Medieval Polyphany Flashcards
What is organum?
The earliest types of polyphony - it added “counterpoint(s)” meaning one or more parts with different notes, but shared melody
What is parallel organum?
A voice added a 4th, 5th, or octave above the original chant. Has parallel motion
What is ornamentation?
When singers decorate the melody using melismas and other devices
What is a melisma?
When a single syllable of text is sung with multiple notes in succession. (Different to something being syllabic)
What is Lenin and Perotin know for?
Beings masters of early polyphony
Where did polyphonic music move to after being in church culture?
Secular society
What is a motet?
A song based off of chant fragments and replacing the words with new secular music
What is a round?
A folky song, set to melodies that can be repeated in staggered order and still sound good (ex Sumer Is Icumen In)
What is Ars Nova?
“New art” that had more intricacy in both music and visual artistic design, opposed to “Ars Antiqua”
Who is Guillermo de Machaut?
A political churchman who was perhaps the greatest French poet of his time
What technique did Machaut develop?
Isorhythm, which is a mathematical method to provide musical variety in a very organized way
What is a Chanson?
A lyric driven French song, could be either monophonic or polyphonic
What is a Ballade?
A new type of polyphonic chanson introduced during Machaut’s time
What does “talea” mean in isorhythm?
A repeating cycling rhythmic pattern
What does “color” mean in isorhythm?
A repeating melodic pattern - from pre-existing material and put to a talea
