Musical Borrowing
An Annotated Bibliography

Contributions by Victoria Malawey

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[+] Brett, Philip. "Homage to Taverner in Byrd's Masses." Early Music 9 (April 1981): 169-76.

In his Four-Part Mass, William Byrd pays homage to John Taverner by using the basic structure of Taverner's "Meane" Mass. Structural connections between the Masses include similar voice distribution, section breaks and cadential points in corresponding passages. However, Byrd eschews his model's thematic links, except for the use of a head motive to unify only the Gloria and Agnus Dei. Byrd's Sanctus movement does not feature any thematic link to the other Mass movements; however he reveals homage to Taverner overtly at the beginning of this movement. Here Byrd transforms the "Meane" Mass's head motive using melodic expansion and contrapuntal techniques, and thus refers directly to the model's thematic material for the first time. From this study, it is likely that the Sanctus movements of Byrd's other two masses share similar features with Taverner's "Meane" Mass.

Works: William Byrd: Four-Part Mass (170-74), Five-Part Mass (174), Three-Part Mass (174-75).

Sources: John Taverner: "Meane" Mass (170-76).

Index Classifications: 1500s

Contributed by: Victoria Malawey

[+] Burstyn, Shai. "Dunstable and Forest: A Chapter in the History of Musical Borrowing." The Music Review 40 (November 1979): 245-56.

There are many musical similarities between Forest's Quam, Tota pulcra and Dunstable's Quam pulcra es. Assuming that the Dunstable motet was the model for the Forest motet, an investigation of borrowing procedures can ensue. Both motets are Marian antiphons that comprise texts from the Song of Songs; consequently there are many textual similarities between the two pieces. In terms of musical similarities, both pieces are English declamation motets, which feature homorhythmic textures. Harmonically, both pieces include a series of parallel first-inversion chords and similar dissonance treatment. The formal structure of Tota resembles that of Quam, and the motets feature similar mensural changes, yet melodic embellishments disguise some of the correspondences. Furthermore, both motets open with three voices in unison, which is unique among the fifteenth-century repertoire. Another striking textural similarity between the two pieces is the unvaried three-part texture, which is unlike the changing textures of many other fifteenth-century motets. Despite differences in tonalities, the pieces share similar harmonic and tonal movement in part. There are also a significant number of melodic parallelisms in the motets. These similarities point toward classifying the Forest motet as an early example of parody technique.

Works: Forest: Quam, Tota pulcra (245-56).

Sources: Dunstable: Quam pulcra es (245-56).

Index Classifications: 1400s

Contributed by: Victoria Malawey

[+] Butler, Mark. "Taking it Seriously: Intertextuality and Authenticity in Two Covers by the Pet Shop Boys." Popular Music 22 (January 2003): 1-19.

Artistic authenticity is a central concern in the genre of rock music. "Covering" previously recorded songs directly involves rock and popular bands' rendering of a cover song as either authentic or artificial (inauthentic). Two cover songs by the Pet Shop Boys exemplify two opposing notions of authenticity. Their cover of U2's Where the Streets Have No Name casts the original version as artificial, as the Pet Shop Boys ignore the original song's emphasis on individuality, undermine the structural importance of motivic elements, recast the song in a quasi-disco style, and make other significant musical changes. On the other hand, the Pet Shop Boys' version of Go West heightens the authenticity of the Village People's version. The song evokes the climate of "1970s urban gay culture," with an emphasis on community and the freedom to be liberated by going west. The Pet Shop Boys' cover not only recaptures the Village People's message, placing it in its 1970s pre-AIDS culture, but also uses musical devices to also evoke the song's new context in an post-AIDS culture. For example, the interaction among the musicians seems more formally restrained, which resembles the heightened sense of caution members of the gay community must take in an AIDS-stricken world. Ultimately, the Pet Shop Boys' Go West celebrates the history of gay culture and casts the Village People's version as authentic.

Works: Bono (Paul Hewson) and U2: Where the Streets Have No Name as performed by the Pet Shop Boys (4-7); Henri Belolo, Jacques Morali, and Victor Willis: Go West as performed by the Pet Shop Boys (7-15).

