Insights from Inconsistencies: Examining Variation in Sarum Chants for the Assumption of Mary

This essay aims to understand medieval chant music from a compositional perspective, arguing that variation between notated versions reveals key aspects of the creative process, including the setting of text, the shaping of melodic contours, and the choice of hexachords. It analyzes chant melodies for the Mass for the Assumption of Mary as witnessed in nine books considered to belong to the Use of Sarum, a liturgical chant tradition that flourished in southern England between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries. The author's complete senior work also includes a suite of compositions, entitled "Watching Spring," which was inspired by her research.