Amor Potest: Honking Geese

Album: Music of the Gothic Era
Track: "Amor Potest" (Track #2)
Composer: Anonymous
Instruments: 2 voices, 1 shawm
Year: ~1250

Although I dug up many gems on my Hopeless Journey, "Amor Potest" was not one of them. Music of the Gothic Era is a diverse collection of motets spanning the medieval periods of ars antiqua (~1170 - 1310) and ars nova (1310 - 1375). This particular motet was included in the Montpellier Codex, a vast collection of French polyphony from the ars antiqua period that consisted of only anonymous works. Although it may have passed for creative composition in medieval times -- perhaps some ancient equivalent of "Love Shack" -- it sounds to me more like the triangulation honks of a gaggle of Canada geese migrating south for the winter. The techniques used, such as the staccato rhythmic interplay between voices, are fresh to my ears and if it weren't for their more effective use in later motets in this collection, I would be inclined to say that I hold an unfair prejudice against them. However, after many listens I still feel that the composition is overly simplistic and borderline annoying.

External Links: YouTube