Ars Nova/ Trecento/ Ars Subtilior Thursday Listening

Belle, Bonne, Sage

This is in a 3-4 feel for sure, and the division of the beat was duple.
This piece is loaded with double leading tone cadences. This secular music is a duet of a high voice and low voice, to be expected, as well as a droning string that crosses voices with the low voice. Looking at the meaning behind the piece in the translation, it seems to be a serenade about a serenade. Because this piece is secular, in combo with the fact that the pope was in France at the time, and not in Italy, where the Ars Subtilior was being made, the division of the beat does not surprise me to be duple, because they were moving away from the sacred 'perfect' divisions.

Che Cosa E Quest Amor (Ballata)

This piece starts with an instrumental section. I hear strings predominantly, but with what sounds to be a recorder-type instrument carrying the high voice. The solo high soprano voice enters after the introduction. I hear a mixture of duple and perfect divisions in her melismas, but overall, the division is duple. There are apparent leading tone cadences, and the instruments frequently have a hocket. This Landini piece certainly has big Landini cadences throughout.

Douce pleysence/ Garison selon nature (motet)

This piece actually sounds a little more like Ars Nova, honestly. It is three voices, a capella, and is a clear perfect division. Looking at the lyrics, however we know that it is secular. I think that I heard some hocket at the beginning.

Ma fin est mon commencement (rondeau) - My end is my beginning

This sound is so much more full than some other pieces. The harmony seems much more tonal and powerful than others. There are still only three voices, but it sounds as if there is more. This is definately a good example of jumping back and forth between perfect and duple divisions. The hocket is so subtle in this piece that you wouldn't be able to hear it if the singers weren't taking such tremendous breaths. and HA I KNEW IT! These artists are clever... 'My beginning is my end' is word painting to match the music coming back to the end. Someone mentioned that there might be some retrograde. I didn't necessarily hear that, but the music definately returns to where it started... which makes sense for a rondeau.