Guillaume Du Fay (ca.

1397-1474)
Se la face ay pale Missa Se la face ay pale: Gloria
Ballade Cantus-nrmus mass
1430s CA. 1453 38
(a) Se la face ay pale

A 5

" Se la face ay pa -- - le, La cau-se est a- mer, C'est

-
la
-
Tenor "
'I Se la face ay pa - -
r.:--
le,
,...-----1-;i
La
. cause est •• mer. C'est la

Contra tenor
"
g
" •Se la face• •
10 15
"
"
prin - cl - pa - le, &
~ .. ... ...
tantm'est a - mer
-
... ..--
A - mer, qu'en lamer me voudroy-e v:r,
- -
"
- pa .
i
"
prin
.- cl -
--
le, & tant m' est a • mer
~
.A - mer,
·-
qu'en
b
la
r~-
mer me vou-

" ... .... _,

A
' .2Q__

"

" .. Or, sect bien de voir Lo bel - le a qui suls Que nul bi en a - lvoir
~ . . .. Sans cl-

; droy-e volr; or. sect bien de volr Lo bel - lea qui suis ~enulbien a-volr Sans cl -
"
.. - - -
- -
" ""
I 0,42 I
- 25

- ..
- - 30

- .
.
3
"
"
le ne puls.
.
•
.
.... ... -
" - -
w le
,___ ne puls.
. - . -
- .-----.
"'
J - ... • -
From Guillaume Dufay, Opera omnia, ed . Heinrich Besseler, vol. 6 (American Institute of Musicology, 1964),
36. ©American Institute of Musicology. Used with permission. The connection this ballade and the mass that
is based on it may have with the Holy Shroud, discussed in the commentary, was proposed by Anne Walters
Robertson, "The Man with the Pale Face, the Shroud, and Du Fay'sMissaSe lafaceaypale," The Journal of
Musicology 27 (Fall 2010): 377- 434.

193
__19D 38 GUILLAUME Du FAY • Selafaceaypale/MissaSelafaceaypale: Gloria

Se la face ay pale, If my face is pale,

La cause est amer, the cause is love,
C'est la principale, that is the principal reason,
Et tant m'est amer and for me it is so bitter
Amer, qu'en la mer to love, that in the sea
Me voudroye voir; I would like to throw myself;
Or, scet bien de voir then, seeing this, she would know well,
La belle a qui suis the fair lady to whom I belong,
Que nul bien avoir that to have any happiness
Sans elle ne puis. without her I am not able.

Se ay pesante malle If I ha:ve a heavy load

De dueil a porter, of grief to bear,
Ceste amour est male [it is because] this love is difficult
Pour moy de porter; for me to endure;
Car soy deporter because to enjoy oneself
Ne veult devouloir, she does not want to allow,
Fors qu'a son vouloir so that her own will
Obeisse, et puis one must obey, and since
Qu'elle a tel pooir, she has such power,
Sans elle ne puis. without her I am not able.

C'est la plus reale She is the most regal woman

Qu'on puist regarder, that one could ever see.
De s'amour leiale From loyal love for her
Ne me puis guarder, I cannot keep myself.
Fol sui de agarder Foolish am I for looking at her
Ne faire devoir and for not wanting
D'amours recevoir to receive love
Fors d'elle, je cuij; from anyone but her, I think;
Se ne veil douloir, if I want not to be sad,
Sans elle ne puis. without her I am not able.

(b) Missa Se la face aypale: Gloria

t)

"
Et
r in lter-ra
r
IJ~ 1- ho.....:_lmi-ni - I bus
I
Contra
r
\I
"
Et in
I
ter - ra
I~ax ho
I
mi - ni
r
- bus
I
Tenor

Tenor
\'
I I I I I I
bass us

From Guillaume Dufay, Opera omnia, ed. Heinrich Bessel er, vol. 3 (American Institute of Musicology, 1964),
4-13. ©American Institute of Musicology. Used with permission.
 38 GUILLAUME Du FAY • Se la face ay pale/Missa Se la face ay pale: Gloria ( 195

10

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15
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tis. Lau - da I te, Be-ne - di-ci-mus
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196 ) 38 GUILLAUME Du FAY • Se la face ay pale/Missa Se La face ay pale: Gloria

fl 35 (~)

