Micrologus; Ars Subtilior

81-23 ARS SUBTILIOR

Today on Micrologus, we're going to be exploring the music of the Ars Subtilior (the more subtle style). This was a school of composers which flourished in southern France and northern Italy in the latter part of the 14th century and the early part of the 15th century. The comparative aspect of the term Ars Subtilior harks back to the Ars Nova style, the style heralded by Philippe de Vitry in the early 14th century, and exemplified by the music of Guillaume de Machaut, whose works we explored some months ago on Micrologus.

This school of composers is also sometimes referred to as the “late 14th century avant garde” because of the experimental nature of their compositions. And also sometimes as the Mannerist School. Mannerism is a term which is applied when it seems that the composers of a particular style apply as much emphasis to the process as they do to the piece itself. In view of that, I've asked a composer to join me on the show today. Eugene O'Brien. He's a composer, teacher and performer, winner of the Prix de Rome of the American Academy, newly appointed head of the composition department at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and Director of Reconnaissance, an Ensemble for New Music based here in Cleveland.

Gene, I hope you don't feel like you're in another world.

O’BRIEN: Well, not quite, especially not with this music.

DUFFIN: What's the first piece we're going to listen to and what can you tell us about it?

O’BRIEN: Well, I think it would be good to hear a piece first before discussing the elements of the style. And this is a ballad by Johannes Hasprois, “Ma doulce amour.” And for the most part, this is the Ars Nova in character. But there are three Mannerist elements to listen for. First, the vocal line becomes much more florid as the piece goes on, ending up in a way which is typical of many Mannerist works. And there are two very striking harmonic elements in the piece: Towards the end of the first half of the piece, there is a very unexpected C-sharp major triad, which in the space of half a beat, becomes a C-sharp minor triad. And this is in the context of the Lydian mode, based on F, so it's very much out of place, very striking. And towards the end of the second half of the piece, there is a short passage which is based on what, in the 19th century, would have been called an augmented sixth chord.

DUFFIN: And does it resolve as an augmented sixth chord?

O’BRIEN: Yes, exactly as an augmented six chord.

DUFFIN: It’s strange, then, that the use of this was then dropped for several centuries before it once again entered the harmonic vocabulary. “Ma doulce amour, by johannes Hasprois, performed by the Early Music Consort of London, directed by David Munrow.

[MUSIC:“Ma doulce amour,” by Johannes Hasprois, performed by the Early Music Consort of London, directed by David Munrow]

What's next, Gene?

O’BRIEN: The next piece is by Solage, a rondeau: “Fumeux fume.” This is a very unique piece, I think, and displays another aspect of mannerist style and that's experimentation with harmony— unique, I think, in that it's the most extreme example in the repertoire of this sort of experimentation. And in addition to its unusual chords, it also calls for— the manuscript calls for, in the course of the piece, all 12 chromatic notes. Beyond that, the work is scored in a very, very low tessitura throughout, so that the piece has a rather dark and murky quality from beginning to end. And this expresses the text very well, I think.

DUFFIN: The text runs as follows:

He who fumes and let off steam provokes hot air.

The thoughts of he who fumes and let off steam are hazy.

He delights in fuming until he gets his way.

He who fumes and let off steam, provokes hot air.

O’BRIEN: The text apparently is connected with a literary and philosophical group called the “Fumeurs” in the 1360s and 1370s. And it's not entirely clear what their philosophical or literary aims were, but apparently the text expresses that, and one can imagine that this piece probably pleased them quite a bit.

DUFFIN: “Fumeux fume,” by Solage, performed once again by the Early Music Consort of London, directed by David Munrow.

[MUSIC: “Fumeux fume,” by Solage, performed by the Early Music Consort of London, directed by David Munrow.]

The next work is a ballade by Johannes Hasprois— again— “De tous les biens.” This piece shows two other elements of mannerist style that we haven't heard to a great extent in the previous works: a fondness for dissonance, and an equally great fondness for rhythmic complexity. Towards the beginning of the work, there is a wonderful clutch of dissonances that's worthy of Stravinsky, where all three of the voices circle around each other at distances of major and minor seconds. It's a very beautiful passage; and throughout the piece there are changes in rhythmic ratios within parts and between the parts. This is very noticeable, I think just before the two major cadences in the piece where the upper part has eight notes, the middle part six notes and the lowest, three— all the time, playing around with extensive syncopations. So it becomes rather difficult to tell where the pulse is sometimes.

