Organum
A foundational medieval polyphonic style that begins with chant and then quietly, elegantly lifts it into a second voice. Organum is less a single sound than a musical idea that changed over time, from simple medieval parallelism to the grand Notre Dame works of Léonin and Pérotin.
Origins and context
The repertory is documented in medieval Latin liturgical music, especially the Notre Dame school in Paris; later developments are also associated with French cathedral culture.
The sound
Instrument palette
The voices and tools most associated with this sound.
- Unaccompanied voices
How to listen
Listen for
- A steady chant-like lower line supporting a freer upper voice
- Long, sustained notes against faster melismas in later organum
- A spacious cathedral-like resonance in recorded performances
History
Organum took shape in medieval Europe, with early written traces appearing in sources from roughly the 9th to 11th centuries and later, more elaborate repertories developing in France and England. The style grew from simple note-against-note or parallel singing beside chant into more independent polyphony, especially in the 12th-century Notre Dame school associated with Léonin and Pérotin. By then, organum had become a serious compositional practice rather than just a way of decorating chant, helping lay groundwork for later Western counterpoint.
Notable artists
- LLéonin
- PPérotin
Essential listening
- 1
- 2
- 3
Explore connected genres
Sources and further reading
- The Earliest Polyphonic Music
- Léonin
- Spotify
Pérotin is associated with Notre Dame organum and works such as Viderunt omnes.
- Organum
- Organum