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 38 GUILLAUMEDUFAY • SeLafaceaypale/MissaSelafaceaypale:Gloria ( 197

II 55 60
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198 ) 38 GUILLAUME Du FAY • Selafaceaypale/MissaSelafaceaypale: Gloria

80 ~
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 38 GUILLAUME Du FAY • Se la face aypale/MissaSe la face aypale: Gloria < 199

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200 ) 38 GUILLAUME Du FAY • Selafaceaypale/MissaSelafaceaypale: Gloria

135
~ 140 r---1 145
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 38 GuILLAUMEDUFAY • Selafaceaypale/MissaSelafaceaypale:Gloria ( 201

185 ~
~ 190
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mi se re - re no bis. Quo ni - am tu so

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195 200 205
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202 ) 38 GUILLAUME Du FAY • Selafaceaypale/MissaSelafaceaypale: Gloria

230 235
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u Jc Iste. 1:
I

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 38 GUILLAUMEDUFAY • Selafaceaypale/MissaSelafaceaypale:Gloria
<203
I 1,00 I ~
II .J. 260

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t
men.

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Gloria in excelsis Deo Glory be to God on high.

Et in terra pax ho minibus bonae voluntatis. And on earth peace to men of good will.
Laudamus te. Benedicimus te. Adoramus te. We praise thee, we bless thee, we adore thee, we
Glorincamus te. glorify thee.
Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam. We give thee thanks for thy great glory.
Domine Deus, Rex caelestis, 0 Lord God, King of heaven,
Deus Pater omnipotens. God the Father Almighty.
Domine Fili unigenite Jesu Christe. 0 Lord, the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris. 0 Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father.
Qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Thou who takest away the sins of the world, have
mercy on us.
204 ) 38 GUILLAUME Du FAY • Selafaceaypale/MissaSelafaceaypale: Gloria

Qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem Thou who takest away the sins of the world, receive
nostram. our prayer.
Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis. Thou who sittest at the right hand of the Father,
have mercy on us.
Quoniam tu solus sanctus. For thou only art holy,
Tu solus Dominus. Thou only art Lord.
Tu sol us Altissimus, Jesu Christe. Thou only art most high, 0 Jesus Christ,
Cum Sancto Spiritu, With the Holy Spirit,
In Gloria Dei Patris. Amen. In the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Du Fay composed Se la face ay pale during the 1430s while he was serving as master
of the chapel at the court of the duke of Savoy. He may have written it for Anne of
Lusignan, princess of Cyprus, who married Louis, the son of duke Amadeus VIII
of Savoy, in 1434. Anne Walters Robertson has suggested that the text, probably by
Du Fay himself, can be read with either secular or sacred meanings. In a secular
register, it is a lover's complaint, similar to older poems in the troubadour and
trouvere traditions (see NAWM 8 and 27). The repeated use of the same rhymes in
each stanza derives from those traditions, and the three-fold pun that links love
("amer") with something bitter ("amer") that causes the desire to throw oneself in
the sea ("la mer") is found in other medieval love poems. But the image of a man
with a pale face who experiences grief and bitterness for love of another was also
used in writings about Christ's sacrif:tce on the cross, during which he suffered and
died (symbolized by his deathly pallor) for love of the souls of humankind, and this
poem may be understood allegorically as Christ's plea to accept the love he offers.
Reading love poems as religious allegories was a long-standing practice, reaching
back to the Bible itself (see the discussion of NAWM 34 and The Song of Solomon).
In comparison with his earlier ballade Resvellies vous (NAWM 36), this one shows
many changes in Du Fay's style, including his blending of national characteristics.
Instead of following the f:txed form of the fourteenth-century ballade (aabC), he
composed the music freely to suit each line of text. Only the use of three stanzas,
the closing refrain line, and the f:tnal melisma are retained from the ballade
tradition. Other French characteristics include frequent syncopation and an
angular contratenor line with many large leaps. English influence is demonstrated
in pervasive consonance with only a few ornamental dissonances, the prevalence
of thirds and sixths, relatively short and well-articulated phrases, relative equality
between cantus and tenor melodies, and triadic f:tgures that suffuse the fmal
melisma. Both English and Italian traits are evident in the smooth, mostly stepwise
melodies in cantus and tenor and in the primarily syllabic treatment of the text.
In the manuscript sources and in this edition, both cantus and tenor are
underlaid with text, suggesting that both are to be sung, as on the accompanying
recording. The contratenor seems better suited for an instrument than for a singer
due to its wide range and large leaps, and one manuscript ends with a three-note
"chord" that is impossible for a soloist to sing but easy for a string instrument such
as the vielle on the accompanying recording.
 38 GUILLAUME Du FAY • Se la face ay pale/ Missa Se la face ay pale: Gloria

