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 |
Dignare me laudare te
|
|
Junckers, Maistre Gosse
fl.1520–1565
|
3 |
Liber septimus. xxiiii. trium/quatuor... (RISM 1534/9)
Liber septimus. xxiiii. trium/quatuor/quinque/sex ve vocum modulos dominici adventus/nativitatisque eius/ac sanctorum eo tempore occurrentium habet. ut presens index tibi commonstrat
Paris: Attaingnant, Pierre, 1534
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#23
|
|
Attrib: Gosse |
|
|
Dignare me laudare te
|
|
Cardilli, Jacopo Antonio
fl.1579–1586
|
5 |
|
Dignare me laudare te
|
|
Ortiz, Diego
c.1510–c.1570
|
5 |
|
Dignare me laudare te
|
|
Sermisy, Claudin de
c.1490–1562
|
4 |
|
Dignare me laudare te
|
|
Maillard, Jean
fl.c.1538–1570
|
4 |
Liber primus sexdecim musicales modul... (RISM 1553/7)
Liber primus sexdecim musicales modulos...
Paris: Ballard, Robert (i) and Le Roy, Adrian, 1553
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#14
|
|
Attrib: Maillard |
|
Tertia pars magni operis musici, cont... (RISM 1559/2)
Tertia pars magni operis musici, continens clarissimorum symphonistarum tam veterum quàm recentiorum, praecipue vero Clementis non Papae, Carmina elegantissima. Quatuor vocum
Nuremberg: Berg, Johann and Neuber, Ulrich, 1559
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#25
|
|
Attrib: Maillart |
|
|
Dignare me laudare te
Francis Bevan (SSATTTB)
|
|
Infantas, Fernando de las
1534–c.1610
|
7 |
|
Dignare me laudare te - Cum iucundite solemnitatem
|
|
Gascongne, Matthieu
fl.1517–1518
|
4 |
|
Dignare me laudare te - O regina poli
|
|
Gombert, Nicolas
c.1495–c.1560
|
4 |
Primus liber cum quatuor vocibus. Mot... (RISM 1532/10)
Primus liber cum quatuor vocibus. Motetti del fiore
Lyon: Moderne, Jacques, 1532
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#22
|
|
Attrib: Nicolaus Gombert |
|
Musica quatuor vocum, (vulgo motecta ... (RISM G2977)
Musica quatuor vocum, (vulgo motecta nuncupatur,) Lyris maioribus, ac Tibijs imparibus accomodata. Nuper maximo authoris studio composita, nulli hactenus visa, sed noviter accuratissime in lucem edita. LIBER PRIMVS
Venice: Scotto, Girolamo, 1539
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#21
|
|
Attrib: Gomberth |
|
Musica quatuor vocum, (vulgo motecta ... (RISM G2979)
Musica quatuor vocum, (vulgo motecta nuncupatur,) Lyris maioribus, ac Tibijs imparibus accomodata. Nuper maximo authoris studio composita, nulli hactenus visa, sed noviter accuratissime in lucem edita. LIBER PRIMVS. Cum quatuor vocibus
Venice: Gardano, Antonio, 1541
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#21
|
|
Attrib: Gomberth |
|
Motectorum, Nuperrime Maxima diligent... (RISM 1551/2)
Motectorum, Nuperrime Maxima diligentia in lucem aeditorum Liber Primus quatuor vocum
Venice: Gardano, Antonio, 1551
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#14
|
|
Attrib: GOMBERT |
|
|
Digne Deo martir princeps
|
|
Anon
|
4 |
(P-Cug 70)
Coimbra, after 1570
(Partbook, MS)
#88
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
|
|
Dignis namque decet - Eligeris merito praesul
|
|
Aichinger, Gregor
1564–1628
|
6 |
|
Dilatar aperire
|
|
Aichinger, Gregor
1564–1628
|
3 |
|
Dilecta nostra candida et immaculata
|
|
Giacobbi, Girolamo
1567–1628
|
8 |
Litanie e motetti da concerto e da ca... (RISM G1823 (1618/7))
Litanie e motetti da concerto e da capella a due chori per la sanctissima vergine
Venice: Magni, Bartolomeo, 1618
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#8
|
|
Attrib: Gieronimo Giacobbi |
|
|
Dilecto albergo e tu beato
|
|
Cara, Marchetto
c.1465–1525
|
4 |
|
Dilectus Deo
|
|
Isaac, Heinrich
c.1450–1517
|
4 |
(RISM I91)
1555
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#65
|
|
Attrib: Henrici Isaac |
Sequence for common of a Confessor |
|
Dilectus Deo et hominibus
|
|
Anon
|
4 |
(D-Ju 33)
Jena, c.1500-c.1520
(Choirbook, MS)
#66
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
Sequence |
|
Dilectus deo et hominibus - Christus purgavit peccata
