The bibliography for Ockeghem s famous puzzle canon Prenez sur moi vostre

Transcription

1 Prenez sur moi vostre exemple: The clefless notation or the use of fa-clefs in chansons of the fifteenth century y Binchois, Baringant, Ockeghem an Josquin Peter Woetmann hristoffersen The iliography for Ockeghem s famous puzzle canon Prenez sur moi vostre example amoureux is as large as the piece is small, as Peter Urquhart remarke 1 I have no intention of contriuting ne insights to the enormous amount of learne scholarship, hich has een performe on the enigmas surrouning this song since the 16th century By no most questions concerning its notation, tonality an Glarean s characterization of it as a katholikon seem to e ansere satisfactorily through the latest pulications y Fallos, Urquhart an van Benthem 2 Hoever, in most pulications Ockeghem s song is classifie as memer of an exclusive group of clefless compositions That this is a too comprehensive categorization ecomes clear after a rose through Davi Fallos eminent catalogue of polyphonic secular songs in the 15th century 3 In his enumeration of songs the term clefless escries pieces ithout any clef at all as ell songs using cominations of flats in all or some of its voices to organize pitch structures The last-mentione songs o not use the conventional letter clefs to specify the pitch, ut they are certainly not clefless, since the flats or rather the fa-signs, hich refer to contemporary hexachoral theory, carry out some of the functions of the normal clefs, an it is thus most prouctive to regar them as using fa-clefs Ockeghem s famous Missa uiusvis toni may stan as an example of an extene composition, hich uses neither letter- nor fa-clefs, only ifferent symols to specify the placement of the music s 1 Peter Urquhart, Another Impolitic Oservation on Asalon, fili mi, The Journal of Musicology, 21 (200), (at 369, n 2) My thanks to Davi Fallos, laus Røllum-Larsen, the entre for Music an Theatre at The Royal Lirary, openhagen, an the Music Department of the State an University Lirary, Aarhus, for their help ith information an materials 2 Davi Fallos, Prenez sur moy: Ockeghem s tonal pun, Plainsong an Meieval Music, 1 (1992), 63 75; Peter Urquhart, alculate to Please the Ear: Ockeghem s anonic Legacy, Tischrift van e Koninklike ereniging voor Neerlanse Muziekgeschieenis, 7 (1997), 72 98; Jaap van Benthem, Prenez sur moy vostre exemple Signae, text an caences in Ockeghem s Prenez sur moy an Missa uiusvis toni, ii Davi Fallos, A atalogue of Polyphonic Songs, (Oxfor, 1999) Several sources especially from entral Europe contain examples of music entirely ithout clefs as the Scheelsches Lieeruch an Lochamer Lieeruch (cf Bettina Wackernagel (e), Das Lieeruch es Dr Hartmann Scheel Faksimile (Das Ere eutscher Musik, 8; Kassel, 1978), an Konra Ameln (e), Lochamer-Lieeruch un Das Funamentum organisani von onra Paumann, Faksimile-Nachruck (Kassel, 1972)), or for example the sources catalogue in Kurt von Fischer (e), Répertoire International es Sources Musicales Hanschriften mit mehrstimmiger Musik es 1, 15 un 16 Jahrhunerts I (RISM BI/3; München-Duisurg, 1972), (D-Ms5023), (D-TR322), 21 (DK-Kar102) Danish Yearook of Musicology olume

2 Danish Yearook of Musicology 2009 final notes it is really clefless 5 On the other han, its companion in the higi oex, the Missa Prolationum, as most likely originally notate entirely in fa-clefs 6 Ho to ecoe the notation of Prenez sur moi an other songs in fa-clefs as estalishe in to short articles y arl Dahlhaus in the 1960s 7 Here he reecte the prevailing interpretation of the sign formations in the examples uner iscussion as erroneous key signatures or as insufficient irections for the performers, 8 an he recognize that they rather shoul e interprete as hexachoral signs, hich ientify the positions of the semitone steps in the tone system His interpretation has een the point of eparture for later ork on these topics 9 Davi Fallos i put his finger on a crucial question, hen he concerning the notation of Prenez sur moi aske Why are the pieces ritten ithout clefs? : These riters are mainly concerne to erive appropriate transcriptions ut fail to explain convincingly hy the pieces are ritten ithout clefs I cannot fill that gap except in offering to oservations The first is that the notion of a puzzle or game as plainly intriguing to many composers, particularly if it involve the kin of economy resolve y simple logic that e fin here The secon oservation is that composers have alays erive inspiration from challenges erecte y their preecessors; then as no, they sho an aareness of the traition ithin hich they rite 10 The notion of a puzzle an the aareness of traition are certainly of relevance for Ockeghem s esign of the notation of Prenez sur moi, ut they fail to anser the hyquestion aout earlier songs Here Knu Jeppesen propose that an important characteristic of the clefless notation as that it alloe performances at ifferent pitches a fifth apart 11 An in line ith Dahlhaus escription of the fa-clef system Jaap van Benthem thinks that its features inclue an unefine souning pitch of the music: Since clefs are not provie in any source, performers are free to intone the music at hatever pitch is convenient for them Any [moern] notation of the music remains eitorial 12 5 Although the copyist of the higi oex i put flats in some parts of the reo section, hich may e traces of an alternative reaing of the music; cf Johannes Ockeghem (e Jaap van Benthem), Missa uiusvis toni upon re an mi (Masses an Mass Sections, fascicle III,3; Utrecht, 1996), II X (see further elo) 6 f Jaap van Benthem s reconstruction in Johannes Ockeghem, Missa uiusvis toni upon fa-ut Missa Prolacionum (Masses an Mass Sections, fascicle III,; Utrecht, 1996), XII XII 7 arl Dahlhaus, Ockeghems Fuga trium vocum, Die Musikforschung, 13 (1960), , an Zu einer hanson von Binchois, Die Musikforschung, 17 (196), In the case of Prenez sur moi he oppose Joseph S Levitan s interpretation in Ockeghem s lefless ompositions, The Musical Quarterly, 23 (1937), 0 6, an in the case of Binchois Mon seul et souverain esir the eition y Wolfgang Rehm in Die hansons von Gilles Binchois ( ) (Musikalische Denkmäler II; Mainz, 1957), 27 9 Knu Jeppesen inepenently foun a similar solution in his comments on L omme anny (see elo) in La Frottola, vol II: Zur Biliographie er hanschriftlichen musikalischen Üerlieferung es eltlichen italienischen Lies um 1500 (Acta Jutlanica, XLI:1, Aarhus, 1969), Fallos, Prenez sur moy, Jeppesen, La Frottola II, Benthem, Prenez sur moy, 100 1

