OCKEGHEM'S MUSICAL ENIGMAS
Do you know this extremely cool guy ?
Probably the first person to wear sunglasses, as evidenced by this 15th-century depiction of Johannes Ockeghem in Tours.
Excerpt. National Library, Paris
Flemish composer Johannes Ockeghem (1410-1497) was a master of technical challenges and musical games ! In his "Missa cujusvis toni", he conceived a single score that could be sung in 4 different keys. Instead of keys, a simple "?" guided the singers.
Opening of Ockeghem’s Missa Cuiusvis toni, showing ambiguous clefs. Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Chigi C VIII 234, fol. 96v.
See more : https://www3.nd.edu/~ablachly/MUS20101/Manuscripts15.html
And what about his "Missa prolationum", where two voices share the same staff, but with different measures indicated by musical rebus.
Manuscript page of the first two pages of Kyrie.
Deciphering these enigmatic scores was a puzzle ! Only the best singers had the honor of performing these masterpieces.
