Organizing Scripture: Organum Melos (Paperback)

This dissertation considers the creation of the Parisian organa dupla, drawing a parallel between the compositional process that produced the duplum melodies, and the creative processes that formed part of the medieval ars memoriae and related disciplines. The study begins with an examination of the relationships between chant melodies and duplum melodies, focusing on the O 1--O 14--O 19--O 28 organal family, and pointing to the presence of a rudimentary melodic grammar and a thesaurus of melodic figures, derived from plainchant, that guided the composition of these Parisian dupla. We then turn to interrelationships among the organa dupla, which are analyzed at a figural level, revealing important data about the guiding principles employed by those who created the organa dupla (whether in writing or in performance), yielding a more nuanced understanding of that melodic grammar, and suggesting new directions for further research into "house style" and compositional methods. The study also considers the chant texts and motet texts associated with this organal family, situating the melodic compositional praxis within a broader liturgical and Scholastic context, and noting similarities of process between the creation of texts and the creation of melodies. Chapter 1 introduces this project in terms of its scholarly predecessors, and the suitability of these Office organa, built on similar tenors, for this particular study. Chapter 2 focuses on the source chants of the O 1--O 14--O 19--O 28 organal family, identifying melodic figures in the chant that are also found in the dupla, and considering the construction of chant texts. Chapters 3 and 4 provide a detailed comparative analysis of the members of this organal family, examining both their interrelationships and their points of difference, with a view to comprehending more fully the creative process behind their formation. Chapter 5 is devoted to the motets based on O1, considering their texts as products of Scholastic thought and creative praxis, and relating their contents to the products of the ars praedicandi.