Understand The Origin Of The Motet

In order to understand the concept of the motet, one must first be familiar the musical developments preceding the motet. Although the motet first appears in the 13th century, we can trace its ancestry back as far as the 9th century with the rising popularization of polyphony. Beginning in the Carolingian period (800-1000), composers began to take preference in writing polyphony which provided many opportunities to further explore the depth of musical texture. Early polyphonic music became known as Organum. Organum was seen as a more organized form of music, unlike its predecessor Plainchant. Even though more organized, Organum created more complexity in music by using a preexisting plainchant melody and adding at least one new voice to create a new piece of music. The preexisting plainchant melody as used in Organum became known as cantus firmus. …show more content…
This particular form of organum was called parallel organum, which consisted of a cantus firmus in the bottom voice, and an added voice that moved in parallel 4ths or 5ths with the cantus firmus. In the 10th century, a newer form of organum emerged known as free organum. In free organum, the cantus firmus is still in the bottom voice, however, the added voice moves in a note-against-note manner rhythmically in a variety of intervals. In the 11th century, there is an increasing popularity in the idea of rhythmic independence, which brings music into a period of melismatic/ florid organum. The cantus firmus remains in the bottom voice, with the added voice having melismatic sequences moving over the sustained notes in the cantus