Vocal polyphony In the 9th centur y, a second voice was added to plainsong and poly phony was born. This new musical tex ture became more and more complex , and reached its peak dur ing the Renaissance. 21. LISTEN to the Kyrie from Messe de Notre Dame by Guillaume de Machaut . How many melodic lines can you hear? Do they start at the same time? These were the main medieval liturgical poly phonic forms: 22. SAY which of these pieces is an organum and which is a di scantus. ➔ Rex Caeli , Domine Maris. ➔ Sol Oritur Occasus Nescius. In order to express the rhy thmic r ichness of the more complex poly phony accurately, a new notation system was needed . Mensural notation star ted to be used at the end of the 13th centur y. This included the first symbols related to metre and distinguished different note values depending on the duration of the note. organum discantus conductus This was the earliest form. A second, parallel voice was added to a Gregorian melody (the main voice). A second voice that moved in contrar y motion was added to the Gregorian melody. This was a new composition in the syllabic style for two to four voices. The same text was sung by all the voices, with a strong rhythm. It was performed in processions. 16 I The Middle Ages
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