Fauxbourdon
Encyclopedia
Fauxbourdon – French
for false bass – is a technique of musical harmonisation
used in the late Middle Ages
and early Renaissance
, particularly by composers of the Burgundian School
. Guillaume Dufay
was a prominent practitioner of the form, and may have been its inventor. The monotonous
quality
of the parallel harmony allows the text of the mostly liturgical lyrics
to be understood clearly.
and two other part
s a sixth
and a perfect fourth
below. To prevent monotony, or create a cadence
, the lowest voice sometimes jumps down to the octave, and any of the accompanying voices may have minor embellishments. Usually just a small part of a composition employs the fauxbourdon technique.
, the term is sometimes used when the congregation sings in parallel octave
s, with some singers singing a treble
descant
over the melody, but the term was historically used to indicate an arrangement of the tune in four parts with the melody in the tenor voice, such as those composed by Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century English composers including John Dowland
, Giles Farnaby
, and Thomas Ravenscroft
.
manuscript I-BC Q15 (Bologna, Civico museo bibliografico musicale, Q15), compiled around 1440, which contains several examples, including one by Dufay, dating probably to around 1430. Since many early 15th century compositions are anonymous, and dating is often problematic, exact determination of the authorship of the earliest fauxbourdon is difficult. Dufay's contribution to this collection contains the first actual use of the term, in the closing part of his Missa Sancti Jacobi. It is possible that his use of the word "bourdon" was intended as a pun on St. James' "staff" (which Dufay, or the copyist, drew in miniature above the music).
The earliest definitely datable example of fauxbourdon is in a motet
by Dufay, Supremum est mortalibus, which was written for the treaty reconciling the differences between Pope Eugene IV
and Sigismund
, after which Sigismund was crowned as Holy Roman Emperor
, which happened on May 31, 1433. In this motet, which is for four voices, when the tenor—the lowest voice—drops out, the upper three voices proceed in fauxbourdon.
Even though its first use appears to have been in Italy
, fauxbourdon was to become a defining characteristic of the Burgundian style which flourished in the Low Countries
through the middle of the 15th century. Composers such as Gilles Binchois
, Antoine Busnois
, and Johannes Brassart
all frequently used the technique, always adapting it to their personal styles.
A related, but separate, development took place in England in the 15th century, called faburden. While superficially similar, especially in that it involved chains of 6-3 chords with octave-fifth consonances at the ends of phrases, faburden was a schematic method of harmonization of an existing chant; in the case of faburden, the chant was in the middle voice.
Music of France
France has a wide variety of indigenous folk music, as well as styles played by immigrants from Africa, Latin America and Asia. In the field of classical music, France has produced a number of legendary composers, while modern pop music has seen the rise of popular French hip hop, techno/funk,...
for false bass – is a technique of musical harmonisation
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
used in the late Middle Ages
Medieval music
Medieval music is Western music written during the Middle Ages. This era begins with the fall of the Roman Empire and ends sometime in the early fifteenth century...
and early Renaissance
Renaissance music
Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance. Defining the beginning of the musical era is difficult, given that its defining characteristics were adopted only gradually; musicologists have placed its beginnings from as early as 1300 to as late as the 1470s.Literally meaning...
, particularly by composers of the Burgundian School
Burgundian School
The Burgundian School is a term used to denote a group of composers active in the 15th century in what is now northern and eastern France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, centered on the court of the Dukes of Burgundy. The main names associated with this school are Guillaume Dufay, Gilles Binchois,...
. Guillaume Dufay
Guillaume Dufay
Guillaume Dufay was a Franco-Flemish composer of the early Renaissance. As the central figure in the Burgundian School, he was the most famous and influential composer in Europe in the mid-15th century.-Early life:From the evidence of his will, he was probably born in Beersel, in the vicinity of...
was a prominent practitioner of the form, and may have been its inventor. The monotonous
Monotone
Monotone refers to a sound, for example speech or music, that has a single unvaried tone.Monotone or monotonicity may also refer to:*Monotone , an open source revision control system*Monotone class theorem, in measure theory...
quality
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
of the parallel harmony allows the text of the mostly liturgical lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
to be understood clearly.
Description
In its simplest form, fauxbourdon consists of the cantus firmusCantus firmus
In music, a cantus firmus is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition.The plural of this Latin term is , though the corrupt form canti firmi is also attested...
and two other part
Part
Part may refer to:*Part *Part , a relation in mereology*Part , the music played or sung by an individual instrument or voice*Parts , a 1997 children's book by Tedd Arnold...
s a sixth
Interval (music)
In music theory, an interval is a combination of two notes, or the ratio between their frequencies. Two-note combinations are also called dyads...
and a perfect fourth
Perfect fourth
In classical music from Western culture, a fourth is a musical interval encompassing four staff positions , and the perfect fourth is a fourth spanning five semitones. For example, the ascending interval from C to the next F is a perfect fourth, as the note F lies five semitones above C, and there...
below. To prevent monotony, or create a cadence
Cadence (music)
In Western musical theory, a cadence is, "a melodic or harmonic configuration that creates a sense of repose or resolution [finality or pause]." A harmonic cadence is a progression of two chords that concludes a phrase, section, or piece of music...