3 hristoffersen Prenez sur moi vostre exemple This is also the position of Margaret Bent in her iscussion of these pieces in connection ith the unerstaning of the musica recta system: The prolems of signatures an transposition is pose in a more pointe form y the phenomenon of clefless pieces, or rather, pieces signe only ith flat signatures of unetermine an uneterminale letter-name pitch, often ith ifferentiate signatures, hose pitches inee o not nee to e name except for purposes of transcription into moern notation 13 The hole iea of a repertory of pieces souning at ineterminate pitch ho small this repertory may e is of great importance for the iscussion of pitch in the 15th century That unaccompanie liturgical chant as performe at a flexile pitch stanar is ell knon, songs in ifferent moes an ranges ere intone an sung ithin the same convenient tessitura Ho much such practices influence the performance of sacre or secular polyphony is ifficult to ascertain 1 But as a consequence of the expansion of the total vocal range in polyphony uring the 15th century it is apparent that the leeay for a flexile pitch stanar must have een consieraly reuce My current research inclues an online eition of the French chansonnier, MS Thott in the Royal Lirary of openhagen (the openhagen hansonnier), 15 an in this proect its relations ith contemporary chansonniers is highly prioritize, first an foremost its relations ith the group of sources ate aroun 170, hich e toay esignate as the Loire alley chansonniers 16 The eition presents the songs in the ifferent sources as inepenent performances an focuses on their soun an expressive qualities 17 There seems to e a close connection eteen their expression as souning entities an their vocal instrumentation, their total range an pitch an the relations eteen the single voices Great care has een lavishe on these parameters, not only concerning the iniviual songs ut also in the selection an comination of compositions in series or in complete chansonniers Here e often meet a careful alancing of contrasts in tessitura ith changes in soun an moo, ut also series of songs in the same range in hich other features have to ensure variety an iniviuality All this presupposes that the songs ere compose ith a relatively fixe pitch stanar in min, hich of course oes not preclue that practical issues at times overrule the notate pitch in performances In this connection the existence of a small repertory of songs possily create ith an unefine or optional souning pitch in min is thought provoking In ai- 13 Margaret Bent, ounterpoint, omposition, an Musica Ficta (Ne York, 2002), 9 1 f the article Pitch I Western pitch stanars y Bruce Haynes in Grove Music Online (Dec 2009), an Kenneth Kreitner s alance account in Renaissance pitch, in Tess Knighton an Davi Fallos (es), ompanion to Meieval an Renaissance Music (Lonon, 1992), Eite y Knu Jeppesen in Der Kopenhagener hansonnier (openhagen, 1927; reprinte ith a ne preface, Ne York, 1965) 16 By Jeppesen characterize as Burgunian chansonniers The acknolegment of them as entral French sources egan ith Paula Higgins Princeton issertation of 1987, Antoine Busnois an Musical ulture in Late Fifteenth-entury France an Burguny 17 The proect is escrie in etail on its site 15

4 Danish Yearook of Musicology 2009 tion, ithout the existence of a quite fixe pitch stanar the fa-clef notation might appear meaningless Prenez sur moi, hich I shall return to at the en of this article, is the final song of the openhagen hansonnier an originally it also opene the Dion hansonnier 18 The scrie ho rote oth manuscripts (an part of the Laore hansonnier) as ell aare of the exceptional character of Ockeghem s canon Moreover, the Dion hansonnier also contains to of the most interesting chansons appearing in fa-clef notation They ill e starting points for the folloing attempt to chart an eluciate the musical an notational traition, hich Ockeghem refers to in his canon First, hoever, e have to take a short look on moels of ho the fa-clefs may e regare Fa-clefs an the musica recta system The history of the evelopment of staff notation is ell knon Since the 12th century it ecame more an more common to assign pitches to positions in a staff system y means of letters an coloure lines an F quickly ecame the most commonly use letters, ut other letters ere use too even the B-rotunum an the B-quaratum in spaces eteen lines can e foun alone as clefs in English sources 19 In the 15th century the stylize - an F-clefs ominate musical notation as unmistakale inicators of the pitch an octave positions of the musical contents Their normal use can easily accommoate a polyphonic range of nearly three octaves (F-e''), that is the gamut of the Guionian han, an hen a greater range as neee the high G-clef (G2) came more an more often in use (an some much rarer lo pitch clefs) 20 To rea a pattern of B-rotunum signs alone as fa-clefs is quite ifferent from reckoning pitches from letter clefs It means to correlate the positions of the signs on the staff ith the hexachors containe in the traitionally use tone system, the Guionian gamut Figure 1 presents in schematic form the gamut of the Guionian han correlate ith the positions of the hexachors, on hich all peagogical training in music epene With the help of the inflexile structure of the hexachors (the semitone step mi-fa is alays place eteen to sets of hole tone steps ut-re-mi an fa-sol-la) the performer coul uil a min map of the scale s possiilities ith its single variale step (B-rotunum an B-quaratum or B flat an natural) an alays keep the placement of the semitones in min omining hexachorum naturale an hexachorum urum it as possile to navigate through music using the high or har B, an shoul the soft B e neee, the hexachorum molle came into play This system as thought of as musica recta, hile iffering 18 For a list of source sigla, see the Appenix at the en of this article 19 B-rotunum in the famous Notre Dame MS W1 (Wolfenüttel, Herzog August-Biliothek, Helmstet 628), especially fos 58v [50v], 195v [178v], an v [ v] (Scottish, 13th c, cf J H Baxter (e), An Ol St Anres Music Book (o Helmst 628) Pulishe in Facsimile (Lonon, 1931)); an B-quaratum in Bruno Stälein, Schriftil er einstimmigen Musik (Musikgeschichte in Bilern III; Leipzig, 1975), (Irish, 12th c) an (English, 12th c) 20 f Davi Hiley s article lef in Grove Music Online (Dec 2009) 16

