Winner of Van Courtland Elliott Prize

The Van Courtlandt Elliott Prize Committee is pleased to award the 2011 prize to Anna Zayaruznaya for her article "'She Has a Wheel That Turns . . .': Crossed and Contradictory Voices in Machaut's Motets," Early Music History 28 (2009), 185-240. Zayaruznaya begins by observing that Machaut occasionally departs from the traditional three-tiered structure that characterizes his motets. The highest voice (triplum) drops down, and the middle voice (motetus) sings at the top of the texture. Zayaruznaya argues that we should see these voice crossings as keys to the motets' meaning. With the rapid rise and precipitous fall of voices, Machaut cues his listeners to reflect upon a store of cultural knowledge related to Fortune. Voice crossings often coincide with textual references to Fortune and in some cases dramatize the unreliability or outright dishonesty of the poet's voice. The language of the music mirrors and complicates sentiments expressed in the motets' texts. Zayaruznaya shows how we might map the shifting voices of one motet onto a Boethian model of Fortune and Providence. The manipulation of compositional forms in the motets constitutes a sort of musical iconography. In other words, Machaut's voice crossings render audible the contradictions, reversals, and fickleness of Fortune.

The argument is remarkable for its clarity, rigor, and range. The masterly analysis is tightly anchored in a nuanced understanding of technical aspects of Machaut's work, but it is eminently readable to nonspecialists. Zayaruznaya's insightful analysis of the relationship between text and song in this case has broader implications for our understanding of how medieval people listened to music, looked at images, and read poems. In other words, the author's careful and methodical assessment of the evidence is richly balanced by her interpretive daring. Even within an exceptionally strong pool of submissions, Zayaruznaya's article stood out for its lucidity and ambition. From focused observations about the formal elements of the works of a single composer, Zayaruznaya unfolds a bold and harmonious vision of the inextricability of music, text, and image in medieval culture. Zayaruznaya's voice has given us a more nuanced understanding of Machaut's music and made a groundbreaking contribution to our understanding of the world in which he composed.

Respectfully submitted,
DEBORAH DELIYANNIS
DEBORAH MCGRADY
JEFFREY A. BOWMAN, Chair