Kristin Fehlauer

Music 250 - Project II

for Lassus examples: Psalms I-III mcd 100, disc 1

Psalms IV-VII mcd 100, disc 2

for Clemens examples: mcd 244

How do composers decide how to set a group of words? What do they choose to accent and what is relegated to the background? How do they create a desired effect? Examining pieces such as Jacobus Clemens non papa's motet Pastores quidnam vidistes and Orlande de Lassus' Penitential Psalms, and seeing the choices the composers make, leads to conclusions about their concerns and priorities. Clemens and Lassus use nearly the same musical techniques, but for different purposes.

A brief aside on the problem of text underlay: the reader will notice that the Pastores score and the recording are not always in synch. If an argument is made about the setting of a particular word, the question of whether Clemens intended those notes specifically for that word needs to be asked. The examples in this paper are generally large-scale enough that minor differences of syllable placement do not affect the conclusions, but this is something to be remembered at the syllablic level.

Cadences are noticeable pauses in the musical flow. They sometimes serve merely as markers of syntactic divisions, or of arbitrary divisions the composer has made to segment the text into more manageable units. In the sixteenth century, cadences needed to be placed where it was syntactically appropriate. However, the composer had some liberty as to the type of cadence and where it would be placed. The choice of where the divisions are placed can be revealing. The only noteworthy cadence in the Clemens motet is between the opening phrase "Pastores quidnam vidistis, annunciate nobis in terris?" and "Natum vidimus..." There is a definite break between the first section and the rest of the motet. Clemens' decision was not arbitrary, but instead obeys the dramatic shift in the text. The first sentence is a question: "Shepherds, what on the earth have you seen?" The speaker changes as the next verse follows, answering the former: "We have seen the new-born Son..." Clemens could have chosen a shift in texture or register to illustrate the entrance of the new speaker, but instead uses a cadence to mark the break.

There are few comparable shifts in the Penitential Psalms. Most keep the same speaker throughout. For the few that do introduce new speakers, Lassus does not highlight the dramatic change. He uses cadences, but he uses them to highlight words with negative meaning. According to Bergquist, a cadence on mi (i.e., a Phrygian cadence) in a mode other than 3 or 4, can be interpreted as having negative connotations. Psalm II, verse 1 has a Phrygian cadence on the word "iniquitates" ("sins"), amplifying the negative aspects of the word. Sixteenth century practice also imposed rules about what tones it was appropriate to cadence on in a given mode. It was acceptable to cadence on an irregular tone only if to express a negative meaning in the text. In Psalm II, verse 2, Lassus uses an irregular cadence on the word "peccata" ("sin") to express the idea of evil.

Despite the fact that Clemens and Lassus belonged to the same musical generation, their attitudes about music in general were very different. Clemens was rather conservative in his tastes, showing preferences for old-fashioned methods such as imitative counterpoint and extended melodies. Clemens' taste is evident in his Pastores motet. He extends and maintains two word phrases for long periods of time: "natum vidistis" lasts for 20 measures and "bonae voluntatis" for 25 measures. Except for the middle, where the choir of angels is singing, the music unfolds in a nearly seamless wave of counterpoint. It creates the perfect backdrop for the dramatic action of the celestial choir. Against the placid scenery of the shepherds' story, the sudden "Glory to God in the highest" is a textural contrast that recalls the actual event of the angels' appearance.

In contrast, Lassus often used dated or outmoded techniques to emphasize words meaning "old" or "of the past", or even negative ideas. He applied fauxbourdon to the words "a tribulatione" ("from the trouble") in Psalm II, verse 9, and to the phrase "memor fui dierum antiquorum" ("I remember days of old") in Psalm VII, verse 5. Even to modern ears this sounds rather stilted and unsettling, and for listeners who could recognize the technique as old-fashioned the meaning should have been still clearer.

Time, it is said, is nature's way of making sure everything doesn't happen at once. Rhythm plays an equally important role in a musical work, making sure the intervals coincide and harmonies unfold in a precise sequence. In music with text, rhythm also helps to clarify the words being sung. Rhythm's role is not merely functional; it can be used in an expressive sense as well. Clemens' motet reflects both of these usages. For the phrase "Gloria in altissimis Deo", he uses a simple declamatory rhythm that mimics the pattern of the word "Gloria" as it is spoken. Not only is the stress on the first syllable natural and recognizable (and therefore plainly understood by its listeners), but it allows for a strong musical entrance, heightening the drama of the moment. Clemens uses rhythm in a more expressive sense earlier in the motet on the word "vidimus". In this instance the rhythm is not directly illustrative, but is used merely as a decorating tool which designates the word "vidimus" as important.

Rhythms in Lassus' Penitential Psalms play a markedly expressive role, musically communicating the ideas behind certain words. In Psalm I, verse 10, the ensemble sings, "..convertantur et erubescant valde velociter" (let them be swiftly thrown into utter confusion). He places small note values on the words to express the idea of speed. Another example occurs in Psalm III, verse 7, where the word "illusionibus" is treated with homorhythms and syncopation. The sudden shift from smooth polyphony to this choppy, repetitive four-bar section creates a feeling of unreality, of strangeness, and communicates the feel of the word meaning "illusions".

Spatial relations offer the most direct way to express a text through music. Perhaps it is because it is the easiest and clearest method that this is where Clemens and Lassus are most similar. The most obvious use of spatial relations is when tones ascend to express ideas associated with climbing or height, and vice versa. Clemens illustrates the declaration of the angels by stretching the voices to the upper part of the register to convey the word "altissimis". There is a clear connection between the meaning of the word and the musical idiom that supports it. The voices come back down on the words "in terra" as the imagery moves out of the heavens and back to earth. Lassus employs the same technique in Psalm V, verse 20. The text reads: "Quia prospexit de excelso sancto suo: Dominus de caelo in terram aspexit" ("Because he looked forth from his high holy place: the Lord looked down on earth from heaven"). To express the feeling of height in the words "de excelso suo" and "de caelo", Lassus pushes the voices to a higher register, achieving the highest note in that motet.

Composers have roughly the same tools at their disposal. How they use those tools can reveal their strengths and weaknesses, their likes and dislikes, and their priorities. Clemens had a liking for long stretches of counterpoint. The departure from this personal norm in the middle of the motet says that he felt that the drama of the text was worth expressing. His text is practically devoid of explicitly stated visual imagery; even had he wanted to, it would have been difficult to depict shepherds, peace, and good will in a musical fashion. He chooses instead to re-create the action of the narrative, highlighting the dramatic elements and communicating the essence of the story. Lassus is much more concerned with the specific images, emphasizing short phrases or singular words rather than overall sensation. He sets forth a relatively normal (albeit lovely) musical background which is occasionally interrupted by illustrative techniques. Each psalm is less a cohesive whole than a collection of images and "regular" music. Each psalm is less a cohesive whole than a collection of images and "regular" music. In comparison, the Clemens motet has a temporal progression; a beginning, middle and an end. To be fair, most of these differences are due to the respective nature and length of the different texts. Lassus had far more text to work through, and the Psalms are more meditations than narratives. Yet it is interesting to note that composers can use the same methods and tools for completely different ends.

interesting moment in Psalm II, verse 2; m. 18-24; possible deceptive ("evaded") cadence?