# 10 Key Works of Early Music



## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

Yup, I know, real creative thread idea. But this one I'm genuinely curious about... *what, in your opinion, are the 10 most important pieces of music written before 1600?* We can define "important" as the most creative, innovative, influential, or just plain beautiful pre-1600 works in your opinion. Yes, I know that medieval and Renaissance music is different, that "early music" is a huge, sweeping category, etc., etc. But relatively few people seem to listen often to such music. I am one of those who do, but I still feel that I lack quite a bit of knowledge. My current list would be something like this, even though for some reason I have brain block and can only come up with 9:

Machaut - Messe de Nostre Dame
Perotin - Vidērunt omnēs
Josquin - Missa Pange Lingua
Palestrina - Missa Papae Marcelli
Tallis - Spem in alium
Byrd - Mass for Three/Four/Five Voices (can't decide which, they're all amazing)
Allegri - Miserēre meī, Deus
Dufay - Missa L'homme arme
Brumel - Missa et ecce terrae motus


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## D Smith (Sep 13, 2014)

Great list. Most of those would be on mine too (I'd add Tallis Lamentations of Jeremiah off the top of my head.) Not to be picky but Allegri's Miserere was composed in the 1630's but thats close enough for me


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

D Smith said:


> Great list. Most of those would be on mine too (I'd add Tallis Lamentations of Jeremiah off the top of my head.) Not to be picky but Allegri's Miserere was composed in the 1630's but thats close enough for me


Ah, yes; I knew that but for some reason forgot about it. Maybe we can just extend the criteria to pre-Baroque We can't forget about Gesauldo's incredibly progressive madrigals, either!


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## josquindesprez (Aug 20, 2017)

Solage’s Fumeux fume should be included on any list covering this period. (I’d use it to replace the Byrd or Brumel entries on the original list.) Maybe the original L’Homme armé song as well. Something from Hildegard von Bingen seems needed too.


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## classical yorkist (Jun 29, 2017)

Something by Hildegard Von Bingen could go on the list.
Also, all your music is religious and I think you need some secular music on the list. Not strictly secular but the medieval Carmina Burana could be on there. I'd also like to see the inclusion of some troubadour songs. Perhaps also the cantigas of Alfonso X?


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

Machaut - Messe de Nostre Dame
Anononymous - El Cant de la Sibilla - Sibilla Catalane
Alfonso X el Sabio - Cantigas Santa Maria
Orlande de Lassus - Psalmi Davidis Pœnitentiales
Adam de la Halle - Le jeu de Robin et Marion
Palestrina - Lamentationes Ieremiae prophetae
Heinrich Isaac - Missa de Apostolis
Josquin des Prés - Missa L'Homme Armé
Heinrich Schutz - Schwanengesang
Alessandro Striggio: Missa sopra Ecco si Beato Giorno à 40 & 60
Hildegard von Binden - Ordo Virtutum
Codex Buranus

the Codex Buranus is not one song, but a collection of medieval music. This is my most favorite piece of medieval music





PS: and Monteverdi's Vespro of 1610 did not make it by 10 years, otherwise it would have to be on the list


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Jacck said:


> Heinrich Schutz - Schwanengesang


That's from 1669.....................


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

Art Rock said:


> That's from 1669.....................


OK, thanks. It somehow sounds earlier. Listening to it now, it sounds like a transition piece between renaissance and baroque.


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

I'm really not sure if the works of Monteverdi, Schutz, Charpentier, Victoria, and Allegri are considered "early music" or not (more of bridging works to the Baroque) but yes, if we're including 1600s I think we need to at least have the Victoria Requiem, Monteverdi's Vespers, and Schutz's Musikalische Exequien. I also realize that I glaringly omitted Ockegham in my original list - the Missa Prolationum is definitely one of my favorite Renaissance works. I don't know what work from Hildegard von Bingen would be representative - the Ordō Virtūtum? And yes, there a handful of representative secular works/madrigals but I'm not familiar with them. All good stuff to check out.


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## classical yorkist (Jun 29, 2017)

Guillaume de Machaut's Ballades would be a very good representation for secular song.


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## Lilijana (Dec 17, 2019)

Allegro Con Brio said:


> Machaut - Messe de Nostre Dame
> Perotin - Vidērunt omnēs
> Josquin - Missa Pange Lingua
> Palestrina - Missa Papae Marcelli
> ...


Yes to this list! Although perhaps the Byrd, Brumel, Allegri, Tallis (maybe Palestrina???) are a bit more on the recent side for my personal taste, when it comes to Early Music.

Johannes Ciconia, Solage and Adam de la Halle are composers of note who appear to be missing. It gets a bit tricky, though, because there are many really fascinating late medieval songs that exist in larger collections...due to that kind of publication I'm tempted to count something like the Chantilly Codex as one 'work'

Furthermore, probably one of the most impressive masses of the Renaissance (more so to me than Palestrina's famous work!) is Ockeghem's _Missa Prolationum_






Machaut's _Messe de Nostre Dame_ is tied with Wagner's Ring as one of the two most impressive pre-20th century works for me.


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## Room2201974 (Jan 23, 2018)

composer jess said:


> Machaut's _Messe de Nostre Dame_ is tied with Wagner's Ring as one of the two most impressive pre-20th century works for me.


^^^^^^^^^^:tiphat:

To those steeped in color and talea, the "big three" are viewed in a different light.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

I "know" most of the works suggested so far but have not known many of them for very long (a year or two) so I am no position really to make a list of my own. But I have noticed that different performances of some of these works can sound very different - to the extent that it may take me a little while to recognise that I am listening to the same piece - and I have sometimes enjoyed one approach to a work much more than another. So I do wonder if those proposing lists have particular recordings in mind.


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