Based on principles found in fourteenth-century counterpoint treatises, this
study divides Machaut's balades with four voices into three groups according
to their performance possibilities. The pieces of group 1 (Se
quanque
amours,
Il
mest
avis,
De
toutes
flours, and Quant
theseus/Ne
quier) can be
performed either in all four parts or in three parts by omitting the
triplum. Group 2 (De
petit
po and De
Fortune plus Vg's redaction of Se
quanque
amours) includes those pieces that can be performed in three parts
with either contratenor or triplum but not with all four parts. Pieces in
this group are often found with all four parts copied together, thus
highlighting the difference between the presentation of a piece in the
sources and its performance options. The pieces in group 3 (En
amer and Dame
de
qui) are less clearly delimited in their performance possibilities.