In 1452-58, Du Fay was back at the court of Savoy after several years in Cambrai.
He apparently wrote Missa Se la face ay pale during this time at Savoy, using the
tenor of his earlier ballade as a cantus firmus. This mass was the first complete
mass to be based on a secular melody, and a recent study by Anne Robertson offers
an explanation for why Du Fay used it. She suggests that the mass was composed
to honor the Holy Shroud, which was acquired by Louis, duke of Savoy, in 1453
and is known today as the Shroud of Turin, after the city where it was moved in
15 78 when Turin became the new capital of Savoy. This relic is the reputed shroud
used to wrap the body of Jesus after his crucifixion, and it has on it an image of
a bearded man who has been crucified and laid out for burial (see Figure 8.9 in
HWM, p . 184). The Shroud's acquisition was by far the most important event in
Savoy during the ~ 450s, instantly elevating the status of the duchy. Although Du
Fay's ballade Se la'Jace ay pale was ostensibly secular, its words match perfectly
the image on the Shroud, showing the deathly pale face and painful wounds that
embody the suffering of Christ. There was no more appropriate melody to use as
the basis for a mass in honor of the Shroud.
The structure of the mass is carefully designed. Du Fay maintained the
durations of the ballade tenor in the tenor of the mass but added verbal indications
to multiply those durations in performance by varying amounts. As a result, the
cantus firmus is heard at different speeds in various movements and sections. In
the Kyrie, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei, each note of the ballade tenor is doubled in
duration through the marking "Crescit in duplo" ("increase to twice the length").
In the Gloria and in the Credo, the cantus firmus is heard in the tenor three
times, first at triple the normal durations ("triplo"), then at double the durations
("duplo"), and finally at its original pace (indicated by "ut jacet," "as it lies"). Thus
in the first section of the Gloria (measures 1-118), each beat of the original ballade
tenor is now three beats long, corresponding to a full measure of triple time in the
other voices. In the second section, at "Qui tollis" (measures 119-236), each beat
of the original chanson tenor is now two beats long, corresponding to a measure
of duple time in the other voices. Finally, in the third section, at "Cum sancto
spiritu" (measures 237-76), the tenor moves at its original pace, and the beats and
measures in all four voices correspond.
The form of this Gloria, delineated by the calculated restatement of the tune, is
further marked by the inclusion of a duet preceding each entrance of the cantus
firmus . Additionally, a briefer duet divides the cantus firmus into two halves in
each section. Each of the Gloria's three sections has the same internal proportions,
which are also of interest. They are easiest to see in the last section: six measures of
duet without the tenor, eighteen measures with the tenor, three measures of rest in
the tenor, and twelve final measures of tenor (stopping the count where the tenor
reaches its last note). This arrangement of 6, 18, 3, and 12 units can be simplified
by dividing each number by three, producing the proportions 2:6: 1:4. This set of
proportions features numbers whose ratios form those of the perfect fifth (6:4 or
3:2), octave (4:2 or 2:1) , and twelfth (6:2 or 3:1), the same ratios represented in
the proportional scheme of the whole movement (3:2:1). Moreover, the ratio of the
first segment of duet and tenor melody (measures 23 7-60) to the second (measures
261-75)-2+6 to 1+4, or 8 to 5-approximates the Golden Section, a ratio beloved
of mathematicians, architects, and composers, especially Du Fay. This intricate
206) 38 GUILLAUMEDUFAY • Selafaceaypale/MissaSelafaceaypale:Gloria

