CONDUCTUS. – One of the most interesting musical forms of the Middle Ages, in which the composer had freedom of choice for both text and inspiration. A distinction is made between monodic conductus and polyphonic conductus.
The first is a Latin chant to accompany the procession of a person in a liturgical or non-liturgical function, such as the versus ante Evangelium cantandi by Hartmann of St. Gall, the conductus ad tabulam, ad ludos, etc., and the office by Pierre de Corbeil. For non-liturgical functions, there are, among others, the conductus reginae venientis ad regem, the conductus referentium vasa ante Danielem, and others, preserved in the Beauvais manuscript of 1140, where the word conductus first appears. The second was a polyphonic chant on a single text, Latin and almost always metrical, in which the voices proceeded in unison. If the melody was simple or adorned, one had the syllabic conductus and the melismatic conductus. Medieval theorists also speak of the conductus habens caudam, with a long melisma at the beginning, middle, or end. As with all medieval compositions, the composers of conductus are unknown: it is only known that Perotinus Magnus composed many, both monodic and polyphonic. The Latin texts have varied content, both religious and secular.