Sources: Bono (Paul Hewson) and U2: Where the Streets Have No Name (2-6); Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio: Can't Take My Eyes Off You as performed by Frankie Valli and by Boystown Gang (5-6); Henri Belolo, Jacques Morali, and Victor Willis: Go West (7-12); Pachelbel: Canon in D (13).

Index Classifications: 1900s, Popular

Contributed by: Victoria Malawey

[+] Covach, John R. "The Rutles and the Use of Specific Models in Musical Satire." Indiana Theory Review 11 (1990): 119-44.

The 1978 NBC "docudrama," The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash, is a humorous satire of the music and history of the Beatles. According to Schopenhauer, an amused reaction arises as a response to the "recognition of incongruity between a representation and a concept." Thus, for a listener to experience an amused response to musical satire, he or she must possess "stylistic competencies" that allow for the recognition of the congruity-incongruity dialectic in the music. The fictitious Rutles's Hold My Hand is modeled on three Beatles songs, and it incorporates elements of lyrics, pitch, rhythm, harmony and instrumentation from the sources. Evidence of modeling in Ouch!, a parody of the Beatles' song, Help!, is found in instrumentation and in formal and harmonic similarities to the source. The harmonic parallelism is such that a dialogue between Ouch! and Help! emerges, which is facilitated by diminution of the model's harmonic rhythm and partial reordering of the harmonic progression. Leonard Meyer's theory of style, in combination with the semiotic theory of intertextuality, can become a powerful analytic device in explaining musical satire. The humor arises from the listener's recognition of the model and the clever alterations and juxtapositions of the original material. This recognition must take place on three different levels of specificity: dialectic or general style (e.g., British invasion), individual idiom (e.g., early Beatles style), and intraopus style or the style within a single work (e.g., the style of Help!).

Works: Neil Innes: Hold My Hand (124-32), Ouch! (133-37).

Sources: John Lennon and Paul McCartney: I Want to Hold Your Hand (124-32), She Loves You (124-32), All My Loving (124-32), Help! (133-37).

Index Classifications: 1900s, Popular, Film

Contributed by: Victoria Malawey, Sarah Florini

[+] Curtis, Gareth R. K. "Jean Pullois and the Cyclic Mass--or a Case of Mistaken Identity?" Music and Letters 62 (January 1981): 41-59.

One Missa sine nomine, found in five manuscripts, has been attributed wrongly to the Continental composer Jean Pullois. This Mass has been noted as the earliest example of a Continental Mass cycle that uses cantus firmus technique to unify the movements. Indeed, the tenor parts of the five Mass movements feature striking, similar melodic lines, and thus the Missa sine nomine can be considered a cyclic cantus firmus Mass. However, it uses paraphrase technique, and this puts into question the attribution of the Mass to Pullois and the characterization of the Mass as Continental, as it has no Continental precedents. It is highly unusual that the Mass's malleable assimilation of the plainsong source would pre-date comparable Dufay cyclic Masses. Yet, attributing the Mass to Pullois would do just that. Because of this and other circumstantial manuscript source-related evidence, the Missa Sine nomine should be removed from Pullois's known repertory.

Works: Jean Pullois?: Missa sine nomine (41-59).

Index Classifications: 1400s

Contributed by: Victoria Malawey

[+] Hunter, Mead. "Interculturalism and American Music." Performing Arts Journal 11, no. 3 and 12, no. 1 (1988): 186-202.

Interculturalism, musical borrowing from multiple cultures, is a burgeoning trend in twentieth-century art music, theatrical music (opera, musicals, Gesamtkunstwerks), film music, and popular music. "World beat," an aesthetic that fuses popular styles from different parts of the world, is one manifestation of interculturalism. Interculturalism creates meaning in musical works, which manifest as political statements, instructional tools, "syntheses of styles, cultures and perspectives," or works that embrace or reject particular cultural values. These extramusical meanings result from various intercultural borrowing techniques, including patchwork, collage, and "suggestive" allusion (stylistic and pertaining to specific works).

