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 Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Senfl, Ludwig
c.1486–1542/1543
|
8 |
(D-Mbs 41)
Munich, 1540-1560
(Choirbook, MS)
RISM
#3
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
|
Thesaurus musicus continens selectiss... (RISM 1564/1)
Thesaurus musicus continens selectissimas octo, septem, sex, quinque et quatuor vocum harmonias, tam a veteribus quam recentioribus Symphonistis compositas, et ad omnis generis instrumenta Musica accommodatas. Tomi primi continentis cantiones octo vocum
Nuremberg: Berg, Johann and Neuber, Ulrich, 1564
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#31
|
|
Attrib: Ludouicus Senflius |
|
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Anon
|
4 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Montemayor, Cristoforo
fl.1592
|
4 |
Liber primus cum octo sex et quinque ... (I-Rn 135)
Liber primus cum octo sex et quinque et quatuor vocibus composita per Christofory montemayor Hispanum Anno Dni 1593 ... Vesperi cum otto Della Madonna ... 1592
Rome, 1592-1593
(Choirbook, MS)
RISM
#12
|
|
Attrib: Cristoforo Montemayor |
|
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Senfl, Ludwig
c.1486–1542/1543
|
4 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Dalla Casa, Girolamo
d.1601
|
6 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Assandra, Caterina
c.1590–after 1618
|
2 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Allegri, Gregorio
1582–1652
|
4 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
Francis Bevan (SATB)
|
Pentecost |
Conflicting attributions
|
4 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
Pothárn Imre
|
Pentecost |
Lassus, Orlande de
c.1532–1594
|
5 |
Patrocinium musices ... Officia aliqu... (RISM L874)
Patrocinium musices ... Officia aliquot, de praecipuis festis anni, 5 vocum. Nunc primum in lucem editae. Tertia pars.
Munich: Berg, Adam, 1574
(Choirbook, Print)
RISM
#15
|
|
Attrib: Orlandi de Lasso |
|
Patrocinium musices. Orlando de Lasso... (RISM L883)
Patrocinium musices. Orlando de Lasso... officia aliquot de praecipuis festis anni
Munich: Berg, Adam, 1576
(Choirbook, Print)
RISM
#15
|
|
Attrib: Orlandi de Lasso |
Officium Pentecostes |
Patrocinium musices ... Officia aliqu... (RISM L921)
Patrocinium musices ... Officia aliquot, de praecipuis festis anni, 5 vocum. Nunc primum in lucem editae. Tertia pars.
Munich: Berg, Adam, 1580
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#15
|
|
Attrib: Orlandi de Lasso |
|
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Handl, Jacob (Gallus)
1550–1591
|
8 |
Secundus tomus musici operis, harmoni... (RISM H1981)
Secundus tomus musici operis, harmoniarum quatuor, quinque, sex, octo et plurium vocum
Prague: Nigrinus, Georg, 1587
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#57
|
|
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
#69
|
|
Attrib: Iacobus Gallus |
|
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Handl, Jacob (Gallus)
1550–1591
|
4 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Senfl, Ludwig
c.1486–1542/1543
|
6 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Anon
|
4 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Kraf, Michael
1595–1662
|
8 |
Musae novae octonis vocibus cum dupli... (RISM K1882)
Musae novae octonis vocibus cum duplici basso ad organum. SS. Missae sacrificio, horis vespertinis, et caelitibus festive honorandis accommodae
Dillingen: Haenlin, Gregor, 1616
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#1
|
|
Attrib: Michaele Kraff Francone |
|
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Stabile, Annibale
c.1535–1595
|
8 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Viadana, Lodovico
c.1540-1560–1627
|
1 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Hemmel, Sigmund
d.1564
|
6 |
(D-Sl 3)
Stuttgart: Chamerhueber, Johann, 1562
(Choirbook, MS)
#7
|
|
Attrib: Sigismundus Hemelius |
|
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Patta, Serafino
fl.1606–1619
|
5 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Isaac, Heinrich
c.1450–1517
|
4 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Amon, Blasius
c.1560–1590
|
5 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Klingenstein, Bernhard
1545/1546–1614
|
5 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Infantas, Fernando de las
1534–c.1610
|
4 |
Plura modulationum genera quae vulgo ... (RISM I40)
Plura modulationum genera quae vulgo contrapuncta appellantur super excelso gregoriano cantu, omnibus musicam prositentibus utilissima
Venice: Scotto, Girolamo, 1579
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#77
|
|
Attrib: Don Ferdinandi de las Infantas |
Each verse set to a different canon over the same Laudate Dominum chant |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Soriano, Francesco
1548/1549–1621
|
8 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Anon
|
4 |
(E-Bim 1)
Toledo, 1601-1603
(Partbook, MS)
#59
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
|
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus
|
Pentecost |
Jeune, Claude le
c.1528–1600
|
6 |
|