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 |
Tenebrae factae sunt
|
Good Friday |
Anon
|
4 |
(P-Cug 8)
c.1610-1620
(Choirbook, MS)
#37
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
Good Friday: Tenebrae Nocturn II, 2 |
|
Tenebrae factae sunt
|
(Responsory), Good Friday |
Dentice, Fabrizio
?1539–1581
|
5 |
Lamentationi (RISM D1659)
Milan: Tini, Simone and Tini, Francesco, 1593
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#17
|
|
Attrib: Fabricio Dentice |
[Good Friday, Nocturn II] Responsory 2; Fauxbordon |
|
Tenebrae factae sunt
|
Good Friday |
Corvo, Giovanni Battista
fl.1554–1555
|
4 |
|
Tenebrae factae sunt
|
Good Friday |
Anon
|
4 |
(P-Cug 25)
(Choirbook, MS)
#14
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
Good Friday: Tenebrae Nocturn II, 2 |
|
Tenebrae factae sunt
|
(Responsory), Good Friday |
Bartei, Girolamo
c.1565–after 1617
|
4 |
|
Tenebrae factae sunt
|
Good Friday |
Anon
|
4 |
|
Tenebrae factae sunt
Francis Bevan (SATBarB)
|
Good Friday |
Giacobetti, Pietro Amico
fl.1579–1616
|
5 |
Lamentationes cum omnibus responsorii... (RISM G1825)
Lamentationes cum omnibus responsoriis in Triduo Hebdomodae Sanctae nec non passiones in missis Dominica Palmarum & Parasceves quinis vocibus concinendae
Venice: Vincenti, Giacomo, 1601
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#20
|
|
Attrib: Pietro Amico Iacobetto |
Good Friday: Tenebrae Nocturn II, 2 |
|
Tenebrae factae sunt
|
Good Friday |
Weerbeke, Gaspar van
c.1445–after 1516
|
4 |
|
Tenebrae factae sunt
|
Good Friday |
Corteccia, Francesco
1502–1571
|
4 |
|
Tenebrae factae sunt
|
Good Friday |
Aretino, Paolo
1508–1584
|
4 |
|
Tenebrae factae sunt
|
Good Friday |
Ferrarese, Paolo
fl.1565
|
4 |
Passiones, Lamentationes, Responsoria... (RISM P868)
Passiones, Lamentationes, Responsoria, Benedictus, Miserere, multaque alia devotissima cantica ad offitium hebdomadae Sanctae pertinentia
Venice: Scotto, Girolamo, 1565
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#50
|
|
Attrib: D. Pauli Ferrariensis |
Good Friday: Tenebrae Nocturn II, 2 |
|
Tenebrae factae sunt
|
Good Friday |
Falconio, Placido
fl.1549–1588
|
4 |
|
Tenebrae factae sunt
|
Good Friday |
Lambardi, Camillo
c.1560–1634
|
8 |
Responsorii della settimana santa con... (RISM L356)
Responsorii della settimana santa con il miserere, benedictus, et christus factus est. A due chori.
