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 |
Assumpta est Maria
|
Assumption, BVM |
Anon
|
8 |
|
Assumpta est Maria
|
Assumption, BVM |
India, Sigismondo d'
c.1582–1629
|
4 |
|
Assumpta est Maria
|
Assumption, BVM |
Anon
|
4 |
|
Assumpta est Maria
Francis Bevan (ATBarBarB)
|
Assumption, BVM |
Palestrina, Giovanni Pierluigi da
c.1525–1594
|
5 |
Offertoria totius anni, secundum Sanc... (RISM P749)
Offertoria totius anni, secundum Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae consuetudinem, quinque vocibus concinenda... pars secunda
Rome: Coattino, Francesco, 1593
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#17
|
|
Attrib: Ioan. Petro Aloysio Praenestino |
|
Offertoria totius anni secundum Sanct... (RISM P750)
Offertoria totius anni secundum Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae consuetudinem quinque vocibus concinenda ... Pars Secunda
Venice: Gardano, Angelo, 1596
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#17
|
|
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)
#57
|
|
Attrib: Io. Petri Aloisii Praenestini |
|
|
Assumpta est Maria
|
Assumption, BVM |
Allegri, Gregorio
1582–1652
|
2 |
|
Assumpta est Maria
|
Assumption, BVM |
Conseil, Jean
1498/1501–1534
|
4 |
(I-Bc Q.20)
Bologna, c.1530
(Partbook, MS)
#13
|
|
Attrib: Du Conseil |
|
|
Assumpta est Maria
|
Assumption, BVM |
Agazzari, Agostino
c.1580–1642
|
2 |
Sacrarum cantionum, quae binis, terni... (RISM A353)
Sacrarum cantionum, quae binis, ternis, quaternisque vocibus concinuntur. Liber II. Opus V. Motectorum. Cum basso ad organum
Venice: Amadino, Ricciardo, 1608
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#6
|
|
Attrib: Augustini Agazzari |
|
Sacrarum cantionum, quae binis, terni... (RISM A354)
Sacrarum cantionum, quae binis, ternis, quaternisque vocibus concinuntur. Liber II. Opus V. Motectorum. Cum basso ad organum
Venice: Amadino, Ricciardo, 1609
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#6
|
|
Attrib: Augustini Agazzari |
|
|
Assumpta est Maria
|
Assumption, BVM |
Croatti, Francesco
fl.1607–1608
|
8 |
|
Assumpta est Maria
|
Assumption, BVM |
Torres y Martínez Bravo, José de
c.1670–1738
|
4 |
Missarum liber, ad usum sanctuarum ec... (RISM T1009)
Missarum liber, ad usum sanctuarum ecclesiarum utilissimus, in quo continentur octo missae
Madrid, 1703
(Choirbook, Print)
RISM
#18
|
|
Attrib: Iosepho de Torres |
Canon |
|
Assumpta est Maria
|
Assumption, BVM |
Rubini, Nicolò
1584–1625
|
5 |
|
Assumpta est Maria
|
Assumption, BVM |
Anon
|
4 |
|
Assumpta est Maria
|
Assumption, BVM |
Colin, Pierre
fl.1538–1572
|
6 |
Liber octo missarum, quarum priores, ... (RISM C3307)
Liber octo missarum, quarum priores, quae numero sex sunt, quatuor vocum concentu compositae sunt: hisce postposita est una quinque vocum. Postrema vero in sex voces est distincta. Moduli, quos mottetos usitatiori nomine vulgas vocat, Totidiem sunt. Parthenica cantica in laudem illibatae Viriginis conscripta (quae ontiori nomine, atque musicis peculiari, magnificat inscribuntur) octo sunt, singulaque proprio tono distinguuntur
Lyon: Moderne, Jacques, 1541
(Choirbook, Print)
RISM
#16
|
|
Attrib: Petrus Colinius |
|
|
Assumpta est Maria
|
Assumption, BVM |
Anon
|
4 |
(I-TVd 14)
Treviso, c.1560-1626
(Choirbook, MS)
#88
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
|
|
Assumpta est Maria
|
Assumption, BVM |
Febure, Jan Le
fl.1596–1612
|
8 |
Fasciculus sacrarum cantionum pro pra... (RISM L1347)
Fasciculus sacrarum cantionum pro praecepuis totius anni festivitatibus, sex, septem, octo, et duodecim vocibus summo studio concinnatus, & hunc prima vice divulgatus
Frankfurt: Richter, Wolfgang, 1607
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#26
|
|
Attrib: Ioanne Le Febvure |
|
|
Assumpta est Maria
|
Assumption, BVM |
Comes, Juan Bautista
c.1582–1643
|
6 |
Motetes a 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (E-VAcp 20)
Valencia, 1641
(Partbook, MS)
#52
|
|
Attrib: Joan Bap. Comes |
|
|
Assumpta est Maria in caelum
|
|
Mantua, Jacquet de
1483–1559
|
5 |
Del primo libro de i motetti a cinque... (RISM J6)
Del primo libro de i motetti a cinque voci, dello eccellentissimo Iachet, Maestro di musica della capella del domo dell'illustrissimo signor Duca di Mantova. Novamente posti in luce. a Cinque voci
Venice: Scotto, Girolamo, 1539
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#18
|
|
Attrib: Iachet |
Offertory for Assumption |
|
Assumpta est Maria in caelum
|
|
Maillard, Jean
fl.c.1538–1570
|
6 |
|
Assumpta est Maria in caelum
|
|
Foggia, Francesco
1604–1688
|
5 |
Offertoria quaternis, quinis, senis, ... (RISM F1454)
Offertoria quaternis, quinis, senis, octonisque vocibus cum organo, vel sine organo concinenda, quae in solemnitatibus pro communibus sanctorum decantari solent... opus XVIII
Rome: Mascardi, 1681
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#3
|
|
Attrib: Francisco Foggia |
|
|
Assumpta est Maria - In odorem unguentorum
Pothárn Imre
|
Assumption, BVM |
Monte, Philippe de
1521–1603
|
5 |
|
Assumpta est Maria - In odorem unguentorum
|
Assumption, BVM |
Vinders, Jheronimus
fl.1525–1526
|
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
#29
|
|
Attrib: Iorius vender |
|
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
#29
|
|
Attrib: Iorius vender |
|
|
Assumpta est Maria - Maria virgo assumpta est
|
Assumption, BVM |
Contino, Giovanni
c.1513–1574
|
5 |
|
Assumpta est Maria - Maria virgo assumpta est
|
Assumption, BVM |
Prenner, Georg
d.1590
|
5 |
|
Assumpta est Maria - Quae est ista
|
Assumption, BVM |
Palestrina, Giovanni Pierluigi da
c.1525–1594
|
6 |
|
Assumptis hodie - Et testimonium haberet
|
|
Maistre Jhan
c.1485–1538
|
5 |
(I-TVd 36)
Treviso, c.1530
(Partbook, MS)
#9
|
|
Attrib: M Jan |
|
|
Assumptus ex eculeo - Intrepidus itaque
|
|
Nucius, Johannes
c.1556–1620
|
6 |
|