What is Notre Dame Organum?
So what is it?
Organum, by definition was a second voice composed to decorate an original plainchant. At it's derivation, the second voice was composed note-against-note, but it became more melismatic with time, so there were many notes for each original note of the chant. This is called florid organum. From there, polyphonic music progressed to what was known as Notre Dame organum.
Notre Dame organum was at it's height in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. It is named as such because it originated at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The musicians at the Notre Dame school were the first to solve the problem of notating more than two voices by fixing a definite rhythm. The best composers of organum are also the first composers that were identified by name (most music prior to t!
hat time had anonymous composers). Leonin composed a great book of organum, or Magnus Liber Organi. This book contained Graduals and Alleluias that he had elaborated. Later, Perotin modified Leonin's work by adding better clausulae, or chunks of music. (Music of the Western World, 61)
There are three types of Notre Dame Organum. Organum purum is the most simple, having no rhythm. It consists of a tenor voice, which sings the original plainchant and a duplum, which is an ornate, melismatic upper voice that decorates the original chant. Copula is the next type of Notre Dame organum. The top voice(s) in this case did have rhythm, but the original chant was still without any meter. Discant was the most advanced form of Notre Dame organum; both the chant and the organal voices had rhythm. Although the original setting of the chant was not rhythmic, composers maintained its integrity by using the same pitches in the same order, often repeating the pitc!
hes for one syllable or word over and over.
With the invention of rhythm came the idea of rhythmic modes. There were six commonly used modes. These could be used throughout an entire piece or mixed and matched to create diversity. The modes were as follows: (for this purpose, Long equals the approximation of a dotted quarter note, long equals a quarter, and short equals an eighth note)
I. long followed by short
II. short followed by long
III. Long, short, long
IV. short, long, Long
V. Long, Long
VI. short, short, short
The music was divided into triple meter, representing the trilogy. This was considered perfect meter.
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