LEONINUS. - Composer of the Ars antiqua, active in the 12th century (ca. 1160-80) in Paris, at the church of Beatae Mariae Virginis, later called Notre-Dame.

The most important historical source of information on L. is given by a 13th-century writer (the Anonymous IV of C. E. H. Coussemaker: Scriptores de musica medii aevi, I, Paris 1864, pp. 327, 341) who calls him optimus organista, that is, composer of organa dupla, in which the upper voice had a melismatic character while the lower voice (tenor) "held" the melody with long "pedal" notes.

A collection of about 90 of his organa (two-part compositions for the entire liturgical cycle, entitled Magnus liber organi de graduali et antiphonario pro servitio divino multiplicando), was in use until the time of his great successor Perotinus, who reworked it and added his own works to it.

L. is the first great musical figure of the new era, constituting the transition between the rhythmically free style of St. Martial of Limoges and the strictly rhythmic style, according to the rhythmic modes, that would later be used by Perotinus. Among the compositions attributed by criticism to L. are remembered: Haec dies, Crucifixum in carne laudate and Deum time, pieces that have also been recorded on phonograph records.

Bibliography9 works

BIBL.: F. Ludwig, Repertorium organorum recentioris et motetorum vetustissimi stili, I, Halle 1910; id., Perotinus Magnus, in Archiv für Musikwissenschaft, 5 (1923), p. 10 ff.; id., Über die Entstehungstorte der grossen «Notre-Dame» Handschriften, in Studien zur Musikgeschichte. Festschrift für G. Adler zum 75. Geburtstag, Vienna-Leipzig 1930, pp. 45-49; I. Handschin, Was brachte die Notre-Dame Schule Neues?, in Zeitschrift für Musikwissenschaft, 6 (1923-24), pp. 545-58; id., Zur «Crucifixum in carne», ibid., 7 (1924-25), pp. 161-65; id., Zur Notre-Dame Rythmik, ibid., 7 (1924-25), pp. 386-89; id., Zur Geschichte der Lehre vom Organum, ibid., 8 (1926), pp. 371-41; id., Zur Geschichte von Notre-Dame, in Acta musicologica, 15 (1932), pp. 5-17, 49-55, 104-105; G. Reese, Music in the middle age, New York 1940, pp. 296 ff., 308, 324, 331.

Luisa Cervelli

@incollection{ec7_leoninus, author = {Cervelli, Luisa}, title = {Leoninus}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {VII}, pages = {1166}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1951}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/leoninus} }

One of some 20,000 entries brought back from the twelve printed volumes (1948–54). Spotted something? Help us improve it.

About this entry