St. Martial School
Encyclopedia
The Saint Martial School was a medieval school of composition centered in the Abbey of Saint Martial, Limoges
, France
. It is known for the composition of trope
s, sequence
s, and early organum
. In this respect, it was an important precursor to the Notre Dame School
.
Most of the manuscripts that are from the abbey are now at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. It is unknown to what extent these manuscripts reflect the products of Saint Martial in particular, or were collections of works from various places in Southern France. No composers of the school are known by name. The only Old Occitan song with surviving musical notation for all stanzas is a product of Saint Martial: O Maria, Deu maire
.
Limoges
Limoges |Limousin]] dialect of Occitan) is a city and commune, the capital of the Haute-Vienne department and the administrative capital of the Limousin région in west-central France....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It is known for the composition of trope
Trope (music)
A trope or tropus may be a variety of different things in medieval and modern music.The term trope derives from the Greek τρόπος , "a turn, a change" , related to the root of the verb τρέπειν , "to turn, to direct, to alter, to change"...
s, sequence
Sequence (poetry)
A sequence is a chant or hymn sung or recited during the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist for many Christian denominations, before the proclamation of the Gospel. By the time of the Council of Trent there were sequences for many feasts in the Church's year.The sequence has always been sung...
s, and early organum
Organum
Organum is, in general, a plainchant melody with at least one added voice to enhance the harmony, developed in the Middle Ages. Depending on the mode and form of the chant, a supporting bass line may be sung on the same text, the melody may be followed in parallel motion , or a combination of...
. In this respect, it was an important precursor to the Notre Dame School
Notre Dame school
The group of composers working at or near the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris from about 1160 to 1250, along with the music they produced, is referred to as the Notre Dame school, or the Notre Dame School of Polyphony....
.
Most of the manuscripts that are from the abbey are now at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. It is unknown to what extent these manuscripts reflect the products of Saint Martial in particular, or were collections of works from various places in Southern France. No composers of the school are known by name. The only Old Occitan song with surviving musical notation for all stanzas is a product of Saint Martial: O Maria, Deu maire
O Maria, Deu maire
O Maria, Deu maire is an Old Occitan song, a hymn to the Virgin Mary, unique in being both the only song from the Saint Martial school that is entirely in the vernacular and the only medieval Occitan song with extant musical notation for all its stanzas...
.