octave is
blurred
by
a
prominent seventh,
and the tenor moves
promptly
to a new
pitch
area.
By
the time the tenor
g
is
regained,
at the end of
phrase 2a,
it is linked with
an unstable
major
sixth that inclines back to the initial
point
of
orientation,
the
F octave. The cadence of b. 14a is ouvert not
just
in
resting
elsewhere than on the
ultimate
point
of
repose, but,
even more
pointedly,
in its active
tendency
towards resolution. In
preparing
a return to the F octave it
strengthens
F as an
aural reference
point
and
relegates
G to a
secondary plane.
The first effective
challenge
to the status of F comes in
phrase 2b,
where the
previous
weak medial
gestures
toward C
(bs 10-12) develop
into a definite cadential move to a stable
C octave.20 The
F,
instead of
being granted
terminal as well as initial
position,
launches a directed descent
by
sixths to C.
The balance of forces is otherwise in the second section. G
definitely
assumes
the initial
position,
C the terminal one in its two
principal phrases (3
and
5).
F
recedes from the forefront of action. In
phrase
4 the F intervals
engage
in no
very pointed progressions,
while in
phrase
5 a medial F octave
again
heads a
descent to
C.
The
overall
scheme of
relationships
can be seen in
Fig.
2. The two
main sections of the
piece
constitute one axis of the F-G-C
triangle, bisecting
it
symmetrically;
the
dichotomy
of initial and
closing positions (or functions)
makes another
axis, bisecting
the
triangle asymmetrically.
The two sections of the
song
are not be
regarded
as
belonging
to
separate
tonal
spheres,
even
though
different
pitches
hold the initial
position
in each. For one
thing,
both sections share the same final
point
of closure. For
another,
each
explicitly acknowledges
the
pitch
with initial status in the other. As
already
observed,
an obvious feint towards G occurs between the initial F and the
terminal C of the first section. In the second
section,
the F octave surfaces in
phrase
4 and
again
in
phrase
5 where it links the G and C octaves. In each
section, then,
the
opening
referential
pitch
of the other receives some medial
exposure (recorded
within
parentheses
in
Fig. 2). Relationships among F,
G
and C
shift,
but the
group
is intact in both sections.
In addition to these
general parallels, specific
tonal details bind the two
sections of the
song together.
The unusual A closure of
phrase 4,
for
example,
relates back to the
singular
A cadence of
phrases
la and lb. Once
again,
although
less
spectacularly,
a close on A
precedes
a move to the G octave. Phrase
4,
which stands
apart
in the
general
associative scheme
(see
Ex.
5),
would seem
to
perform
two not
insignificant
functions. One is to recall a
special
detail from
the first half of the
song,
the 'odd' A cadence of breve 8. The other is to create
an area of tonal contrast before the refrain where the final
disposition
of
primary
pitch relationships
finds its decisive formulation. The tentative
quality
of the A
ending
-
a neutral octave-fifth
progression
mediated
by
a
hanging
sixth
-
is an
effective foil to the
goal-directed
character of
phrase
5.
By repeating
the A
gesture immediately
within the context of the G octave and fifth
(bs 31-4),
Machaut
formally
absorbs it within the
contrapuntal
framework.
Another
significant
detail common to both sections
ofJ'aim
miex is the
g-e'
sixth. This
sonority
first comes to the fore at the ouvert
ending,
where it
MUSIC ANALYSIS
6:1-2,
1987 51
SARAH FULLER
Fig.
2 Tonal Scheme
Initial Final
Position Position
FI
(G)
First Section
+Second Section - - - C-
Second Section
G
functions to reinstate the F orientation
and, concomitantly,
to
deny
the turn
towards G initiated at the
beginning
of
phrase
2a.
Subsequent striking
recurrences revive the
memory
of an unstable G. A first
telling
reference is at
b.
19,
where an obvious
disjunction
in voice
leading
leaves the
g-e' openly
suspended (Ex. 4, phrase 3).
The sixth is all the more
exposed
as it occurs
just
when the
parallelism
with
phrase
1
breaks off
(bs 1-2/17-18).
The
g-e' sonority
persists
in
phrase 4,
still without
being satisfactorily
resolved. Not
only
is it
separated
from its natural
goal,
the F
octave, by
a G octave
(b.26),
but the
e'
sticks in the cantus voice and in fact becomes the main structural
pitch
in that
voice
(Ex. 6).
