Léonin (also Leoninus, Leonius, Leo; ) was the first known significant composer of
polyphonic
Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ...
organum
''Organum'' () is, in general, a plainchant melody with at least one added voice to enhance the harmony, developed in the Middle Ages. Depending on the mode and form of the chant, a supporting bass line (or '' bourdon'') may be sung on the sam ...
. He was probably
French, probably lived and worked in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
at the
Notre-Dame Cathedral and was the earliest member of the
Notre Dame school of
polyphony
Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chord ...
and the
ars antiqua style who is known by name. The name Léonin is derived from "Leoninus", which is the Latin diminutive of the name Leo; therefore it is likely that Léonin's given French name was Léo.
Overview
All that is known about him comes from the writings of a later student at the cathedral known as
Anonymous IV, an
Englishman who left a treatise on theory and who mentions Léonin as the composer of the ''
Magnus Liber
The ''Magnus Liber'' or ''Magnus liber organi'' (English translation: ''Great Book of Organum''), written in Latin, is a repertory of medieval music known as organum. This collection of organum survives today in three major manuscripts. This repe ...
,'' the "great book" of organum. Much of the ''Magnus Liber'' is devoted to
clausulae—
melismatic portions of
Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainsong, plainchant, a form of monophony, monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek language, Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed main ...
which were extracted into separate pieces where the original note values of the chant were greatly slowed down and a fast-moving upper part is superimposed. Léonin might have been the first composer to use the
rhythmic mode
In medieval music, the rhythmic modes were set patterns of long and short duration (music), durations (or rhythms). The value of each musical notation, note is not determined by the form of the written note (as is the case with more recent Europea ...
s, and may have invented a notation for them. According to
W.G. Waite, writing in 1954: "It was Léonin's incomparable achievement to introduce a rational system of
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 r ...
into
polyphonic
Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ...
music for the first time, and, equally important, to create a method of notation expressive of this rhythm."
The ''Magnus Liber'' was intended for
liturgical
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...
use. According to Anonymous IV, "Magister Leoninus (Léonin) was the finest composer of organum; he wrote the great book (Magnus Liber) for the
gradual
The gradual ( or ) is a certain chant or hymn in liturgical Christian worship. It is practiced in the Catholic Mass, Lutheran Divine Service, Anglican service and other traditions. It gets its name from the Latin (meaning "step") because i ...
and
antiphoner for the sacred service." All of the ''Magnus Liber'' is for two voices, although little is known about actual performance practice: the two voices were not necessarily soloists.
According to Anonymous IV, Léonin's work was improved and expanded by the later composer
Pérotin
Pérotin () was a composer associated with the Notre Dame school of polyphony in Paris and the broader musical style of high medieval music. He is credited with developing the polyphonic practices of his predecessor Léonin, with the introd ...
. See also
Medieval music
Medieval music encompasses the sacred music, sacred and secular music of Western Europe during the Middle Ages, from approximately the 6th to 15th centuries. It is the Dates of classical music eras, first and longest major era of Western class ...
.
The musicologist
Craig M. Wright believes that Léonin may have been the same person as a contemporaneous Parisian poet,
Leonius, after whom
Leonine verse may have been named. This could make Léonin's use of meter even more significant.
Notre Dame de Paris, Parisian Cathedral Music in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries and Its Makers
/ref>
References
Further reading
*
*
* Articles Anonymous theoretical writings, Organum, Leonin, Perotin, ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980. ()
*
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonin
Ars antiqua composers
12th-century French composers
French classical composers
French male classical composers
Medieval male composers