5 hristoffersen Prenez sur moi vostre exemple placements of hexachors (to otain transitory leaing notes etc) ere regare as musica ficta (or falsa) 21 A efault reaing of fa-clefs must logically (as the notation oes not inicate anything else) e efine as the reaing resulting from the positions of the steps, hich can e name fa in the stanar tone system (the untranspose musica recta system) In Figure 1 to moels of arrangements of fa-clefs are ran up: 22 1) To the left a configuration of flats in istances of alternating fifths an fourths, hich interlocks in the voices, ith three flats in every voice (some of the octave oulings may e omitte) They constitute a scale in hich the structure is repeate in every octave The efault position ill have as the upper fa of the fifth an F as the loer In this ay the fa-clefs ill function like the quite common phenomenon of - an F-clefs a fifth apart foun on top of each other in the same staff in oler sources, an can thus e rea ithout any key signatures Hoever, it must e emphasize that they o not prescrie pitches, only a scale structure 2) To the right in Figure 1 is a corresponing arrangement of interlocking fifths only, in hich the loer fa in a voice enotes the same note as the upper fa of the next voice This arrangement ill typically have to flats in every voice, ut nothing hiners that a flat sign in a voice can e oule at the octave as long as the asic structure is retaine This coupling of to fifths causes that there cannot e octave ientity eteen all pitches of the voices, an that all three species of hexachors ill e use; an that means that at least one voice ill nee a key signature of one flat or one sharp more than the other voices In Figure 1 the efault reaing can only e place in the musica recta system in a high position (esignating the notes, f ' an c'', ecause the system oes not contain the B- rotunum in its lo octave In practice this arrangement of fa-clefs ill e rea as souning an octave loer, ith a B in the lo octave 23 Hoever, in many cases the sources force us to vie the fa-clefs in a completely ifferent light When a piece in such pitch-ineterminale notation is copie into 21 f Margaret Bent, Musica Recta an Musica Ficta, Musica Disciplina, 26 (1972), Space oes not permit any comments on the iscussion of the transposition of the Guionian system y flat signatures an its possile categorization as ficta; see further Karol Berger, Musica ficta Theories of Acciental Inflections in ocal Polyphony from Marchetto a Paova to Gioseffo Zarlino (amrige, 1987), an Bent, ounterpoint, These moels only sho minimum configurations of fa-clefs to emonstrate the principle, an only to voices, one higher an one loer The other notes in fa-positions can of course also e involve as octave oulings If e a a fas1 to the loer voice to the left, it ill esignate c; an a fas5 ae to the loer voice in Fifths only ill esignate ' 23 It must e this phenomenon of octave uplication that lies ehin the suggestion of the preponerance of the role of the scale system rather than of the hexachoral system (hich is a peagogical susystem of the former) in Stefano Mengozzi, lefless notation, counterpoint an the fa-egree, Early Music, 36 (2008),

6 Danish Yearook of Musicology 2009 Fifths an fourths Durum Naturale Molle e" la " sol la c" fa sol h' mi ' fa a' re la mi g' ut sol re f' fa ut e' la mi ' sol re la c' fa ut sol h mi fa a re la mi g ut sol re f fa ut e la mi sol re c fa ut B mi A re Γ ut Fifths only Figure 1 The Guionian tone system, the placement of hexachors, an fa-clefs normal notation the scries usually ust ae fitting cominations of letter clefs efore the fa-clefs, hich is then change into key signatures (an reuce to the essential flats), an the pitch ecomes locke In this ay contemporary practice reveals clef sustitution as an appropriate proceure, an e have to iscuss hich an ho many clef cominations can e use to rea the chansons In the folloing iscussion fa-clefs are mentione in areviate form accoring to the same principles as use concerning letter clefs (1,, F, G2 etc): fa1(-5) means a fa-sign or a flat on one of the five staff-lines (numere 1-5 from elo); fas1(-5) fa-sign in one the five spaces of the staff; mi1(-5) mi-sign or sharp/ natural place in the same ay (only use y Ockeghem) All the chansons mentione elo ithout references to moern eitions, even if in some cases several are pulishe, can e foun in complete transcriptions along ith a more etaile commentary an complete lists of sources on the esite hansonniers 2 2 See n 17; the chansons foun in the Loire alley hansonniers can e reache through the alphaetical lists, hile the remaining are liste uner 18

7 hristoffersen Prenez sur moi vostre exemple Baringant s L omme anny e sa plaisance in many versions This sa song aout a man aanone y all pleasures ha in fa-clef notation the iest circulation of all uring the secon half of the 15th century It as proaly ritten in the 150s or earlier as it appears in sources from the 160s on in versions, hich sho up such a ie variation in notation that e must presume that it alreay then ha een circulating for some time, an that its original notation ithout letter-clefs as on its ay to olivion 25 The name of the composer is foun in the Mellon hansonnier, hich as prepare or supervise y the famous music theoretician Johannes Tinctoris in Naples aroun 175, 26 an it is confirme y his quotation of the eginning of the song uner Baringant s name in a theoretical treatise Baringant as a French composer flourishing in the mile of the century an as highly regare y riters as Eloy Amerval an Guillaume rétin A younger Italian source, Florence 176, ascries the song to the contemporary French composer Johannes Feé (alias Jean Sohier), ut Tinctoris ascription must e regare as the authoritative one, not least ecause he live an orke in Northern an entral France uring the years hen the song foun favour 27 The earliest sources, the Laore, Dion, Nivelle an Pavia chansonniers, transmit the chanson in iffering clefs, an the scries of Laore an Dion i not unerstan its fa-clef notation at all The Dion scrie place the flats in the upper voice exactly as in the loer voices (fas2, fas, cf Example 11); they shoul proaly have een place one step higher (fa3, fa5, cf Example 18) The Laore scrie coul not get the clefs to make any sense, so he rote them apparently at ranom, letting them vary from staff to staff (Example 12) To get an impression of the original notation e must look at the clefs transmitte y some slightly younger sources, hich ere copie ith greater care an unerstaning The Florentine MS Florence 176 has a set of fa-clefs, hich conforms perfectly to the moel ith interlocking fifths (see Example 13) This means that accoring to a efault reaing the flats from top to ottom esignate the folloing scale positions: in the upper voice f '', c'', an f ', in the tenor an contratenor f ' an ; an it prouces a tonal layout iesprea in the mile of the century ith an upper voice ith a flat less than the loer voices We fin exactly this layout again in the contemporary hansonnier oriforme an in the oler Nivelle hansonnier (see Example 1), ut no in pitch locke notation ith letter clefs: G2 ithout flats an to voices in 3 ith one flat oriforme has even retaine the flat on the f ''-line in the superius, hich also can e use to arn the singer that the music excees the 25 The song an its sources have een iscusse several times in the scholarly literature, cf Jeppesen, La Frottola II, 1 16, an Urquhart, Another Impolitic, , hich oth inclue tales of incipits 26 f Leeman L Perkins an H Garey (es), The Mellon hansonnier I-II (Ne Haven, 1979) an Ronal Wooley, Tinctoris s Italian Translation of the Golen Fleece Statutes: A Text an a (possile) ontext, Early Music History, 8 (1988), (at 188 9) 27 Nivelle hansonnier contains three chansons attriute to Feé, all copie y the Nivelle scrie, ut the manuscript s version of L omme anny is anonymous This, too, speaks against Fee s authorship 19

