Ciconia, Una Panthera
Was it the avant-garde of the Middle Ages? A style of music known as ars subtilior arose on the heels of the 14th-century ars nova. The ars nova marked a considerable advance on what came to be considered the ars antiqua in several respects, but particularly in the new methods of music notation introduced by Phillipe de Vitry (1291-1361). Pitch notation had been standardized in something resembling modern notation long before, but rhythmic or mensural notation reached maturity later when precise durational values for individual notes became possible.
The desire to write more complex forms of music drove the innovations in notation. And the innovations in notation inspired composers to even greater complexity. The late 14th-century ars subtilior (literally “more subtle” style) abounded in complexity. It challenged the listeners’ ears and had a tendency to sacrifice other aesthetic concerns. It also produced some fascinating and highly stylized manuscripts.
The musicologist Albert Seay argues that the goals and stability of the medieval world had been discarded without the introduction of new ideals or established social order. New ideals would come with the Renaissance, but this brief “in-between” period lacked a guiding purpose.
Johannes Ciconia (c. 1335-1411) seems to have had only one foot in the ars subtilior. His music combines more established elements of French ars nova and Italian 14th-century style with ars subtilior. His major influences included the Italian Jacopo da Bologna and the French Philippe de Vitry. Una panthera is an Italian madrigal (here presented instrumentally) that concerned the panther on the coat of arms of the Tuscan city of Lucca. While this madrigal is relatively conservative, you can hear some of the rhythmic complexity that characterized the period.
Born in Liège, Ciconia served a cardinal in Avignon during a time of significant schism. He returned to Liège in 1372 and around 1400 took up his final post as magister and canon of Padua Cathedral.