Quodlibet
Encyclopedia
A quodlibet is a piece of music
combining several different melodies
, usually popular tunes, in counterpoint
and often a light-hearted, humorous manner. The term is Latin
, meaning "whatever" or literally, "what pleases." There are three main types of quodlibet:
Ludwig Senfl
whose ability to juxtapose several pre-existing melodies in a cantus firmus
quodlibet resulted in works such as Ach Elselein/Es taget, a piece noted for its symbol
ism rather than its humor. Even earlier we can find another example in Francisco de Peñalosa
's Por las sierras de Madrid, from his Cancionero Musical de Palacio. However, it was Praetorius
who, in 1618, provided the first systematic definition of the quodlibet as "a mixture of diverse elements quoted
from sacred and secular compositions". During the Renaissance
, a composer's ability to juxtapose several pre-existing melodies, such as in the cantus firmus
quodlibet, was considered the ultimate mastery of counterpoint
.
developed in Spain, and the fricassée likewise in France.
The word also refers to a mode of academic debate or oral examination (usually theological
) in which any question could be posed extemporaneously. Quodlibet debates were popular in Western culture through the thirteenth century and are still in use today in Tibetan Buddhist
theological training.
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
combining several different melodies
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
, usually popular tunes, in counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
and often a light-hearted, humorous manner. The term is Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, meaning "whatever" or literally, "what pleases." There are three main types of quodlibet:
- A catalogue quodlibet consists of a free setting of catalogue poetry (usually humorous lists of loosely related items).
- In a successive quodlibet, one voice has short musical quotationMusical quotationMusical quotation is the practice of directly quoting another work in a new composition. The quotation may be from the same composer's work , or from a different composer's work ....
s and textual quotations while the other voices provide homophonicHomophonyIn music, homophony is a texture in which two or more parts move together in harmony, the relationship between them creating chords. This is distinct from polyphony, in which parts move with rhythmic independence, and monophony, in which all parts move in parallel rhythm and pitch. A homophonic...
accompanimentAccompanimentIn music, accompaniment is the art of playing along with an instrumental or vocal soloist or ensemble, often known as the lead, in a supporting manner...
. - In a simultaneous quodlibet, two or more pre-existing melodies are combined. The simultaneous quodlibet may be considered a historical antecedent to the modern-day musical mashupMashup (music)A mashup or bootleg is a song or composition created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs, usually by overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the instrumental track of another...
.
Renaissance
The origins of the quodlibet can be traced to the 15th century, when the practice of combining folk tunes was popular. Composer Wolfgang Schmeltzl first used the term in a specifically musical context in 1544. An early exponent of the genre was 16th century composerComposer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Ludwig Senfl
Ludwig Senfl
Ludwig Senfl was a Swiss composer of the Renaissance, active in Germany. He was the most famous pupil of Heinrich Isaac, was music director to the court of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, and was an influential figure in the development of the Franco-Flemish polyphonic style in...
whose ability to juxtapose several pre-existing melodies in a cantus firmus
Cantus 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...
quodlibet resulted in works such as Ach Elselein/Es taget, a piece noted for its symbol
Symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
ism rather than its humor. Even earlier we can find another example in Francisco de Peñalosa
Francisco de Peñalosa
Francisco de Peñalosa was a Spanish composer of the middle Renaissance.-Life:He was born in Talavera de la Reina in the province of Toledo. He spent most of his career in Seville, serving as the maestro di capilla, though he also spent time in Burgos, and three years in Rome at the papal chapel...
's Por las sierras de Madrid, from his Cancionero Musical de Palacio. However, it was Praetorius
Praetorius
Praetorius, Prätorius, Prætorius was the name of several musicians and scholars in Germany.In Germany of the 16th and 17th centuries it became a fashion that educated people named "Schulze" or "Schultheiß" or "Richter", which means "judge", put their name into the Latin language as "Praetorius",...
who, in 1618, provided the first systematic definition of the quodlibet as "a mixture of diverse elements quoted
Musical quotation
Musical quotation is the practice of directly quoting another work in a new composition. The quotation may be from the same composer's work , or from a different composer's work ....
from sacred and secular compositions". During the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
, a composer's ability to juxtapose several pre-existing melodies, such as in the cantus firmus
Cantus 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...
quodlibet, was considered the ultimate mastery of counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
.
19th century to today
The quodlibet took on additional functions between the beginning and middle of the 19th century, when it became known as the potpourri and the musical switch. In these forms, the quodlibet would often feature anywhere from six to fifty or more consecutive "quotations;" the distinct incongruity between words and music served as a potent source of parody and entertainment. In the 20th century, the quodlibet remained a genre in which well-known tunes and/or texts were quoted, either simultaneously or in succession, generally for humorous effect.Variants
In the 16th century, an independent variant of the quodlibet named ensaladaEnsalada (music)
The ensalada is a genre of polyphonic secular music mixing languages and dialects and nonsensical quodlibets.The term is known mainly through a publication, Las Ensaladas de Flecha Prague by Mateo Flecha the younger, that contains six long four-part vocal compositions by his uncle Mateo Flecha...
developed in Spain, and the fricassée likewise in France.
The word also refers to a mode of academic debate or oral examination (usually theological
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
) in which any question could be posed extemporaneously. Quodlibet debates were popular in Western culture through the thirteenth century and are still in use today in Tibetan Buddhist
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
theological training.
