The Effect of Medieval English Polyphony upon the Development of Continental Cantus-Firmus Techniques and Tonal Structure

T he role of the cantus-firmus principle in Western music has long been recognized as singularly significant and instructive. Numerous writers have marveled at its durability and fecundity in the realm of polyphony. And indeed, the variety of styles and procedures with which it has been involved-from the twelfth century to the eighteenth-attests to its longevity and productive power.