The use of melodic formulas in responsories: constancy and variability in the manuscript tradition

Abstract

The basis of this study comes from the great responsory repertory in the twelfth-century French monastic manuscript, Paris 12044 from Saint-Maur-des-Fossés. A computerised database containing each component phrase was used to create a more accurate melodic taxonomy of responsories than has hitherto been available. Building on the research of W.H. Frere, H-J. Holman, and others, it is possible to obtain clearer insight into formulaic composition in an oral culture. This is achieved by comparing the use of recurrent, or ‘standard’, musical material in Paris 12044 to that found in several other manuscripts. The presence of standard material in a respond melody is found to be linked to the consistency of form and tonal structure.