Works: Dissidenten: Sahara Electric (190); Toshi Tsuchotoris: score to Mahabharata (192); Bob Telson: score to Sister Suzie Cinema (192-93), score to The Gospel at Colona (193), score to The Warrior Ant (194); Philip Glass: Satyagraha (196), Akhnaten (197-98); John Cage: Truckera (200), Europeras 1 &2 (200-201).

Index Classifications: 1900s, Jazz, Film

Contributed by: Victoria Malawey

[+] Jas, Eric. "Nicolas Gombert's Missa Fors Seulement: A Conflicting Attribution." Revue Belge de musicologie (1992): 163-77.

The long-held attribution of one of the ten Fors seulement masses to Nicholas Gombert is found questionable, as the same Mass is attributed to Jheronimus Vinders in a more reliable manuscript, the "Illustre Lieve Vrouwe Broederschap" in 's-Hertogenbosch ('s-HerAB 74). The Missa fors seulement employs literal cantus prius factus technique, which is uncommon in Gombert's other masses. On the other hand, Vinders's compositions use this technique often. Furthermore, the particular cantus prius factus practice in this Mass places the cantus firmus in the highest voice, which never occurs in the few cantus prius factus compositions that Gombert wrote. In contrast, Vinders's many pieces that use cantus firmus procedures feature this overt appropriation of the cantus firmus. Finally, other musical elements found in the Mass, such as cadential figures, ostinatos and homophonic textures do not correspond with Gombert's style.

Works: Gombert or Jheronimus Vinders: Missa Fors seulement (163-77).

Sources: Ockeghem: Fors seulement l'actente que je meure (163-64); Pipelare: Fors seulement l'attente que je meure (164-66); Févin: Fors seulement la mort, sans nul autre attente (164-66).

Index Classifications: 1500s

Contributed by: Victoria Malawey

[+] Litterick, Louise. "On Italian Instrumental Ensemble Music in the Late Fifteenth Century." In Music in Medieval and Early Modern Europe: Patronage, Sources and Texts, ed. Iain Fenlon, 117-30. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981.

Three types of instrumental pieces became popular in the late fifteenth-century, all of which borrowed pre-existing musical material. The instrumental chanson was by far the most widespread and artistically important type. This form used one or more voices from the source forme-fixe chanson and added two or more repetitive and rhythmically dense parts as counterpoints against the source material; however, borrowed melodic lines were only used in part and never taken in entirety. This allowed for greater freedom and flexibility in instrumental chanson compositions. Phrase lengths varied more, since there were no textual considerations in instrumental music. Note values were often shortened to create more rhythmic uniformity among the parts. Sequential and repetitive devices were more common in the instrumental chansons in comparison to their vocal models, but such devices were commonly found in large sacred vocal works, where a more abstract relationship between the text and music invited the use of sequences and repetitive designs in the music. While instrumental music depends on a strong performance tradition, the most prominent pieces of instrumental music from the early sixteenth century were still composed by singer-composers who approached the instrumental medium from a vocal standpoint. Without true predecessors, instrumental works in the mid-sixteenth century either continued to borrow from vocal models or were newly invented.

Works: Josquin: Adieu mes amours (118), Basiés moy (118), Cela sans plus (118); Isaac: Helas que devera mon cuer (118); Ghiselin: La Alfonsa (118); Hayne van Ghizeghem: Mon souvenir (120); Martini: Des biens d'amours (120), De la bonne chiere (120-21); Josquin: La plus des plus (120-21), La Bernardina (120-22).

Sources: Anonymous: Adieu mes amours (118), Basies moy (118); Hayne van Ghizeghem: De tous biens plaine (118); Ockeghem: D'ung aultre amer (118); Hayne van Ghizeghem: Mon souvenir (120); Josquin: Vultum tuum deprecabuntur (123), Alma redemptoris mater (123).

Index Classifications: 1400s, 1500s

Contributed by: Jir Shin Boey, Victoria Malawey

[+] Lockwood, Lewis. "A Continental Mass and Motet in a Tudor Manuscript." Music and Letters 42 (1961): 336-47.

