español | français Giacomo Carissimi Magister Leoninus: the first great polyphonist Martin Gester 10 CDs for a desert island: Marco Beasley Early Italian Viols Busenello Gainsborough and Music   53 - 52 - 51 - 50 - 49 - 48 - 47 - 46 - 45 - 44 - 43 - 42 - 41 - 40 - 39 - 38 - 37 - 36 - 35 - 34 - 33 - 32 - 31 - 30 - 29 - 28 - 27 - 26 - 25 - 24 - 23 - 22 - 21 - 20 - 19 - 18 - 17 - 16 - 15 - 14 - 13 - 12 - 11 - 10 - 09 - 08 - 07 - 06 - 05 - 04 - 03 - 02 - 01 - MAGISTER LEONINUS: THE FIRST GREAT POLYPHONIST By John Potter Magister Leoninus, or Leonin if you prefer the French version of his name, is one of the least known and yet most important figures in the history of western music. He is one of the first composers whose name we actually know, a fact that suggests a different perception of what a composer was, a personality rather than simply an anonymous cleric. But his name is virtually all we know about him. He suffers from “anon syndrome”: no works are directly attributable to him, and there are no surviving references to him that date from his own lifetime. He also had the misfortune to have some of his finest pieces (if they were by him in the first place) revised and “improved” by someone whose musical instincts seem to have been much closer to our own. All of Leonin’s works are for two voices; Perotin (or Perotinus), the man who was perhaps his successor at Notre Dame, re-worked some of these for three or four voices. Four-part writing is what we take for granted today (budding composers still begin their studies by harmonising 4-voice Bach chorales), and the larger Perotin works are written in a style that has an affinity with the rhythmic constructions of living minimalist composers such as Steve Reich. Perotin’s music is approachable, “modern” sounding, often very rhythmic and exciting to perform, and until recently has rather eclipsed the more elusive and wayward music of his illustrious predecessor. As one of a small number of performers who have sung a great deal of both composers’ music, I would like to take this opportunity to speak up for Leonin, and, I hope, to give some idea of how exciting and creative this music is, not just in relation to Perotin, but as a music that is unique and deserving of our appreciation in its own right. Biography Work catalogue Discography Goldberg Articles Order your copy of issue nº 36 now! ABOUT US | CONTRIBUTE   web map - home page - cover Legal warning Copyright 2003, Goldberg. info@goldberg-magazine.com