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 redemptor gentium
|
|
Willaert, Adrian
c.1490–1562
|
5 |
(I-MOe C.313)
Modena, c.1560
(Partbook, MS)
#12
|
|
Attrib: Adrianus W |
|
|
Veni redemptor gentium [I]
|
|
Paminger, Leonhard
1495–1567
|
5 |
Primus tomus ecclesiasticarum cantion... (RISM P828)
Primus tomus ecclesiasticarum cantionum, quatuor, quinque, sex, et plurium vocum, a prima dominica adventus, usque ad passionem Domini et salvatoris nostri Jesu Christi
Nuremberg: Gerlach, Dietrich, 1573
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#30
|
|
Attrib: Leonartum Pamingerum |
|
|
Veni redemptor gentium [II]
|
|
Paminger, Leonhard
1495–1567
|
5 |
Primus tomus ecclesiasticarum cantion... (RISM P828)
Primus tomus ecclesiasticarum cantionum, quatuor, quinque, sex, et plurium vocum, a prima dominica adventus, usque ad passionem Domini et salvatoris nostri Jesu Christi
Nuremberg: Gerlach, Dietrich, 1573
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#31
|
|
Attrib: Leonartum Pamingerum |
|
|
Veni redemptor gentium - Non ex virili semine - Egressus eius a Patre
|
|
Zaphelius, Matthias
before 1550–after 1572
|
5 |
|
Veni salus hominum
|
|
Anon
|
4 |
|
Veni Sancte Michael - Defende nos in praelio
|
|
Anon
|
4 |
Thematic catalogue. MS destroyed in 1944 (I-TVd 4)
Treviso: d'Alessi, Giovanni, 1559-1569
(Choirbook, MS)
#31
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
Thematic catalogue, first phrase only |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Hasenknopf, Sebastian
c.1545–after 1597
|
6 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
David Fraser (AATTB)
The Cambridge Singers
|
Pentecost |
Byrd, William
c.1540–1623
|
5 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Contino, Giovanni
c.1513–1574
|
5 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
Ensemble Plus Ultra
|
Pentecost |
Victoria, Tomás Luis de
1548–1611
|
8 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Hassler, Hans Leo
1564–1612
|
5 |
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
#14
|
|
Attrib: Ioanne Leone Haslero |
|
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
Pothárn Imre
Pothárn Imre
|
Pentecost |
Palestrina, Giovanni Pierluigi da
c.1525–1594
|
8 |
Motettorum quae partim quinis, partim... (RISM P711)
Motettorum quae partim quinis, partim senis, partim octonis vocibus concinantur, Liber Tertius nunc primum in lucem aeditus
Venice: Scotto, Girolamo, 1575
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#30
|
|
Attrib: Iohannis Petraloysii Praenestini |
|
Motettorum quae partim quinis partim ... (RISM P712)
Motettorum quae partim quinis partim senis, partim octonis vocibus concinantur, liber tertius
Venice: Scotto, Girolamo, 1581
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#30
|
|
Attrib: Iohannis Petraloysii Praenestini |
|
Corollarium cantionum sacrarum quinqu... (RISM 1590/5)
Corollarium cantionum sacrarum quinque, sex, septem, octo, et plurium vocum de festis praecipuis anni
Nuremberg: Gerlach, Katharina, 1590
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#37
|
|
Attrib: Ioan: Petri Aloysii |
|
Liber tertius ... Motectorum quae par... (RISM P715)
Liber tertius ... Motectorum quae partim quinis, partim senis, partim octonis vocibus concinuntur
Venice: Gardano, Angelo, 1594
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#30
|
|
Attrib: Ioan: Petri Aloysii Praenestini |
|
(V-CVbav Barb.Lat.4184)
Rome, c.1600-c.1699
(Score, MS)
#26
|
|
Attrib: Jo: Prenestini |
|
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Lassus, Orlande de
c.1532–1594
|
6 |
(D-Mbs 15)
Munich: Flori, Franz, 1577
(Choirbook, MS)
RISM
#6
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
|
Mottetta, sex vocum, typis nondum usp... (RISM L939)
Mottetta, sex vocum, typis nondum uspiam excusa: singulari authoris industria iampridem composita, et praelo submissa
Munich: Berg, Adam, 1582
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#12
|
|
Attrib: Orlando de Lasso |
|
Tertium opus musicum, continens Lecti... (RISM 1588/8)
Tertium opus musicum, continens Lectiones Hiobet motectas seu cantiones sacras, quatuor, quinque et sex vocum, antea quidem tribus fasciculis seorsim excusas, nunc vero in volumen unum redactas
Nuremberg: Gerlach, Katharina, 1588
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#51
|
|
Attrib: Orlando de Lasso |
|
Magnum opus musicum ... Complectens o... (RISM L1019)
Magnum opus musicum ... Complectens omnes cantiones quas motetas vulgo vocant, tam antea editas quam hactenus nondum publicatas II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. IIX. IX. X. XII. vocum a Ferdinando serenissimi bavariae ducis maximiliani musicorum praefecto, & Rudolpho, eidem Principi ab Organis; Authoris filiis summo studio collectum, & impensis eorundem Typis mandatum
Munich: Heinrich, Nikolaus, 1604
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#344
|
|
Attrib: Orlandi de Lasso |
|
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Paminger, Leonhard
1495–1567
|
6 |
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
#151
|
|
Attrib: Leonartum Pamingerum |
|
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Tonsor, Michael
before 1546–after 1606
|
5 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Zangius, Nikolaus
c.1570–c.1618
|
8 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Schoendorff, Philipp
1565-1570–1617
|
5 |
(PL-GD 4005)
Gdańsk, 1589
(Partbook, MS)
RISM
#42
|
|
Attrib: Philippi Schöndorfij |
|
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
#23
|
|
Attrib: Phlippi Schondorffii |
|
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Mornable, Antoine de
fl.1530–1553
|
5 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Sales, Franz
c.1540–1599
|
5 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Belli, Girolamo
1552–c.1620
|
8 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Asola, Giovanni Matteo
c.1532–1609
|
8 |
Completorium romanum duae B. virginis... (RISM A2560)
Completorium romanum duae B. virginis Antiphonae, scilicet Salve regina et Regina caeli. Quatuorque alia motetta musica octonis vocibus infractis decantanda
Venice: Scotto, Girolamo, 1585
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#12
|
|
Attrib: D. Io. Matthaeo Asula Veronensi |
|
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Amon, Blasius
c.1560–1590
|
4 |
Introitus dominicales per totum annum... (RISM A945)
Introitus dominicales per totum annum, secundum ritum ecclesiae catholicae, suavitate et brevitate quatuor vocibus exculti, tam utiles quam necessarii
Vienna: Formica, Leonhard, 1601
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#1
|
|
Attrib: F. Blasio Amon Tyrolensi |
|
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Merulo, Claudio
1533–1604
|
6 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Maessens, Pieter
c.1505–1562
|
6 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Reiner, Jacob
before 1560–1606
|
5 |
|