This study is the first step toward a better understanding of the introduction of pervasive imitation at the end of the fifteenth century. The focus is on selected works of Loyset Compère: the ténor motet Omnium bonorum plena, two motetti missales cycles and twenty chansons. Four types of repetition have been identified in these works: imitation, free repetition, repeated modules and doubling. The main analysis is based on the statistical frequency of the different types of repetition. Percentage tables allow us to observe stylistic changes between early and late chansons and also underline some resemblances between late chansons and motetti missales. Different types of repetition tend to vary in length; imitation generally uses longer melodic lines than other types of repetition. I also studied pitch intervals of repetition used by Compère. I have noticed that unlike some composers of the time, Compère used pitch intervais other than the octave and unison, mainly the fifth and principally in his late chansons. Finally, I have constructed a System of modular classification which allowed me to identify unifying devices used by Compère in his motetti missales. The results presented in this thesis suggest that Loyset Compère was a major contributor to the evolution of pervasive imitation.

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