It has been assumed that compositions found in sixteenth-century Tudor manuscripts are indeed of English origin. However, several parody pieces, based on Continental source compositions, are included in one particular Tudor manuscript. The question then follows of whether the parody compositions are of Continental or English origin. These compositions are attributed to "Lupus"; from this, there is a resulting problem as to which "Lupus" the attribution should be made. The Peterhouse collection attributes these compositions to "Lupus Italus," yet this attribution has been discredited. Comparing Missa Surrexit pastor bonus with its model confirms its Continental origins and further confounds the problem of attribution. Both the Mass and motet feature similar textual correspondences, similar formal design, and exact corresponding closing "Alleluia" sections. Furthermore, the order of the borrowed material in each Mass movement corresponds with the model's presentation. The material of the motet's prima pars serves as the source for the opening of the Mass's movements, and the secunda pars is the source for the second half of the Gloria and Credo movements. A more detailed examination of these pieces and their models may reveal the proper attribution of Continental works included in Tudor manuscripts.

Works: "Lupus": Aspice Domine (337), Missa Surrexit pastor bonus (341).

Sources: Andrea de Silva: Surrexit pastor bonus (341-42).

Index Classifications: 1500s

Contributed by: Victoria Malawey

[+] Middleton, Richard. "Work-in(g)-Practice: Configurations of the Popular Music Intertext." In The Musical Work: Reality or Invention?, ed. Michael Talbot, 59-87. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2000.

Popular music, as practice, differs from classical music, as a repertoire of iconic objects, in that the former places less emphasis on authorial attribution, involves greater collaboration between musicians, has blurred the distinction between "performance" and "composition," and overall features widespread use of borrowing procedures. "Intertextuality" is the best term that encompasses the borrowing practices of popular music. "Remixes" are one type of borrowing procedure, in which old songs are digitally re-worked in a new context. Bill Laswell creates remixes of the music of Miles Davis and Bob Marley. In the Davis remix, Laswell streamlines 38 minutes of music into fifteen, clarifies the instrumentation and textures through digital technology, reorders seamlessly connected sections, and highlights the similarities between all included source materials. Through his creative process, Laswell emerges more as a composer of something new, rather than a "remixer" of something old. In addition, the artist presents a remix of Marley's songs, but removes all of his prominent vocals. The result is not reggae, but rather a new "ambient gospel" genre. In part, these modern borrowing procedures in popular music have precedent in Western music history and are part of a long-established vernacular tradition. Other influences in popular music practice include multi-voiced repetition, best characterized as African-American "Signifyin(g)," which opposes the traditional Western concept of the singular "composer's voice." A semiotic dialogical theory can address these issues in popular music intertextuality. A final issue to consider is the opposition that emerges between intertextual musical performance and popular music recording, which preserves a specific version of a given song at its moment in time and highlights solo individualism. Remixes and cover songs highlight this tension; to accommodate this, one's analytical model must account for an "originating moment," the version of a song that is to be the measure for all others that re-create it.

Works: Bill Laswell: Panthalassa: The Remixes (62-67), Dreams of Freedom: Ambient Translations of Bob Marley in Dub (62, 67-71); Bob Marley: One Love (People Get Ready) (71); Grandmaster Flash: The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel (79-80); Richard Ashcroft [Verve]: Bittersweet Symphony (82); Paul Anka: My Way as performed by Elvis Presley (82-83), Sid Vicious (83).

Sources: Joe Zawinul: In a Silent Way as performed by Miles Davis (63-67), Miles Davis: Shhh/Peaceful (63-67), It's About That Time (63-67); Bob Marley: One Love (People Get Ready) (67-69), Exodus (69-71); Curtis Mayfield: People Get Ready (71); Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers [Chic]: Good Times (79); John Deacon [Queen]: Another One Bites the Dust (79-80); Debbie Harry and Chris Stein [Blondie]: Rapture (79-80); Grandmaster Flash: Birthday Party (79); Sugarhill Gang: 8th Wonder (79); Spoonie Gee (Gabriel Jackson): Monster Jam (79); Mick Jagger and Keith Richards [Rolling Stones]: The Last Time (82); Paul Anka: My Way as performed by Frank Sinatra (82-83).

