Historical Development of Tonal Syntax: Counting Pitch-Class Sets in 13^th-16^th Century Polyphonic Vocal Music

Abstract

The evolution of tonal-harmonic syntax in European notated music, from the beginnings of polyphony to the emergence of major-minor tonality, has been the subject of intense historical study. Several authors have also attempted statistical analyses of the frequency of occurrence of specific pitch-time patterns in specific periods or composers. But no-one has compared prevalence profiles across different periods. Here, we estimate the frequency of occurrence of pitch-class sets of cardinality three in small samples of vocal polyphony from the 13^th, 14^th, 15^th and 16^th centuries. Throughout this period, sonorities that were later identified as major and minor became more prevalent (major more than minor). The rank order of sonorities was more variable in earlier music, where chords such as CDF or CE$\flat$F were quite prominent; in later music, the third and fourth most common chords were suspended and diminished.