PLAINSONG NEWAND OLD: THE VERSIFIED OFFICE FOR STANSANUS OF SIENA.

The versified office of St Ansanus of Siena at first appears to be but one of numerous offices composed for local saints in the late Middle Ages. Yet a newly discovered source, the manuscript Arezzo, Archivio Capitolare, Duomo H (c.1320), invites a reconsideration of its historical and musical significance. This office was not, as previously thought, composed exclusively in Siena. It was instead the product of a de facto collaboration between that city and its historic rival, Arezzo, a scenario that belies the competitive spirit characteristic of most saints' cults in the Middle Ages. Finally, the version of the office of St Ansanus sung in Siena illustrates a distinctive, 'neo-Gregorian' style of plainsong characterized by the adaptation of Gregorian tune families and melodic formulae to rhymed accentual poetry. Indeed, it marks a rare rejection of the more modern, 'post-Gregorian' styles typical of versified offices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]