Index Classifications: 1900s, Popular

Contributed by: Victoria Malawey

[+] Mosher, Harold F. Jr. "The Lyrics of American Pop Music: A New Poetry." In American Popular Music: Readings from the Popular Press, ed. Timothy Scheurer. Vol. 2, The Age of Rock, 144-50. Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green State University, 1990.

Mimetic songs are a trend in popular music, and the lyrics of these songs follow in the tradition of classical poetry. These songs have meanings, expressed "by simple implication, ambiguity, irony, symbolism, surrealistic devices, or by dramatic means." Paul Simon's songs provide rich examples of meaning, and they draw upon multiple voices, often one newly-composed and one borrowed from pre-existing material. A dramatic opposition and multiple meanings are created between two voices in both Seven O'Clock News/Silent Night and Scarborough Fair/Canticle. Humor and satire is found in At the Zoo.Mrs. Robinson offers a satirical or ironic view of the suburban housewife and includes a mocking reference to Jesus Loves Me This I Know.

Works: Paul Simon: America (146-47), Seven O'Clock News/Silent Night (147), Scarborough Fair/Canticle (147-48), At the Zoo (148), Mrs. Robinson (148-49), A Hazy Shade of Winter (149).

Sources: Franz Gruber: Silent Night (147); Traditional: Scarborough Fair (147); William B. Bradbury: Jesus Loves Me This I Know (149).

Index Classifications: 1900s, Popular

Contributed by: Victoria Malawey

[+] Oswald, John. "Plunderphonics, or Audio Piracy as a Compositional Prerogative." 1990. Available from http://www.halcyon.com/robinja/mythos/Plunderphonics. (Accessed 16 November 2002).

Legal rights over recorded sound materials involve many difficult issues. Although many artists have been incriminated for use of another's pitch and rhythmic materials, there is more difficulty concerning borrowing of timbres and less quantifiable musical elements within copyright laws. In fact, artists who use technology to create their works often use pitch and rhythm elements less than timbral elements. The oral tradition of popular music compounds this issue. Traditionally, plagiarism has been determined by the written notes on a page, but purely recorded musical works have no written component. This makes the case of copyright violation more difficult. Unique uses of instruments either associated with particular nationalities, such as the Trinidadian steel drum, or created from traditionally non-musical objects, such as a blade of grass cupped in one hands, also compound copyright issues. Does one's unique appropriation of such instruments give the person the rights over those sounds? Within American and Canadian copyright law, borrowing for pedagogical, illustrative, critical, and parody purposes qualifies as legal fair use. As long as the "economic viability" of the source work is maintained, there is no violation of copyright law. Moreover, borrowing of works in the public domain has no legal repercussions. Whether considered legal or not, all popular and folk music exists as public domain entities.

Works: Charles Ives: Symphony No. 3; George Harrison: My Sweet Lord; Jim Tenney: Collage 1.

Sources: Ronnie Mack: He's so Fine; Carl Perkins: Blue Suede Shoes.

Index Classifications: 1900s, Popular

Contributed by: Victoria Malawey

[+] Plasketes, George M. "The King Is Gone but Not Forgotten: Songs Responding to the Life, Death and Myth of Elvis Presley in the 1980s." Studies in Popular Culture 12, no. 1 (1988): 58-74.

In the 1980s, over one thousand songs have been written about Elvis Presley as an act of homage, parody, critique, commentary or interpretation, all of which use quotations from, references to, or imitations of his songs. These songs can be classified into four broad categories: deification, vilification, iconization, and demythification. The category of deification includes songs that juxtapose imagery of God or Jesus Christ with imagery associated with Elvis. The second category, vilification, includes songs that comment musically or lyrically on feeling betrayed by Elvis's drug use and subsequent demise. Iconization involves the stories, souvenirs, and songs of Elvis becoming associated as glorified, sacred, and permanent icons. Demythification involves songs and other media that comment on the commercialization of Elvis or counter popular Elvis myths.

