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''Ars subtilior'' (
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
for 'subtler art') is a
musical style Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the n ...
characterized by
rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular re ...
ic and notational complexity, centered on Paris,
Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label= Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune had ...
in southern France, and also in northern Spain at the end of the fourteenth century.Hoppin 1978, 472–73. The style also is found in the French Cypriot repertory. Often the term is used in contrast with ars nova, which applies to the musical style of the preceding period from about 1310 to about 1370; though some scholars prefer to consider ''ars subtilior'' a subcategory of the earlier style. Primary sources for ''ars subtilior'' are the
Chantilly Codex The Chantilly Codex (''Chantilly, Musée Condé MS 564'') is a manuscript of medieval music containing pieces from the style known as the ''Ars subtilior''. It is held in the museum at the Château de Chantilly in Chantilly, Oise. Most of the co ...
, the
Modena Codex The Modena Codex (''Modena, Biblioteca Estense, α.m.5,24''; often referred to with the siglum Mod A) is an early fifteenth-century Italian manuscript of medieval music. The manuscript is one of the most important sources of the ''ars subtilior'' ...
(Mod A M 5.24), and the Turin Manuscript (Torino J.II.9).


Overview and history

Musically, the productions of the ''ars subtilior'' are highly refined, complex, and difficult to sing, and probably were produced, sung, and enjoyed by a small audience of specialists and connoisseurs. Musicologist
Richard Hoppin Richard Hallowell Hoppin (February 22, 1913 – November 1, 1991) was an American musicologist. Hoppin received his BA from Carleton College in 1936 after spending two years at the Paris ''Ecole Normale de Musique''. He studied at Harvard Univ ...
suggests the superlative ''ars subtilissima'', saying, "not until the twentieth century did music again reach the most subtle refinements and rhythmic complexities of the manneristic style." They are almost exclusively secular songs, and have as their subject matter love, war, chivalry, and stories from classical antiquity. There are even some songs written in praise of public figures (for example
Antipope Clement VII Robert of Geneva, (french: Robert de Genève; 1342 – 16 September 1394) elected to the papacy as Clement VII (french: Clément VII) by the cardinals who opposed Pope Urban VI, was the first antipope residing in Avignon, France. His election le ...
). Daniel AlbrightAlbright 2004, 10. compares
avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretica ...
and modernist music of the
20th century The 20th (twentieth) century began on January 1, 1901 ( MCMI), and ended on December 31, 2000 ( MM). The 20th century was dominated by significant events that defined the modern era: Spanish flu pandemic, World War I and World War II, nucle ...
's "emphasis on generating music through technical experiment" to the precedent set by the ''ars subtilior'' movement's "autonomous delight in extending the kingdom of sound." He cites Baude Cordier's
perpetual canon A round (also called a perpetual canon 'canon perpetuus''or infinite canon) is a musical composition, a limited type of canon, in which a minimum of three voices sing exactly the same melody at the unison (and may continue repeating it inde ...
''Tout par compas'' (All by compass am I composed), notated on a circular staff. Albright contrasts this motivation with "expressive urgency" and "obedience to rules of craft" and, indeed, "''ars subtilior''" was coined by musicologist
Ursula Günther Ursula Günther (15 June 1927 – 20 or 21 November 2006) was a German musicologist specializing in the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries and the music of Giuseppe Verdi. She coined the term , to categorize the rhythmically complex music th ...
in 1960 to avoid the negative connotations of the terms ''manneristic style'' and ''mannered notation''. (Günther's coinage was based on references in ''Tractatus de diversis figuris'', attributed to
Philippus de Caserta Philippus de Caserta, (; also Philipoctus, Filipotto, or Filipoctus) was a medieval music theorist and composer associated with the style known as ''ars subtilior''. Life and career Philippus' name indicates that he came from Caserta near Naple ...
, to composers moving to a style "post modum subtiliorem comparantes" and developing an "artem magis subtiliter".) One of the centers of activity of the style was Avignon at the end of the
Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy The Avignon Papacy was the period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven successive popes resided in Avignon – at the time within the Kingdom of Arles, part of the Holy Roman Empire; now part of France – rather than in Rome. The situation aro ...
and during the Great Schism (1378–1417), the time during which the Western Church had a pope both in Rome and in Avignon. The town on the
Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...
had developed into an active cultural center, and produced the most significant surviving body of secular song of the late fourteenth century. The style spread into northern Spain and as far as Cyprus (which was a French cultural outpost at the time). French, Flemish, Spanish and Italian composers used the style.