|
|
Conflicting attributions
|
4 |
Motetti de la Corona (RISM 1514/1)
Fossombrone: Petrucci, Ottaviano, 1514
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#25
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
|
Modulationes aliquot quatuor vocum se... (RISM 1538/7)
Modulationes aliquot quatuor vocum selectissimae
Nuremberg: Petreius, Johann, 1538
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#10
|
|
Attrib: Josquin |
|
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
#26
|
|
Attrib: Antonius Fevinus |
|
|
Dilectus meus descendit
|
|
Patta, Serafino
fl.1606–1619
|
2 |
|
Dilectus meus descendit in hortum suum
Pothárn Imre
Pothárn Imre
|
|
Palestrina, Giovanni Pierluigi da
c.1525–1594
|
5 |
Motettorum Quinque vocibus liber quar... (RISM P716)
Motettorum Quinque vocibus liber quartus nunc denuo in lucem aeditus
Rome: Gardano, Alessandro, 1583-1584
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#21
|
|
Attrib: Ioan: Petraloysii Praenestini |
|
Mottetorum quinque vocibus liber quar... (RISM P717)
Mottetorum quinque vocibus liber quartus ex Canticis Salomonis, nunc denuo in lucem aeditus
Venice: Gardano, Angelo, 1587
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#21
|
|
Attrib: Ioan: Petraloysii Praenestini |
|
Mottetorum quinque vocibus liber quar... (RISM P721)
Mottetorum quinque vocibus liber quartus ex Canticis Salomonis, nunc denuo in lucem aeditus
Venice: Scotto, Girolamo, 1596
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#21
|
|
Attrib: Ioan: Petraloysii Praenestini |
|
Offertoria ... et Cantica canticorum ... (I-Bc U.4)
Offertoria ... et Cantica canticorum eiusdem
Bologna, c.1600-c.1699
(Score, MS)
#89
|
|
Attrib: Io. Petri Aloisii Praenestini |
|
Mottetorum Quinque vocibus Liber Quar... (RISM P723)
Mottetorum Quinque vocibus Liber Quartus, ex Canticis Salomonis Nunc denuo in lucem aeditus
Venice: Scotto, Girolamo, 1603
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#21
|
|
Attrib: Ioan. Petraloysii Praenestini |
|
Motectorum quinque vocibus. Liber qua... (RISM P725)
Motectorum quinque vocibus. Liber quartus
Venice: Raverii, Alessandro, 1608
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#21
|
|
Attrib: Io. Petraloysii Praenestini |
|
|
Dilectus meus descendit in hortum suum
|
|
Bonhomme, Pierre
c.1555–1617
|
5 |
Melodiae sacrae, quas vulgo motectas ... (RISM B3469)
Melodiae sacrae, quas vulgo motectas appellant, iam noviter quinis, senis, octonis et novenis suavissimis vocibus concinnatae, et ad usum cum harmonicarum vocalium, tum omnium generum instrumentorum Musicalium convenienter accommodatae
Frankfurt: Stein, Nikolaus, 1603
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#4
|
|
Attrib: D. Petro Bonhomio |
|
|
Dilectus meus descendit in hortum suum
|
|
Aichinger, Gregor
1564–1628
|
4 |
Liturgica sive sacra officia, ad omne... (RISM A528)
Liturgica sive sacra officia, ad omnes dies festos Magnae Dei Matris per annum celebrari solitos, quarternis vocibus ad modos musicos facta
Augsburg: Praetorius, Johann, 1603
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#16
|
|
Attrib: Gregorium Aichinger |
|
|
Dilectus meus descendit in hortum suum - Revertere dilecte mi
|
|
Manchicourt, Pierre de
c.1510–1564
|
4 |
|
Dilectus meus descendit in hortum suum - Sub umbra illius quem desiderabam
|
|
Viola, Alphonsus
|
5 |
(I-MOe C.313)
Modena, c.1560
(Partbook, MS)
#18
|
|
Attrib: Al. Viola |
|
|
Dilectus meus et ego illi
|
|
Patta, Serafino
fl.1606–1619
|
3 |
|
Dilectus meus loquitor mihi
|
|
Mechi, Giovanni Battista
|
5 |
|
Dilectus meus loquitor mihi
|
|
Vernizzi, Ottavio
1569–1649
|
6 |
Motectorum specimen, quae quinque, se... (RISM V1292)
Motectorum specimen, quae quinque, sex, septem, octo, novem, et decem vocibus concinuntur cum parte organi pro duplicis chori motectis. Liber Primus
Venice: Amadino, Ricciardo, 1603
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#8
|
|
Attrib: Octavii Vernitii Bononiensis |
|
|