Motet-like songs of the Monk

Another possible subdivision within the Monk’s non-mensural polyphony is the group of motet-like songs: W 3, W 4, W 5, and W 54*. All of them have two texts and therefore appear to require polyphony to function. Yet, as stated above and as the following list attests, the sources even transmit monophonic versions for some of these pieces. All of them have both voices in the same range including multiple voice crossings and all of them appear to stage a dialogue, with some of the voice parts specifically marked. In W 4, the two voices, even though they are in the same range, represent a female and a male speaker and are marked as “sy” (her) and “er” (him) respectively. In W 5, half the first voice is written with red notation and red text, which in this case does not refer to rhythmic differentiation but signifies the speaker: “Das swarcz is er, das rot ist sy” (The black [notation and text] is him, the red [notation and text] is her). The rubric to the second voice informs about the third party: “Das ist der wachter dar zu” (This is the watchman for this).