First the sixth over
g,
then the seventh of
f,
the el
finally
finds a
stable context as the fifth over a. The two
secondary
details of the
pitch
52 MUSIC ANALYSIS
6:1-2,
1987
LINE,
Ex. 6
Contrapunctus,
bs 24-9
b. 19)
-
g 5 5 6
8
8(7) 6 5
structure,
the unstable
g-e'
and the terminal
a,
are
clearly brought together
at
the end of the
phrase.
The final
phrase
deals with the
g-e'
in two
ways.
It leads the e' down to
d',
in
emulation of the
preceding
6-5
progression
over a
(Ex. 7),
and it allows the sixth
to
proceed directly
to its 'natural' resolution
(bs 37-8).
Neither of these voice
leadings necessarily
constitutes the definitive resolution of the issue. Both
together
contribute to the
perception
that the
g-e'
has been taken care of
contrapuntally.21
In
retrospect,
it is as
though
the ouvert
ending
continued to
play
a role
beyond
its local context.
Ex.
7
Contrapunctus,
bs 28-34
6- 5 8 6- 5 6- 5
L~
L
L.
L
V
The tonal
design
of
J'aim
miex
exhibits a remarkable
degree
of
integration
and
coherence both on the surface and at inner structural levels. Rather than
exhibiting
the characteristics of a
tonic-centred,
or even a
tonic-directed,
system,
it
presents
a
carefully adjusted
web of
primary
and
secondary
relationships among
the
pitches
and intervals.22 The main functions are defined
by
initial and terminal
positions
in
phrases
and sections.
Changes
in
position,
reinforced
by adjustments
in the force of
contrapunctus progressions, permit
fluid shifts in balance
among
the chief referential
pitches.
Motion from one area
of orientation to another where closure occurs
appears
to be a central
generative
premise.
Details of voice
leading,
line and
rhythm
are so constituted that final
closure is reserved to the last
phrase
where various threads cast forth
previously
are
finally
woven
together.
MUSIC
ANALYSIS
6:1-2,
1987 53
SARAH FULLER
Even
though
it is
possible
to abstract a central tonal core
(Fig. 2),
there is no
reason to believe that this core was an a
priori generative
element. The manner
in which the whole scheme of
pitch
and intervallic relations unfolds over the
course of the
song speaks
more for an intuitive
process,
a contextual
development
of associations and connections. This
position
finds some
degree
of
support
in the lack of similar structures in other Machaut
songs
that have
been discussed in
print.
The first section
ofJe
ne cuit
pas (Ballade 14),
anchored
on one interval
(not, incidentally,
the final
resting-point
of the
song), proposes
but a
single pitch
axis.23
The rondeau Rose
lis
(No. 10)
has been said to be
founded on 'a
sequence
of octave intervals . . .
descending through
the
hexachord towards the
final'.24 Casting
further
afield,
De
desconfort,
the ballade
copied adjacent
to
J'aim
miex in the
principal
Machaut
manuscripts,
shares
many
surface features with
it,
but does not
possess
a
comparable
tonal
core;25 it
is far looser in
pitch
structure and voice
leading
than its
companion.
Dame ne
regardes pas (Ballade 9)
comes closer in
concept
with its confrontation of
a-e1
(the
true axis for most of the
piece)
with
g-d' (which
accumulates the main terminal
positions).
But these are
simply examples
culled at random. Much more
comprehensive investigation
of tonal structures in Machaut
songs
is
necessary
before
any
solid
judgment
on his
practice
can be made and
any
clear sense of its
systematic
or
non-systematic
character obtained. It is
very possible
that further
study
will show
J'aim
miex to be not a model of Machaut's habitual
practice
but
an individual
example
of one manner in which he
shapes
a
piece tonally.
To a
mind attracted to coherence and
unity
as artistic
values,
it
may
seem
especially
successful in
realization,
but it does not
necessarily represent
a chosen
path
for
Machaut.
Just
as
striking
as the intricate
interplay
of
pitch relationships
and flexible
tonal orientation is the
complexity
of
groupings
and associations within the
short
span
of
J'aim
miex. The individual
lines,
the
contrapunctus
framework and
the tonal network all
produce perceptible patterns
of association or
process,
but
these
patterns
do not
converge
to form a
one-dimensional, sharply-stamped
image
of the
piece.
For
example,
both melodic
process
and tonal action concur
in
placing
the refrain
phrase apart
and
conferring
an
important
role of
synthesis
upon it,
but the one locates the
preceding phrase (the setting
of
syllables
5-10 of
line
VI)
within an established
pattern,
while the other sets it
apart
as an area of
contrast
(compare Figs la, Id).
