Allison Griffiths MH247 Music Historiography I Analysis Assignment Aucun vont Amor qui cor Kyrie September 24,

4, 2013

Despite the ubiquity of history textbooks, often the most telling cultural and social clues come from the art of any given poque. Written in the late 13th century by an anonymous composer, Aucun vont Amor qui cor Kyrie certainly falls into this category. This motet comes from a time in French history of great political and religious turmoil; the Catholic Church was at its peak and by the late 13th century had persecuted hundreds of thousands of infidels in both the Middle East and in France itself. Works of art from this era often convey deeply religious themes as well as the underlying social unrest and oppression felt by the untouchables of the feudal system. As a text-driven piece, Aucun vont Amor qui cor Kyrie blossoms around three diverse linguistic and musical themes that portray both spirituality and earthly despair. The interaction and layering of the three voices create a wash of both sound and color that alludes to the complex emotional motifs of love, contemplation, and repentance. Built upon a pre-existing chant, Aucun vont Amor qui cor Kyrie features three distinct vocal lines that intermingle to form complex polyphony. Each vocal line conveys a different text, with the Aucun Vont portion being in the highest voice, or superius, the Amor Qui Cor in the inner voice, or altus, and the Kyrie in the lowest voice, or bassus. Not unlike music of the Common Practice Era, the bassus serves a harmonic function as it centers the other voices within the pieces modality. The bassus also features conjunct motion, highlighted by augmented rhythmic patterns (primarily dotted half notes), forming a consistent and grounding harmonic rhythm. Layered upon this voice, is the altus, which features the most disjunct motion of the three voices and has a slightly faster rhythm (mostly half notes and quarter notes). Above these lines we find the superius, which features the fastest rhythm and most ornamentation of all three lines (see m. 2-4). Part of the distinguishing factor between the voices, in addition to the textual themes and rhythmic variances, is timbre. When sung by a female ensemble, the bassus of the motet has an almost masculine timbre, in that the mezzo-soprano singing the line mimics the buoyant nature of a countertenors falsetto. In contrast, the altus features a decidedly mezzo sound, that is grounded and resonant

without sounding tampered with. Finally, the superius exhibits an ethereal and almost girlish timbre, starkly contrasting the other lines. Altogether, these factors feed into the pieces overall polyphony, which in itself flows liquidly and converges only for the final cadence, which is highlighted by the singular unison (or a perfect fifth) of the piece (see m. 40). This fluid texture brings together three very different musical and textual lines in a free-form that serves to showcase the complexities and contradictions between the three texts. While there is some motivic repetition and interplay, no larger form is established, further alluding to the political and cultural turmoil of the time. The most intriguing element of this piece is its polytextual and polythematic nature. Aucun Vont, the only text in the vernacular French, suggests that being faithful and committed in love is noble and leads to generosity, humility, and civility. Meanwhile Amor Qui Cor, in Latin, asserts that earthly love is sinful as it distracts from ones love for God. Finally, the iconic Kyrie begs the Lord for mercy. Taken at face value, these texts seem to have little to do with one another. However, there is a progression that appears when one looks closer; it is almost as if the piece presents three different sides of the same story: the Aucun Vont depicts young love at its peak, while the Amor Qui Cor portrays a later realization that this love distracts from worship; and finally the Kyrie implores God to forgive the speaker for the ignorance that accompanied love. This idea of being unflinchingly obligated to the Church, even at the cost of love, is very characteristic of the Medieval Age. At the same time, the freeflowing nature of this piece alludes to the clandestine desire to be free from the Churchs oversight. The performance of this motet by an all-female ensemble is particularly poignant in that women were by far the most oppressed class in the feudal system. A call for more personal freedom by a woman of the Middle Ages is incredibly striking, making this piece quite remarkable for its time. This musical outcry says far more about the social and cultural state of Medieval France than any textbook ever could.