Bicinia
It'd be a nice name for a dog, eh? Kind of like Lavinia. (Which somehow puts me in mind of Lydia the Tattooed Lady.) And if you got a second dog, you could call her Tricinia.
These words are real. They refer to a form of few-voiced music often intended as a teaching tool. There were many, many volumes of bicinia and tricinia published in the 16th- and 17th-centuries. Some of the music contained therein is fairly pedestrian; but by no means all.
For one thing, many volumes which were essentially compilations of few-voiced pieces from the works of the great Renaissance composers were published. These included many excerpts from masses and other works, since these Renaissance pieces usually had several passages in duet or trio voicing, creating contrast with the prevailing four- five- or six voice texture. For example, the Benedictus section of the Sanctus was often scored for two or three voices, creating a satisfactory effect upon the return of the full texture at 'Osanna in excelsis'. Or the second of the three Agnus settings might be for a reduced texture.
But many composers treated two-and three-voice pieces as serious artistic challenges, and wrote new settings which, while appropriate for pedagogical purposes, were works of art in their own right. We're going to focus upon one of these composers: The great Orlande de Lassus (1532-1594).
For much of his career, Lassus worked in Munich at the court of Albert V, Duke of Bavaria. Albert had two sons, and it was to further the musical education of these youngsters (and, surely, others) that Lassus produced a volume entitled 'Bicinia, sive cantiones suavissimae duarum vocum' (1577).
The publication contains ten tiny two-voiced motets and ten untexted fantasies for unspecified instruments. Here's an example of the latter group.
But since our general focus is upon vocal music, I am attaching a score for all ten of the texted bicinia. As you'll see and hear, they are no rote teaching pieces. Lassus has chosen diverse biblical and liturgical passages (translations and attributions are supplied on each page of the score) and crafted perfect little imitative pieces, musical conversations upon a sacred topic, each of which forms a complete little musical world for our listening and singing delight.
Here are links to performances on YouTube of each of the ten texted bicinia:
1. Beatus vir
2. Beatus homo
3. Oculus non vidit
4. Justus cor suum tradet
5. Expectatio justorum
6. Qui sequitur me
7. Justi tulerunt
8. Sancti mei
9. Qui vult venire
10. Serve bone
Happy listening! Happy singing! Love! Joy! Peace! Harmony! Counterpoint!
It'd be a nice name for a dog, eh? Kind of like Lavinia. (Which somehow puts me in mind of Lydia the Tattooed Lady.) And if you got a second dog, you could call her Tricinia.
These words are real. They refer to a form of few-voiced music often intended as a teaching tool. There were many, many volumes of bicinia and tricinia published in the 16th- and 17th-centuries. Some of the music contained therein is fairly pedestrian; but by no means all.
For one thing, many volumes which were essentially compilations of few-voiced pieces from the works of the great Renaissance composers were published. These included many excerpts from masses and other works, since these Renaissance pieces usually had several passages in duet or trio voicing, creating contrast with the prevailing four- five- or six voice texture. For example, the Benedictus section of the Sanctus was often scored for two or three voices, creating a satisfactory effect upon the return of the full texture at 'Osanna in excelsis'. Or the second of the three Agnus settings might be for a reduced texture.
But many composers treated two-and three-voice pieces as serious artistic challenges, and wrote new settings which, while appropriate for pedagogical purposes, were works of art in their own right. We're going to focus upon one of these composers: The great Orlande de Lassus (1532-1594).
For much of his career, Lassus worked in Munich at the court of Albert V, Duke of Bavaria. Albert had two sons, and it was to further the musical education of these youngsters (and, surely, others) that Lassus produced a volume entitled 'Bicinia, sive cantiones suavissimae duarum vocum' (1577).
The publication contains ten tiny two-voiced motets and ten untexted fantasies for unspecified instruments. Here's an example of the latter group.
But since our general focus is upon vocal music, I am attaching a score for all ten of the texted bicinia. As you'll see and hear, they are no rote teaching pieces. Lassus has chosen diverse biblical and liturgical passages (translations and attributions are supplied on each page of the score) and crafted perfect little imitative pieces, musical conversations upon a sacred topic, each of which forms a complete little musical world for our listening and singing delight.
Here are links to performances on YouTube of each of the ten texted bicinia:
1. Beatus vir
2. Beatus homo
3. Oculus non vidit
4. Justus cor suum tradet
5. Expectatio justorum
6. Qui sequitur me
7. Justi tulerunt
8. Sancti mei
9. Qui vult venire
10. Serve bone
Happy listening! Happy singing! Love! Joy! Peace! Harmony! Counterpoint!