Technika parodiowania w Mszy Tomasza Szadka

Abstract

One of the two masses by T. Szadek (ca. 1550-after 1610) which have been preserved is based on the five voice chanson of Crecquillon "Pis ne me peult venir". The mass was written before 1580 and was intended for the musical group in the Kraków Cathedral Church in Wawel. In order to cater for the needs of this group, Szadek reduced the number of the voices in this chanson to 4 voices only, which is exceptional in parody masses. It was also exceptional to base the mass in those times on chanson, as the composers of the second part of the XVI century used to use longer motets, richer in material. A detailed analysis of the mass by Szadek (as comparative material we used mainly the analysis of the mass by Palestrina /J. Klassen/ and by J. Gallus /P. Pisk/ as well as of a mass by Crecquillon based on the same model) proves that the composer has used the chanson "Pis ne me" in his own way. He created a humble work – a limited number of voices and relatively limited dimensions. A certain monotony results from the scanty melodious material of the model. Szadek did not concentrate on supplementing this material, but rather on transforming it. He did this in an ingenious way changing not only the single melodies but also the whole of the polyphonic structure. In comparison to the chanson, Szadek enlarged the part played by the imitative technique and introduced transformations based on double counterpoint. He gave an especially important role to those images of the main phrase of the model which clearly determine the (dorian) tonality. He is profoundly aware of the text of the mass (e. g. of the difference in meaning between the epitets "Kyrie" and "Christe"). This influences both the choice of melodies related to a cognate sense in the model (the planning of the material selected) and the choice of technical means (imitation, canon). All this gives a special symbolic meaning to the separate segments of Szadek's mass in relation to the contents of the text.