Imitated motet

The fully imitated motet is a form of the motet of the 16th century and is considered to be the culmination of the development of motets in Franco-Flemish music .

The cantus firmus is omitted in the imitated motet , so that all voices participate equally in the motivic material. This motivic material, the Soggetto , is reinvented in each section and must be imitated by each of the voices involved. The imitated motet was performed purely vocal ( a cappella ), with some instruments playing along with the vocal parts. Well-known composers of the imitated motet are Orlando di Lasso and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina . It should be said, however, that di Lasso's style is undoubtedly rooted in imitative counterpoint , but he only rarely used strict imitation. Lasso's style is much more a "contrast style", with the texture changing from section to section in the service of the text. The elaboration of the composition then takes place in the form of strict imitation, partial imitation, mere rhythmic imitation, homophony, strict homorhythmy et cetera.

literature

• Hugo Leichtentritt: History of the Motet. Olms 1990, ISBN 3-487-01478-5 .
• Horst Leuchtmann / Siegfried Mauser (eds.): Mass and motet. Handbook of musical genres 9. Laaber-Verlag 1998, ISBN 978-3-89007-132-9 .
• Music in the past and present: Orlando di Lasso - general work characteristics