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 |
Veni electa mea
|
|
Gussago, Cesario
fl.1599–1612
|
3 |
|
Veni electa mea
|
|
Ruffo, Vincenzo
c.1508–1587
|
5 |
|
Veni electa mea
|
|
Massaino, Tiburtio
before 1550–after 1608
|
2 |
|
Veni electa mea
|
|
Morelli, Bernardino
fl.1598
|
5 |
|
Veni electa mea
|
|
Nasco, Jan
c.1510–1561
|
4 |
Thematic catalogue. MS destroyed in 1944 (I-TVd 4)
Treviso: d'Alessi, Giovanni, 1559-1569
(Choirbook, MS)
#18
|
|
Attrib: Nasco Jo |
Thematic catalogue, first phrase only |
|
Veni electa mea - Audi filia et vide
|
|
Clemens non Papa, Jacobus
c.1510–1555/1556
|
4 |
|
Veni electa mea - Audi filia et vide
|
|
Turnhout, Jan van
c.1545–after 1618
|
5 |
|
Veni electa mea - Audi filia et vide
|
|
Clemens non Papa, Jacobus
c.1510–1555/1556
|
5 |
Liber decimus ecclesiasticarum cantio... (RISM 1555/8)
Liber decimus ecclesiasticarum cantionum quinque vocum vulgo moteta vocant, tam ex Veteri quam ex Novo Testamento, ab optimis quibusque huius aetatis musicis compositarum unius toni omnes antea nunquam axcusus
Antwerp: Susato, Tylman, 1555
(Partbook, Print)
#10
|
|
Attrib: Iacobus Clemens non Papa |
De beate Virgine |
Secunda pars magni operis musici cont... (RISM 1559/1)
Secunda pars magni operis musici continens clarissimorum symphonistarum tam veterum quam recentiorum, praecipe vero Clementis non Papae, Carmina elegantissima quinque vocum
Nuremberg: Berg, Johann and Neuber, Ulrich, 1559
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#47
|
|
Attrib: Ia. Clemens non Papa |
|
(US-NYp Drexel 4180-4185)
New York: Merro, John, 1600-1650
(Partbook, MS)
#126
|
|
Attrib: Clemens non Papa |
|
|
Veni electa mea - Audi filia et vide
|
|
Lupi, Johannes
c.1506–1539
|
4 |
Choirbook D (NL-Lml 1441)
Leiden: Blauwe, Anthonius de and Flamingus, Johannes, c.1550-c.1567
(Choirbook, MS)
#34
|
|
Attrib: Johannes Lupi |
|
|
Veni electa mea Caecilia
|
St Cecilia |
Dering, Richard
c.1580–1630
|
2 |
|
Veni electa mea - Diffusa est gratia
|
|
Conflicting attributions
|
5 |
(I-Bc Q.27 Iº)
Bologna, c.1525-c.1550
(Partbook, MS)
#36
|
|
Attrib: jachet |
|
Cantiones quinque vocum selectissimae... (RISM 1539/8)
Cantiones quinque vocum selectissimae, a primariis (Germnaiae inferioris, Galliae, & ITaliae) musices magistris editae. Ante hac typis nondum divulgatae. Numero vigintiocto. Mutetarum liber primus
Strasbourg: Schoeffer, Peter and Salminger, Sigmund, 1539
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#20
|
|
Attrib: Gombert |
|
Musici excellentissimi cum quinque vo... (RISM G2986 (1552/2))
Musici excellentissimi cum quinque vocibus liber secundus
Venice: Gardano, Antonio, 1552
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#18
|
|
Attrib: Nicolai Gomberti |
|
|
Veni electa mea - Specie tua et pulchritudine
|
|
Handl, Jacob (Gallus)
1550–1591
|
6 |
Quartus tomus musici operis harmoniar... (RISM H1985)
Quartus tomus musici operis harmoniarum quatuor, quinque, sex, octo et plurium vicum, quae ex sancto catholicae ecclesiae usu ita sunt dispositae, ut omni tempore inservire queant
Prague: Nigrinus, Georg, 1590
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#64
|
|
Attrib: Iacobo Hándl |
|
|
Veniens a libano
|
|
Burgh, Cornelius
c.1590–c.1639
|
3 |
Liber primus concertuum ecclesiastico... (RISM B5018)
Liber primus concertuum ecclesiasticorum ternis vocibus in gratiam omnis generis tam cantorum quam instrumentorum nunc primum in lucem editus
Cologne: Greuenbruch, Gerhard, 1626
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#10
|
|
Attrib: Cornelio Bvrgh Ubio |
|
|
Veniens a Libano
|
|
Bosso, Lucio
fl.1600–1610
|
6 |
|
Veniens a Libano
|
|
Bianciardi, Francesco
1571-1572–1607
|
4 |
Sacrarum modulationum quae vulgo mote... (RISM B2600)
Sacrarum modulationum quae vulgo motecta, & quatuor, quinis, senis, & octonis vocibus concinuntur. Liber secundus nunc primum in lucem editus
Venice: Gardano, Angelo, 1601
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#5
|
|
Attrib: Francisci Bianciardi Casulani |
|
|
Venientes autem venient
|
|
Paminger, Leonhard
1495–1567
|
4 |
Tertius tomus ecclesiasticarum cantio... (RISM P830)
Tertius tomus ecclesiasticarum cantionum, quatuor, quinque, sex, et plurium vocum, a prima dominica post festum S. Trrinitatis, usque ad primam Dominicam Adventus Domini et Salvatoris nostri Jesu Christi. His commune de Sanctis Ecclesiae Dei, et quaedam Fragmenta ex canticis Canticorum salomonis, accesserunt.
