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 - Sine tuo numine
|
|
Zarlino, Gioseffo
1517–1590
|
5 |
|
Veni Sancte Spiritus - Sine tuo numine
|
|
Brunet, Johannes
fl.c.1510–1530
|
5 |
(V-CVbav Capp.Sist. 46)
Rome: Gellandi, Claudius, Bouchet, Claudius, and Orceau, Johannes, c.1508-c.1527
(Choirbook, MS)
RISM
#19
|
|
Attrib: Brunet |
|
|
Veni sponsa Christi
|
|
Mel, Rinaldo del
c.1554–c.1598
|
4 |
Liber primus Rinaldi del Mel mottetto... (RISM M2193)
Liber primus Rinaldi del Mel mottettorum quae partim quaternis, partim quinis, partim senis, ac unum septenis, alterum vero Octonis vocibus concinuntur
Venice: Gardano, Angelo, 1581
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#2
|
|
Attrib: Rinaldi del Mel |
|
|
Veni sponsa Christi
|
|
Varotto, Michele
before 1550–?1599
|
5 |
|
Veni sponsa Christi
|
|
Rota, Andrea
c.1553–1597
|
5 |
|
Veni sponsa Christi
|
|
Massaino, Tiburtio
before 1550–after 1608
|
7 |
|
Veni sponsa Christi
|
|
Handl, Jacob (Gallus)
1550–1591
|
5 |
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
#99
|
|
Attrib: Iacobo Hándl |
|
|
Veni sponsa Christi
|
|
Baccusi, Ippolito
c.1550–1609
|
5 |
|
Veni sponsa Christi
|
|
Ferrari, Giovanni
fl.1627–1628
|
4 |
|
Veni sponsa Christi
|
|
Gabrieli, Andrea
1532/1533–1585
|
4 |
|
Veni sponsa Christi
|
|
Clavijo, Bernardo
c.1545–1626
|
4 |
Motecta ad canendum tam cum quattuor,... (RISM C2641)
Motecta ad canendum tam cum quattuor, quinque, sex, & octo vocibus, quam cum instrumentis composita
Rome: Gardano, Alessandro, 1588
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#3
|
|
Attrib: Clavijo |
|
|
Veni sponsa Christi
|
|
Philips, Peter
1560–1628
|
5 |
|
Veni sponsa Christi
|
|
Leoni, Leone
c.1560–1627
|
8 |
|
Veni sponsa Christi
|
|
Paminger, Sophonias
1526–1603
|
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
#234
|
|
Attrib: Sophoniae Pamingeri |
|
|
Veni sponsa Christi
|
|
Ducis, Benedictus
c.1492–1544
|
7 |
|
Veni sponsa Christi
|
|
Richafort, Jean
c.1480–c.1550
|
5 |
(I-Bc Q.27 Iº)
Bologna, c.1525-c.1550
(Partbook, MS)
#56
|
|
Attrib: Richafort |
|
Selectissimae necnon familiarissimae ... (RISM 1540/7)
Selectissimae necnon familiarissimae cantiones, ultra centum
Augsburg: Kriesstein, Melchior and Salminger, Sigmund, 1540
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#11
|
|
Attrib: Richafort |
|
Mutetarum divinitatis liber primus qu... (RISM 1543/3)
Mutetarum divinitatis liber primus quae quinque absolutae vocibus ex multis praestantissimorum musicorum academiis collectae sunt
Milan: Castiglione, Giovanni Antonio da, 1543
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#4
|
|
Attrib: Io. Richafort |
|
(V-CVbav Capp.Sist. 38)
Rome: Parvus, Johannes, c.1550-1563
(Choirbook, MS)
RISM
#13
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
|
Motectarum divinitatis liber primus (RISM 1569/2)
Venice: Merulo, Claudio, 1569
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#3
|
|
Attrib: Io. Richafort |
|
|
Veni sponsa Christi
|
|
Tudino, Cesare
d. after 1591
|
5 |
|
Veni sponsa Christi
|
|
Il Verso, Antonio
1565–1621
|
4 |
Mottecta quae partim ternis, partim q... (RISM I2)
Mottecta quae partim ternis, partim quaternis, alia quinis, alia senis concinuntur vocibus, quibus est addita operum divisio pro organo, liber primus
Palermo: Maringo, Giovanni Battista, 1606
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#17
|
|
Attrib: Antonii Versi |
|
|
Veni sponsa Christi
|
|
Palestrina, Giovanni Pierluigi da
c.1525–1594
|
4 |
|
Veni sponsa Christi
|
|
India, Sigismondo d'
c.1582–1629
|
4 |
|
Veni sponsa Christi
|
|
Bendinello, Agostino
c.1550–1598
|
5 |
|
Veni sponsa Christi
|
|
Anon
|
5 |
Musica quinque vocum: motteta materna... (RISM 1543/2)
Musica quinque vocum: motteta materna lingua vocata
Venice: Scotto, Girolamo, 1543
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#9
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
|
Musica quinque vocum que motteta mate... (RISM 1549/6)
Musica quinque vocum que motteta materna lingua moteta vocatantur...
Venice: Gardano, Antonio, 1549
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#15
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
|
|
Veni sponsa Christi
|
|
Zucchini, Gregorio
c.1540–after 1615
|
4 |
|
Veni sponsa Christi
|
|
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
#49
|
|
Attrib: Cristoforo Montemayor |
|
|
Veni sponsa Christi
Nancho Alvarez
The Cardinall's Musick
|
|
Victoria, Tomás Luis de
1548–1611
|
4 |
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
#32
|
|
Attrib: Thomae Lvdovici a Victoria |
|
|