More associative
ways
of
hearing
which
give
priority
to motivic
relationships
and formal
parallelisms group
the refrain with
other
phrases (Figs lb, Ic)
or
emphasize
its
kinship
with
prior syntactic
units
(Fig. Id).
Other elements
pointed
out above
(shifts
in tonal
orientation,
voice-
leading processes etc.) suggest differently
shaded
conceptions
of the work. One
could choose a
single
facet - basic tonal
scheme,
for instance - to
represent
the
structure of
J'aim
miex,
but to do so would be to conceal an
intriguing quality
of the
song,
the intersection of
multiple planes
of action within the whole.
Rather than
assuming
a neat
single-track
sort of structure,
it
might
be
preferable
to admit the
possibility
of a
messy,
multi-faceted structure,
a sort of cubist
construct with
intersecting planes
of
reference, association, process.
Some
54 MUSIC
ANALYSIS 6:1-2,
1987
LINE,
planes
are doubtless more
prominent
than
others,
but all would be
accepted
as
components
of that elusive inner
core,
the musical structure.
This,
at
any rate,
is what I would like to
argue
for
J'aim
miex: that its
structure,
as embodied in concrete
properties
of
lines, contrapunctus,
voice-
leading progressions
and tonal
orientations,
is a
complex
of
intersecting planes
that do not
naturally align
themselves
hierarchically
to form a one-track linear
core. The
metaphor
of
planes
is an
attempt
to communicate the
multiplicity
of
levels and
temporal spans
on which
significant relationships operate.
Whether
or not one wishes to subscribe to such a
position,
the level of technical control
and artistic skill exhibited in
J'aim
miex remains undiminished. The
design
of
the individual
voices,
the
integrity
of the
contrapunctus,
the coherence of tonal
relationships,
the closed web of internal references - all
testify
to a
highly
accomplished compositional technique
which can be
comfortably accepted
as
yet
another
link
in the tradition of
complex,
well-reasoned Western
polyphony.
Yet in the wider
context,
one
may
well ask whether such rational and cultivated
musical discourse is a
pervasive aesthetic,
or whether it is
only
on occasion or
with
increasing maturity
that the various elements of Machaut's craft coalesce
into so
convincing
a whole.26
In
presenting
this
analysis
of
J'aim
miex I do not
claim that the
song represents
a norm of
practice,
but rather
propose
it as a
marker to
guide
future efforts towards
tracing
the
configurations
of Machaut's
musical art.
NOTES
1. 'reflektierende Bewusstheit': Die
mehrstimmigen Balladen,
Rondeaux und Virelais
von Guillaume de
Machaut, Muinchener Ver6ffentlichungen
zur
Musikgeschichte,
Vol.
16, 1970, p.85.
D6mling's
monograph
is a
pioneering
work. Other notable
contributions to the
study
of Machaut's
compositional technique
are Wulf
Arlt,
'Aspekte
der
Chronologie
und des Stilwandels im franz6sischen Lied des 14.
Jahr-
hunderts',
Forum
Musicologicum,
Vol.
3,
ed. Hans Oesch and Wulf
Arlt, 1982,
pp.193-280, especially
Parts 3 and
4;
and Daniel
Leech-Wilkinson,
'Machaut's
Rose,
Lis and the Problem of
Early
Music
Analysis',
Music
Analysis,
Vol.
3, 1984,
pp.9-28.
2. See
Arlt, 'Aspekte
der
Chronologie', p.228.
3. This ballade is
early, being among
the works transmitted in the first
part
of the
manuscript Bibliothbque Nationale,
fonds
franqais
1586
(commonly
cited as
C),
which
represents
the state of Machaut's oeuvre around 1350. But if Machaut was
born c.
1300,
as is
usually supposed,
this still leaves a
period
of some
thirty years
during
which the
song might
have been
composed.
On the
dating
of f.fr. 1586 see
F.
Avril,
'Les Manuscrits enlumin s de Guillaume de
Machaut',
Guillaume de
Machaut,
Actes et
Colloques,
Vol.
23, 1982, pp.117-24,
and Ursula
Giinther,
'Contribution de la
musicologie
a la
biographie
et A la
chronologie
de Guillaume de
Machaut', ibid., pp.
101-6.
4. On the evidence for
claiming
a
pre-existent text,
see Sarah
Jane Williams,
'Vocal
MUSIC
ANALYSIS 6:1-2,
1987 55
SARAH FULLER
Scoring
in the Chansons of
Machaut', Journal of
the American
Musicological Society,
Vol.
21, 1968, p.256.