8 Danish Yearook of Musicology 2009 Example 1 Baringant, L omme anny e sa plaisance 11 Incipits, Dion, fos 97v 98 S T Incipits, Laore, fos 66v 67, an clefs in the folloing staffs S T Incipits, Florence 176, fos 5v 55 S T Nivelle, fos 2v 25 [Superius] 3 9 Tenor 5 1 ontra 1 & 9 1 L om 3 For 1 L om 3 For 1 L om 3 For J me tu me tu me tu - an ne an ne an ne Incipits, Pavia 362, fos 21v 22 S T G 16 Incipits, Pixérécourt, fos 29v 30 S T Incipits, Mellon, fos 30v 31 S T Dion, fos 97v 98 (clefs correcte) [Superius] Tenor 9 ontratenor & 1 L om 3 For 1 L om 3 For 1 L om 3 For me tu me tu me tu - a ne a ne a ne

9 hristoffersen Prenez sur moi vostre exemple 19 Laore, fos 66v 67 (clefs correcte) [Superius] Tenor ontra &?? 1 L om 3 For 1 L om 3 For 1 L om 3 For J J me tu me tu me tu - an ne an ne an ne Example 2 Anonymous, L omme qui vit en esperanche (Pixérécourt MS, fos 182v 183) [Superius] 1 &? ontra? [Tenor] L om me qui vit L om me qui vit en 2 L om J me qui vit J J en Guionian gamut y using a high ficta hexachor on c'' The chansonnier Pavia 362 also locks the pitch of the chanson (see Example 15), ut only in the upper voice, hich has a G2 clef ithout flats, hile keeping the three-flat clefs in tenor an contra, hich then must e rea as f ', an f Unlike the Nivelle, Pavia an oriforme chansonniers the Florence 176 version is not locke to any pitch, an it can ust as easily e performe a fifth loer y imagining a ifferent set of letter clefs: 2 ith one flat an F3 ith to flats in the loer voices MS Pixérécourt, also from Florence an possily a fe years younger than Florence 176, transmits the song in a ifferent configuration of fa-signs (see Example 16) It correspons to the fifths-fourths moel escrie aove an prouces a efault reaing of the flats in the upper voice as c'', f ' an c', an in the tenor an contratenor as c' an f a fourth loer than in MS Florence 176, an no key signature is neee in any voice It as proaly such a comination of fa-signs that the Dion scrie sa in his exemplar hen he as copying the song into his on collection Example 18 shos the eginning of this efault reaing in pure G Mixolyian accoring to the Dion hansonnier Of course, this set of fa-clefs may also e rea ith imagine letter clefs, in -Mixolyian ith one G2 an to 3 clefs, all ith a key signature of one flat, an a fifth loer in F-Mixolyian ith one 2 an to F3 clefs, all ith to flats 21

10 Danish Yearook of Musicology 2009 The Mellon hansonnier oes not specify the fifth in the upper voices (see Example 17) It coul refer to any of the to moels, ut most proale it is meant to e rea ith the last mentione comination of letter clefs in min, one 2 an to F3 clefs, no ith one flat in the upper voice an to in the loer voices If e presume that the Laore scrie in some instances got the clef right, an that he in the 2n an 3r staff of the upper voice an in the 2n staff of the contratenor (see Example 12) really rote hat he sa in his exemplar, then Laore coul present the same set of clefs as Florence 176 It coul e performe at any pitch, ut an ovious reaing is like the Mellon hansonnier the one in lo clefs (see Example 19) This reaing of Laore is interesting ecause it conforms perfectly to Tinctoris censoring of Baringant in his Lier imperfectionum notarum musicalium of 17 75, here he tells us that a note, hich has een augmente y a ot, of course cannot e imperfecte y a folloing short note, an he gives the start of the superius an tenor from Baringant s L omme anny as an illustrative musical example in F-Mixolyian 28 In the tenor the first longa is augmente y a punctus aitionis ut then shortene y the folloing semirevis, hich to make things clearer in some sources is folloe y a punctus ivisionis (see Example 19) We only fin this error in the oler sources (cf Examples 11, 12 an 15), hile the younger sources have correcte the error y iviing the long first note into a longa an a revis (hich can e imperfecte correctly), ut so i also Nivelle, hich proaly can e ate some years efore Tinctoris Lier Tinctoris an the assume Mellon lo-clef reaing of L omme anny is confirme y a responce to it, the anonymous L omme qui vit en esperanche, aout the man ho lives in hope, in the Pixérécourt manuscript, fos 182v 183, hich cites the eginning of Baringant s tenor an paraphrases its structure an caential scheme (see Example 2) Here a set of 2, 5 an F3 clefs is comine ith a setup of flats very much like the ones in Baringant s song in the Pixérécourt MS (an proaly the Dion hansonnier) A possile relation to the high pitch reaing is the anonymous three-part song Plus que pour mille vivant in the MS Bologna Q16, fos 71v 72, mentione y Davi Fallos, hich quotes the opening music of L omme anny The likeness is ovious in the first eight ars hereafter the connection ecomes looser 29 To sum up an isregaring other interesting variants in the music an presuming that the song as compose at some time efore 150 the investigation of L omme anny shos: 1) That it circulate in fa-clef notation uring a long perio of time The sources can e ate eteen the 160s an the mile 180s, an alreay uring the 160s the knolege of the notation as eakening (MSS Dion an Laore) 28 Book 1, h 3, De treecim generalius imperfectionum regulis, see the online eition an translation y Ronal Wooley (stoaorg/tinctoris/lier_imperfectionum/lier_imperfectionumhtml) 29 Fallos, A atalogue, 261 The to anonymous chansons in the MSS Pixérécourt an Bologna Q16 have not yet een availale in moern eitions; oth can no e foun at 22

