I was going to inflict

I was going to inflict a difficult isorhythmic motet by Machaut on you for our first analysis, but I figured that it is a difficult piece, and that for beginners, I should work up to these things. So I looked through the polyphony literature and had it narrowed down to 12 potential subjects, and then it hit me.

Why not start with a little plainchant? Since there is no harmonic analysis of plainchant I am going to discuss two pieces: The Kyrie from Mass XI "Orbis factor" (listed as Liber Usualis 46 in some editions, also found in Charles Burkhardt's Anthology for Musical Analysis) and the sequence "Victimae Pascali Laude" (found in just about any good hymnal). I am not recommending recordings of either, because just about any professional one will do, and these are so well known that you probably know the music already. I know that the tune from the Kyrie is often used during Lent for a "Praise and Honor" substitute for the Alleluia. These tunes are also so well known that if you are having trouble with them, just about any musician friend can help you.

We will be discussing issues of form, mode, proportion, and looking at what makes these chants so beautiful that they have a perpetual place in the musical memory of Western Civilization. We will briefly discuss performance practice issues and the role of the Benedictines of Solemnes in editing and preserving the chant literature. We will use our discussion of these chants to springboard into a discussion next time of Olivier Messaien's Quartet for the End of Time. I don't have a recording to recommend yet, so if you have the time and resources, you might want to poke around and listen to different renditions of this masterpiece.

So, I will be posting my analysis mid-week. Meanwhile, if you have a chance to sing through the pieces, listen to recordings or musicians performing these, you will be that much better prepared. If you don't get around to it, don't worry, you should still be able to follow along with the discussion. Have fun!