Similarities

One may be adamant in looking for any differences between these two pieces, but there are a few similarities that both pieces have. Both Machaut’s La Messe De Notre Dame and Dikshitar’s Mahaganapathim – Naattai both have evident use of context/text, form, isorhythm and chromaticism and vocal styling.

a. Context / Text

            Machaut’s La Messe De Notre Dame is a mass, which is a sacred music piece that is primarily used in Eucharistic liturgy. A mass consists of six sections – Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus (continuation of Sanctus) and Agnus Dei. Each section’s text basically speaks about the Lord and God almighty, and the Holy Trinity, and is filled with praises and thanksgiving in Latin.

           

Example: In the Gloria section of La Messe De Notre Dame:

“ Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis. Laudamus te, benedicimus te, adoramus te, glorificamus te, gratias agimus tibi” 

Which means - Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will. We praise You, we bless You, we adore You, we glorify You, and we give thanks.

Similarly, Dikshitar’s Mahaganpathim – Nattai talks about Mahaganapathy, the son of the Lord Shiva. Likewise, it speaks of how wonderful Mahaganapathy is, and is full of praise.

Example:

“mahaa dEva sutam guruguha nutam, maara kOTi prakaasham shaantam, mahaa kaavya naaTakaadi priyam, mooshika vaahanaa mOdhaka priyam”

Which means - You are always adored by 'Guruguha', (Lord Skanda). You have a beauty and shine with the brilliance of a thousand cupids. You are the embodiment of peace and tranquility. You love great poetry and drama. You have as the vehicle, as a mount, a small mouse. (Vishy)

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 b. Form and Sections

            In La Messe De Notre Dame, Machaut uses a repeat in the first half of Kyrie such that it’s form becomes

 ||: A :|| ||: B :||, and each section repeats three times as annotated at the bottom of the score:

 

In Mahaganapathim – Naattai, each phrase can be repeated once or twice. The performer however, determines and chooses when to do this. Moreover, it is not written in the score. Usually, a phrase would be repeated at a maximum of two times before carrying on with the rest of the text.

The example below is an annotation of how this piece sounds like based on a performance (discography: Kamakotisankara):

Both pieces also have structured sections, with La Messe De Notre Dame having six sections: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus (and Benedictus), Agnus Dei, and an addition section – Ite missa est. Mahaganapathim – Naattai is a Krithi and has three sections: Pallavi, Anupallavi and Charanam.

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c. Rhythm

             The use of rhythm is largely seen in both works. Isorhythm refers to the use of recurrent patterns or taleae, often quite long and cunningly constructed, that do not rely on traditional modal ordines. The extension of the rhythmic texture – otherwise known as talea, of an initial section to the entire composition, despite the variation of corresponding melodic features – also known as colour. (Taruskin) An isorhythmic motet would thus be a form of motet that is based on a repeating rhythmic pattern found in one or more of the voices. Usually, the tenor part is the one with the repeating rhythmic structure (Cole, and Schwartz)

The idea of these patterned repetitions are seen in most of the tenor parts of Machaut’s La Messe De Notre Dame. Machaut was one of the first few composers that used isorhythm in his works.

Example: In Kyrie, the motif:

 

is repeated 7 times in the first section as seen in the score below:

 

The rhythmic motif stays the same even though the pitches change. 

The concept of repeated rhythmic patterns is also apparent in Indian music, so it is no surprise that it is seen in carnatic music too. In carnatic music, this is idea is referred to as tala. There is an evident similarity between the two words talea and tala, as they represent almost same thing. A tala is basically a rhythmic cycle that is repeated throughout the piece, and is played by a percussive instrument. However, this idea is not just seen in the tala, but also in the raga, the main melodic line. In Dikshitar’s Mahaganapathim – Naattai, this is seen in Charanam section:

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d. Melody

             In Machaut’s work, because there was no key signature given, there are multiple notations of accidentals widely used in the entire mass, giving the piece somewhat a chromatic sound, even though chromaticism was not prevalent in that time.

Example: Sanctus:

 

and
 

As for Dikshitar’s work, the scale used is already chromatic in nature,

and thus the entire piece would have chromaticism ingrained in it. A fragment would be as such:

 

Both pieces also have a heavy usage of melismas, where a group of notes are attached to a single syllable of a text.

e. Texture

With regards to voicing styles, both works are very similar with the production and sound. The usage of vocal slides and vibrato is evident and widely used in both pieces. For Machaut’s La Messe De Notre Dame, this is seen in the beginning of Kyrie, and is usually done at the end of a phrase or when a phrase descends. 

 
The example below is an annotation of the parts that used vibrato and vocal slides based on a performance (discography: flammesombres):  

For Dikshitar’s Mahaganapathim – Naattai, this is seen throughout the piece, and it is annotated with slurs. Thus, the use of vocal slides and vibrato comes with the written slurs, and it is up to the performer’s discretion to use this technique.

Example: