Messe de Nostre Dame

Messe de Nostre Dame (Mass of Our Lady) is a polyphonic mass composed before 1365 by the French poet, composer and cleric Guillaume de Machaut (circa 1300-1377). One of the great masterpieces of medieval music and of all religious music, it is the earliest complete setting of the Ordinary of the Mass attributable to a single composer.
==Structure==
The Messe de Nostre Dame consists of 5 movements, the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei, followed by the dismissal Ite, missa est. The tenor of the Kyrie is based on Vatican Kyrie IV, the Sanctus and Agnus correspond to Vatican Mass XVII and the Ite is on Sanctus VIII. The Gloria and Credo have no apparent chant basis, although they are stylistically related to one another.Gombosi, O. "Machaut's 'Messe Notre-Dame'." The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 36, No. 2 (Apr., 1950), pp. 204-224
Machaut's Messe de Nostre Dame is for four voices rather than the more common three. Machaut added a contratenor voice that moved in the same low range as the tenor, sometimes replacing it as the lowest voice.
==Unification==
In the liturgy of the Mass, the items of the Ordinary are not performed consecutively, but are separated from one another by prayers and chants. Machaut's unification of these items into an artistic whole is the earliest instance of a Mass Ordinary setting that is stylistically coherent and was also conceived as a unit.Keitel, E.A. "The So-Called Cyclic Mass of Guillaume de Machaut: New Evidence for an Old Debate." The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 68, No. 3 (Jul., 1982), pp. 307-323 This gesture imposed on the Ordinary a previously unconsidered abstract artistic idea, and potentially influenced composers throughout the ages to continue setting the Ordinary to stylistically coherent music.
==Purpose and Style==
Machaut composed his Messe de Nostre Dame for the Cathedral at Reims where he was a canon, a permanent member of the clergy. According to a rubric found at the Cathedral, it would have likely been performed for the Saturday Lady Mass.Arlt, Wulf. "Guillaume de Machaut.” The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980. Some scholars hypothesize that contrary to popular belief, Machaut did not actually come to work for the Reims Cathedral until the end of the 1350s, composing the mass as an act of devotion and dedication marking his arrival in the precinct.Bowers, R. "Guillaume de Machat and His Canonry of Reims, 1338-1377." Early Music History 23 (2004) p.1-48 In conformity with the wills of Guillaume and his brother Jean, also a canon at the Cathedral, the mass was believed to have been transformed into a memorial service for them following their deaths.Arlt, Wulf. "Guillaume de Machaut.” The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980. However, neither the specific nature of its performance (if such a performance exists) nor the service the Mass was prepared for has been conclusively ascertained.
It is possible that Machaut was familiar with the Tournai mass, an even earlier polyphonic 14th century mass setting in which each movement is believed to have been written independently by different composers. The Gloria and Credo of the Messe de Nostre Dame exhibit some similarities to the Tournai mass, such as textless musical interludes, simultaneous style, and long melismatic Amens. The other four movements of Machaut's mass are composed in motet style with mass text.Gombosi, O. "Machaut's 'Messe Notre-Dame'." The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 36, No. 2 (Apr., 1950), pp. 204-224
==Recordings==
The Messe de Nostre Dame was first recorded by Safford Cape in 1956 for the Deutsche Grammophon Archive Production Series. Current available recordings include the following:
*Guillaume de Machaut: Messe de Nostre Dame. (1993), Hilliard Ensemble directed by Paul Hillier (Hyperion CDA66358)
*Early Music - Machaut: La Messe De Nostre Dame, Le Voir Dit (1996), Oxford Camerata directed by Jeremy Summerly (Naxos 553833)
*Guillaume de Machaut - Messe de Notre Dame. (1996), Ensemble Organum directed by Marcel Peres
*Guillaume de Machaut: Messe de Nostre Dame. (2000) Ensemble Gilles Binchois directed by Dominique Vellard (Cantus 9624)
==Sources/References==
*Guillaume De Machaut's Messe De Nostre Dame 
*Gilbert Reaney, Machaut (London: Oxford University Press, 1971).
*Daniel Leech-Wilkinson, Machaut's Mass: An Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990.
*Anne Walters Robertson. Guillaume de Machaut at Reims: Context and Meaning in his Musical Works. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
==External links==
*
*Complete discography
Category:Medieval music
Category:Masses (music)
Category:Religious music
ca:Missa de Notre-Dame
de:Messe de Nostre Dame
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fr:Messe de Notre Dame (Guillaume de Machaut)
it:Messe de Notre-Dame
ja:ノートルダム・ミサ曲
pl:Msza Notre Dame
pt:Missa de Notre Dame
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