The Agnus from Guillaume de Machaut Messe (ca 1300 - 1377)

We will discuss the second part of the Agnus from Guillaume de Machaut Messe de Nostre Dame (measure 22 in many modern editions). In the first measures of this section we find a talea in the voice of tenor imitated by the contratenor in the next measure (the order of the voices is contratenor, tenor, cantus and triplum):

Thereafter the use of taleas becomes more frequent and important. For example in the triplum a 6 bars talea will be repeated twice:

In the cantus another talea is also repeated twice:

In the tenor a talea is repeated twice, then it is slightly varied (T4b) before being repeated one last time in its original form:

Finally, the contratenor is based on a talea that is repeated five times: