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 |
Hodie completi sunt dies Pentecostes
|
|
Anon
|
4 |
|
Hodie completi sunt dies Pentecostes
|
|
Contino, Giovanni
c.1513–1574
|
6 |
|
Hodie completi sunt dies Pentecostes - Loquebantur variis linguis
|
Pentecost |
Escobedo, Bartolomé de
c.1505–1563
|
5 |
|
Hodie completi sunt dies Pentecostes - Misit eos in universum mundum
Pothárn Imre
|
|
Lassus, Orlande de
c.1532–1594
|
6 |
(D-Mbs 15)
Munich: Flori, Franz, 1577
(Choirbook, MS)
RISM
#4
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
|
Mottetta, sex vocum, typis nondum usp... (RISM L939)
Mottetta, sex vocum, typis nondum uspiam excusa: singulari authoris industria iampridem composita, et praelo submissa
Munich: Berg, Adam, 1582
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#17
|
|
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
#55
|
|
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
#341
|
|
Attrib: Orlandi de Lasso |
|
|
Hodie completi sunt [I]
|
|
Paminger, Leonhard
1495–1567
|
4 |
Secundus tomus ecclesiasticarum canti... (RISM P829)
Secundus tomus ecclesiasticarum cantionum, quatuor, quinque, sex, et plurium vocum, a passionem Domini et salvatoris nostri Jesu Christiu usque ad primam Dominicam post Festum S. Trinitatis
Nuremberg: Gerlach, Dietrich, 1573
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#164
|
|
Attrib: Leonartum Pamingerum |
|
|
Hodie completi sunt [II]
|
|
Paminger, Leonhard
1495–1567
|
4 |
Secundus tomus ecclesiasticarum canti... (RISM P829)
Secundus tomus ecclesiasticarum cantionum, quatuor, quinque, sex, et plurium vocum, a passionem Domini et salvatoris nostri Jesu Christiu usque ad primam Dominicam post Festum S. Trinitatis
Nuremberg: Gerlach, Dietrich, 1573
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#167
|
|
Attrib: Leonartum Pamingerum |
|
|
Hodie completi sunt - Misit eos in mundum
Pothárn Imre
|
|
Praetorius, Hieronymus
1560–1629
|
8 |
|
Hodie completi sunt - Misit eos in mundum
|
|
Vulpius, Melchior
c.1570–1615
|
8 |
|
Hodie concepta est beata virgo Maria
|
BVM |
Philips, Peter
1560–1628
|
8 |
Cantiones sacrae, octonis vocibus (RISM P1975)
Antwerp: Phalèse the Elder, Pierre, 1613
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#4
|
|
Attrib: Petro Philippi |
|
Cantiones sacrae, octonis vocibus, cu... (RISM P1976)
Cantiones sacrae, octonis vocibus, cum Basso Continuo ad Organum
Antwerp: Phalèse the Elder, Pierre, 1625
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#4
|
|
Attrib: Petro Philippi |
|
|
Hodie Deus homo
|
|
Daser, Ludwig
c.1526–1589
|
5 |
(D-Mbs 13)
Munich, 1545-1565
(Choirbook, MS)
RISM
#6
|
|
Attrib: Lud. Daser |
|
|
Hodie de Virgine - Hodie in terra canunt angeli
|
|
Regnart, Jacob
1540-1545–1599
|
5 |
|
Hodie de Virgine - Hodie in terra canunt angeli
|
|
Anon
|
5 |
|
Hodie dilectissimi - Dumque catholica mater
|
|
Monte, Philippe de
1521–1603
|
7 |
|
Hodie dilectissimi ominum sanctorum
|
|
Bianchi, Giulio Cesare
1576/1577–after 1637
|
4 |
Libro primo de motetti in lodi d'Iddi... (RISM 1620/3)
Libro primo de motetti in lodi d'Iddio nostro Signore a una, due, tre, quattro, cinque e a otto voci di Giulio Cesare Bianchi. Con un altro a cinque, e tre a sei del sig. Claudio Monteverdi
Venice: Magni, Bartolomeo, 1620
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#15
|
|
Attrib: Givlio Cesare Bianchi |
Canto, over Tenore |
|
Hodie gloriosa semper virgo - Regina mundi
Pothárn Imre
|
|
Palestrina, Giovanni Pierluigi da
c.1525–1594
|
8 |
|
Hodie gloriosus pater Augustinus
|
|
Lipparini, Guglielmo
fl.1600–1637
|
15 |
|
Hodie gloriosus pater Augustinus
|
|
Cesis, Sulpitia
b.1577
|
8 |
|
Hodie illuxit dies
|
|
Anon
|
4 |
(E-Bim 1)
Toledo, 1601-1603
(Partbook, MS)
#35
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
|
|
Hodie illuxit nobis
|
|
Galli, Giuseppe
fl.1598
|
8 |
|
Hodie in Jordane
|
|
Agazzari, Agostino
c.1580–1642
|
6 |
|
Hodie in Jordane
|
|
Nucius, Johannes
c.1556–1620
|
6 |
|
Hodie in Jordane - Caeli aperti sunt super eum
|
|
Berchem, Jacquet de
c.1505–1567
|
6 |
|
Hodie in Jordane - Descendit Spiritus Sanctus
|
|
Conflicting attributions
|
6 |
(V-CVbav Capp.Giulia. XII.4)
Rome, 1536
(Choirbook, MS)
#46
|
|
Attrib: Maistre Jehan |
|
Novum et insigne opus musicum, sex, q... (RISM 1537/1)
Novum et insigne opus musicum, sex, quinque, et autuor vocum, cuius in Germania hactenus nihil simile usquam est editum
Nuremberg: Formschneider, Hieronymus and Ott, Hans, 1537
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#8
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
|
Il primo libro de motetti a sei voce,... (RISM 1549/3)
Il primo libro de motetti a sei voce, da diversi accellentissimi musici composti, & non piu stampati novamente posti in luce, & con somma diligentia coretti
Venice: Scotto, Girolamo, 1549
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#10
|
|
Attrib: M. Iehan, Gombert |
Attrib 'M. Iehan' in index and secunda pars in all partbooks. Prima pars also attrib 'Gombert' in all but Tenor book. |
Quartus tomus evangeliorum quatuor qu... (RISM 1555/12)
Quartus tomus evangeliorum quatuor quinque sex et plurium vocum
Nuremberg: Berg, Adam and Neuber, Ulrich, 1555
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#4
|
|
Attrib: Maistre Ian |
|
|
Hodie in monte transfigurato Domino
|
Transfiguration |
Philips, Peter
1560–1628
|
8 |
Cantiones sacrae, octonis vocibus (RISM P1975)
Antwerp: Phalèse the Elder, Pierre, 1613
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#3
|
|
Attrib: Petro Philippi |
|
Cantiones sacrae, octonis vocibus, cu... (RISM P1976)
Cantiones sacrae, octonis vocibus, cum Basso Continuo ad Organum
Antwerp: Phalèse the Elder, Pierre, 1625
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#3
|
|
Attrib: Petro Philippi |
|
|
Hodie intacta virgo
|
|
Nucius, Johannes
c.1556–1620
|
5 |
|