Whywasthemotetimportant?
ThemotethasnotablyevolvedfromitsoriginsintheMiddleAges.
1.Medievalmotets:Themotetfirstemergedinthethirteenthcenturyas amostlysecularform,likelyasanoffshootofwhatmusichistorianscall theNotreDameschoolofcompositionTheylikelyderivedfromthe clausulasectionofplainchantorganums,anearlyformofacappellavocal polyphony.Medievalsecularmotetswereperformedindifferentlocal languagesoveranisorhythmiccantusfirmus(afixed,preexisting melody)TypicallythecantusfirmuscamefromolderGregorianchants andwassunginLatinNotablemotetcomposersofthisperiodincludethe FrenchPhilippedeVitryandGuillaumedeMachaut.
2.Renaissancemotets:AsMedievalmotetsgavewaytoRenaissance motets,theyincreasinglyfeaturedlyricsdrawnfromsacredtexts.Instead ofaGregoriancantusfirmus,Renaissancecomposersuseantiphons (LatintextdrawnfromChristianliturgy)Inmanyways,theRenaissance motetbecamesacredmusic’sanswertothemadrigal,whichwasapopular formofpolyphonicvocalmusic.KeyRenaissancemotetcomposers includeGiovanniPierluigidaPalestrina(anItalianoftheRomanSchoolof compositionaltechnique),JosquindesPrez(aFrenchmanoftheFrancoFlemishSchool),ThomasTallis(anEnglishman),andGiovanniGabrieli(an ItalianoftheVenetianSchool).
3.Baroquemotets:Themotetdidnotplaythesameprominentroleinthe BaroqueeraasitdidintheRenaissanceera,butseveralcomposersdid embraceit MostnotablyamongthesewasJS Bach,whousedsacredtext inGermanandbassocontinuoforinstrumentalaccompaniment.Aswith allofhisworks,Bachusedthemotettodisplayleading-edgetechniquesin contrapuntalcompositions
4TheClassicaleraandbeyond:Themotethasenduredthroughthe presentday,althoughcomposersnowenjoymanyotherpolyphonicvocal
formstoworkfrom.MozartcomposedaClassical-eramotet,Aveverum corpus(K.618),andnineteenth-centurycomposerslikeBrahms,Bruckner, andElgaralsomadeuseoftheformAvant-gardeinterpretationsofthe motethaveperiodicallyemergedintwentiethandtwenty-first-century classicalmusic.
WhentalkingabouttheancientmusicoftheRenaissance,itgenerally referredtomusicthatwassunginchurchservices,butwasn’tpartofthe MassOrdinary(Kyrie,Gloria,Credo,Sanctus,AgnusDei)Andsinceitwas asettingofareligioustext,itwouldnotbeconfusedwithlatermusical developmentsthatweremoresecularinnature,suchasmadrigals,or operas
Toknowmorevisit:https://chorsymphonica.org/what-is-a-motet/