part 1 the materials of music - ojrhsband.com · music in the middle ages the mass • two types of...
TRANSCRIPT
MUSIC HISTORY Medieval and Renaissance Music
“Hearing” from The Lady and the Unicorn tapestry (late 15th century)
MUSIC OF THE MIDDLE AGES
DATES:
450AD to 1400AD
The Culture of the Middle Ages
“Nothing exists without music, for
the universe itself is said to have been
framed by a kind of harmony of
sounds, and the heaven itself revolves
under the tone of that harmony.”
—Isidore of Seville
The writer Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343–1400), as
depicted in a famous manuscript of his epic
Canterbury Tales (c. 1410).
The Culture of the Middle Ages
• Spans nearly 1,000 years (450AD to 1400AD)
• Early Christian church and state were centers of power at
the time (European society was predominantly religious)
• Most of the music that survived the Middle Ages was due to
sponsorship from the church
• The later Middle Ages saw the rise of cities, cathedrals,
along with great works of art & literature.
450 1400
The Culture of the Middle Ages
• Universities were founded throughout
Europe
• Construction of Notre Dame in Paris (1163–1350)
• Cities emerged as center of art and culture as trade flourished
• Literary masterpieces: Chanson de Roland; Divine Comedy (Dante); Canterbury Tales (Chaucer)
• Crusades brought era of violence, turmoil, and change
Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris
(1163–1235)
Music in the Middle Ages
• Music was very spiritual
• Music was very “liturgical” – set to the order of the church service
• Chant melodies emerged (Gregorian Chant) – a kind of musical speech
Whitsunday Mass, “Alleluia, emitte spiritum”
Scene from the life of the Virgin, Giotto di Bondone (1267–1337)
Music in the Middle Ages • Syllabic – one note to each syllable of text
• Neumatic – a few notes to each syllable of text
• Melismatic – many notes to each syllable of text
Classes of Chant:
Music in the Middle Ages
• Neumes – symbols used to help singers remember the general shape of the melodies.
• This eventually developed into a type of musical notation using square notes on a four-line staff.
The Modes
• The modes evolved from Gregorian Chant and the beginning of Renaissance polyphony
• They preceeded the major and minor modes we know today
• The modes served as the basis for European art music for a thousand years
• With the eventual development of polyphony, a harmonic system evolved based on the various modal scale patterns
Ionian (major)
Dorian
Phrygian
Mixolydian
Lydian
Aolean (minor)
Modal (old system) vs. Tonal (major/minor system used later)
Locrian
Early Church Modes
Music in the Middle Ages
The Mass
• Two types of prayers that make up the Catholic Mass:
1. Proper (Texts that vary from service to service)
2. Ordinary (Texts that remain the same in each service)
• There were Gregorian Chants for each section of the service, making music a very central part of the Mass
• All texts were in Latin. (The Catholic church continued to celebrate the Mass in Latin until the middle of the 20th century.)
Music in the Middle Ages
Life in the Medieval Cloister
• Cloister – a place for religious seclusion
Monastery
Convent
Music in the Middle Ages
The Music of Hildegard of Bingen Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179)
• In 1150 founded convent in
Germany
• Known for miracles and
prophecies of the future
• Popes, Kings & Priests sought
her advice on political and
religious issues
• Works include collections of
visions and prophecies, music,
and scientific writing.
Artwork: The priest Volmar records
Hildegard of Bingen’s visions. The
image, a miniature, is from her
poetry collection Scivias (1141–51).
“The words I speak come from no human mouth; I
saw and heard them in visions sent to me….I have no
confidence in my own capacities – I reach out my
hand to God that He may carry me along as a feather
borne weightlessly by the wind.”
- Hildegard of Bingen
The Rise of Polyphony: End of Romanesque Era – 850 to 1150
• Polyphony or Polyphonic Music is the combination of two or more simultaneous melodic lines
• Single most important development in the history of Western music
• Helped bring about the use of regular meters
• A more precise music notation system developed
ORGANUM
• Earliest polyphonic music was called “Organum”
• Organum was achieved by adding a second voice to a Gregorian chant at the interval of a 4th or 5th
• Individual voices moved in either “oblique” or “contrary” motion
• Composers at the cathedral of Notre Dame were at the forefront of this new style of music during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries
• Composers of organum based their pieces on pre-existing Gregorian chants
• As additional melodic lines of music were added, lines of text were added as well which eventually formed the “Motet”
Leonin & Perotin
• Composer at Notre Dame in Paris
• First major composer of polyphonic music
• Compiled the “Great Book of Organum”
• Successor to Leonin
• Expanded the dimensions of the Organum by increasing the number of voice parts
Secular Music in the Middle Ages
• Non-church music that reflected every aspect of medieval life
• Medieval Minstrels – wandering musicians
• France: troubadours (south) and trouvères (north) Germany: Minnesingers
• Minstrels provided music for various functions of society: dancing, banquets, court ceremonies, tournaments, military music, etc
• Idealized love, chivalry, honor, valor, passion
Anonymous: Sumer is icumen in
(Summer is come) (Listening Guide)
• One of the earliest examples of polyphony from England
• Set as a round
• Composed around 1250
• Text in Middle English
• Celebrates the coming of summer
• Lower voices sing ostinato.
