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 |
Da pacem Domine
|
|
Agricola, Martin
c.1486–1556
|
4 |
Suavissimae et iucundissimae harmonia... (RISM 1567/1)
Suavissimae et iucundissimae harmoniae: octo, quinque et quatuor vocum, ex duabis vocibus, a praesentissimis artificibus huius artis compositae, & nunc primum in lucem aeditae
Nuremberg: Gerlach, Dietrich, 1567
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#7
|
|
Attrib: Martinus Agricola |
Tenor in Epidiatessaron, Discantus in Epidiatessaron |
|
Da pacem Domine
|
|
Rue, Pierre de la
c.1452–1518
|
4 |
Selectissimae necnon familiarissimae ... (RISM 1540/7)
Selectissimae necnon familiarissimae cantiones, ultra centum
Augsburg: Kriesstein, Melchior and Salminger, Sigmund, 1540
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#95
|
|
Attrib: Petrus de la Rue |
Quatuor sub duobus in diatessaron; in Vagans book only |
Suavissimae et iucundissimae harmonia... (RISM 1567/1)
Suavissimae et iucundissimae harmoniae: octo, quinque et quatuor vocum, ex duabis vocibus, a praesentissimis artificibus huius artis compositae, & nunc primum in lucem aeditae
Nuremberg: Gerlach, Dietrich, 1567
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#8
|
|
Attrib: Petrus de la Rue |
Tenor in Diatessaron, Discantus in Diatessaron |
|
Da pacem Domine
|
|
Trombetti, Ascanio
1544–1590
|
6 |
|
Da pacem Domine
|
|
Anon
|
4 |
|
Da pacem Domine
|
|
Brumel, Antoine
c.1460–1512/1513
|
4 |
|
Da pacem Domine
|
|
Prioris, Johannes
fl.c.1485–1512
|
6 |
|
Da pacem Domine
|
|
Utendal, Alexander
c.1530-1540–1581
|
5 |
Sacrarum cantionum, quas vulgo moteta... (RISM U120)
Sacrarum cantionum, quas vulgo motetas vocant, antea nunquam in lucem editarum, sed nunc recens admodum tam instrumentas musicis quam vivae melodiae quinque vocibus attemperatarum, liber primus
Nuremberg: Gerlach, Dietrich, 1571
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#16
|
|
Attrib: Alexandro Uttendal |
|
|
Da pacem Domine
Francis Bevan (ATTBarB)
|
|
Rogier, Philippe
c.1561–1596
|
5 |
|
Da pacem Domine
|
|
Turini, Gregorio
c.1560–c.1600
|
4 |
|
Da pacem Domine
|
|
Asola, Giovanni Matteo
c.1532–1609
|
4 |
Introitus in dominicus diebus totius ... (RISM A2598)
Introitus in dominicus diebus totius anni et ad aspersionem aque benedicte. Videlicet, Asperges me, & Vidi aquam egredientem. Musica suer cantu plano restituto quatuor vocibus
Venice: Amadino, Ricciardo, 1598
(Choirbook, Print)
RISM
#43
|
|
Attrib: Io: Matthaeo Asula Veronensi |
|
|
Da pacem Domine
|
|
Metallo, Grammatio
c.1540–after 1615
|
3 |
|
Da pacem Domine
|
|
Hemmel, Sigmund
d.1564
|
6 |
(D-Sl 2)
Stuttgart: Chamerhueber, Johann, 1564
(Choirbook, MS)
#4
|
|
Attrib: Sigismund Hemelius |
|
|
Da pacem Domine
|
|
Künig, Theodoricus
|
4 |
|
Da pacem Domine
|
|
Hammerschmidt, Andreas
1611/1612–1675
|
2 |
|
Da pacem Domine
|
|
Anon
|
4 |
Thematic catalogue. MS destroyed in 1944 (I-TVd 18)
Treviso: d'Alessi, Giovanni, 1565-1568
(Choirbook, MS)
#22
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
Thematic catalogue, first phrase only |
|
Da pacem Domine
|
|
Anon
|
4 |
(I-TVd 14)
Treviso, c.1560-1626
(Choirbook, MS)
#78
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
|
|
Da pacem Domine
|
|
Gerarde, Derrick
fl.c.1540–1580
|
5 |
|
Da pacem Domine
|
|
Appenzeller, Benedictus
c.1480-1488–after 1558
|
4 |
|
Da pacem Domine
|
|
Anon
|
6 |
Thematic catalogue. MS destroyed in 1944 (I-TVd 4)
Treviso: d'Alessi, Giovanni, 1559-1569
(Choirbook, MS)
#68
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
Thematic catalogue, first phrase only |
|
Da pacem Domine
|
|
Anon
|
6 |
Thematic catalogue. MS destroyed in 1944 (I-TVd 4)
Treviso: d'Alessi, Giovanni, 1559-1569
(Choirbook, MS)
#69
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
Thematic catalogue, first phrase only |
|
Da pacem Domine
|
|
Dulichius, Philipp
1562–1631
|
8 |
|
Da pacem Domine - Et pax Dei
|
|
Orto, Marbrianus de
c.1460–1529
|
5 |
|
Da pacem Domine - Fiat pax in virtute tua
|
|
Crecquillon, Thomas
c.1505–1557
|
5 |
|
Da pacem Domine - Fiat pax in virtute tua
|
|
Kerle, Jacobus de
1531/1532–1591
|
5 |
|
Da pacem Domine - Fiat pax in virtute tua
|
|
Gombert, Nicolas
c.1495–c.1560
|
5 |
Cantiones quinque vocum selectissimae... (RISM 1539/8)
Cantiones quinque vocum selectissimae, a primariis (Germnaiae inferioris, Galliae, & ITaliae) musices magistris editae. Ante hac typis nondum divulgatae. Numero vigintiocto. Mutetarum liber primus
Strasbourg: Schoeffer, Peter and Salminger, Sigmund, 1539
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#23
|
|
Attrib: Gombert |
|
Musici excellentissimi cum quinque vo... (RISM G2986 (1552/2))
Musici excellentissimi cum quinque vocibus liber secundus
Venice: Gardano, Antonio, 1552
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#20
|
|
Attrib: Nicolai Gomberti |
|
|