The Polyphony Database
polyphonydatabase@gmail.com
About the database❯
PolyphonyDatabase.com is a detailed catalogue of early music sources designed to help musicians perform, academics study, and enthusiasts explore a vast and glorious repertoire quickly and easily. It aims to combine the practicality of CPDL with the academic rigour and ambition of the RISM census, to make use of similar projects where possible, and to directly combat the frustrations performing musicians have with all existing resources.
Its three main goals are:
- To assist performers, directors, and editors by cataloguing the contents of primary sources, source concordances, and basic information about how each piece of music can be performed.
- To provide a reliable starting point for academic research by linking to library catalogues, other existing databases, and facsimile images of early music manuscripts and prints.
- To provide a repository for properly sourced critical editions, performing scores, and recordings of as much of this music as possible, each carefully vetted for typesetting quality and accuracy, and made available for free download, so that this music might be discovered and appreciated by a wider audience.
The database was founded by Francis Bevan in 2014 as an outlet for his editing hobby and is regularly updated by him and a small team of enthusiasts. If you would like to contribute some cataloguing time, recordings or editions, submit corrections, commission an edition or just donate some cash, please get in touch with Francis via email: polyphonydatabase@gmail.com. Read more about the project's history at the 2018 Crowdfunder page.
The best way to help fund the project is to commission performing editions. New editions can be made quickly for as little as £10.
Understanding the clef images
A red clef means the voice is missing from this source. Where there are no concordances to fill in the gaps, this means the piece will require reconstruction.
A green clef means the voice is incomplete in this source. This might denote a fragment of a larger work, or a e.g. canonic voice that isn't written out in full.
A faded clef means much of the piece can be performed without this voice. For example, an extra 6th voice in the Agnus Dei of an otherwise 5vv Mass setting, or a short gimel in a big votive antiphon. Filtering by number of voices will exclude these clefs, while filtering by a specific voice combination will include them.
A blue clef denotes a voice that uses more than one clef in this source - this is particularly prevalent in earlier printed sources. We've estimated the larger clef on the left to be the most used to give an idea of voice distribution at a glance.
An X clef is used as a placeholder for voices we know are necessary, but haven't yet worked out which! This can be because there are no extant sources for a missing voice and no reconstruction has yet been attempted (it will normally become obvious which voice is missing once editing starts), or because we have catalogued a source from an incomplete facsimile that we know to be complete elsewhere.
Title |
Function(s) |
Composer |
# |
Sources |
Scapulis suis
Francis Bevan (ATTBarB)
|
Lent I |
Palestrina, Giovanni Pierluigi da
c.1525–1594
|
5 |
Offertoria totius anni, secundum Sanc... (RISM P746)
Offertoria totius anni, secundum Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae consuetudinem, quinque vocibus concinenda... pars prima
Rome: Coattino, Francesco, 1593
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#19
|
|
Attrib: Ioan. Petro Aloysio Praenestino |
|
Offertoria totius anni secundum Sanct... (RISM P748)
Offertoria totius anni secundum Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae consuetudinem quinque vocibus concinenda ... Pars Prima
Venice: Gardano, Angelo, 1594
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#19
|
|
Attrib: Ioan. Petro Aloysio Praenestino |
|
Offertoria ... et Cantica canticorum ... (I-Bc U.4)
Offertoria ... et Cantica canticorum eiusdem
Bologna, c.1600-c.1699
(Score, MS)
#19
|
|
Attrib: Io. Petri Aloisii Praenestini |
|
|
Scapulis suis obumbrabit tibi
Francis Bevan (ATBarB)
Pothárn Imre (Up a tone)
Pothárn Imre
|
|
Lassus, Orlande de
c.1532–1594
|
4 |
Lectiones sacrae novem, ex libris Hio... (RISM L940)
Lectiones sacrae novem, ex libris Hiob excerptae, musicis numeris iam recens compositae nec non aliae nonnulae piae cantiones, omnibus qui tam vivae vocis quam instrumentorum musicorum cantu non imperite utuntur, apprime accommodae quatuor vocum
Munich: Berg, Adam, 1582
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#11
|
|
Attrib: Orlando de Lasso |
|
Tertium opus musicum, continens Lecti... (RISM 1588/8)
Tertium opus musicum, continens Lectiones Hiobet motectas seu cantiones sacras, quatuor, quinque et sex vocum, antea quidem tribus fasciculis seorsim excusas, nunc vero in volumen unum redactas
Nuremberg: Gerlach, Katharina, 1588
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#11
|
|
Attrib: Orlando de Lasso |
|
Magnum opus musicum ... Complectens o... (RISM L1019)
