A composition adapted to sacred words in the elaborate polyphonic church style; an anthem.
generally an unaccompanied choral composition, in Latin, to a sacred text that is not part of the Mass ordinary or proper. In the German baroque, the motet was usually in the vernacular, and sometimes accompanied by instruments.
A descriptive term for the several varieties of polyphonic vocal music, mostly sacred, from the Middle Ages to the present.
Composition, for 3 or more solo voices, with a sacred Latin text
Composition for solo voice and orchestra or ensemble, with a sacred Latin text
A form of both sacred and secular music in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. It usually was written for unaccompanied choir. Important composers included Josquin and Palestrina. ( Lesson 3, Page 3) HEAR IT
Originally a short sacred musical composition, the motet was increasingly secularised during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
an accompanied or unaccompanied choral work, in a single, usually fairly short movement on a sacred text, of polyphonic character.
a polyphonic choral composition on a sacred text usually without instrumental accompaniment
A complex vocal structure resulting from the combination of two or more different texts.
(1) To c1400, a piece with one or more voices, often with different but related sacred or secular texts, singing over a fragment of chant in longer note-values (2) after 1400, a polyphonic setting of a short sacred text.
an unaccompanied choral composition with sacred lyrics; intended to be sung as part of a church service; originated in the 13th century
a choral work set to Latin text that uses polyphony
a polyphonic work with four or five voice parts singing one religious text
a song composed of many voices, having many words or a variety of syllables, everywhere sounding in harmony
a work for multiple voices
An unaccompanied choral anthem intended for performance in the Catholic sacred service. It was an important form of composed music and underwent considerable change during its long span of active use (1250-1750 A.D.).
A choral composition, usually on a religious text.
A choral composition for a church, without necessarily using text from the liturgy.
Polyphonic vocal genre, secular in the Middle Ages but sacred or devotional thereafter.
the most important form of early polyphonic music nationalism: a love of one's country; expressed by composers of the Romantic period and again in 20th century music
from the French term "mot" (word). The medieval motet is a polyphonic genre which originated in the thirteenth century in which the upper voice or voices are texted (usually syllabically) and the bottom voice, the tenor, is untexted. The tenor is usually an excerpt from a solo section of chant (though a few are drawn from secular models), but the excerpt has been provided with rhythm and may be repeated or manipulated. Though early motets are sacred, by the end of the thirteenth century the newly-created texts of the top lines often deal with secular topics such as love. See motet, double; motet, early; conductus-motet; Franconian motet; Petronian motet; isorhythm. See also conductus (polyphonic).
A polyphonic vocal style of composition. The motet was popular in the Middle Ages, when it consisted of a tenor foundation upon which other tunes were added. The texts of these voices could be sacred or secular, Latin or French, and usually had little to do with each other, with the result that the composition lacked unity and direction. During the 14th century, isorhythm came into use and other rhythmic refinements, somewhat unifying the sound and texture of the motet. By the Renaissance, the separate voices of the motet had adopted the same text (by this time the texts were religious almost without exception) and each voice was considered a part of the whole rather than a whole in itself, thus finally giving the motet unity and grace.
This is a most important form of polyphonic music between 1220 and 1750.
A sacred piece for several voices.
(mo-tet´). Vocal composition, typically set to sacred words, having vastly differing characteristics from the 13th century to the present.
one of the major vocal genres from the Middle Ages through the 18th century. In the baroque era, the term generally referred to a sacred vocal composition intended for use in church or personal devotion.
In Western music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.