Works: Paul Simon: Graceland (59, 62); Wall of Voodoo: Elvis Brought Dora a Cadillac (60); Mr. Bonus (Peter Holsapple): Elvis What Happened? (60, 65); Beatmistress/Diego [Death Ride]: Elvis Christ (60); Adrenalin O.D.: Velvet Elvis (60); Dead Milkmen: Going to Graceland (60, 70); Vandals: Elvis Decanter (61, 67); Mojo Nixon and Skip Roper: Elvis is Everywhere (61), Twilights Last Gleaming (61); Frank Zappa: Elvis Has Just Left the Building (61); Warren Zevon: Jesus Mentioned (61-62); Billy Joel: Allentown (62-63); John Hiatt: Riding with the King (62); John Fogarty: Big Train (From Memphis) (63); Elvis Costello: Brilliant Mistake (64); Robbie Robertson: American Roulette (64); Paul Westerberg [The Replacements]: Bastards of Young (64); Bono (Paul Hewson) and U2: Elvis Presley and America (64); Neil Young: My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue) (65); Bruce Springsteen: Johnny Bye Bye (66); Chris Barrows and Dorsey Martin [Pink Lincolns]: Velvet Elvis (67); Scott Kempner: Listening to Elvis as performed by Syd Straw (68); Exene Cervenka and John Doe [X]: Back 2 the Base (68); Forgotten Rebels: Elvis is Dead (69); Pink Slip Daddy: Elvis Zombie (70); Sons of Ishmael: Elvis Incorporated (70); Elvis Hitler: Disgraceland (70); Peter Holsapple [dB]: Rendezvous (70).

Sources: Chuck Berry: Bye Bye Johnny (66); Otis Blackwell: Don't Be Cruel as performed by Elvis Prelsey (68); Lou Handman and Roy Turk: Are You Lonesome Tonight? as performed by Elvis Prelsey (68); Paul Simon: Graceland (70).

Index Classifications: 1900s, Popular

Contributed by: Victoria Malawey

[+] Russell, Craig H. "The Idiom of Simon and Image of Dylan: When Do Stars Cast Shadows?" In Music in Performance and Society: Essays in Honor of Roland Jackson, ed. Malcolm Cole and John Koegel, 589-97. Warren, Michigan: Harmonie Park Press, 1997.

Little research has been done on Paul Simon's earliest years of songwriting and recording (pre-1963), as the songs have been dismissed by the songwriter himself as teen fluff and many early recordings are unavailable. Simon's style changed decisively in 1963 and 1964 because of his maturing as a songwriter, but also and maybe more importantly because of Bob Dylan's overwhelming influence in the folk-rock scene of the 1960s. Dylan paved the way for songwriters to express concerns about serious cultural and political issues. Simon could not help but be influenced by Dylan's songs that showed his consciousness of civil rights and other social issues. Simon claimed to have been inspired to write his first "serious" tune, He Was My Brother, as a eulogy to his friend, Andrew Goodman, who had been murdered in 1964. However, it is clear from the songs themselves as well as other evidence, that Dylan's influence was the primary factor in transforming Simon from a more frivolous singer/songwriter into a more mature songwriter in the 1960s.

Works: Paul Simon: He Was My Brother (595); Traditional: Peggy-O as performed by Paul Simon (596); Bob Dylan: The Times They Are A-Changin' (596); Paul Simon: A Church is Burning (596), On the Side of a Hill (596-97), A Simple Desultory Philippic, or How I was Robert McNamara'd into Submission (596-97).

Sources: Bob Dylan: Oxford Town (595), The Death of Emmett Till (595), The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll (595), Only a Pawn in Their Game (595-96); Traditional: Pretty Peggy-O as peformed by Bob Dylan (596); Bob Dylan: The Times They Are A-Changin' (596), With God on Our Side (597), Subterranean Homesick Blues (597), It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding (597), I Shall Be Free (597), Rainy Day Women No. 12 &35 (597), Highway 61 Revisited (597).

Index Classifications: 1900s, Popular

Contributed by: Victoria Malawey



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