In the Classical repertoire
- A quodlibet is at the end of BachJohann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's Goldberg VariationsGoldberg VariationsThe Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, is a work for harpsichord by Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of an aria and a set of 30 variations. First published in 1741, the work is considered to be one of the most important examples of variation form...
. - Gallimathias Musicum, a 17 part quodlibet composed by Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
at the age of ten. - The massesMass (music)The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy to music...
of Jacob ObrechtJacob ObrechtJacob Obrecht was a Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was the most famous composer of masses in Europe in the late 15th century, being eclipsed by only Josquin des Prez after his death.-Life:...
, which sometimes combine popular tuneTuneTune may refer to:* A melody* A tune-family* A tune , a short piece of instrumental music, usually with repeating sections, and often played a number of times* British slang term, often said when referring to a piece of music that is enjoyed...
s, plainsongPlainsongPlainsong is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Catholic Church. Though the Eastern Orthodox churches and the Catholic Church did not split until long after the origin of plainchant, Byzantine chants are generally not classified as plainsong.Plainsong is monophonic, consisting of a...
and original music. - BachJohann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's Wedding QuodlibetQuodlibet, BWV 524The Quodlibet or Wedding Quodlibet, BWV 524, is a lighthearted composition by Johann Sebastian Bach which today exists only in fragmentary form. The line In diesem Jahre haben wir zwei Sonnenfinsternissen places the composition of the piece in or shortly after 1707, when central Germany was...
or Quodlibet, which is not a quodlibet by the above definition but a ten-minute procession of nonsense, jokes, punPunThe pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
s, obscure cultural references, word games, and parody of other songs. At times, the music imitates a chaconneChaconneA chaconne ; is a type of musical composition popular in the baroque era when it was much used as a vehicle for variation on a repeated short harmonic progression, often involving a fairly short repetitive bass-line which offered a compositional outline for variation, decoration, figuration and...
and a fugueFugueIn music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
while deliberately obscuring the counterpoint. It is unlike any of Bach's other works, and a few scholars doubt its authenticity.
Modern examples
- Quodlibet on Welsh Nursery Rhymes by Welsh composer Alun HoddinottAlun HoddinottAlun Hoddinott CBE , was a Welsh composer of classical music, one of the first to receive international recognition.-Life and works:...
. - The Grateful DeadGrateful DeadThe Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
's medley The Other One includes the song, Quodlibet for Tenderfeet. - Peter SchickelePeter SchickeleJohann Peter Schickele is an American composer, musical educator, and parodist. He is best known for his comedy music albums featuring his music that he presents as music written by the fictional composer P. D. Q...
's Quodlibet for Small Orchestra and Unbegun Symphony. - Pianist Glenn GouldGlenn GouldGlenn Herbert Gould was a Canadian pianist who became one of the best-known and most celebrated classical pianists of the 20th century. He was particularly renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard music of Johann Sebastian Bach...
improvised a quodlibet including The Star-Spangled BannerThe Star-Spangled Banner"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...
and God Save the King. According to his account, Gould came up with this Quodlibet while taking a bath. - Scholar Alan W. Pollack has pointed out that The BeatlesThe BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' I've Got a FeelingI've Got a Feeling"I've Got a Feeling" is a song by The Beatles, from the 1970 album Let It Be. It is one of the songs on the album from the Rooftop Concert...
is a quodlibet of sorts. (See link: http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/AWP/igaf.shtml.) - I BelieveI Believe (1953 song)"I Believe" is the name of a popular song written by Ervin Drake, Irvin Graham, Jimmy Shirl and Al Stillman in 1953.I Believe was commissioned and introduced by Jane Froman on her television show, and became the first hit song ever introduced on TV...
– Stan Beard and Barry Tucker published a quodlibet arrangement of this popular sacred song with Bach-Gounod Ave Maria in 1972 - Nina SimoneNina SimoneEunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
's 1958 interpretation of "Little Girl BlueLittle Girl Blue (song)"Little Girl Blue" is a popular song with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, published in 1935. The song was introduced by Gloria Grafton in the Broadway musical Jumbo....
" is a quodlibet, combining the Rodgers and Hart melody and lyrics with the melody of the popular carol "Good King WenceslasGood King Wenceslas"Good King Wenceslas" is a popular Christmas carol about a king who goes out to give alms to a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen . During the journey, his page is about to give up the struggle against the cold weather, but is enabled to continue by following the king's footprints, step for step,...
".
See also
- Contrast (music)Contrast (music)In music and musical form, procedures of contrast include stratification, juxtaposition, and interpolation. Procedures of connection include gradation, amalgamation, and dissolution. Contrast is also when you compare two different instrument sounds to each other. It can also be the difference...
- Mashup (music)Mashup (music)A mashup or bootleg is a song or composition created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs, usually by overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the instrumental track of another...
- Musical ParodyParody musicParody music, or musical parody, involves changing or recycling existing musical ideas or lyrics — or copying the peculiar style of a composer or artist, or even a general style of music. Although the result is often funny, and this is the usual intent — the term "parody" in musical terms also...
- Potpourri (music)Potpourri (music)Potpourri or Pot-Pourri is a kind of musical form structured as ABCDEF..., the same as medley or, sometimes, fantasia. It is often used in light, easy-going and popular types of music....
- Medley (music)Medley (music)In music, a medley is a piece composed from parts of existing pieces, usually three, played one after another, sometimes overlapping. They are common in popular music, and most medleys are songs rather than instrumental. A medley which is a remixed series is called a megamix, often done with tracks...