What are the characteristics of a motet?
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. The practice of discant over a cantus firmus marked the beginnings of counterpoint in Western music.
What is the difference between motet and madrigal?
Madrigals were usually love songs. Motet A motet is a polyphonic work with four or five voice parts singing one religious text. They are similar to madrigals, but with an important difference: motets are religious works, while madrigals are usually love songs.
Who created the motet?
From its roots in the Notre Dame church and initial innovations made by Guillaume de Machaut in the late Medieval period, the motet was perfected by great Renaissance composers Josquin des Prez and, later, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.
Why is a motet named?
In the early twentieth century, it was generally believed the name came from the Latin movere, (“to move”), though a derivation from the French mot (“word” or “phrase”), had also been suggested. The Medieval Latin for “motet” is motectum, and the Italian mottetto was also used.
What is a melismatic melody?
Melisma (Greek: μέλισμα, melisma, song, air, melody; from μέλος, melos, song, melody, plural: melismata) is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. An informal term for melisma is a vocal run.
What genre did the motet come from?
In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from the high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music.
Is a motet sacred or secular?
motet, (French mot: “word”), style of vocal composition that has undergone numerous transformations through many centuries. Typically, it is a Latin religious choral composition, yet it can be a secular composition or a work for soloist(s) and instrumental accompaniment, in any language, with or without a choir.
What type of singing is recitative?
Recitative, style of monody (accompanied solo song) that emphasizes and indeed imitates the rhythms and accents of spoken language, rather than melody or musical motives. Modeled on oratory, recitative developed in the late 1500s in opposition to the polyphonic, or many-voiced, style of 16th-century choral music.
Where does motet belong?
Handel’s motets belong to his Italian period and are simply Latin cantatas of various kinds, with instrumental accompaniment. The later meanings attached to the word are quite indefinite, and have no common idea, except that the motet is nowadays the shortest kind of sacred choral music.
What is the difference between an anthem and a motet?
An anthem is a piece of music written for a choir to sing at an Anglican church service. The difference between an anthem and a motet is that an anthem is sung in English. Also most anthems are accompanied by an organ. Church composers were told to write music in English.
What is a organum in music?
organum, plural Organa, originally, any musical instrument (later in particular an organ); the term attained its lasting sense, however, during the Middle Ages in reference to a polyphonic (many-voiced) setting, in certain specific styles, of Gregorian chant.
How do you define melismatic?
(mə-lĭz′mə) pl. me·lis·ma·ta (-mə-tə) or me·lis·mas. A passage of multiple notes sung to one syllable of text, as in Gregorian chant. [Greek, melody, from melizein, to sing, from melos, song.]
What is the difference between a motet and a cantata?
Websters says that “motet” is usually involved with sacred text whereas a “cantata” can be a choral composition for sacred or secular text.
Does a motet have instrument accompaniment?
Motet, (French mot: “word”), style of vocal composition that has undergone numerous transformations through many centuries. Typically, it is a Latin religious choral composition, yet it can be a secular composition or a work for soloist (s) and instrumental accompaniment, in any language, with or without a choir.
Is a motet strictly polyphonic?
In Western classical music, a motet is a mainly vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from the high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music.
How is Madrigal and a motet the same?
Both the madrigal and the motet are polyphonic forms of music meaning they both often contain complex textures created by each voice singing separate melodies at the same time. Polyphony as a musical style if you like, flourished during the Renaissance and Baroque musical periods, and these vocal forms, in particular, appealed to many composers of the day.