numerical structure shows the enduring influence of the links between music and
number that were promulgated by theorists from Pythagoras through Boethius and
beyond.
More evident to the listener than these proportions is the way that the source
ballade gradually emerges from obscurity to recognizability. Although the tenor
melody is present from the outset and is apparent to the singers because Du Fay
notated it in its original note values, it becomes easy to recognize by ear only during
the fmal statement, when it is included with its original durations. Then, at the
end, the tenor is joined by other borrowings from the original ballade. At measures
270-74 of the Gloria, Du Fay borrowed material from all three voices of the fmal
melisma of the ballade (measures 25-29), sometimes exactly and otherwise in
paraphrase. A briefer and less obvious borrowing from all three voices of the
ballade occurs at measures 146-54 (compare the top three voices there to measures
4-6 of the ballade). Borrowings from multiple voices of the model occur frequently
in masses whose cantus firmus is drawn from a polyphonic work. Such masses are
sometimes called cantus-firmus/ imitation masses to distinguish them from cantus-
firmus masses on monophonic tunes and from imitation masses that borrow from
all voices of a polyphonic work but lack a cantus firmus (see NAWM 52b).
Each voice of the mass is a distinct layer with its own melodic and rhythmic
logic and function. The tenor provides the scaffolding, around which everything
else is coordinated. The bassus, the lowest voice, joins with the tenor to establish
the harmonic foundation, often providing the lowest note at cadences. The top
two voices, the superius and the contratenor altus, are the most active, moving
in smooth, mostly stepwise lines varied with skips and leaps, and occasionally
echoing each other (see measures 1-4 and 14-15 for brief examples). The rhythmic
diversity the top voices provide, each measure different from the last, is typical of
Du Fay and was part of the variety that was prized by commentators at the time.
Despite the diverse roles the voices play, they are more equal than in earlier music,
with sixth-to- octave cadences forming between superius and altus (as at measures
12-13), altus and bassus (measures 27-28), tenor and bassus (measures 33-34),
and superius and bassus (measures 36-37), as well as the usual cadences between
superius and tenor.
Besides the use of the ballade tenor throughout the mass, another feature that
links each movement is the use of a head-motive, a musical idea that appears at
the beginning of every movement, thereby establishing a relationship between the
sections. Each movement of the mass begins in the superius with a variant of the
motive that in the Gloria is set to the words "Et in terra pax." The motive is also
alluded to within movements, as in the Gloria at measures 40, 88, 119, 243, and
262. The movements of the mass are also linked because all are in the same mode.
Although the ballade is clearly centered on C and many of the internal cadences in
the mass movement also close on C, Du Fay centered the mass on F. With the tune
in the tenor, he was able to close the first and final sections of the Gloria on F in
bassus and superius (measures 118 and 276), and closes the middle section on C
(measure 236) . (There was no concept of fixed pitch in the fifteenth century, and
singers placed music in any range that was comfortable for them; reflecting this
practice, the performance on the accompanying recording is pitched a minor third
lower than notated.)
 38 GUILLAUME Du FAY • Selafaceaypale/MissaSelafaceaypale: Gloria <207
Consonance and dissonance are carefully controlled. The strongest dissonances
are suspensions, all properly resolved (for example, at measures 33, 36, 72, and
81), while other dissonances, mainly between beats, pass quickly. Du Fay obviously
worked to include as many thirds and sixths as possible, which produced many
triads (to use modern terminology) on the strong beats.
According to long- standing liturgical tradition, the opening words of the Gloria,
"Gloria in excelsis Deo" (Glory be to God on high), are always sung by the priest. For
this reason, composers before the eighteenth century never included these words
in their settings of the Gloria. Du Fay's mass could have been sung by four soloists
but was more likely sung by a small choir. The Burgundian court chapel in 1469,
one of the largest in Europe, included at least fourteen male singers: six on the
cantus, two on the altus, and three each on the tenor and bassus. Savoy's chapel in
the 1450s was somewhat smaller, with about nine to eleven singers. Other studies
of chapel and cathedral musicians also suggest that polyphonic sacred music was
sung with a few singers on each part. The long tones of the tenor in isorhythmic
movements such as this one have prompted many modern performers to use
instruments on the tenor and sometimes on the bassus as well, either instead of or
doubling the singers. However, the historical evidence suggests that instruments
were rarely used to accompany sacred polyphony. All four parts are texted in the
manuscript sources except for some passages in the lower two voices, where the
editor has added the text in italics. In the performance on the accompanying
recording, all parts are sung by soloists.