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 |
Surrexit pastor bonus
Nancho Alvarez
Ensemble Plus Ultra
|
|
Victoria, Tomás Luis de
1548–1611
|
6 |
Motecta que partim, quaternis, partim... (RISM V1421)
Motecta que partim, quaternis, partim, quinis, alia, senis, alia, octonis vocibus concinuntur
Venice: Gardano, Antonio, 1572
(Choirbook, MS)
RISM
#30
|
|
Attrib: Tomae Lvdovici de Victoria Abulensis |
|
Thomae Ludovici de Victoria Abulenis ... (RISM V1422)
Thomae Ludovici de Victoria Abulenis motecta quae partim quaternis Partim, Quinis, Alia, Senis, Alia, Octonis, Alia,
Duodenis, Vocibus, Concinuntur...
Rome: Gardano, Alessandro, 1583
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#32
|
|
Attrib: Thomae Lvdovici de Victoria |
|
Motecta festorum totius anni cum Comm... (RISM V1433)
Motecta festorum totius anni cum Communi sanctorum, quae partim senis, partim quinis, partim quaternis, alia octonis vocibus concinuntur
Rome: Basa, Domenico and Gardano, Alessandro, 1585
(Choirbook, Print)
RISM
#5
|
|
Attrib: Thomae Lvdovici a Victoria |
|
Motecta quae partim quaternis, partim... (RISM V1423)
Motecta quae partim quaternis, partim quinis, alia senis, alia octonis, alia duodenis vocibus concinuntur
Milan: Tini, Francesco and Tini, Simone, 1589
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#32
|
|
Attrib: Thomae Lvdovici de Victoria |
|
Cantiones sacrae Thomae Ludovici a Vi... (RISM V1424)
Cantiones sacrae Thomae Ludovici a Victoria abulensis, musici suavissimi, quatuor, quinque, sex, octo, et duodecim vocum, nunquam ante hac Germania excusae.
Dillingen: Mayer, Johann, 1589
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#32
|
|
Attrib: Thomae Lvdovici a Victoria Abulensis |
|
Motecta que partim, quaternis, partim... (RISM V1425)
Motecta que partim, quaternis, partim quinis, alia senis, alia octonis, alia Duodenis vocibus in omnibus solemnitatibus per totum annum, concinuntur, Noviter recognita & impressa
Venice: Gardano, Angelo, 1603
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#32
|
|
Attrib: Tomae Lvdovici de Victoria Aulensis |
|
|
Surrexit pastor bonus
|
|
Hassler, Hans Leo
1564–1612
|
6 |
Sacri concentus quatuor, 5, 6, 7, 8, ... (RISM H2328)
Sacri concentus quatuor, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, & 12, Vocum
Augsburg: Schönigk, Valentin, 1601
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#22
|
|
Attrib: Ioanne Leone Haslero |
|
|
Surrexit pastor bonus
Francis Bevan (ATTBarBarB)
|
|
Gabussi, Giulio Cesare
c.1555-1558–1611
|
6 |
Motectorum Liber Primus quae partim q... (RISM G96)
Motectorum Liber Primus quae partim quinque, partimque senis vocibus concinuntur
Venice: Gardano, Angelo, 1586
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#14
|
|
Attrib: Ivlii Caesaris Gabvtii Bononiensis |
|
Continuatio cantionum sacrarum quatuo... (RISM 1588/2)
Continuatio cantionum sacrarum quatuor, quinque, sex, septem, octo et plurium vocum de festis praecipuis anni
Nuremberg: Gerlach, Katharina, 1588
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#17
|
|
Attrib: Iulii Caesaris Gabutii |
|
|
Surrexit pastor bonus
|
|
Nucius, Johannes
c.1556–1620
|
5 |
|
Surrexit pastor bonus
|
|
Paminger, Leonhard
1495–1567
|
5 |
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
#53
|
|
Attrib: Leonartum Pamingerum |
|
|
Surrexit pastor bonus
|
|
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
#54
|
|
Attrib: Leonartum Pamingerum |
|
|
Surrexit pastor bonus
|
|
Zanchi, Liberale
c.1570–after 1621
|
6 |
Sacrarum symphoniarum continuatio div... (RISM 1600/2)
Sacrarum symphoniarum continuatio diversorum excellentissimorum authorum quaternis, V. VI. VII. VIII. X. & XII. vocibus tam vivis, quam instrumentalibus accommodata
Nuremberg: Kauffmann, Paul, 1600
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#38
|
|
Attrib: Liberal. Zanchii |
|
|
Surrexit pastor bonus
|
|
Croatti, Francesco
fl.1607–1608
|
8 |
|
Surrexit pastor bonus
|
|
Signorucci, Pompeo
fl.1594–1609
|
8 |
|
Surrexit pastor bonus
|
|
Corfini, Jacopo
c.1540–1591
|
6 |
|
Surrexit pastor bonus
|
|
Elsbeth, Thomas
d. after 1624
|
6 |
Selectissimae et novae cantiones sacr... (RISM E656)
Selectissimae et novae cantiones sacrae vulgo motecta appellatae, nec umquam antehac in lucem emissae sex vocum tum ad vivam, tum ad omnis generis
Frankfurt: Hartmann, Friedrich, 1600
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#5
|
|
Attrib: Thomam Elsbethum |
|
|
Surrexit pastor bonus
Francis Bevan (SSATBB)
|
|
Lhéritier, Jean
c.1480–after 1551
|
6 |
|
Surrexit pastor bonus
|
|
Asola, Giovanni Matteo
c.1532–1609
|
8 |
|
Surrexit pastor bonus
|
|
Vento, Ivo de
1543-1545–1575
|
4 |
|
Surrexit pastor bonus
|
|
Pontio, Pietro
1532–1596
|
5 |
|
Surrexit pastor bonus
|
|
Mosto, Giovanni Battista
before 1550–1596
|
5 |
|
Surrexit pastor bonus
|
|
Praetorius, Hieronymus
1560–1629
|
5 |
|
Surrexit pastor bonus
|
|
Anon
|
8 |
|
Surrexit pastor bonus
|
|
Puliti, Gabriello
c.1575-1580–1642/1643
|
5 |
|
Surrexit pastor bonus
|
|
Donato, Baldassare
1529–1603
|
5 |
|
Surrexit pastor bonus
|
|
Boschetti, Giovanni
d.1622
|
2 |
|
Surrexit pastor bonus
|
|
Gannss, Wolfgang
|
8 |
(D-Sl 13)
c.1577
(Choirbook, MS)
#5
|
|
Attrib: Wolfgagy Gannss |
|
|
Surrexit pastor bonus
|
|
Handl, Jacob (Gallus)
1550–1591
|
5 |
|
Surrexit pastor bonus
|
|
Gabrieli, Giovanni
c.1554–1612
|
8 |
|
Surrexit pastor bonus
|
|
Asola, Giovanni Matteo
c.1532–1609
|
4 |
|