How Were Motets Performed?

Increasingly in the 14th and 15th centuries, motets made use of repetitive patters often termed panisorhythmic; that is, they employed repeated rhythmic patterns in all voices—not only the cantus firmus—which did not necessarily coincide with repeating melodic patterns.

Did motets use instruments?

In forming motets from descant clausulae, two or even three parts were each given a text. ... Instruments apparently played the lower voice parts as accompaniment to a singer's performance of the upper part, so that the motet became an accompanied solo song.

Who performed motets?

Guillaume de Machaut was a key composer of motets in the 1300s, and his efforts made great strides in reaching new musical ideas in the Renaissance. While most known for his masses, Machaut wrote many motets and influenced others.