5. For an
example
of the first
situation,
see
Esperance qui
m'assure
(Ballade 13),
breve
4,
where text sense
bridges
a musical articulation
(shown by
a dotted line in
the
incipit).
For an
example
of the
second,
see
Arlt, 'Aspekte
der
Chronologie',
pp.234-5.
6. This is normal in Machaut's ballades: see
Arlt, 'Aspekte
der
Chronologie',
pp.235-6,
and
D6mling,
'Aspekte
der
Sprachvertonung
in den Balladen Guillaume
de
Machauts',
Die
Musikforschung,
Vol.
25, 1972, pp.301-7.
7. The version
presented
in Ex. 1 is edited on the basis of MSS. B.N. f.fr. 1586
(C),
f.
160v,
and f.fr. 1584
(A),
f. 457. It differs in some details from the standard
edition of Leo Schrade
(PMFC,
Vol.
3), particularly
in text
underlay
and in
including
the
pause
before the refrain line. Parentheses enclose accidentals that
could
carry through
the line. Both
manuscripts provide
blank staves for a
triplum,
but no a3 version is known from
any
source.
8. Machaut's
songs were,
of
course,
notated in
separate parts,
which are
copied
adjacently
in the sources.
9. On
contrapunctus,
see
Klaus-Jilrgen Sachs,
Der
Contrapunctus
im 14. und 15.
Jahr-
hundert,
Beihefte zum Archiv
fiir
Musikwissenschaft,
Vol.
13,
1974.
I
discuss
problems
of
relationship
between
contrapunctus teaching
and
composed
music in
'On
Sonority
in
14th-Century Polyphony', Journal of
Music
Theory,
Vol.
30,
No.
1, 1986, pp.39-40.
10. In
starting voice-by-voice
I do not mean to
suggest
a successive mode of
composition, although
the successive/simultaneous
dichotomy
is often raised in
conjunction
with this
repertory (Arlt, 'Aspekte
der
Chronologie', pp.253-61,
and
Leech-Wilkinson,
'Machaut's
Rose, Lis', nn. 6, 9, pp.24-5).
The
procedure
is
simply
a device for
homing
in on differences in
analytical judgments
which result
from the stance
adopted by
the observer.
11. Note that on a
large
scale this
convergence
reflects that of
phrase
2a.
12.
I
proceed
as
though
at this
stage
the fourth was considered in
contrapunctus
circles
to be a dissonance.
However,
it should be noted that the earliest
documentary
evidence,
from Petrus of Amiens
(Petrus
dictus
palma ociosa),
dates from 1336
(Richard
L.
Crocker, 'Discant, Counterpoint
and
Harmony', Journal of
the
American
Musicological Society,
Vol.
15, 1962, p.7).
Treatises outside the contra-
punctus sphere express
a
range
of
opinions. Writing
in the
1350s,
Nicholas of
Oresme cites the fourth
along
with the fifth and the octave as
representative
of
symphonic
or consonant
proportion (Nicole
Oresme and the Medieval
Geometry of
Qualities
and
Motions,
ed. Marshall
Clagett (Madison: University
of Wisconsin
Press, 1968), pp.312-13). Johannes
Boen
(Musica, 1357) places
the fourth
among
the consonances
per accidens,
those
granted
consonant status
only
when sounded
with an
independent
consonance
(consonantia per se).
His conditions are met
only
in
textures of three or more voices
(W. Frobenius, Johannes
Boens Musica und seine
Konsonanzenlehre, Freiburger
Schriften zur
Musikwissenschaft,
Vol.
2, 1971,
pp.74-6).
13. Leech-Wilkinson notes cases of tension between line and
contrapunctus
functions in
56 MUSIC ANALYSIS
6:1-2,
1987
LINE,
the
four-part
rondeau
Rose,
Lis
('Machaut's Rose, Lis', pp. 19-20).
14.
I
consider the
contrapunctus
to be a first level of structure which lies
just
below the
surface of the
piece
and is to a considerable
degree, especially
in
retaining
a
mensural
dimension,
still
closely
connected with that surface. Further reduction
levels become
increasingly
abstract and artificial
(though by
no means
uninformative)
as
they depart
from the
contrapunctus (e.g.
Ex.
5).
Retention of the
Latin term is intended to
prevent
confusion between levels and
emphasize
the
concreteness of the
contrapunctus
reduction. For
background
to the
premises
articulated
here,
see
Sachs,
Der
Contrapunctus, especially pp.24-74,
and
my
article
'On
Sonority
in
14th-Century Polyphony', pp.35-63.
15.
Just
when the minor sixth was
formally
invested with consonant status cannot be
determined.
