Re -defining relationships: Modeling in four imitation masses by Palestrina
Carol Whang · Scholarly Commons (University of Pennsylvania) · 2004
Sixteenth-century composers frequently derived settings of the Mass Ordinary from pre-existent music. As prevalent as this technique was, we know very little about the practical details regarding the process and act of incorporating already existing pieces into new works. Set in the form of case studies, this dissertation focuses on musical borrowing in four Palestrina Masses. Detailed examinations of Palestrina's Missae O regem coeli, Sicut lilium inter spinas, Benedicta es caelorum Regina, and Quem dicunt homines reveal important strategies with regard to the composer's employment and deployment of pre-existent works. Tracking the appearances of borrowed music throughout the Missa O regem coeli provides a particularly lucid demonstration of internal citation within the Mass being composed. The wide variety of methods in which Palestrina distributes the polyphony from his own motet in the Missa Sicut lilium raises significant questions concerning writing and memory in musical re-castings specifically of one's own composition. His incorporation of multiple works in the Missae Benedicta es caelorum Regina and Quem dicunt homines provides a broader context for understanding these works and the complexes to which they belong. Furthermore, the intertextual nature of the two Masses importantly identifies Palestrina—at a time when he was relatively unknown—as an active participant in the repertory and traditions of the Vatican. This study focuses on the above-mentioned Palestrina Masses in reference to the following compositions.(1) De Silva, O regem coeli. (2) Palestrina, Sicut lilium inter spinas and Quam pulchri sunt. (3) Josquin, Benedicta es caelorum Regina. (4) Pieton, Benedicta es caelorum Regina. (5) Morales, Missa Benedicta es caelorum Regina. (6) Richafort, Quem dicunt homines . (7) Divitis, Missa Quem dicunt homines. (8) Mouton, Missa Quem dicunt homines. (9) Morales, Missa Quem dicunt homines. The findings of this dissertation affect not only how we think about musical relationships, but more importantly, how we approach the study of modeling. The case studies reveal a need to re-define relationships on two levels: (1) relationships among the five sections of the Mass Ordinary with respect to borrowed material; and (2) relationships among Masses based on a common subject. By doing this, we can begin to understand the implications of invoking an established repertory in new creations.