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 |
Quaeramus cum pastoribus
|
|
Stabile, Annibale
c.1535–1595
|
8 |
Sacrarum modulationum quae quinis, se... (RISM S4201)
Sacrarum modulationum quae quinis, senis, & octonis vocibus concinuntur liber secundus
Venice: Gardano, Angelo, 1585
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#16
|
|
Attrib: Annibalis Stabili |
|
Continuatio cantionum sacrarum quatuo... (RISM 1588/2)
Continuatio cantionum sacrarum quatuor, quinque, sex, septem, octo et plurium vocum de festis praecipuis anni
Nuremberg: Gerlach, Katharina, 1588
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#5
|
|
Attrib: Annibal. Stabilis |
|
|
Quaeramus cum pastoribus - Ubi pascas ubi cubes
|
|
Croce, Giovanni
c.1557–1609
|
8 |
|
Quaeramus cum pastoribus - Ubi pascas ubi cubes
|
|
Crecquillon, Thomas
c.1505–1557
|
6 |
|
Quaeramus cum pastoribus - Ubi pascis ubi cubes
Nancho Alvarez
|
|
Mouton, Jean
before 1459–1522
|
4 |
(V-CVbav Capp.Sist. 46)
Rome: Gellandi, Claudius, Bouchet, Claudius, and Orceau, Johannes, c.1508-c.1527
(Choirbook, MS)
RISM
#9
|
|
Attrib: Jo. Mouton |
|
(I-MOd III)
Modena: Monte Regali, Eustachius de, 1520-1530
(Choirbook, MS)
#67
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
|
(I-MOd XI)
Modena: Vecchi, Orazio, c.1520-c.1599
(Choirbook, MS)
#3
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
|
Motetti libro primo (RISM 1521/3)
Venice: Antico, Andrea, 1521
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#8
|
|
Attrib: Jo. mouton |
|
(I-Bc Q.25)
Bologna, c.1525-c.1550
(Partbook, MS)
#16
|
|
Attrib: Jo Mouton |
Transposed down a fourth |
Xii. Motetz musicaulx a quatre et cin... (RISM 1529/1)
Xii. Motetz musicaulx a quatre et cinq voix composez par les autheurs cy dessoubz escriptz
Paris: Attaingnant, Pierre, 1529
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#8
|
|
Attrib: Mouton |
|
Anne Boleyn Music book (GB-Lcm 1070)
London, 1533-1536
(Choirbook, MS)
#6
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
|
Liber primus collectorum modulorum (q... (RISM 1553/2)
Liber primus collectorum modulorum (qui moteta vulgo dicuntur)...
Paris: Du Chemin, Nicolas and Goudimel, Claude, 1553
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#13
|
|
Attrib: Mouton |
|
Tertia pars magni operis musici, cont... (RISM 1559/2)
Tertia pars magni operis musici, continens clarissimorum symphonistarum tam veterum quàm recentiorum, praecipue vero Clementis non Papae, Carmina elegantissima. Quatuor vocum
Nuremberg: Berg, Johann and Neuber, Ulrich, 1559
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#15
|
|
Attrib: Ioannes Mouton |
|
(V-CVbav Capp.Sist. 77)
Rome: Dosio, Giuseppe and Oddi, Flaminio, 1611-1632
(Choirbook, MS)
RISM
#1
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
|
|
Quaeramus cum pastoribus - Ubi pascis ubi cubes
|
|
Anon
|
4 |
|
Quaerite mortales
|
|
Steurlein, Johann
1546–1613
|
4 |
|
Quaerite primum regnum Dei
|
|
Wanning, Johannes
1537–1603
|
6 |
|
Quaerite primum regnum Dei
|
|
Meiland, Jacob
1542–1577
|
4 |
Sacrae aliquot cantiones Latinae et G... (RISM M2179)
Sacrae aliquot cantiones Latinae et Germanicae, quinque et quatuor vocum, summa diligentia compositae, correctae, et iam primum in lucem editae
Frankfurt: Corvinus, Georg and Feyerabend, Sigmund, 1575
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#15
|
|
Attrib: Iacobo Meilando Germano |
|
|
Quaerite primum regnum Dei
|
|
Steurlein, Johann
1546–1613
|
5 |
|
Quaerite primum regnum Dei
|
|
Paminger, Leonhard
1495–1567
|
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
#39
|
|
Attrib: Leonarto Pamingero |
|
|
Quaerite primum regnum Dei
|
|
Dulichius, Philipp
1562–1631
|
7 |
|
Quaerite primum regnum Dei
|
|
Lambardi, Girolamo
fl.1586–1623
|
4 |
Antiphonae omnes iuxta ritum Romani b... (RISM L367b)
Antiphonae omnes iuxta ritum Romani breviarii pro totius anni dominicis diebus in primis, & secundis vesperis nunc primum ... Secunda pars
Venice: Caenobio Sancti Spiritus, 1600
(Choirbook, Print)
RISM
#69
|
|
Attrib: Hieronymo Lambardo |
|
|
Quaerite primum regnum Dei
|
|
Calvisius, Sethus
1556–1615
|
8 |
|
Quaerite primum regnum Dei
|
|
Zangius, Nikolaus
c.1570–c.1618
|
6 |
|
Quae sit legitimo
|
|
Palladius, David
fl.1572–1599
|
5 |
|
Quaeso Domine Deus caeli - Et ego et domus Patris - Memento verbi - Et ipsi servi tui
|
|
Utendal, Alexander
c.1530-1540–1581
|
4 |
|
Quaesumus Domine pro tua pietate
|
|
Anon
|
8 |
|
Quaesumus omnipotens Deus
|
|
Tye, Christopher
c.1505–1573
|
6 |
|
Quaesumus omnipotens Deus
|
|
Montagnana, Rinaldo da
fl.1558–1573
|
4 |
|
Quae sunt in corde hominum
|
|
Morari, Antonio
d.1597
|
5 |
Harmoniae miscellae cantionum sacraru... (RISM 1583/2)
Harmoniae miscellae cantionum sacrarum, ab exquisitissimis aetatis nostrae musicis cum quinque & sex vocibus concinnatae, pleraeque omnes novae, necdum in Germania typis scriptae: nunc autem editae studio Leonardi Lechneri Athesini
Nuremberg: Gerlach, Katharina, 1583
(Partbook, Print)
#19
|
|
Attrib: Antonius Morari |
|
|
Quae sunt in corde hominum
|
|
Merulo, Claudio
1533–1604
|
6 |
|
Quae sunt isti - Isti sunt viri
|
|
Anon
|
5 |
|
Quae sunt o rex benigne
|
|
Marenzio, Luca
1553/1554–1599
Molinaro, Simone
c.1570–after 1633
|
6 |
|
Quae tibi contingit divino
|
|
Nucius, Johannes
c.1556–1620
|
5 |
|
Quai pomi mai qual'oro
|
|
Arcadelt, Jacques
1507–1568
|
4 |
|