Mid-fifteenth-century English mass cycles in continental sources

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Cook, James Matthew (2014) Mid-fifteenth-century English mass cycles in continental sources. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham.

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Abstract

Fifteenth-century English music had a profound impact on mainland Europe, with several important innovations (e.g. the cyclic cantus firmus Mass) credited as English in origin. However, the turbulent history of the Church in England has left few English sources for this deeply influential repertory.

The developing narrative surrounding apparently English technical innovations has therefore often focussed on the recognition of English works in continental manuscripts, with these efforts most recently crystallised in Curtis and Wathey's 'Fifteenth-Century English Liturgical Music: A List of the Surviving Repertory'. The focus of discussion until now has generally been on a dichotomy between English and continental origin. However, as more details emerge of the opportunities for cultural cross-fertilisation, it becomes increasingly clear that this may be a false dichotomy.

This thesis re-evaluates the complex issues of provenance and diffusion affecting the mid-fifteenth-century cyclic Mass. By breaking down the polarization between English and continental origins, it offers a new understanding of the provenance and subsequent use of many Mass cycles.

Contact between England and the continent was frequent, multifarious and quite possibly reciprocal and, despite strong national trends, there exists a body of work that can best be understood in relation to international cultural exchange. This thesis helps to clarify the provenance of a number of Mass cycles, but also suggests that, for Masses such as the anonymous Thomas cesus and Du cuer je souspier, Le Rouge's So ys emprentid, and even perhaps Bedyngham's Sine nomine, cultural exchange is key to our understanding. This thesis also offers a more detailed overview of the chronology of fifteenth-century English Mass cycles and defines their various structural norms, as well as those Masses which depart from these.

Item Type: Thesis (University of Nottingham only) (PhD)
Supervisors: Weller, P.H.
Wright, P.A.
Subjects: M Music and Literature on music > ML Literature of music
Faculties/Schools: UK Campuses > Faculty of Arts > School of Humanities
Item ID: 30778
Depositing User: Blythe, Mrs Maxine
Date Deposited: 13 Nov 2015 13:26
Last Modified: 12 Jun 2018 07:23
URI: https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/30778

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