The original notation of the canon
Sumer is icumen in (c. 1250)
TEXT
Secular Music in the Middle Ages
Ars nova (new art)
• Musical style that appeared at
the beginning of the 14th
century in France & Italy
• More refined & complex than
music of prior period (Ars
Antiqua – old art)
• Composers turned away from
religious themes in favor of
more secular themes
• Further musical developments
in rhythm, meter, harmony, and
counterpoint
Guillaume de Machaut (c. 1300-1377)
• Foremost composer-poet of the Ars-Nova style
• Turned increasingly from religious to secular themes
• Helped to develop the “Motet”
• Wrote the Messe de Nostre Dame, the earliest known complete setting of the Ordinary of the Mass attributable to a single composer.
Guillaume de Machaut
TEXT
Instruments of the Middle Ages
• Instrumental music grew in
importance in 14th century
• Vocal music still primary,
however
• Instrumental music mostly
improvised and used to
accompany singers
• Soft (bas) or loud (haut)
instruments
• Categorized by their use
(indoor or outdoor)
STRINGED INSTRUMENTS
HARP - favorite instrument of the troubadours and minstrels and was about 30 inches in length
https://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/instrument/harp
FIDDLE - variety of Medieval Fiddles which were played with a bow or plucked and usually held under the chin or in the crook of the arm. Easily portable and one of the most popular street musical instruments
STRINGED INSTRUMENTS
REBEC - The rebec was an instrument with a round pear-shaped body much like an early violin http://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/instrument/rebec
PSALTERY - The Psaltery was a musical instrument of the Middle Ages which was a cross between a harp and a guitar http://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/instrument/psaltery
STRINGED INSTRUMENTS
DULCIMER - The Dulcimer was played by striking the strings with small hammers http://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/instrument/dulcimer
HURDY GURDY - the hurdy-gurdy was introduced to England during the 12th century - the bow was replaced by strings attached to a wheel which was cranked by a handle https://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/instrument/hurdy-gurdy
STRINGED INSTRUMENTS
VIOL - Viols were played with a bow and held on the lap or between the legs https://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/instrument/viol
LUTE - a plucked instrument having a pear-shaped body, a usually bent neck, and a fretted fingerboard. http://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/instrument/lute
WIND INSTRUMENTS
FLUTE - Similar to our modern flutes.
TRUMPET - Long instrument made of metal, often in four parts - often associated with fanfares and pageants
WIND INSTRUMENTS
PIPE - The pipe was an extremely basic instrument usually having only a few melody holes http://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/instrument/pipeandtabor
SHAWM - The shawm was a reed instrument with vent holes https://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/instrument/shawm
WIND INSTRUMENTS
RECORDER - The recorder was an extremely basic instrument with melody holes http://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/instrument/recorder
BAGPIPE - an ancient instrument, used by the poorest people and was made using a goat or sheep skin and a reed pipe http://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/instrument/bagpipe
WIND INSTRUMENTS
CRUMHORN - The crumhorm (Curved Horn) was introduced in the 1400's as a double reed musical instrument http://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/instrument/crumhorn
GEMSHORN - The gemshorn was made of an ox horn and played as a flute-like musical instrument http://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/instrument/gemshorn
WIND INSTRUMENTS
LIZARD - The lizard was a descriptive term for an s-shaped horn http://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/instrument/lizard
SACKBUT – a type of Renaissance trombone http://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/instrument/sacbut
WIND INSTRUMENTS
SERPENT - http://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/instrument/serpent
TRANSVERSE FLUTE – https://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/instrument/transverseflute
PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS
Drums, Cymbals, Triangles, and Tambourines
ORGANS
• Medieval organs:
– Large instruments for church
– Small instruments (portative,
positive)
https://www.music.iastate.edu/anti
qua/instrument/organetto
PERFORMANCES
https://www.music.iastat
e.edu/antiqua/sounds