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 |
Cur quisquam corradat
|
|
Mahu, Stephan
1480-1490–1541
|
4 |
|
Currebant duo
|
|
Massaino, Tiburtio
before 1550–after 1608
|
2 |
|
Currebant duo simul
|
|
Garugli, Bernardo
1535–after 1565
|
6 |
|
Curremus in odorem - Abiit Maria
|
|
Anon
|
6 |
|
Currite foelices divorum cura - Quorum ut optatos mundo - ergo age creasce potens
|
|
Vaet, Jacobus
c.1529–1567
|
6 |
|
Currite pastores
|
|
Verrijt, Jan Baptist
c.1605–1650
|
2 |
|
Cursu festa reddit - Illum mitra decens
|
|
Conflicting attributions
|
5 |
Cantiones septem, sex et quinque vocu... (RISM 1545/3)
Cantiones septem, sex et quinque vocum. Longe gravissimae, iuxta ac amoenissimae in Germania maxime hactenus Typis non excusae. Ad lectorem. Per mare delphin transuexit & orphea, vatem, concentu dulci musica nostra refert
Augsburg: Kriesstein, Melchior and Salminger, Sigmund, 1545
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#11
|
|
Attrib: Lupus |
|
Cantiones septem, sex et quinque vocu... (RISM 1546/5)
Cantiones septem, sex et quinque vocum. Longe gravissimae, juxta ac amoenissimae, in Germania maximehactenus Typis non excusae
Augsburg: Kriesstein, Melchior and Salminger, Sigmund, 1546
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#11
|
|
Attrib: Lupus |
|
Motetta cum quinque vocibus. Liber se... (RISM G2985)
Motetta cum quinque vocibus. Liber secundus
Scotto, Girolamo, 1550
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#18
|
|
Attrib: Nicolai Gomberti |
|
|
Cur te lusit
|
|
Gabrieli, Andrea
1532/1533–1585
Molinaro, Simone
c.1570–after 1633
|
6 |
|
Custodes hominum psallimus
|
|
Vitali, Filippo
c.1599–1653
|
4 |
|
Custodes hominum psallimus
|
|
Anon
|
4 |
(D-Mbs 8)
c.1611
(Choirbook, MS)
#15
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
|
|
Custodes hominum psallimus
|
|
García Benayas, Matías
|
4 |
(E-TUY 4)
(Choirbook, MS)
#10
|
|
Attrib: Benayas |
|
|
Custodes hominum psallimus
|
|
Lassus, Orlande de
c.1532–1594
|
4 |
(D-Mbs 55)
Munich, 1580-1581
(Choirbook, MS)
RISM
#28
|
|
Attrib: Orland ille de Lasso |
|
|
Custodes hominum psallimus
|
(Hymn) |
Palestrina, Giovanni Pierluigi da
c.1525–1594
|
4 |
Hymni sacri in breviario Romano S.D.N... (RISM P741)
Hymni sacri in breviario Romano S.D.N. Urbani papae VIII auctoritate recogniti et cantu musico pro praecipuis anni festivitatibus expressi
Antwerp: Plantin, Christophe and Moreti, Balthasar, 1644
(Choirbook, Print)
RISM
#36
|
|
Attrib: Io Petri Aloysii Praenestini |
|
|
Custodes hominum psallimus Angelos
|
(Hymn) |
Esquivel Barahona, Juan
c.1562–c.1625
|
4 |
Psalmorum, Hymnorum, Magnificarum, et... (E-RON Esquivel 1613)
Psalmorum, Hymnorum, Magnificarum, et B. Mariae quatuor antiphonarum de tempore, necnon et missarum. Tomus secundus
Salamanca: Cea Tesa, Francisco de, 1613
(Choirbook, Print)
#14
|
|
Attrib: Ioannis Esquivel |
Hymn |
|
Custodes hominum psallimus Angelos
|
|
Anon
|
4 |
(I-Vsm 13)
Venice
(Choirbook, MS)
#1
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
Iam quod corruerit |
|
Custodes hominum psallimus Angelos
|
|
Anon
|
4 |
(Mex-Pc 6)
Puebla
(Choirbook, MS)
#50
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
|
|
Custodes hominum psallimus Angelos
|
|
Anon
|
4 |
(Mex-Pc 12)
Puebla
(Choirbook, MS)
#5
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
|
|
Custodi Domine Deus
|
|
Corfini, Jacopo
c.1540–1591
|
5 |
|
Custodi me Domine
Pothárn Imre
|
Ordinary Time 15 (post Pentecost X) |
Lassus, Orlande de
c.1532–1594
|
4 |
Sacrae cantiones antehac nunquam nec ... (RISM L955)
Sacrae cantiones antehac nunquam nec visae nec typis uspiam excusae quatuor vocum. Recens singulari industria compositae, & in lucem sine menda editae
Munich: Berg, Adam, 1585
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#17
|
|
Attrib: Orlandi Lassi |
|
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
#134
|
|
Attrib: Orlandi de Lasso |
|
|
Custodi me Domine
|
Ordinary Time 15 (post Pentecost X) |
Ratti, Lorenzo
1589/1590–1630
|
5 |
|
Custodi nos Domine
|
|
Asola, Giovanni Matteo
c.1532–1609
|
6 |
Completorium per totum annum quatuorq... (RISM A2508)
Completorium per totum annum quatuorque illae B. Virginis antiphonae quae in fine pro anni tempore secundum Romanam curiam decantantur. Cum sex vocibus
Venice: Scotto, Girolamo, 1576
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#10
|
|
Attrib: Io. Matthaeo Asvla |
|
Completorium pre totum annum quatorqu... (RISM A2509)
Completorium pre totum annum quatorque illae B. Virginis antiphonae quae in fine pro anni tempore secundum Romanum curiam decantantur cum sex vocibus
Venice: Scotto, Girolamo, 1585
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#10
|
|
Attrib: D. Io. Matthaeo Asvla Veronensi |
|
|
Custos mi Angele - Te deprecor humiliter
|
|
Montagnana, Rinaldo da
fl.1558–1573
|
4 |
|