Machaut: La Messe de Nostre Dame for Clarinet Quartet - Score Only
by James M. Guthrie
Clarinet Quartet - Digital Sheet Music

Woodwind Ensemble,Woodwind Quartet - Level 2 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1259372

Composed by Guillaume de Machaut, 1300-1377. Arranged by James M. Guthrie. Chamber,Contest,Early Music,Festival,Historic,Medieval. 38 pages. Jmsgu3 #852647. Published by jmsgu3 (A0.1259372).

INSTRUMENTATION: 2 Clarinets in Bb, 1 Alto Clarinet, 1 Bass Clarinet
1. Kyrie
2. Gloria
3. Credo
4. Sanctus
5. Agnus dei
6. Ite missa est

Guillaume de Machaut composed the Messe de Nostre Dame, also known as the Mass of Our Lady, in the early 1360s. He wrote the mass for the Cathedral at Reims, where he served as a canon, a permanent clergy member. According to a rubric found at the Cathedral, it would have likely been performed for the Saturday Lady Mass. 

Guillaume de Machaut's Messe de Nostre Dame is significant in the history of music for several reasons:

1. It is the first complete setting of the Ordinary of the Mass by a single composer that has survived.
2. It is a unified mass, meaning that the composer selected relevant chants for each section as the borrowed tenor.
3. It was composed in four voices, which was unusual at the time.
4. The texts of both Gloria and Credo are quite lengthy, and therefore Machaut set these movements in a style reminiscent of the earlier discant style, having short phrases, similar rhythmic motion in all parts, and a low ratio of notes per syllable of text, both ending with long, rhapsodic sections for the final word, "Amen."

Machaut's Messe de Nostre Dame is a landmark in musical history, but it is far from being avant-garde merely for the sake of uniqueness. It is considered to be a culmination of the musical style of the Ars Nova period, which was characterized by complex polyphonic textures and rhythmic innovations. The mass is also significant because it was composed during a time of great political and social upheaval in Europe, and it reflects the changing attitudes towards religion and music during this period. Overall, Machaut's Messe de Nostre Dame is a significant work that represents a culmination of the musical style of the Ars Nova period and reflects the changing attitudes towards religion and music during the 14th century. 

The mass consists of five movements: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei, followed by the dismissal Ite, missa est. The tenor of the Kyrie is based on Vatican Kyrie IV, the Sanctus, and Agnus correspond to Vatican Mass XVII, and the Ite is on Sanctus VIII. The Gloria and Credo have no apparent chant basis, although they are stylistically related to one another. The mass is a unified mass, meaning that the composer selected relevant chants for each section as the borrowed tenor. The Messe de Nostre Dame is significant in the history of music because it is the first complete setting of the Ordinary of the Mass by a single composer that has survived. It is also significant because it was composed during a time of great political and social upheaval in Europe, and it reflects the changing attitudes towards religion and music during this period. 

Overall, the Messe de Nostre Dame was an important part of the liturgical practices of the time, and it is still regarded as a masterpiece of medieval music and of all religious music.