Notational characteristics

Manuscripts of works in the ''ars subtilior'' occasionally were themselves in unusual and expressive shapes, as a form of
eye music Eye music (often referred to in English by its exact German translation ''Augenmusik'') describes graphical features of scores which when performed are unnoticeable by the listener. Difficulties in defining eye music By simple definition eye music ...
. As well as
Baude Cordier Baude Cordier () was a French composer in the style of late medieval music. Virtually nothing is known of Cordier's life, aside from an inscription on one of his works which indicates he was born in Rheims and had a Master of Arts. Some scholar ...
's circular canon and the heart-shaped score shown above,
Jacob Senleches Jacob Senleches (fl. 1382/1383 – 1395) (also Jacob de Senlechos .e. Senleches'' and Jacopinus Senlesses) was a Franco-Flemish composer and harpist of the late Middle Ages. He composed in a style commonly known as the ''ars subtilior''. Life and ...
's '' La Harpe de melodie'' is written in the shape of a harp.


List of composers

The main composers of the ''ars subtilior'' (those from whom at least three compositions in this style are known) are
Anthonello de Caserta Antonello da Caserta, also Anthonello de Casetta, Antonellus Marot, was an Italian composer of the medieval era, active in the late 14th and early 15th centuries. Life and career Essentially nothing is known of Antonello's life. Earlier in the 20 ...
,
Johannes Cuvelier Johannes Cuvelier (''fl'' c. 1372–d. after 1387) was a composer of the ''Ars subtilior'', whose surviving works are preserved in the Chantilly Codex. He was possibly born in Tournai and worked at the court of Charles V. His most important work i ...
, Egidius, Galiot,
Matteo da Perugia Matteo da Perugia (fl. 1400–1416) was a Medieval Italian composer, presumably from Perugia. From 1402 to 1407 he was the first ''magister cappellae'' of the Milan Cathedral; his duties included being cantor and teaching three boys selected by t ...
, Philipoctus de Caserta,
Jacob Senleches Jacob Senleches (fl. 1382/1383 – 1395) (also Jacob de Senlechos .e. Senleches'' and Jacopinus Senlesses) was a Franco-Flemish composer and harpist of the late Middle Ages. He composed in a style commonly known as the ''ars subtilior''. Life and ...
, and Trebor. Other composers associated with the style include: * Johannes Ciconia, ''Sus un fontayne'' *
Baude Cordier Baude Cordier () was a French composer in the style of late medieval music. Virtually nothing is known of Cordier's life, aside from an inscription on one of his works which indicates he was born in Rheims and had a Master of Arts. Some scholar ...
, ''Tout par compas'' (Rondeau-canon) and ''Belle bonne sage'' * Martinus Fabri *
Paolo da Firenze Paolo da Firenze (Paolo Tenorista, "Magister Dominus Paulas Abbas de Florentia") (c. 1355 – after September 20, 1436) was an Italian composer and music theorist of the late 14th and early 15th centuries, the transition from the musical Medie ...
* Guido de Lange, ''Dieux gart'' (Rondeau) * Johannes Symonis Hasprois * Matheus de Sancto Johanne *
Solage Solage (; or Soulage), possibly Jean , was a French composer, and probably also a poet. He composed the most pieces in the Chantilly Codex, the principal source of music of the ''ars subtilior'', the manneristic compositional school centered on ...
, ''Fumeux fume par fumée'' (Rondeau) *
Antonio Zacara da Teramo Antonio "Zacara" da Teramo (in Latin Antonius Berardi Andree de Teramo, also Zacar, Zaccara, Zacharie, Zachara, and Çacharius; c.1350/1360 – between May 19, 1413 and mid-September 1416) was an Italian composer, singer, and papal secretary of t ...
, ''Sumite karissime'' *Anonymous composers at the
Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaori ...
court of King Janus of Cyprus


Examples

* *


References


Sources

*Albright, Daniel. 2004. ''Modernism and Music: An Anthology of Sources''. University of Chicago Press. . *Apel, Willi. 1973. "The Development of French Secular Music During the Fourteenth Century". ''
Musica Disciplina The American Institute of Musicology (AIM) is a musicological organization that researches, promotes and produces publications on early music. Founded in 1944 by Armen Carapetyan, the AIM's chief objective is the publication of modern edition ...
'' 27:41–59. * Günther, Ursula. 1960. "Die Anwendung der Diminution in der Handschrift Chantilly 1047". ''
Archiv für Musikwissenschaft The ''Archiv für Musikwissenschaft'' is a quarterly German-English-speaking trade magazine devoted to music history and historical musicology, which publishes articles by well-known academics and young scholars. It was founded in 1918 as the s ...
'' 17:1–21. * Hoppin, Richard H. 1978. ''Medieval Music''. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1978. . * Josephson, Nors S. 2001. "Ars Subtilior". ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by
Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was pub ...
and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.


Further reading

*Apel, Willi. 1950. "French Secular Music of the Late Fourteenth Century". ''Mediaeval Academy of America''.