I. Middle Ages 471- 1450
Church
°Monestary- were worship happens
°Secular-Not of Church
°Sacred- Of the Church
1. Enlightenment
Divine Comedy (1307)
Chaucher Canturby (1386)
Court Menstral – hired hand that played at parties as entertainment –courtly love-
Cheverly: code of Ethics, Knights. Gentleman
Sourt Song- main theme women.
Early Medieval music notation did not look like the notation that is used in present day music. The earliest signs of a notational system notational system for music used 'neumes'. For a long time, musical notation consisted of the pitch or note that was to be sung. Other musical notation, such as rhythm didn't begin until the 12th or 13th centuries.
2.
Gregorian Chant
- Single lined melody (Monophonic) with no harmony. Lacks counter chords. It avoids wide leaps and dynamic contrast. It was syllabic (1 note sung to each syllable of text).
°Melismatic- (Melisma)-
long groups of notes to a single syllable.
3.
Varying types of texts in regards to the church:
1.
Proper – texts that vary depending on occasion, ect.
2.
Ordinary- Texts that remain the same in everyday mass.
•
Monophonic- 1 line, lack of harmony and counter paints.
•
Polyphony- Most important development in western music was polyphony (during the Romanesque period towards the end). It combines two or more simultaneous melodic lines. 2 voices to Gregorian melody, intervals 5 and 4
-The
organum was the first known polyphonic music. It combined with 2 or more voices at the 5th or 4th intervals, the two perfect intervals which sounded happy. All others were considered blasphemy.
•
Leonin-Led a new art form He was the 1st person to create polyphony (the use of 2 voices) School Notre Dane, center of polyphony
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Perotin- wrote for 3-4 voices which resulted in the medieval motet
*CHURCHES LOOK LIKE CROSS FROM AERIAL VIEW*
From an aerial view, this is what all churches would look like.
At the bottom part of the cross was the Knave. This is where the congregation would sit to watch the sermon. In the intersecting horizontal line part of the cross, a stone would be present. The main purpose of this was to block the cantor (priest) from the knave.
*All music that was written to be happy and upbeat was NOT part of church music.
°
Ars Neva- The New Art
°
Ars Antiqua- Old Art,
-Writers and painters alike turned more from sacred to secular over the course of the 13th century.
4.
Guillame De Machaut (1300-1377)
-William from Machaut became the secretary to John of Luxembourg. He wrote religious and secular music. This added to the rebirth in adding of double and triple rhymes with syncopation
Instrumental Music was not written down.
•
Bas-soft, quiet instrument such as the loot the flute and the recorder
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Haut- loud instrument such as shwam and slide trumpet (also known as a Sackbut which was essentially a medieval trombone)
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Tabor- long cylindrical drums
°Sathrello was a lively Italian jumping dance
Important points
1. Vocal polyphony was occassionally played entirely by instruments.
2. Instruments were used to double one or more vocal parts.
3. Textless parts in polyphonic music were probably intended to be played by instruments as, for example, in 13th century motets and 14th century cacce and ballate.
4. Music clearly intended for instrumental performance was mainly dance music and a few instrumental motets and conductus.
5. They may have been substituted for voices in one or more parts with texts.
6. Important composers:
Guillaume Dufay, Phillipe de Vitry, and Guillaume de Machaut.
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