Gripla - 20.12.2012, Side 53

51
suMMARy
five “foreign tones” in Rask 98
Keywords: Musicology, transmission, polyphony, chanson spirituelle, Tenorlied,
canzone villanesche, Didier Lupi, Ludwig senfl, Paul Hofhaimer, francesco
Corteccia, jón Þorsteinsson, Rask 98, Melódía.
the manuscript Rask 98, also known as Melódía, was written c. 1660–1670
by an unknown scribe and contains 223 songs, each with musical notation. the
manuscriptʼs heading states that it contains “foreign tones to Icelandic poetry.”
since none of the songs in Rask 98 carries an attribution, tracing their origins has
proved to be an arduous task.
this article identifies models for five “foreign tones” in Rask 98, thus greatly
extending our knowledge of musical repertoire and transmission in 17th-century
Iceland. they are a french chanson spirituelle (Didier Lupiʼs Susanne un jour), two
German Tenorlieder (Paul Hofhaimerʼs Meins Traurens ist and Ludwig Senflʼs
Pacientia muß ich han), an Italian canzona villanesca alla napolitana (francesco
Cortecciaʼs Madonn’io t’haggi amat’et amo assai), and an anonymous Christmas
motet found in a German manuscript written in Wittenberg around 1560 (Gaudete
psallentes). In Rask 98, the original texts have been replaced by Icelandic poetry.
three of these texts are paraphrases (Susanne un jour/Súsanna, sannan Guðs dóm;
Pacientia muß ich han/Patientia er sögð urt; Gaudete psallentes/Frábæra, -bæra), while
the secular texts for Corteccia and Hofhaimer have been replaced with newly writ-
ten sacred contrafacta (Vera mátt góður; Úr djúpum mjög).
While nothing is known of the potential audience for these songs in Iceland,
they may be associated with the “discant singing” — i.e. four-part singing based on
continental models — introduced by eramus villatsson, a schoolmaster at skálholt
from 1561–1564. the songs discussed here share certain similarities of musical
style, possibly reflecting the performance practice of local musical ensembles. All
are in four parts, largely homophonic in texture, and they do not make excessive
demands on the performers. In each case, the Icelandic sources feature only tenor
parts except Corteccia, for which Rask 98 provides the bass.
of the five songs discussed here, only Gaudete psallentes seems to have enjoyed
wide circulation; it can also be found in Icelandic sources for a newly composed
text, Vígð náttin. Its tenor part is notated in six manuscripts while at least 23 oth-
ers present the Icelandic text without music. the youngest notated manuscripts
show a radical simplification of the musical material, with reduction of ornamen-
tal flourishes, shortening and/or omission of repeated passages, and a change of
mode from f major to D Dorian. Meins Traurens ist and Madonn’io t’haggi amat’et
amo assai are only extant in Rask 98, while for Susanne un jour and Pacientia muß
fIMM „ÜtLenDskeR tonAR“ í RAsk 98