What are motets used for?
Typically, it is a Latin religious choral composition, yet it can be a secular composition or a work for soloist(s) and instrumental accompaniment, in any language, with or without a choir. The motet began in the early 13th century as an application of a new text (i.e., “word”) to older music.
Are motets sacred?
A motet is a sacred choral piece sung in several parts. That, at least, is about as close as one can get to a definition of ‘motet’ without excluding whole swathes of repertoire.
What period is motets?
Renaissance music
The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Margaret Bent, “a piece of music in several parts with words” is as precise a definition of the motet as will serve from the 13th to the late 16th century and beyond.
What is a motet in the Middle Ages?
A motet is a piece of polyphonic choral music commonly associated with the Renaissance period of classical music. The form emerged in the Medieval period as an early form of vocal polyphony.
Who is the master of motet?
From its roots in the Notre Dame church and initial innovations made by Guillaume de Machaut in the late Medieval period, the motet was perfected by great Renaissance composers Josquin des Prez and, later, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.
How many voices are in a motet?
three voices
A. Motets are now quite often for three voices (two voices with text and the Tenor). The Tenor at first is still organized into its repeatable rhythmic cells and moves at about the same speed of the other voices. The upper voices generally have two different French texts.
What is motet in Renaissance?
Motet: In the Renaissance, this is a sacred polyphonic choral setting with a Latin text, sometimes in imitative counterpoint.
Which are characteristics of the motet?
Motet Definition
In general, motets used religious texts not used in the mass, since by this time, the mass already had standardized music. Motets were often polyphonic, meaning there were various vocal parts sung at the same time.
What is the rhythm of motet?
The motet took a definite rhythm from the words of the verse, and as such appeared as a brief rhythmic interlude in the middle of the longer, more chant-like organum. The practice of discant over a cantus firmus marked the beginnings of counterpoint in Western music.