Cantus | Firmus | cantus (vocal ensemble) | Ars cantus mensurabilis |
Although "Adieu mes amours" was originally a secular chanson, it was used in a number of mass settings such as, Missa "Adieu mes amours" which uses both parody and cantus firmus compositional techniques by Francesco de Layolle, and another Missa "Adieu mes amours" by Jacob Obrecht.
The piece consists of four movements, called experiments: the first is about the generation of cantus firmi, the second generates four-voice segments with various rules, the third deals with rhythm, dynamics and playing instructions, and the fourth with various models and probabilities for generative grammars or Markoff chains.
The Missa Fors seulement is built on the chansons by Antoine de Févin and Matthaeus Pipelare; the Missa Fit porta Christi pervia is based on a plainchant cantus firmus; the Missa Myns liefkens bruyn ooghen uses as its source a secular song in Dutch, by Benedictus Appenzeller; and the Missa Stabat mater uses the motet by Josquin, a composer he evidently admired.