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 |
Missa Adiuva me
|
(Mass) |
Colin, Pierre
fl.1538–1572
|
4 |
Liturgicon musicarum duodecim missaru... (RISM C3310)
Liturgicon musicarum duodecim missarum, decem quidem tetraphonon, duarum vero pentaphonon, autore P. Colinio virgineae puerore synodiae chorago, in D. Lazari apud antiquissimam H. duorum metropolin. augustodunum
Lyon: Moderne, Jacques, 1556
(Choirbook, Print)
RISM
#1
|
|
Attrib: Petrus Colinius |
Upon the motet by Conseil |
|
Missa Ad libitum
|
(Mass) |
Bournonville, Jean de
c.1585–1632
|
4 |
|
Missa Ad maiorem Dei gloriam
|
(Mass) |
Campra, André
1660–1744
|
4 |
Missa quatuor vocibus, cui titulus Ad... (RISM C677)
Missa quatuor vocibus, cui titulus Ad majorem Dei gloriam
Ballard, Christophe, 1699
(Choirbook, Print)
RISM
#1
|
|
Attrib: Andrea Campra |
|
Missa quatuor vocibus, cui titulus Ad... (RISM C678)
Missa quatuor vocibus, cui titulus Ad majorem Dei gloriam
Paris: Ballard, Christophe, 1700
(Choirbook, Print)
RISM
#1
|
|
Attrib: Andrea Campra |
|
|
Missa Ad nutum
|
(Mass) |
Bournonville, Jean de
c.1585–1632
|
6 |
|
Missa A Domino factum est
|
(Mass) |
Grimm, Heinrich
1592-1593–1637
|
6 |
|
Missa Ad perennis vitae fontem
octavi toni
|
(Mass) |
Stopper, Melchior
|
4 |
Corolla Musica Missarum XXXVII pro vi... (RISM 1628/2)
Corolla Musica Missarum XXXVII pro vivis ac defunctis, iuncto mortuali lesso &c. selectissimarum I. II. II. IV. et V vocibus cum basso continuo seu generali, organo applicato
Strasbourg: Zetzner, Lazarus, 1628
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#17
|
|
Attrib: Melchioris Stopperi |
|
|
Missa ad placitum
|
(Mass) |
Cadéac, Pierre
fl.1538–1558
|
4 |
Missae tres Petro Cadeac prestantissi... (RISM C15)
Missae tres Petro Cadeac prestantissimo Musico Auctore, nunc primum in lucem aeditem, cum quatuor vocibus, ad imitationem modulorum
Paris: Ballard, Robert and Le Roy, Adrian, 1558
(Choirbook, Print)
RISM
#1
|
|
Attrib: Petro Cadeac |
|
|
Missa ad placitum
|
(Mass) |
Sermisy, Claudin de
c.1490–1562
|
4 |
|
Missa ad placitum
|
(Mass) |
Appenzeller, Benedictus
c.1480-1488–after 1558
|
4 |
(A-Wn 4810 Han)
Vienna: Alamire, Petrus, c.1518-1520
(Choirbook, MS)
#5
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
|
(I-MOd X)
Modena, c.1520-c.1530
(Choirbook, MS)
#3
|
|
Attrib: Benedictus |
|
|
Missa ad placitum
|
(Mass) |
Jeune, Claude le
|
5 |
Missa ad placitum. Auctore Clau. le I... (RISM L1695)
Missa ad placitum. Auctore Clau. le Ieune, cum V. & VI. vocibus
Paris: Ballard, Pierre, 1607
(Choirbook, Print)
RISM
#1
|
|
Attrib: Clau. le Ieune |
|
|
Missa Ad te clamamus
|
(Mass) |
Stradella, Alessandro
1639–1682
|
16 |
(V-CVbav Capp.Giulia. V.68)
(Score, MS)
#1
|
|
Attrib: Alessandro Stradella |
|
|
Missa Ad te levavi
Francis Bevan (SATBar(Bar)B)
|
(Mass) |
Escobedo, Bartolomé de
c.1505–1563
|
5 |
(V-CVbav Capp.Sist. 13)
Rome: Parvus, Johannes and Raymond, Vincent, c.1536-c.1542
(Choirbook, MS)
RISM
#6
|
|
Attrib: Scobedo |
6vv Sanctus & Agnus Dei |
|
Missa Ad te levavi oculos meos
|
(Mass) |
Monte, Philippe de
1521–1603
|
5 |
|
Missa Advenisti desiderabilis
|
(Mass) |
Anon
|
5 |
(D-Sl 47)
Stuttgart, 1507
(Choirbook, MS)
#1
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
First page of Kyrie missing and last page of Benedictus severely damaged; No Agnus Dei |
|
Missa Aeterna Christi munera
Francis Bevan (ATT(T)B)
Oxford Camerata
|
(Mass) |
Palestrina, Giovanni Pierluigi da
c.1525–1594
|
4 |
(E-TUY 1)
(Choirbook, MS)
#3
|
|
Attrib: Joanis Praenestini |
|
Compendium missarum quinque quadrupli... (P-EVc 2)
Compendium missarum quinque quadruplici voce concinendarum cum duobus aspersoriis
(Choirbook, MS)
#6
|
|
Attrib: Joanne Petro Ludovico Praenestino |
|
Missarum Liber Quintus quatuor, quinq... (RISM P670)
Missarum Liber Quintus quatuor, quinque, ac Sex vocibus concinendarum, nunc denuo in lucem editus
Rome: Coattino, Francesco, 1590
(Choirbook, Print)
RISM
#1
|
|
Attrib: Ioannis Petri Aloysii Praenestini |
|
Missarum cum quatuor quinque, & sex v... (RISM P671)
Missarum cum quatuor quinque, & sex vocibus. Liber quintus.
