Cantus Fractus Repertoire

Following the example of the neighbouring lands, from the end of the 14th century the technique of rhyming monophonic Latin plainchants ("cantus planus") also caught on in Bohemia, which in the literature has taken the name "cantus fractus" (i.e. "fractured chant"). This is undoubtedly a direct effect of polyphonic music, which at the latest from the start of the 13th century had been working with rhythmic models that among other things allowed for coordination of three or more voices. Rhythmicisation was applied primarily in chants with a regular strophic structure (sequences, tropes and hymns). Much like in other Central European countries, in Bohemia this technique became quite popular for the Latin chant Credo (in the manuscript generally recorded with the Latin incipit Patrem omnipotentem, i.e. of the Almighty Father). During the 15th century, certain melodic-rhythmic models took such hold that they can be identified in various chants across the whole repertoire. For musical historians this is an area that has not yet been much studied and thus it is one of the central topics for the project Old Myths, New Facts. 

Florilegium provides mini-editions of typical chants from the cantus fractus documented in Bohemia in manuscripts from the end of the 14th century to the start of the 16th century.