DUFFIN: This is obviously one of the most subtle aspects of this subtle style. Do you think the composers had some musical purpose in mind beyond the sheer tour de force of the rhythmic complexity?

O’BRIEN: Yes, I think, in the 20th century, we're in a position to appreciate the beauty of a complex rhythmic texture, which I think is what the composers had in mind, in a way that perhaps the 18th or 19th century wouldn't have seen it at all. And I'm sure that's what the composers intended.

DUFFIN: “De tous les biens,” by Johannes Hasprois, performed by The Jongleurs, a group specializing in the performance of late 14th and early 15th century music, and based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

MUSIC: “De tous les biens,” by Johannes Hasprois, performed by The Jongleurs]

O’BRIEN: Next we have liturgical work, a Gloria by Matteo da Perugia. Interestingly enough, I think it will be evident that the the style of this piece, though it's a sacred work, is essentially no different from the secular style of the other pieces— very much the same.

DUFFIN: And, the same, even though he was an Italian rather than a Frenchman?

O’BRIEN: Exactly. In fact, in other of his works, he set French texts rather than Italian texts, so it's still very much a French atmosphere in the piece. This work shows also, I think, the great independence of voices that Mannerist composers were fond of. Here, the flute part, which is almost improvisatory in character, seems in a completely different orbit from the other parts, and goes off its own way, into orbit— except at certain points where there there's a very small amount of imitation, but that's quickly forgotten.

DUFFIN: It's interesting that Matteo was court composer to a cardinal who became Pope John XXIII— the original Pope John XXIII— and thus curious to think that a piece like this might have been the liturgical music heard at the papal court in the year 1409. “Et in terra,” a Gloria movement by Matteo da Perugia, performed by the Elizabethan Enterprise, directed by Lucy Cross.

MUSIC: Countertenor Harlan Hokin with the Elizabethan Enterprise, directed by Lucy Cross, performing a Gloria by Matteo da Perugia]

O’BRIEN: I think anyone listening to this music would realize that a performer who is proficient in the performance of 20th century music would feel very much at home in performing this repertoire. Also, the the flute part obviously makes great virtuoso demands on the player, but the vocal part also is considerably disjunct at times, And I think a singer who had mastered Webern would feel at home with that work as well.

DUFFIN: We've reached the last piece on our program today. What's it going to be?

O’BRIEN: The last work is a rondeau, “Se j’ay perdu,” an anonymous work, but possibly by Baude Cordier, who along with Matteo and Solage, is among the best known composers of this period. And I think this work shows the style at its most mature, and perhaps most balanced. It has none of the extreme rhythmic complexities of the other works, nor any of the extreme harmonic complexities, though it's nonetheless a very, very difficult piece, more so than any of the other pieces. Also, the three parts are very equal in rhythmic activity and in difficulty. In the other works we heard, the tenor or the lowest part is very often slower, but not so in this piece. And I think the text of the work, itself, makes fun of the the difficulty of the piece, because that's really what is concerned with.

DUFFIN: If I have altogether lost my place, it's not my fault. It's because of this diabolical song which has taken the country by storm. Alas, woe is me. Where should I go? Since I cannot get out of this predicament, which bothers me greatly.

MUSIC: “Se j’ay perdu toute ma part,” by anonymous, or possibly by Baude Cordier, performed for us once again by the Jongleurs]

DUFFIN: Gene, any final words?

O’BRIEN: I think it's worth noting that we who live in the last part of the 20th century are in perhaps a unique position to appreciate the Ars subtilior in a way that our forefathers, so to speak, could not, since we've experienced and have grown accustomed to music from Wagner to Pierre Boulez, let's say, that has many of the complexities that we see in the Ars subtilior. We are able to look past those complexities which so confounded other people and to see what is actually there of musical worth. And I think it's fairly easy to see that there is quite a bit, and one can only hope that there will be many more performances of this music, and that it will become more widely appreciated.

DUFFIN: You've been listening to a program exploring the music of the Ars subtilior, and my guest has been composer Eugene O'Brien.