Chapter 6 - New Developments in the 14th Century Flashcards
The 14th century was fraught with turmoil. Name four things negative things that happened
- Cooler climate causing economic slumps and famine
- The Babylonian captivity of the papacy
- The Black Death
- The Hundred years war
When was the Black Death and how many people did it kill?
1347-50 and about one third of Europe
When did the Hundred Years War occur and who was it between?
1337-1453 between France and England
Describe “Roman de Fauvel”
This is an allegorical narrative poem that stars a horse named Fauvel and is critical of moral and political corruption. It features music in it’s manuscript that is among the first examples of the Ars Nova style
Who is credited with creating the Ars Nova style?
Philippe de Vitry (1291-1361). His teachings were put into manuscripts (Titles Ars Nova) that were apparently crediting the style to him.
What are mensuration signs?
These are the ancestors of modern time signatures; they denote either perfect time (triple), or imperfect time (duple)
Two ryhthmic innovations enabled the Ars Nova style. What were they?
These were the creation of “imperfect” or duple time, and the further subdivision of the semibreve, allowing smaller note values
A division of a semibreve is called a _______.
Minim
Who invented mensuration signs?
Jehan de Murs
What is Isorhythm?
Repetition in a voice part of an extended pattern on durations over the course of a composition or just a section
Define Talea
In Isorhythm, this is the repeating rhythmic unit
Define Color
In Isorhythm, this is the recurring melodic segment
Birth and death dates of Guillaume de Machaut
1300-1377
Why is Guillaume de Machaut important?
He was an influential composer and poet for his contemporaries and his compositions exemplify the French Ars Nova style
Define Contratenor
This is a voice that is in the same range as the tenor that has a supporting role
Did the Ars Nova style gave an increased or decreased prominence to imperfect consonances?
It gave an increased prominence to 3rds and 6ths, the imperfect consonances
What distinguishes the styles of the 14th century from that of the 15th and 16th?
The greater remnants of the older styles, such as the frequent presence of parallel 5ths and octaves
What are the three “formes fixes”?
These are the three most common forms of 14th century French song. They are the Ballade, Rondeau, and the Virelai
During the Ars Nova period, what did the term “chansons” refer to?
In France, a chanson is a polyphonic song during the 14th century
Describe “treble dominated style”
This is a style where the upper voice(s) are most important with the tenor and contratenor only playing a supporting role and are without text
Describe the Ars Sublitor. When and where was this style found?
The Ars Sublitor is a more refined and complex continuation of the Ars Nova style, found in high class settings in France and Northern Italy during the later 14th century
In Italy, what is the Trecento period?
This is the Italian term for the 14th century
Italian liturature and music florished during the Trecento period. Name a few important facts.
- Music accompanied every aspect of life in Italy
- The prefered literary language switched from Occitan to a Tuscan Italian dialect
- Musical notation was initially different but adopted the French Ars Nova style later in the century
Describe the 14th century madgrigal
This is an Italian piece sung a cappella for two or more voices all on the same text. They consist of two or more three line stanzas with the same music, and the piece concludes with a contrasting ritornello
Describe the caccia
This is an Italian vocal work that is in strict cannon. It features two or more voices at the unison, and a slower untexted tenor. Often the text describes action scenes
Describe the balleta
This is an Italian vocal genre with roots in dance songs. Early pieces were monophonic but most surviving examples are polyphonic
Who was the foremost leader in the Italian trecento style and to what genre does most of works belong to?
Francesco Landini (ca. 1325-1397). The majority of his works are polyphonic balletas
At the end of the 14th century, the Italian style began to blend into the style of which country?
France
In the 14th through 16th centuries, how were instruments categorized?
By their relative loudness, rather than pitch (high or low volume, not pitch)
