ABSTRACT
Kyrie eleison Mel. 185 shares with Clemens rector aeterne the characteristics that made the latter seem so tonally concentrated: the tonal framework is clearly defined and concisely filled out by phrases oriented to particular focal tones. The two melodies share another feature of tonal organization, one that sets them far apart from Gregorian style. In both Kyrie eleison, Mel. 185 and Clemens rector aeterne, adjacent phrases may lie in different registers and contrast with each other, sometimes sharply. “Nearly all the other sources from this period, those that use just Kyrie eleison, agree well with the melismatic version of "Theoricam practicamque vitam regens." The existence of several texts for the same melody—encountered here for the first time in this study—should not in itself be taken as evidence that all the texts were written in the same fashion as syllabic text underlay to a preexistent melismatic melody.
