1998 Articles

Datable "Notre Dame" Conductus: New Historical Observations on Style and Technique

Payne, Thomas B.

One of the greatest obstacles to histories of earlier medieval music lies in the relative absence of concrete historical testimony for extant compositions. Information pertaining to the names, life spans, and working records of composers is rare, dates for the creation or performance of pieces are exceptional, and critical judgments of specific works from contemporaries almost nonexistent.