Medieval Period Flashcards
Middle Ages (date)
Fall of Roman Empire in 5th century, through next 1000 years
Hildegard von Bingen
Wrote nonliturgical sacred music drama, Ordo Virtutum (ca 1151). Uncommon practice of writing both melodies and poetic verse. Women excluded from priesthood/singing, held positions in convents
Ordo Virtutum
Von Bingen’s sacred music drama. Solo female contrast with female choir. Drone
Antiphonal Psalmody
Half verses alternate between two choirs, imitate ancient Syrian models
Quem queritis in presepe
Liturgical drama, developed out of plainchant. Dialogue sung responsorially,
Guido de Arezzo
ca. late 900s, early 1000s. Came up with solfedge, basically. Pedagogical for sightsinging
Jongleurs/Minstrels
In service to a particular lord or a traveler. Sang/played instruments (music outside of the church in Middle Ages). 12th century
Troubadors/Trouveres
Troub - S France. Trouv - N. France. 12th century
Bernart de Ventadorn
1150-1180. Courtly song “Can vei la lauzeta mover”. Feels like a iv, v drone beneath storytelling text. Love songs
Contessa Beatriz de Dia
Trobairitz, 1212. A Chantar. Love song
Minnensinger
German knightly poet-musicians. 12th-14th centuries. “Palestinalied” strings with lots of parallel 5ths and dudes singing. Bar Form (AAB)
Transition from Ancient Greece to early Christian Rome (historical ideas)
• Music as philosophy, woven into education. Music as astrology as well
• Pythagoras (ratios) and music theory
• Harmonics
Christian
• Music inspires divine thoughts
• After collapse of Roman Empire, ancient philosophy/theory still around (Boethius/Martianus Capella)
•
Early Christian Church Musical Practices
- Old Testament book of Psalms (Judaic heritage)
- Influences from Syrian monasteries
- Byzantine (later Orthodox) vs. Roman Catholic
- Gregorian chant - notation
Medieval Music theory
- Built on Boethius
- Medieval modal system (8 modes)
- Guidonian hand/solmization
Secular music (medieval song)
- Goliard songs (latin text) sung by Jongleurs
* Troubadours and Trobairitz (M/F) flourished in courts singing poetic forms of music often sensual
Middle Ages musical events timeline
- Responsorial psalmody
- Boethius
- Earliest notation of Gregorian chant
- Guido
- Gregorian chant spreads to Spain
- Goliards
- Hildegard
Polyphony in 13th century
- Independence from parallel motion in chant. Developed from improvisation
- Organum - New layers of melody together. Early organum 2 voices in oblique, contrary, parallel motion. Florid organum w/drone underneath
notre Dame Polyphony
- Ornate. Leonin and Perotin
- leonin - Magnus LIber Organi
- Introduction of modal rhythm
Motets (13th cent. and onward)
- Clausula section (rhythmic part) of organum by itself
- Cantus firmus derived from organum chant, based on “discant clausula” (decoration)
- Early motets in rhythm, adding latin or French text on secular topic. Some adapted new rhythms
Franconian motets
- Typically 3 voices. Mirrored complication in architecture (gothic cathedral)
- Precise rhythms
14th century French and Italian Music (historical perspective)
- 100 years war (1337-1453) btw France and England
- Black Death
- Church extends beyond matters of faith (politics)
- Papacy became a political affair
Ars Nova
- Anthology of works from 13th and early 14th cent. Lots of monophony
- Roman de Fauvel (poem satirizing political corruption)
- 34 motets, new style of “Ars Nova”
- Philipe de Vitry - Isorhythm
- Writing rhythm with different notepads
Isorhythm
- Tenor used as a long bass line - Talea.
- “Color” - extended over 2, 3 or more Taleae.
- Other rhythms above are complex
Guillaume de Machaut
Leading composer and poet of Ars Nova
• Used hocket
• Composed Chansons as well
Chansons (Formes fixes)
Love songs in 13th and 14th centuries
• Virelai (A bba A)
• Ballade (aabC)
• Rondeau (ABaAabAB)
Trecento (Italian 13th century)
- Madrigal - 2 voices, satirical love poems
* Voices echo one another. Long melismas on last accented syllable of each line.
Landini
Leading composer of the trecento.
• Ballate, some mass ordinary settings
Ars Subtilior
Refined and complex. Chivalric society in Avignon (France) and N. Italy
• Fancy decorations in manuscripts
• Musica ficta - false or “Feigned” music, flavor to 14th cent. French and Italian music. Chromatic alterations
Leonin (Late 1100s, early 1200s)
Early composer of organum
• “Tenor” (original chant) is drawn out as drone over long period of time, Upper voice “duplum” almost an improvisation
• Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris
Perotin (Late 1100s, early 1200s)
- Also cathedral of Notre dame
- 4 voice polyphonic mass parts
- Lots of triplet figures in upper 3 voices
Cantus Firmus Mass
Sacred composition Based on melody (CF) of secular song. Ockeghem. Changes rhythm