, the lowest voice sometimes jumps down to the octave, and any of the accompanying voices may have minor embellishments. Usually just a small part of a composition employs the fauxbourdon technique.
Hymn singing
In a hymnHymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
, the term is sometimes used when the congregation sings in parallel octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
s, with some singers singing a treble
Boy soprano
A boy soprano is a young male singer with an unchanged voice in the soprano range. Although a treble, or choirboy, may also be considered to be a boy soprano, the more colloquial term boy soprano is generally only used for boys who sing, perform, or record as soloists, and who may not necessarily...
descant
Descant
Descant or discant can refer to several different things in music, depending on the period in question; etymologically, the word means a voice above or removed from others....
over the melody, but the term was historically used to indicate an arrangement of the tune in four parts with the melody in the tenor voice, such as those composed by Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century English composers including John Dowland
John Dowland
John Dowland was an English Renaissance composer, singer, and lutenist. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep" , "Come again", "Flow my tears", "I saw my Lady weepe" and "In darkness let me dwell", but his instrumental music has undergone a major revival, and has...
, Giles Farnaby
Giles Farnaby
Giles Farnaby was an English composer and virginalist of the Renaissance and Baroque periods.-Life:Giles Farnaby was born about 1563, perhaps in Truro, Cornwall, England or near London. His father, Thomas, was a Cittizen and Joyner of London, and Giles may have been related to Thomas Farnaby , the...
, and Thomas Ravenscroft
Thomas Ravenscroft
Thomas Ravenscroft was an English musician, theorist and editor, notable as a composer of rounds and catches, and especially for compiling collections of British folk music.He probably sang in the choir of St...
.
History
The earliest example of fauxbourdon may be in the BolognaBologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
manuscript I-BC Q15 (Bologna, Civico museo bibliografico musicale, Q15), compiled around 1440, which contains several examples, including one by Dufay, dating probably to around 1430. Since many early 15th century compositions are anonymous, and dating is often problematic, exact determination of the authorship of the earliest fauxbourdon is difficult. Dufay's contribution to this collection contains the first actual use of the term, in the closing part of his Missa Sancti Jacobi. It is possible that his use of the word "bourdon" was intended as a pun on St. James' "staff" (which Dufay, or the copyist, drew in miniature above the music).
The earliest definitely datable example of fauxbourdon is in a motet
Motet
In classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...
by Dufay, Supremum est mortalibus, which was written for the treaty reconciling the differences between Pope Eugene IV
Pope Eugene IV
Pope Eugene IV , born Gabriele Condulmer, was pope from March 3, 1431, to his death.-Biography:He was born in Venice to a rich merchant family, a Correr on his mother's side. Condulmer entered the Order of Saint Augustine at the monastery of St. George in his native city...
and Sigismund
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Sigismund of Luxemburg KG was King of Hungary, of Croatia from 1387 to 1437, of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor for four years from 1433 until 1437, the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg. He was also King of Italy from 1431, and of Germany from 1411...
, after which Sigismund was crowned as Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
, which happened on May 31, 1433. In this motet, which is for four voices, when the tenor—the lowest voice—drops out, the upper three voices proceed in fauxbourdon.
Even though its first use appears to have been in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, fauxbourdon was to become a defining characteristic of the Burgundian style which flourished in the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
through the middle of the 15th century. Composers such as Gilles Binchois
Gilles Binchois
Gilles de Binche , also known as Gilles de Bins , was a Franco-Flemish composer, one of the earliest members of the Burgundian School, and one of the three most famous composers of the early 15th century...
, Antoine Busnois
Antoine Busnois
Antoine Busnois was a French composer and poet of the early Renaissance Burgundian School. While also noted as a composer of sacred music, such as motets, he was one of the most renowned 15th-century composers of secular chansons...
, and Johannes Brassart
Johannes Brassart
Johannes Brassart was a Burgundian composer of the early Renaissance. Of his output, only sacred vocal music has survived, and it typifies early 15th century practice.- Life :...
all frequently used the technique, always adapting it to their personal styles.
A related, but separate, development took place in England in the 15th century, called faburden. While superficially similar, especially in that it involved chains of 6-3 chords with octave-fifth consonances at the ends of phrases, faburden was a schematic method of harmonization of an existing chant; in the case of faburden, the chant was in the middle voice.
Sources
- http://www.vanderbilt.edu/Blair/Courses/MUSL242/dufay98.htm
- http://www.dolmetsch.com/defsf.htm
- H. Besseler, Bourdon und Fauxbourdon (Leipzig, 1950)
- "Sources, MS: Renaissance Polyphony": The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980. ISBN 1-56159-174-2
- Brian Trowell: "Fauxbourdon", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed August 20, 2005), (subscription access)
- Gustave ReeseGustave ReeseGustave Reese was an American musicologist and teacher. Reese is known mainly for his work on medieval and Renaissance music, particularly with his two publications Music in the Middle Ages and Music in the Renaissance ; these two books remain the standard reference works for these two eras,...
, Music in the Renaissance. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1954. ISBN 0-393-09530-4 - H. Grace, H. V. Hughes, H. R. Norton, G. Shaw, M. Shaw, and C. A. Becket Williams, The Tenor Tune Book (London, 1917)