Using
Petrus of Amiens
(for
whom it is still
non-consonant)
as a
reference
point,
Crocker
suggests
c. 1350
('Discant, Counterpoint
and
Harmony',
p.7).
Because in actual
usage
it seems to function as a consonance
early
in the ars
nova
(especially
in
parallel
series of
sixths),
I admit it to the
contrapunctus
reductions.
16. Should the b at breve 7 be
sung
as b-rotundum
(i.e. flattened)
to
produce
the
preferred progression
minor third-to-unison? Petrus of Amiens would
encourage
such an inflection
(Johannes Wolf, 'Ein
Beitrag
zur Diskantlehre des 14.
Jahr-
hunderts',
Sammelbande der Internationalen
Musikgesellschaft,
Vol.
15, 1913-14,
pp.509, 513-14),
but the Machaut
manuscripts
offer no concrete
supporting
evidence for it. The case would seem to admit of two
possible solutions,
and
executants must choose between two
quite
dissimilar aural effects.
17. In
my definition,
a neutral
progression
is one in which the first
sonority
has no
particular
inclination
(produced by imperfect intervals)
to move towards the
second. Its
opposite
is a directed
progression
in which a
sonority prepares
and
proceeds
to its natural resolution. For more on the
subject,
see
my
article 'On
Sonority
in
14th-Century Polyphony', pp.50-5.
18. A textual connection is not
unlikely
in the context of recent
investigations
of
text/
music
relationships
in this
repertory:
see
D6mling,
'Aspekte
der
Sprachvertonung
in den Balladen Guillaume de
Machauts',
and
Arlt,
'Musik und
Text',
Die
Musikforschung,
Vol.
37, 1984, pp.272-80.
19. In the first
couplet,
this reorientation coincides
with,
and
underscores,
a
significant
textual turn
away
from the
speaker
himself to a
personified
external force.
20. The earlier
approach (b. 11)
is weakened
by prominent
sevenths which cloud the
parallel
sixth
progression
to the octave.
Although contrapunctus pedagogy
views
dissonance as inessential and
merely decorative,
Machaut seems not
infrequently
to
employ
dissonance
functionally (see Leech-Wilkinson,
'Machaut's
Rose, Lis',
pp.18-19,
and
my
'On
Sonority
in
14th-Century Polyphony', pp.42, 55).
21.
By
this
remark,
I mean to dissociate
myself
from a
position according
to which one
of these moments would have to serve as 'the' structural voice
leading.
The abstract
resolution of the
g-el
is not
necessarily
to be attached to
only
one concrete detail of
the
piece.
22. Nor is the
song modally
controlled. I take issue with the
position
that mode was a
pre-compositional
factor for
Machaut,
a
position argued by
Richard H.
Hoppin
MUSIC ANALYSIS
6:1-2,
1987
57
SARAH FULLER
('Tonal Organization
in Music Before the
Renaissance',
PaulA. Pisk:
Essays
in His
Honor,
ed.
John
Glowacki
[Austin: University
of
Texas, 1966], pp.25-37)
and
by
Gilbert
Reaney ('Modes
in the Fourteenth
Century', Organicae
voces:
Festschrift
Joseph
Smits
Van
Waesberghe [1963], pp.137-43;
'La
Tonalit6
des Ballades et des
Rondeaux de Guillaume de
Machaut',
Guillaume de
Machaut,
Actes et
Colloques,
Vol.
23, 1982, pp.295-300.
23.
Arlt, 'Aspekte
der
Chronologie', pp.231-2.
24.
Leech-Wilkinson,
'Machaut's
Rose, Lis', p.23. Rose,
Lis is a
four-part song,
but the
comment
applies
to an essential two-voice reduction.
Although
it is
possible
to
construct an octave descent in
J'aim miex,
I do not think it central to the
piece
in
terms of voice
leading
or of tonal relations.
25. The similar features include a decided break between the first and second
phrases
accompanied by
a fresh tonal
orientation,
a 6-5 interval
progression
over a held
tenor
pitch just
before the
refrain, and,
on breve
8,
the f'-e'-f'-d' motive that serves
as a cadential marker in
J'aim
miex.
26. Other Machaut
songs display
similar
compositional procedures (see
the studies
cited in n.1
above),
but the
density
of
organisation
seems
especially
marked
in
J'aim
miex.
58
MUSIC
ANALYSIS 6:1-2,
1987

Machaut Estructura y Contrapunto

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Line, 'Contrapunctus' and Structure in a Machaut Song

Author(s): Sarah Fuller

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