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Words and music in Machaut's Motet 9 - August 2003

Margaret Bent's 'Words and music in Machaut's Motet 9' is one of a collection of articles in the August 2003 issue of Early Music in memory of Philip Brett and John Stevens. Using Machaut's three-part 'Motet 9' as an example, the author demonstrates how informed engagement with medieval music can enrich our understanding and appreciation of unfamiliar styles. Bent begins her extensively illustrated close analysis by revealing a construction based not only on overlapping combinations of color (melody) and talea (rhythmic pattern), but also on close integration of the upper parts with this scheme. She goes on to discuss many of the subtleties of musical expression which make up this highly complex work. An examination of the three verbal texts in relation to the music offers evidence that Machaut planned the substance of the text hand-in-hand with the musical design.

The score of Motet 9 is reproduced as ex.1 in Early Music xxxi/1 pp.368-371.

The soundclips that accompany this article were recorded by members of Musick's Feast, a professional ensemble based in Iowa City, Iowa, USA: Elizabeth Aubrey (director), Barbara Evans O'Donnell and Marvin Bergman.

N.B. We recommend that you download all the soundclips prior to reading through the article, rather than opening each example as it appears in the text.

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