Naples: d'Aulisio, Giovanni Tomaso, 1592
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#14
|
|
Attrib: Camillo Lambardi |
Good Friday: Tenebrae Nocturn II, 2 |
|
Tenebrae factae sunt
|
Good Friday |
Gesualdo, Carlo
1566–1613
|
6 |
|
Tenebrae factae sunt
|
Good Friday |
Reiner, Jacob
before 1560–1606
|
6 |
Selectae piaeque cantiones, sex, sept... (RISM R1084)
Selectae piaeque cantiones, sex, septem, octo, adiunctaque in fine una decem vocum quae cum vivae voci, tum, omnis generis, instrumentorum musicis, applicari commodissime possent
Munich: Berg, Adam, 1591
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#14
|
|
Attrib: Iacobo Reinero |
|
|
Tenebrae factae sunt
|
Good Friday |
Tapia, Francisco de
|
4 |
(E-Bim 1)
Toledo, 1601-1603
(Partbook, MS)
#12
|
|
Attrib: franco de tapia |
|
|
Tenebrae factae sunt
|
Good Friday |
Zoilo, Annibale
c.1537–1592
|
4 |
|
Tenebrae factae sunt
|
Good Friday |
Anon
|
4 |
|
Tenebrae factae sunt
|
(Responsory), Good Friday |
Ingegneri, Marco Antonio
c.1535–1592
|
4 |
Responsoria Hebdomadae Sanctae, bened... (RISM I45)
Responsoria Hebdomadae Sanctae, benedictus, & improperia quatuor vocibus
Venice: Amadino, Ricciardo, 1588
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#14
|
|
Attrib: Marci Antonii Ingignerii |
Good Friday, Nocturn 2: 2 |
(A-Wn 15943)
Vienna: Moser, Georg, c.1600-c.1699
(Choirbook, MS)
RISM
#12
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
Good Friday, Nocturn 2: 2 |
|
Tenebrae factae sunt
|
Good Friday |
Viadana, Lodovico
c.1540-1560–1627
|
4 |
Responsoria ad lamentationes hieremia... (RISM V1391)
Responsoria ad lamentationes hieremiae prophetae quae in maioris hebdomadae officiis concinuntur cum quatuor vocibus
Venice: Vincenti, Giacomo, 1609
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#17
|
|
Attrib: Lvdovico Viadana |
|
|
Tenebrae factae sunt
|
Good Friday |
Belloni, Giuseppe
c.1575–1606
|
8 |
Responsoria hebdomadae sanctae, psalm... (RISM 1612/2)
Responsoria hebdomadae sanctae, psalmi, benedictus, et miserere una cum missa, ac vesperis sabbati sancti in octo vocum concentum redacta, simulquae basso generali pro organo
Venice: Vincenti, Giacomo, 1612
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#15
|
|
Attrib: Iosephi Belloni |
|
|
Tenebrae factae sunt
Francis Bevan (SATBarB)
|
(Responsory), Good Friday |
Nenna, Pomponio
1556–1608
|
5 |
Sacrae Hebdomadae Responsoria quae Fe... (RISM N381)
Sacrae Hebdomadae Responsoria quae Feria quinta in coena Domini Feria sexta in Parasceve, & Sabbato sancto ad Matutinas quinque vocibus concinuntur cum basso ad organum
Rome: Robletti, Giovanni Battista, 1622
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#14
|
|
Attrib: Pomponii Nennae |
Good Friday: Tenebrae Nocturn II, 2 |
|
Tenebrae factae sunt
|
Good Friday |
Falusi, Michele Angelo
fl.1683–1684
|
4 |
Responsoria Hebdomadis Sanctae una cu... (RISM F93)
Responsoria Hebdomadis Sanctae una cum Benedictus, Miserere, ac antiphonis quatuor vocibus cum organo auctore P. Mag. Fr. Michaele Angelo Falusi Romano
Rome: Mascardi, 1654
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#17
|
|
Attrib: Michaele Angelo Falusi |
|
|
Tenebrae factae sunt - Et clamans Jesus
|
|
Anon
|
6 |
Thematic catalogue. MS destroyed in 1944 (I-TVd 6)
Treviso: d'Alessi, Giovanni, 1560-1568
(Choirbook, MS)
#26
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
Thematic catalogue, first phrase only |
|
Tenez moy en voz bras mon amy je suis malade
|
|
Josquin Desprez
c.1450–1521
|
6 |
(I-Bc R.142)
Bologna, 1515-1530
(Partbook, MS)
#29
|
|
Attrib: Josquin |
as Vidi speciosam |
Le septiesme livre contenant Vingt & ... (RISM 1545/15)
Le septiesme livre contenant Vingt & quatre chansons a cincq et a six parties, composees par feu de bonne memoire & tresexcellent en musique Iosquin des pres, avecq troix Epitaphes dudict Iosquin, composez par divers aucteurs
Antwerp: Susato, Tylman, 1545
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#14
|
|
Attrib: Iosquin de Pres |
|
|