 in classical music, a motet is a highly varied choral musical composition. the motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of renaissance music. according to margaret bent, "a piece of music in several parts with words" is as precise a definition of the motet as will serve from the 13th to the late 16th century and beyond.margaret bent, "the late-medieval motet" in companion to medieval & renaissance music, edited by tess knighton and david fallows, 114â19 (berkeley, california: university of california press, 1992): 114. isbn 9780520210813. this is close to one of the earliest descriptions we have, that of the late 13th-century theorist johannes de grocheo, who believed that the motet was "not intended for the vulgar who do not understand its finer points and derive no pleasure from hearing it: it is meant for educated people and those who look for refinement in art". ==etymology== in the early 20th 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. if the word is from latin, the name describes the movement of the different voices against one another. today, however, the french etymology is favoured by reference books, as the word "motet" in 13th-century french had the sense of "little word". entry "motet".willi apel, âmotetâ, harvard dictionary of music', second edition (cambridge, ma: harvard university press, 1969). isbn 0674375017.james peter burkholder, donald jay grout, and claude v. palisca a history of western music, eighth edition (new york: w. w. norton & company, 2010): 102. isbn 978-0-393-93125-9.jerome roche and elizabeth roche. "motet". the oxford companion to music, edited by alison latham (new york: oxford university press, 2001). isbn 978-0-19-866212-9. ==medieval motets== the earliest motets arose in the 13th century from the organum tradition exemplified in the notre dame school of lÃ©onin and pÃ©rotin. the motet probably arose from clausula sections, usually strophic interludes, in a longer sequence of organum, to which upper voices were added.curt sachs, our musical heritage (
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