Vocabulary, Abbreviations, and Symbols

Voice names are abbreviated in analysis and data entry as S (= Superius, and also Cantus), A (= Altus), T (= Tenor), B (= Bassus), Q (= Quinta Vox). When voice names are supplied by the editor in the score, square brackets are not used in abbreviations (so, [Superius] is entered simply as S). If there is more than one voice of a given type, they are numbered as in S1 (= Superius primus), S2 (= Superius secundus), and so on.

Pitch-goal is the octave or unison reached by the cantizans and tenorizans in a cadence. Pitch-goals are denoted by pitch class, as follows: A, B-flat, C, D, E, F, G. In the case of Phrygian Cadences in three voices, the pitch-goal is the note reached by the structural pair, not the note of the lowest voice. In Plagal Cadences, the pitch-goal is the lowest note of the last sonority. For Half Cadences, the inferred pitch-goal is given in round brackets.

Intervals of entries refer to the interval relative to the starting note of the previous entry, not the interval sounded when the second voice starts. Unison is represented by number 1 and the octave by number 8; a plus sign before the number signifies "upper"; a minus sign signifies "lower"; number 1 is preceded by an equals sign. Can be repeated as needed, with no separators. For instance: "+8=1-4"  (= second voice starts one octave up the first note of the first voice; third voice enters with the same note as the first one of the second voice; fourth voice enters a 4th below the first note of the third voice).

Time intervals of entries (or sets, such as in duos) are specified in terms of a given mensural unit relative to the previous voice: L (= Longa), B (= Brevis), S (= Semibrevis), M (= Minima). Time unit (TU) is recorded first; then, the counting from first onset of the first voice (or pair), up to, but not including, onset of the next voice (or pair). Slashes are used between each count, such as: "B1/4/1"; (TU = Brevis; second voice starts one breve after the first voice; third voice starts four breves after the second voice; fourth voice starts one breve after the third voice).

Segmentation is both a constructional principle and an analytical process consisting in dividing a piece into segments. A segment is a textual unit usually associated with distinct and, most often, exclusive musical material. Segments are normally articulated through overlapping or juxtaposition. Segments usually conclude with a gesture of formal punctuation, that is to say with a cadence. In the case of overlapping articulation, the cadential point may not coincide with the exact end of the segment, the activity of each voice being progressively extinguished beneath the voices that open the next segment. Intermediate segments may, and often do, dispense with a cadence, or only hint at one. In these instances, the articulation is produced through the onset of a new textual unit coordinated with new musical material. Generally, each unit of text is repeated, in whole or in part, by some if not by all the voices involved. Textual repetition also helps in defining the limits of the segments and, as a rule, determines how a segment can be divided into subsegments, in which case the same general principles of articulation apply as just described.