Fantasia, “Upon One Note”

Composer: PURCELL, Henry
  • Purcell’s Fantasia “Upon One Note” in F Major, Z 745 was composed c. 1680.1
  • In the Baroque it was common for composers to create contrapuntal works over the long, drawn-out notes of a cantus firmus melody. 
    • The practice started in the Medieval period with polyphonic works based on cantus firmus bass lines taken from plain chant.2
    • In this piece Purcell takes the cantus firmus idea to an extreme – instead of a melody in long drawn out notes, the cantus firmus of this piece is the same note (a B flat) repeated endlessly in the tenor part.3

Sources

  1. Peter Holman and Robert Thompson, “Purcell, Henry (ii),” Grove Music Online, accessed December 26, 2019, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-6002278249.
  2. Oxford Dictionary of Music, s.v. “cantus firmus” (Oxford University Press, 2012), accessed December 26, 2019, https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199578108.001.0001/acref-9780199578108-e-1584. 
  3. Holman and Thompson, “Purcell, Henry (ii),” Grove Music Online.

Cut IDs

49237