Machaut's Kyrie: Words And Music

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The Kyrie has been a foundational part of the church mass for hundreds of years. Many people have experienced it, lamented with it, and deliberated over its meaning. Even more so, many have used this section of mass in medleys of songs, both traditional and classical to modern and contemporary. If one takes a closer look at the music itself, they would find that this particular section of mass has adapted and changed with the times over a short few hundred years. Because the term “Kyrie” literally means “Lord, have mercy”, those in the church who use the liturgy use it for a brief petition and response. It has been adapted to words and music in various languages and has been a cornerstone to the Roman Catholic Church. The similarities and differences …show more content…

One is homophonic while the other is isorhythmic, as displayed in the Kyrie. The melody in the tenor is actually taken from the plainchant Kyrie Cunctipotens Genitor. The chant has four segments of melody – Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, a new setting of Kyrie eleison, and a longer variant of the latter – and all four are set by Machaut. There are common features of the Kyrie that are part of Machaut’s footprint. This includes syncopations on the quarter note and eighth note as well as the use of the hocket **NAWM**. There is something particular about the use of the hocket in this mass though. Music historians have suggested that, starting with the “rediscovery” of his work in the 18th century, the hocket that Machaut uses, nicknamed “David’s hocket”, was for specific purpose. In fact, the whole mass is believed to be for a specific purpose, since most of Machaut’s work was secular song-based. It might be associated with the weekly Saturday service for the Virgin that has been celebrated at the Reims cathedral since 1341. Other sources seem to support this. Machaut was a canon at this cathedral for over half of his life, so it begs the question why this Christian composer had success at creating secular works alongside a church mass that captured audiences and other composers for centuries**TAN MACHAUT

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