11 hristoffersen Prenez sur moi vostre exemple 2) That oth configurations of fa-clefs are foun in the sources, the pattern of fifths only (Florence 176) an the pattern of fifths an fourths (Pixérécourt), ut the resulting ifferences in performance ecome negligile y the conventional practice of inflecting meloic lines The efault reaings put the song in - or G- Mixolyian, ut performances can e at any convenient pitch 3) That several sources (Nivelle, Pavia 362 an oriforme) lock the pitch of the song in high clefs accoring to the configuration in fifths only In this process irrelevant flats (esignating F or ) ere usually suppresse ) That Tinctoris an presumaly the Mellon hansonnier (supervise y Tinctoris) may have regare the fa-clefs as key signatures, hich ust neee an appropriate array of letter clefs imagine or in riting in orer to ork A reorking of Baringant s music in the Pixérécourt MS confirms that this as not an uncommon proceure omme femme esconfortee an other chansons y Binchois Binchois roneau omme femme esconfortee enoye great popularity from c 160 until at least after 1500 It supplie materials for secular arrangements, to motets an masses, an it appears in many sources, among them three of the Loire alley chansonniers, Dion, Laore an Wolfenüttel 30 Hoever, the composer is only specifie in the same authoritative source, hich attriute L omme anny to Baringant, the Mellon hansonnier In y far the maority of sources this appealing song aout a oman eploring her miserale loveless state is notate conventionally an in a normal tessitura ith an upper voice in the range -c'' the version of the Dion hansonnier may stan as a representative for these sources (see Example 31) The song may have appeare rather ol-fashione to some of the compilers of the chansonniers Quite a lot of musical variants sho up in the sources, especially in the contratenor, an the voice has een partly recompose in the hansonnier oriforme 31 Some of the uneasiness surrouning the chanson coul come from it eing originally conceive in fa-clefs In to sources it appears entirely in fa-clefs It is among the latest aitions, from the 160s, to the Italian chansonnier Escorial Ia2 (often calle EscB), fos 131v 132, 32 an to of its voices are foun among the fragments of a contemporary Burgunian chansonnier, Munich 9659, fo 3v See the list of sources an citations in Fallos, A atalogue, f G Thiault an D Fallos (es), hansonnier e Jean e Montchenu (Biliothèque nationale, Rothschil 2973 [I513]) (Paris, 1991), no 29 On the ifferent families of variants, see Allan W Atlas, The appella Giulia hansonnier Roma, Bilioteca Apostolica aticana, GXIII27 (Musicological Stuies ol XXII/1 2; Ne York, ), vol 1, , Martella Gutiérrez-Denhoff (e), Der Wolfenütteler hansonnier Herzog August Biliothek, Wolfenüttel, oex Guelf 287 Extrav (Musikalischer Denkmäler, X; Mainz, 1988), , an Perkins an Garey, The Mellon hansonnier, II, f Martha K Hanen, The hansonnier El Escorial Ia2I (Musicological Stuies, 36; Henryville, 1983), an Dennis Slavin, On the Origins of Escorial Ia2 (EscB), Stui musicali, 19 (1990), f Petzch, Fragment mit acht reistimmigen hansons, arunter Lochamer Lieeruch Nr 18, Die Musikforschung, 22 (197),

12 Danish Yearook of Musicology 2009 [Superius] 9 1 Tenor ontratenor 1 Example 3 Gilles Binchois, omme femme esconfortee 31 Dion, fos 1v & Ó 1 om-me fem - me es - con - for - te - 3 Bien oi maul - i - re la our - ne - 1 om - me fem - me es - con - 3 Bien oi maul - i - re la 1 om-me fem -me es - con - for - te - 3 Bien oi maul-i - re la our - ne - # for our # - te - - ne - # 32 Incipits, Escorial Ia2, fos 131v S 9 9 T Munich 9659, fo 3v (efault reaing, contratenor accoring to Escorial Ia2) 9 9 [Superius] [Tenor] 9 9 [ontratenor]?? 1 om 3 Bien Ó - me fem - me oy maul - i - 1 om 3 Bien 1 om 3 Bien es re - me fem - me oy maul - i - - me fem - me es - con - oy maul - i - re la - con - la 3 Munich 9659, fo 3v (alternative reaing, contratenor accoring to Escorial Ia2) [Superius] [Tenor] [ontratenor] # & Ó 1 om-me fem - me es - con - for - te - 3 Bien oy maul - i - re la our - ne - 1 om -me fem - me es - con - 3 Bien oy maul - i - re la 1 om-me fem-me es - con - for - te - 3 Bien oy maul-i - re la our - ne - for our - te - - ne - 2

13 hristoffersen Prenez sur moi vostre exemple Example Gilles Binchois, Mon seul et souverain esir, Oxfor 213, fo 71v: Binchois, an Escorial III2, fos 20v 21: Anonymous [Superius] Tenor ontratenor # & 1 Mon 3 ar 1 Mon 3 ar 1 Mon 3 ar seul e seul e et voel et voel seul e et voel n sou a sou a sou a - ve - vous Œ - ve - rain e - vous o - e - rain o ve - rain e - vous o - e - Œ e - - e - Example 5 Binchois?, Tous esplaisirs n en sont prochains, Escorial III2, fos 7v 8: Anonymous [Superius] Tenor ontratenor ª ª 9 ª ª 9 ª ª 9 # & 9 Ó Ó 1 Tous es 3 Se ez Ó Ó 1 Tous 3 Se Ó - plai - sirs griefs maulx Ó 1 Tous 3 Se es ez - plai - sirs griefs maulx es ez m en ou m en ou n - plai - sirs m en griefs maulx ou sont e Œ sont e The Neapolitan copyist of Escorial Ia2 apparently as eilere y the notation of his exemplar an place the fa-clefs in rong positions, hich accoring to a efault reaing oul prouce a song in D-Dorian an create ifficult prolems for the harmony (see Example 32) Luckily the fragment of the song in Munich 9659 transmits enough, the hole superius an half of the tenor, for us to conclue that the to sources have asically the same version of the song In Munich 9659 the fa-signs are place correctly an sho that all three voices ha a clef of three signs, namely fa2, fa an fas5 This is exactly the formation of interlocking fifths only, hich is shon in Figure 1, an it prouces a soun picture ith a flat less in the upper voice than in the loer voices A efault reaing of the comine sources (superius an tenor from Munich an contratenor from Escorial), in hich e imagine a an to F letter clefs, gives us a very lo pitch, F-f ', harly fitting for a female voice, ut ith the entirely conventional comination of key signatures of no flat in the upper voice an one flat in the loer voices (see Example 33) It can of course also e rea an octave higher, ut this is less proale as it then oul excee the Guionian gamut 25

