Motet
Sacred Latin polyphony — the multi-voice fabric of the Middle Ages and Renaissance
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The motet is the most important sacred polyphonic vocal genre of the Middle Ages and Renaissance: a Latin sacred text set for several voices, each independent and interlocking. It evolved from adding voices above plainchant into the imitative four-to-six-part texture of the Renaissance; Palestrina and Josquin are its representatives.
It differs from the Mass in text and occasion: the Mass sets the five fixed sections of the liturgy, the motet's text is freer; both are sacred polyphony. A motet is not "a madrigal in church": it is older, more sacred, and able to carry more complex counterpoint.
Read deeper → Musical Form
Sources
- 经文歌的体裁演变与复调特征，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Motet"；本文为原创表述
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