Nuremberg: Gerlach, Dietrich and Gerlach, Katharina, 1576
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#213
|
|
Attrib: Leonarto Pamingero |
|
|
Venientes autem venient
|
|
Erbach, Christian
c.1568–1635
|
4 |
|
Veniet Dominus et non tardabit
|
|
Lambardi, Girolamo
fl.1586–1623
|
4 |
Antiphonae omnes iuxta ritum Romani b... (RISM L367b)
Antiphonae omnes iuxta ritum Romani breviarii pro totius anni dominicis diebus in primis, & secundis vesperis nunc primum ... Secunda pars
Venice: Caenobio Sancti Spiritus, 1600
(Choirbook, Print)
RISM
#13
|
|
Attrib: Hieronymo Lambardo |
|
|
Veni et libera nos
|
|
Anon
|
4 |
(D-Mbs 43)
c.1550
(Choirbook, MS)
#1
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
Antiphon for vespers of Advent I |
|
Veniet tempus in quo salvabitur populus
|
|
Handl, Jacob (Gallus)
1550–1591
|
8 |
Tertius tomus musici operis, harmonia... (RISM H1982)
Tertius tomus musici operis, harmoniarum quatuor, quinque, sex, octo et plurium vocum
Prague: Nigrinus, Georg, 1587
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#33
|
|
Attrib: Iacobo Handl |
|
Florilegium selectissimarum cantionum... (RISM 1603/1)
Florilegium selectissimarum cantionum, praestantissimorum aetatis nostrae autorum, 4. 5. 6. 7, & 8. vocum
Leipzig: Lamberg, Abraham, 1603
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#36
|
|
Attrib: Iacobus Gallus |
|
|
Veni in hortum dilecte noster
|
|
Vernizzi, Ottavio
1569–1649
|
3 |
|
Veni in hortum meum
|
|
Speiser, Kaspar
|
6 |
|
Veni in hortum meum
|
|
Galli, Giuseppe
fl.1598
|
8 |
|
Veni in hortum meum
|
|
Croce, Giovanni
c.1557–1609
|
8 |
Motetti a otto voci (RISM C4429)
Venice: Vincenti, Giacomo, 1594
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#15
|
|
Attrib: Giovanni Croce Chiozzotto |
|
Sacrae symphoniae diversorum excellen... (RISM 1598/2)
Sacrae symphoniae diversorum excellentissimorum authorum quaternis, v. vi. vii. viii. x. xii. & xvi vocibus
Nuremberg: Kauffmann, Paul, 1598
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#52
|
|
Attrib: Ioan. Croce |
|
Sacrae symphoniae diversorum excellen... (RISM 1601/2)
Sacrae symphoniae diversorum excellentissimorum authorum quaternis, v. vi. vii. viii. x. xii. & xvi vocibus
Nuremberg: Kauffmann, Paul, 1601
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#52
|
|
Attrib: Ioan. Croce |
|
Motetti a otto voci (RISM C4432)
Venice: Vincenti, Giacomo, 1603
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#15
|
|
Attrib: Giovanni Croce Chiozzotto |
|
Motetti a otto voci (RISM C4433)
Venice: Vincenti, Giacomo, 1607
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#15
|
|
Attrib: R. D. Giovanni Croce Chiozzotto |
|
|
Veni in hortum meum
Pothárn Imre
|
|
Castro, Jean de
c.1540-1545–c.1600
|
5 |
Sacrarum cantionum quinque et octo vo... (RISM C1470)
Sacrarum cantionum quinque et octo vocum, tam viva voce quam instrumentis cantatu commodissimarum, atque iam primum in lucem aeditarum Liber unus
Leuven: Bellère, Jean and Phalèse the Elder, Pierre, 1571
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#7
|
|
Attrib: Ioanne de Castro |
|
Theatrum musicum Orlandi de Lassus, a... (RISM 1580/3)
Theatrum musicum Orlandi de Lassus, aliorumque praestantissimorum musicorum selectissimas cantiones sacras, quatuor, quinque & plurimum vocum, presentans. Liber primus
Geneva, 1580
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#11
|
|
Attrib: Io. de Castro |
|
|