14 Danish Yearook of Musicology 2009 At this point the fa-clefs prove their value, ecause e can ust as easily imagine another set of clefs a fifth higher, 2 an to clefs, an pitch an range then come into the same tessitura as in the fixe pitch sources, namely from c to c'' (see Example 3) Hoever, in this reaing the notes reveale as fa y the flat signs are c'', g' an c' in the upper voice an f ', c' an f in the loer voices, an the upper voice thus has to operate ith a fictive hexachor on ' comprising the semitone step mi-fa on f # '- g' A key signature of one sharp as close to unthinkale in 15th century polyphony, an it is not foun in any of the main sources of French chansons 3 But using faclefs you can perform the song at any pitch, even sing ithin the usual tessitura ith a one-sharp key signature ithout riting it The performance of omme femme accoring to these rules rings aout in a natural ay the F-sharps otherise emane y the counterpoint in ar (cf Example 31) an other places, an e hear a tonal shaing rather characteristic of Binchois ith a first section centre on G, hile in the secon section one has to sing naturals an firmly anchor the music on We can theorize that the Burgunian source Munich 9569 preserves Binchois original notation incluing the tonal shaings, hich ere lost hen the popular song as transforme into fixe pitch notation Such a theory can e supporte y to songs in oler sources The other chansonnier in the Escorial lirary, MS III2 (calle EscA), hose origins can e place in Burgunian lans aroun an very close to the court musician Gilles Binchois (c ), 35 contains to three-part roneaux in fa-clef notation, Tous esplaisirs n en sont prochains an Mon seul et souverain esir (fos 7v 8 an 20v 21) Both are anonymous in the manuscript, ut the secon song is firmly ascrie to Binchois in the slightly oler North Italian MS Oxfor 213 (fo 71v) 36 Both songs sho exactly the same to-octave range an the same system of fa-clefs as omme femme, an the same reaing proceure again results in a high clef alternative ith a one sharp signature, hich in oth cases ecomes inflecte y an acciental flat after a fe ars (see Examples an 5) 3 Accoring to Jeffrey Dean in Okeghem s attitue toars moality: Three-moe an eight-moe typologies, in Ursula Günther, Luig Finscher, an Jeffrey Dean (es), Moality in the music of the fourteenth an fifteenth centuries Moalität in er Musik es 1 un 15 Jahrhunerts (Musicological Stuies & Documents, 9; Neuhausen-Stuttgart, 1996), (at 219), only one example of a B-quaratum use as a key signature in a ontinental chanson survives from the 15th century, in the anonymous four-part arrangement of Se la face pale in Trento 89 fos 2v 25, in hich the three upper voices have a sharp at the start; cf Guillaume Dufay (e H Besseler, rev D Fallos), Opera omnia I antiones (orpus mensurailis musicae, 1; American Institute of Musicology, 1995), f Walter H Kemp, Burgunian ourt Song in the Time of Binchois The Anonymous hansons of El Escorial, MS III2 (Oxfor, 1990), an Dennis Slavin, Questions of Authority in Some Songs y Binchois, Journal of the Royal Musical Association, 117 (1992), A facsimile eition is in Wolfgang Rehm (e), oex Escorial: hansonnier Bilioteca el Monasterio El Escorial, Signatur: Ms III2 (Documenta musicologica ii/2; Kassel, 1958) 36 f H Schoop, Entstehung un erenung er Hanschrift Oxfor Boleian Lirary, anonici misc 213 (Pul er Scheizerischen Musikforschenen Gesellschaft, Ser II, 3; Bern, 1971) an the facsimile eition y Davi Fallos (e), Oxfor, Boleian Lirary, MS anon Misc 213 With an Introuction an Inventory (hicago, 1995) 26

15 hristoffersen Prenez sur moi vostre exemple While Binchois Mon seul et souverain esir has een iscusse in scholarly literature, 37 Tous esplaisirs has receive less attention Walter H Kemp tentatively ascrie it to Binchois ase on its use of imitation, hich oes not appear to e a very convincing criterion 38 The to songs ientical system of notation an the resulting soun orl is a much more convincing argument, an Dennis Slavin mentions this trait as a technical proceure otherise unique to Binchois hen iscussing Binchois authorship of omme femme 39 The late appearance of omme femme in the sources has put a question mark on the ascription in the Mellon hansonnier, ut Davi Fallos argues convincingly for keeping it ithin the Binchois canon 0 An e can a that its perceive late style fae aay hen the text s unusual poetic structure (roneau sixain) an high literary quality is taken into account an it is hear in the notation of Munich 9659 an Escorial Ia2 Then it is evient that a song not much younger than the to songs from the 130s as slightly moifie hen it as transforme into the fixe pitch notation of the late chansonniers I think that e can safely assume that Binchois compose all three chansons Possily he even invente the special notation ith to flats a fifth apart in every voice, hich permitte him to make songs ith a sharp in the upper voice ithout putting such unhear things on in notation This, hoever, raises the question if Binchois ever intene the notation to e of ineterminale pitch? There is a goo possiility that the notation must e rea a fifth higher than the efault reaing an that it is a sustitute for the unriteale : a superius ith a sharp key signature It is impossile to kno for sure, ut orth keeping in min The other songs in the Pavia hansonnier The small paper chansonnier Pavia 362 proaly originate in the region of Savoy sometime in the years aroun In aition to Baringant s L omme anny it contains three more three-part anonymous chansons ith the loer voices notate in fa-clefs, hile the upper voice has a letter clef They may all have een ritten originally in pure fa-clef notation, an e ill ust take a short look at them The roneau Pour avenir a mon actainte (fos 37v 38, see Example 61) has an arrangement of three flats an a 2 clef in the upper voice, hile the loer voices only have flats Accoring to the pitch inicate in the superius the clefs in tenor an contratenor have to e an F3 The formation of flats elongs to the moel ith fifths an fourths alternately A efault reaing of the flats ithout taking the letter clef 37 f Dahlhaus, Zu einer hanson, Mengozzi, lefless notation, an Slavin, Questions of Authority, Kemp, Burgunian ourt Song, Dennis Slavin, Genre, Final an Range: Unique Sorting Proceures in a Fifteenth-entury hansonnier, Musica Disciplina, 3 (1989), (at ) 0 In Thiault an Fallos (es), hansonnier e Jean e Montchenu, XII 1 f Frank A D Accone s Introuction to Pavia, Bilioteca Universitaria, Alini MS 362 (Renaissance Music in Facsimile, 16; Ne York, 1986), an Henrietta Schavran, The Manuscript Pavia, Bilioteca Universitaria, oice Alini 362: A Stuy of Song Traition in Italy circa , PhD issertation, Ne York University,