Magnum opus musicum ... Complectens omnes cantiones quas motetas vulgo vocant, tam antea editas quam hactenus nondum publicatas II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. IIX. IX. X. XII. vocum a Ferdinando serenissimi bavariae ducis maximiliani musicorum praefecto, & Rudolpho, eidem Principi ab Organis; Authoris filiis summo studio collectum, & impensis eorundem Typis mandatum
Munich: Heinrich, Nikolaus, 1604
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#95
|
|
Attrib: Orlandi de Lasso |
|
|
Scaramella fa la galla
|
|
Compère, Loyset
c.1445–1518
|
4 |
|
Scarco di doglia e pien di gioia - Ma'l bel pensier che suo mal
Pothárn Imre (SATTB)
|
|
Rore, Cipriano de
1515/1516–1565
|
5 |
Musica di Cipriano Rore sopra le stan... (RISM 1548/10)
Musica di Cipriano Rore sopra le stanze del Petrarcha in laude della Madonna, Et altri Madrigali a cinque voci, Con cinque Madrigali di due parte l'uno del medesmo autore bellissimi non piu veduti, Insieme quatro Madrigali nuovi a Cinque di Messer Adriano. Libro terzo
Venice: Gardano, Antonio, 1548
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#21
|
|
Attrib: Cipriano Rore |
|
Bourdenay codex (F-Pn 851)
Paris, c.1570-c.1599
(Score, MS)
#159
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
|
|
Scavez vous ce que je desire
|
|
Pevernage, Andreas
1542/1543–1591
|
5 |
|
Scendi dal Paradiso
|
|
Marenzio, Luca
1553/1554–1599
|
5 |
|
Scherza madonna e dice
|
|
Philips, Peter
1560–1628
|
6 |
Sambrook book (US-NYp Drexel 4302)
London: Tregian, Francis (ii), 1613-1619
(Score, MS)
RISM
#135
|
|
Attrib: Philippi |
|
|
Scherzando con diletto
|
|
Marenzio, Luca
1553/1554–1599
|
5 |
|
Scherza nel canto
|
|
Wert, Giaches de
1535–1596
|
5 |
|
Schiet'arbuscel di cui ramo ne foglia
|
|
Rore, Cipriano de
1515/1516–1565
|
4 |
|
Sciant gentes quoniam nomen tibi
|
|
Ratti, Lorenzo
1589/1590–1630
|
5 |
|
Scielgan l'alme sorelle - Ardir senno virtu
Pothárn Imre
|
|
Rore, Cipriano de
1515/1516–1565
|
5 |
|
Scile fragor ac verborum tumultus
|
|
Compère, Loyset
c.1445–1518
|
4 |
|
Scimus quoniam diligentibus - Sed quid dicemus ad haec
|
|
Anon
|
4 |
Symphoniae iucundae atque adeo breves... (RISM 1538/8)
Symphoniae iucundae atque adeo breves quatuor vocum, ab optimis quibusque musicis compositae, ac iuxta ordinem Tonorum dispositae, quas vulgo mutetas appellare solemus, numero quinquaginta duo
Wittenburg: Rhau, Georg, 1538
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#27
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
|
|
Scindite corda
|
|
Massaino, Tiburtio
before 1550–after 1608
|
2 |
|
Scindite corda vestra
Francis Bevan (SSATTB)
|
|
Clavijo, Bernardo
c.1545–1626
|
6 |
Motecta ad canendum tam cum quattuor,... (RISM C2641)
Motecta ad canendum tam cum quattuor, quinque, sex, & octo vocibus, quam cum instrumentis composita
Rome: Gardano, Alessandro, 1588
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#14
|
|
Attrib: Clavijo |
|
|
Scindite corda vestra
|
|
Pontio, Pietro
1532–1596
|
5 |
|
Scindite corda vestra - Derelinquat impius
|
|
Monte, Philippe de
1521–1603
|
6 |
|
Scindite corda vestra - Derelinquat impius
|
|
Mantua, Jacquet de
1483–1559
|
5 |
Quartus liber motettorum ad quinque e... (RISM 1539/5)
Quartus liber motettorum ad quinque et sex voces
Lyon: Moderne, Jacques, 1539
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#11
|
|
Attrib: Iaquet |
|
Primo libro di mottetti di Iachet, a ... (RISM J7)
Primo libro di mottetti di Iachet, a cinque voci…
Venice: Gardano, Antonio, 1540
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#14
|
|
Attrib: Iachet |
|
Quintus tomus evangeliorum et piarum ... (RISM 1556/8)
Quintus tomus evangeliorum et piarum sentiarum quinque vocum continens historias & doctrinam, quae in Ecclesia proponi solet: de poenitentia
Nuremberg: Berg, Johann and Neuber, Ulrich, 1556
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#18
|
|
Attrib: Iachet |
|
|
Scindite corda vestra - Derelinquat impius
|
|
Caussin, Ernold
c.1510–1548
|
5 |
Quintus tomus evangeliorum et piarum ... (RISM 1556/8)
Quintus tomus evangeliorum et piarum sentiarum quinque vocum continens historias & doctrinam, quae in Ecclesia proponi solet: de poenitentia
Nuremberg: Berg, Johann and Neuber, Ulrich, 1556
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#37
|
|
Attrib: Arnoldus Causinus |
|
|
Scindite corda vestra - Derelinquat impius viam suam
|
|
Schelvius, Joannes
|
5 |
Liber decimus ecclesiasticarum cantio... (RISM 1555/8)
Liber decimus ecclesiasticarum cantionum quinque vocum vulgo moteta vocant, tam ex Veteri quam ex Novo Testamento, ab optimis quibusque huius aetatis musicis compositarum unius toni omnes antea nunquam axcusus
Antwerp: Susato, Tylman, 1555
(Partbook, Print)
#15
|
|
Attrib: Ioannes Sceluius |
Iohelis Secundo |
|
Sciocco fu'l tuo desire
|
|
Willaert, Adrian
c.1490–1562
|
5 |
|
Scio cui credidi
|
|
Sales, Franz
c.1540–1599
|
5 |
|
Scio cui credidi
|
|
Lambardi, Girolamo
fl.1586–1623
|
4 |
Contrapunta in introitus missarum qua... (RISM L373)
Contrapunta in introitus missarum quae maioribus sanctorum solemnitatibus toto anni tempore in Ecclesia celebrantur, iuxta morem Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae ... Quatuor vocibus decantanda
Venice: Magni, Bartolomeo, 1617
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#7
|
|
Attrib: D. Hieronymi Lambardi |
|
|
Scio cui credidi
|
|
Isaac, Heinrich
c.1450–1517
|
4 |
|