oa Obrecht’s Approach to Five-Voice Composition as an Extension of Regis’ Axial Tenor Model

The second half of the fifteenth century was a time of explosive experimentation during which Johannes Regis seems to have initiated a new compositional approach whose features include five-voice scoring, predominance of sparse textures, varied vocal orchestration, textural delineation of the tenor by long note values, and placement of the tenor as an axial voice between two upper and two lower voices. This ‘axial tenor model’, which was further developed by the next generation of Franco-Flemish composers such as Josquin, Barbireau, Weerbeke, and Obrecht, had a profound impact on mainstream compositional practices that emerged over the course of the sixteenth century. Though consisting of over 150 motets and masses by more than sixty composers, the axial tenor repertory remains a relatively obscure niche in musical scholarship.

Among the most innovative and influential works relevant to this repertory are the five-voice compositions of Jacob Obrecht, which include five motets. In the process of examining these works, this essay will uncover analytical evidence explaining Obrecht’s approaches to formal articulation, text usage, and cantus-firmus placement in five-voice writing. Analyses will also describe polyphonic scaffolding and compositional process by including an overview of individual voice functions, ranges, and clef configurations.