16 Danish Yearook of Musicology 2009 Example 6 Anonymous, Pour avenir a mon actainte 61 Pavia 362, fos 37v 38 [Superius] 1 9 ª ª [Tenor] [ontratenor] 9 ª ª 9 9 ªª 9 & Ó Ó 1 Pour 3 Trou Ó Ó Ó 1 Pour 3 Trou Ó 1 Pour 3 Trou a - ve - nir a mon - ver pe - ti - te fas - a - ve - nir - ver pe - ti - Ó a - ve - nir a mon - ver pe - ti - te fas - a te n mon fas Œ - 62 Incipits, Nivelle, fos 23v 2 S T 9 1 ª ª 9 1 ª ª ª ª 9 9 Example 7 Anonymous, Par ung seul mot ien oronné, Pavia 362, fos 5v 6, incipits S T 1 ª ª 9 ª ª ªª 9 9 Example 8 Anonymous, Puis qu il ha pleu a la tres elle, Pavia 362, fos 60v 61, incipits S T into account ill translate into these pitches from top to ottom: c''- f '- c' in superius, f '-c'- f in tenor, an c'- f in the contratenor; an the song ill soun in pure D-Dorian ithout any key signatures, a tone higher than in the locke reaing of Pavia 362 in -Dorian Its to-octave total tessitura can e move up an on quite a it, ut the most natural alternative reaing ith a set of G2, 2 an 3 clefs all ith one flat remaining is proaly not relevant as it prouces the very high tessitura of g - g'' The song reappears in the Nivelle hansonnier (fos 23v 2) an in the slightly later Florentine chansonnier, Florence 2356 (fos 83v 8), in normal notation ith 2,, clefs an signatures of to flats (see Example 62) 2 That the song originally really as conceive in fa-clefs is confirme y its appearance in the Nivelle hansonnier Here it stans shouler to shouler ith Baringant s L omme anny (as nos 19 an 20), an they proaly folloe each other through the transformation into stanar notation The to remaining songs in Pavia 362 are oth unique an follo the same pattern as Pour avenir in interpreting a fifth-fourth arrangement of flats as -Dorian Par ung seul mot ien oronné (fos 5v 6) is moreover musically relate to pour 2 In Florence 2356 the upper voice omits the secon flat, ut is otherise quite close to the Nivelle hansonnier 28

17 hristoffersen Prenez sur moi vostre exemple avenir (see Example 7), hile its text is a paraphrase of Guillaume Du Fay s famous song Le serviteur hault gueronné, 3 hich inspire many other pieces an is also notate in -Dorian Puis qu il ha pleu a la tres elle (fos 60v 61, see Example 8) is a tour e force in proportional notation From the eginning the tempus perfectum of the superius is uxtapose ith proportio upla in Tenor an ontra, hich must e performe tice as fast as the notes in the upper voice, an later on passages in the voices y turns have to e reuce to a fourth an an eighth of the notate values (longa = semirevis or minima) All of this coul ust as ell have een notate in integer valor, in normal values, an the composer might have avoie some clumsy passages an the copyist a lot of errors Here the notation as create to make a visual impact an one cannot help onering if the proale original fa-clef notation as part of this erfremung Especially the last song is in a lo tessitura, in a range from G to a ', an can ith some avantage e performe a fifth higher y using another set of letter clefs (G2,, ith only one flat), ut as e have seen efore the copyist has chosen to use the clefs, hich transform the fa-clefs irectly into a key signature Guillaume le Rouge an the Scheelsches Lieeruch Hartmann Scheel s private collection of a ie variety of music as estalishe in Germany aroun 160 an contains many songs ith no clefs at all 5 Such notation emans of its user a goo knolege of music But the collection also has at least one chanson in fa-clefs, the three-part ergerette Se e fais uel e n en ouis mais, hich in the Mellon hansonnier (fos 0v 2) is ascrie to the French composer Guillaume le Rouge In the Scheelsches Lieeruch it is not copie as an integral composition ecause the first part of the song, the refrain, is foun on fos 103v 105 ith only a short text incipit, hile the short couplets ith complete text are place on fo 2v they appear as to separate compositions Nonetheless, its version of the music is etter than the one in Mellon, hich in some passages interchanges the musical lines of Tenor an ontra, lurs the musical structure, an makes the performance of its complete text ifficult Mistakes in copying coul easily happen as the song is compose for equal voices In oth sources all three voices have three flats as clefs: fas1, fas3, fa5 6 They can e interprete in comination ith several imagine letter clefs: G2 ithout signature, 2 ith one flat, an the ovious ith to flats By virtue of its restricte range of only 11 notes this charming song can effortlessly e move eteen ifferent tessituras, an here the fa-clefs really coul e 3 Eite in Dufay, Opera omnia I, 112, see further Davi Fallos, The Songs of Guillaume Dufay ritical ommentary to the Revision of orpus Mensurailis Musicae, ser 1, vol I (Musicological Stuies & Documents, 7; Neuhausen-Stuttgart, 1995), All the songs mentione in this section can e foun in moern eitions at pchk/faclefshtml 5 See n 6 In Scheelches Lieeruch the flats are place one step too lo in the ontra, ut are given correctly in the secon section 29

18 Danish Yearook of Musicology 2009 meant to signal ineterminate pitch In this spirit Example 9 offers the song in a efault reaing ithout letter clefs an in a tonality ase on A, ut the users of the Scheelsches Lieeruch as ell as of the Mellon hansonnier oul proaly prefer a reaing ith clefs an in G-Dorian 7 Example 9 G le Rouge, Se e fais uel, Scheelsches Lieeruch, fos 103v 105+2v [Superius] Tenor ontra Se 3 Aul 1 Se 3 Aul e fais uel, - tre ment lan - e fais uel, - tre - ment lan - guir 1 Se 3 Aul guir The Lieeruch contains other pieces ith key signatures of to or three flats, an in at least to cases it looks like some of the letter clefs have een ae as an afterthought All of them are unique an anonymous three-part compositions, hich proaly originate as French chansons, all use fifth-fourth formations of fa-signs, an they have a somehat greater total range (to octaves an a thir or fourth) than the songs, hich e have een looking at until no, making them less flexile concerning placement of tessitura When copying Tant me esplet (fos 70v 71) an Du esir que tant (fos 105v 106) the scrie starte ithout any letter clefs at all, only rather careless fa-clefs, ut reaching the ontra voice he first rote a letter clef to clarify the reaing, an he also squeeze in some letter clefs eteen the flats in the alreay copie upper voices or in the margins The Latin (contrafactum) O floria rosaa (fos 50v 51) as copie after an exemplar ith letter clefs, ut the original French song might ell have een in fa-clefs as it is quite similar to the others Tonally they are more varie than the songs in the Pavia chansonnier; they are D-Phrygian, F-Mixolyian an -Dorian respectively, all ith to flats 8 Keeping Hartman Scheel s hait of omitting clefs in min, it is har to kno ho much e can rely on this evience But it is thought provoking that he realize that precisely these songs neee clefs, hen it i not matter in many other cases The to- or three-flat arrays look ifficult, ut in reality they convey aequate information for a performance Many songs ith a multi-flat signature may have starte life in a flexile fa-clef notation, hich alloe performances on several pitches For example, the songs ust mentione coul all in efault reaings e performe a tone higher ithout 7 This reaing is pulishe in Perkins an Garey, The Mellon hansonnier I, no 31 8 See n 30

