Jacques Arcadelt (1507-1568) - Ave Maria

The title of this piece means 'Hail Mary', a common title for a Sacred piece. Therefore we know that the piece is probably sacred without even looking at the actual music. However when looking more in detail at the music and text, this sacredness becomes more clear.

However, looking at the piece we can see a number of characteristics that show that it is sacred and was therefore probably sung in a mass, for example the text referring to 'Holy Mary', and Jesus and 'ora'- begging to the 'Sancta Maria'. Also 'Dominus Tecum', the Lord is with you. Finally at the end there is an 'Amen'.

In terms of the music, there are also things that show that the piece is Sacred. For example the use of three. The words 'ora, ora pro nobis, Sancta Maria' are repeated three times in a row. Also for words like Dominus, Ave Maria, Benedicta, (Master, Hail Mary and Blessed)- the most holy words in the music, there is a crotchet rest at the beginning of the bar , so that the word is sung as a triple meter bar (three crotchets), again the use of three. We know that people in early times thought that the number three was an appropriate way to show holiness because it represents the Holy Trinity. The end of the piece has an Amen. This is representative of prayers, where you say Amen at the end. Again, this shows that the piece is sacred. Also the word Amen is sung as a Plagal Cadence (V, IV), which is the very typical cadence used specifically for the word Amen. 

There is word painting in the piece as well which is typical of the period and especially for sacred music, for example often with the word Sancta, the melody rises, symbolising rising up to heaven/ God. On the word Jesus, there is a dotted minim with a pause, so that a lot of emphasis is put on the word, to make people be fully aware of it. 

Machaut Essay- Messe de Notre Dame

"Analyse and discuss what you hear in this extract in terms of the musical elements."

This piece was written in the Medieval period, probably before about 1365, which means that there are a number of elements in it that are common to the period. It is also a 'Kyrie'- sacred piece, and a movement from a mass. Because of these things, the piece is written in a specific way.

The meter of the piece is triple, because it represents the Holy Trinity. There are also three main sections in the piece, 'Kyrie', 'Christe' and another 'Kyrie'. These three sections are each repeated three times. These uses of Three all represent the Holy Trinity. The fact that the piece is sacred is the reason for these references to the Holy Trinity. People thought that this idea of three was 'perfect' and beautiful because of it represented the Holy Trinity.

There is a Cantus Firmus taken from the plainchant melody, "Kyrie Cunctipotens Genitor". It can be found in the Tenor part. Tenor means 'hold' in Latin, which is why it is used as the Cantus Firmus part. In this part there is a four-note Talea, with a dotted semibreve, a minim, a semibreve and another dotted semibreve, (however these rhythms would not have been written into the original score) This is called Isorhythm.

There are other parts of the piece which indicate that it was written in the Medieval period, for example in Bars 6 and 7, there is what is known as a DLT (double leading tone) cadence, ending in open fifths. These fifths are very typical of Medieval music. More open fifths can be found in bars 15, 21, 27, 32 and throughout the piece. The use of the modal tonality also indicates the Medieval period (The piece is in Dorian mode). Each section begins and ends with a perfect cadence, that is stable. 

The different parts have different roles in the piece. The Tenor and Contra tenor provide the upper voices with harmonies. The upper voices move quicker, with note lengths like crotchets and quavers, which the other two parts do not have. 

There are other musical features that do not necessarily indicate the Medieval period, like how there are many thirds and sixths used to give a sense of forward motion in the piece. These, however, always resolve to perfect chords in order to maintain the feeling of the mode. The text setting is very melismatic, and the voices move in small intervals (the widest interval being a fifth). In the 'Christe', both the Tenor and Contra tenor parts are isorhythmic and there is the use of 'hocketing' also.