Venice: Scotto, Girolamo, 1601
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#1
|
|
Attrib: Ioannis Petraloysii Praenestini |
|
(P-VV 1)
Vila Viçosa, 1730-1740
(Choirbook, MS)
#2
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
First Agnus Dei only |
|
Missa Aeterne rex altissime
|
(Mass) |
Bruecquet, Vincentius 'Vincenet' du
d. before 1480
|
4 |
|
Missa Afferte Domino
|
(Mass) |
Lambardi, Girolamo
fl.1586–1623
|
4 |
|
Missa A la fontaine du prez
|
(Mass) |
Clemens non Papa, Jacobus
c.1510–1555/1556
|
6 |
|
Missa A l'aventure
|
(Mass) |
Anon
|
4 |
(NL-SHbhic 157)
's-Hertogenbosch: Spina, Philippus de, 1540-1542
(Choirbook, MS)
#5
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
Title of Mass = name of composer? Jo. ala venture |
|
Missa Albanus
|
(Mass) |
Fayrfax, Robert
1464–1521
|
5 |
Lambeth Choirbook aka Arundel Choirbook (GB-Llp 1)
Higgons, Edward, 1525-1530
(Choirbook, MS)
#3
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
|
Caius choirbook (GB-Cgc 667/760)
Cambridge: Higgons, Edward, 1525-1530
(Choirbook, MS)
#15
|
|
Attrib: ffeyrfax |
|
Forrest-Heyther Partbooks (GB-Ob 376-381)
Oxford: Baldwin, John and Forrest, William, 1528-1625
(Choirbook, MS)
#5
|
|
Attrib: Doct ffayrfox |
|
Peterhouse Partbooks (Henrician Set) (GB-Cp 31-32,40-41)
Cambridge, c.1539-c.1541
(Partbook, MS)
#31
|
|
Attrib: Ffayrefax |
|
|
[Missa] Alia Missa
|
|
Tristabocca, Pasquale
|
5 |
|
Missa All'acqua sacra
|
(Mass) |
Quintiani, Lucrezio
c.1550-1560–after 1595
|
8 |
|
Missa All'acqua sacra
|
(Mass) |
Antegnati, Costanzo
1549–1624
|
6 |
Constantii Antegnati liber primus mis... (RISM A1260)
Constantii Antegnati liber primus missarum sex et octo vocum
Venice: Gardano, Angelo, 1578
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#1
|
|
Attrib: Constantii Antegnati |
Upon the madrigal by Striggio |
Constantii Antegnati organistae in ca... (RISM A1261)
Constantii Antegnati organistae in cathedrali ecclesia Brixiensi. Liber primus missarum
Venice: Gardano, Angelo, 1587
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#1
|
|
Attrib: Constantii Antegnati |
|
(SI-Lnr 340)
Ljubljana: Kuglmann, Georg, c.1600
(Choirbook, MS)
RISM
#3
|
|
Attrib: Constanty Antegnati |
|
(SI-Lnr 341)
Ljubljana: Kuglmann, Georg, c.1600
(Choirbook, MS)
RISM
#17
|
|
Attrib: Constantii Antegnati |
|
(A-Gu 22)
Graz, before 1607
(Choirbook, MS)
#11
|
|
Attrib: Constantius Antegnate |
|
|
Missa Alla dolce ombra
Francis Bevan (ATBarBarB)
|
(Mass) |
Padovano, Annibale
1527–1575
|
5 |
|
Missa Alla dolce ombra
|
(Mass) |
Mantua, Jacquet de
1483–1559
|
5 |
(D-Mbs 2)
Munich, c.1550-c.1599
(Choirbook, MS)
RISM
#3
|
|
Attrib: Jaches de Mantua |
|
(I-TVd 16)
Treviso, 1560-1567
(Choirbook, MS)
#2
|
|
Attrib: id |
|
Messe del fiore a cinque voci libro p... (RISM J18)
Messe del fiore a cinque voci libro primo
Venice: Scotto, Girolamo, 1561
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#3
|
|
Attrib: Iachet de Mantoua |
|
(D-Sl 23)
Stuttgart, c.1562-c.1567
(Choirbook, MS)
#3
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
|
(I-TVd 23)
Treviso, 1563
(Choirbook, MS)
#1
|
|
Attrib: Jachet de Mantua |
|
(D-AN VI g 23)
Ansbach, 1576
(Choirbook, MS)
RISM
#1
|
|
Attrib: Jachet de Mantua |
|
|