19 hristoffersen Prenez sur moi vostre exemple any flats In a fe cases copying errors seem to inicate that a transformation from one system into another has taken place 9 Another interpretation, hich e have to take into account, coul e that in some circles uring a perio aroun 150 it might e regare as sufficient to notate the multi-flat signatures for pieces in for example -Dorian; the letter clefs ere ovious an superfluous All the pieces uner iscussion are French, an the sources in hich the letter clefs are ae to clarify the music (Pavia 362 an Scheelsches Lieeruch) are Italian an German But this, on the other han, oes not exclue that an element of pitch ineterminateness still as at ork, even if music scries later hen the notation as on its ay to olivion mae short ork of this element The theories of pitch ineterminateness cite at the start of this article still hol true, ut the investigation has shon that the situation turns out to e a it more complicate than that In aition to alloing performances of ineterminate pitch as such, the fa-clefs may have ha functions as means 1) to inicate alternative performing pitches a fifth apart y exchanging sets of ( imagine) letter clefs; 2) to allo the notation of songs, hich neee a key signature of one sharp in the uppermost voice (limite to formations of fifths only); 3) to make shorthan notation for letter clefs in compositions ith to- or threeflat signatures (limite to formations of fifths an fourths) 9 See the iscussion of the anonymous roneau La plus mignonne e mon cueur in the openhagen an Dion chansonniers at Something similar might e the case ith the three-part motet Beata ei genitrix ascrie to oth Dunstale an Binchois It appears ithout letter clefs in the tenor an contratenor voices in the MS Bologna Q15, fos 282v 283 (311v 312): Binchois; an MS Moena, fos 133v 13 (136v 137): Dunstale Other sources in normal notation ascrie it to Anglicus (Aosta, fos 167v 168) an to Dunstale (St Emmeran oex, fos 7v 8v) In the anonymous version in Trento 90, fos 335v 337, the motet appears ithout key signatures an ith rongly place clefs f Bologna Q15 The Making an Remaking of a Musical Manuscript Introuctory Stuy an Facsimile Eition y Margaret Bent (Lucca, 2008), vol 1, 232; the motet is eite in John Dunstale (Manfre Bukofzer, e), omplete Works (Musica Britannica II; Lonon, 1953), no 1, an Gilles Binchois (Philip Kaye, e), The sacre music of Gilles Binchois (Oxfor, 1992), no 56 The isposition of the key signatures coul inicate that the motet originally as notate in fa-clefs only, namely in superius fas2, fa, an in tenor an contratenor fa1, fas2, fas, hich offers an ovious reaing ith one flat in every voice in the letter clefs 1, 3, 3, in the range f- '', ut the fa-clefs coul of course also e rea as key signatures, as four sources o, ith to flats, 3, F3, F3, an range B - g' A efault reaing of the interlocke fa-clefs in fifth-fourth formation (as f '-c' / c'- f-c) prouces a motet in ithout flats an a range c - a' Maye the iea that fa-clefs o not esignate key signatures lies ehin the version ithout flats an the misplace clefs in Trento 90 The single signature (fas) in the first staff on fo 337 suggests that his exemplar as in fa-clefs, hich he trie to interpret ith an inaequate result The other scries succeee y ust interpreting the signs as key signatures an proviing letter clefs 31

20 Danish Yearook of Musicology 2009 Ockeghem s Prenez sur moi an Missa uiusvis toni While it is quite possile that the common music scrie s knolege of the meaning an avantages of the fa-clef notation as aning aroun the mile of the 15th century, Johannes Ockeghem (c ), the leaing musician in the chapel of four French kings, certainly kne all its secrets, an he as the first to see an hear its full potential Of course he as ell verse in the music of his frien, the oler master Binchois, on hose eath he rote the lament Mort, tu as navré, 50 an at Tours he live ith the music of Baringant an Guillaume le Rouge, a singer in the ucal chapel in neary Orléans uring the years With Prenez sur moi he reuce the concept of fa-clefs to essentials an use it to evelop or signal a ne technique of iatonic canon an imitation, hich here is presente emlematic in its stacke canon at the fourth an at the seventh anonic imitation as in the mile of the 15th century an earlier alays exact or strict an restricte to the intervals of unison an octave, an fifth an fourth Diatonic imitation, hich Ockeghem unfole in large imensions in Missa Prolationum, reprouces the numer value of an interval exactly, hile its quality might change (for example minor thir change to maor thir or vice versa) This metho of imitation soon ecame very common as it is easier to incorporate in harmony, an it as ecisive for the evelopment of the imitative style 51 The canon is notate as one single voice part ith a famous enigmatic array of flats an sharps (see Example 101) With a knolege of the fa-clefs the enigma is easily solve hen the signs are rea as clefs to at a time: The first to flats a fifth apart esignate c' an f, an the first note is a; the next to, a flat an a mi-sign, are f ' an -quaratum, an the secon voice starts on '; an the last to mi-signs have to e '-quaratum an e' ith the last voice starting on g' (cf Example 103) Hereafter the canon unfols ithout any key signatures, ith the voices in three ifferent intervallic realisations, an at a pitch convenient to the performers 52 Ockeghem s inuitale expertise in fa-clefs an the hole theoretical system surrouning them may have inspire the iea itself of the fourth-seventh canon Prenez sur moi vostre example amoureux in comination ith the poem s ors The point is that in a fifth-fourth formation of fa-signs moving one of the signs framing the fifth creates an automatic transposition of the folloing musical notation The mechanics are ran up in Example 102: The asic fifth c'- f efines the note a If the loer flat is move one step up, the signs ecome f '- c', an the ritten note is no ' Moving also the upper sign creates a ne fifth c''- f ' an the pitch g' Instea of moving the fa-signs Ockeghem ust replace them ith the sign for the loer 50 See latest Farice Fitch, Restoring Ockeghem s Mort, tu as navré, Tischrift van e Koninklike ereniging voor Neerlanse Muziekgeschieenis, 51 (2001), Urquhart, alculate to Please, 76 79, an iem, Three Sample Prolems of Eitorial Accientals in hansons y Busnoys an Ockeghem, in JA Oens an A ummings (es), Music in Renaissance ities an ourts: Stuies in Honor of Leis Lockoo (Warren, MI, 1996), For an eition an a complete iliography of eitions an scholarly literature, see 32