Transcript Music Apprec - Middle Ages 2

The Middle Ages
“When God saw that many men were lazy, and gave themselves
only with difficulty to spiritual reading, He wished to make it easy
for them, and added the melody to the Prophet’s words, that all
being rejoiced by the charm of the music, should sing hymns to
Him with gladness.”
St. John Chrysostom
476-1450
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Sacred Music
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Gregorian Chant
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Melismatic
Syllabic
Neumatic
The Mass
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Ordinary
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Kyrie (Greek prayer for mercy) ABA form, representing the
Trinity
Proper
Rise of Polyphony
850-1150)
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The single most important development in the
history of Western music
Brought about regular meters, because singers
had to sing together
Development of precise notation
Rise of the composer (from componere, “to
put together)
Organum – Adding one or two voices above a
Gregorian chant melody (the cantus firmus)
The Cathedral of Notre Dame
Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries
Leonin – Two-voice
Perotin – Three-voice
Notre Dame School Organum:
Gaude Maria virgo
Organum in 3-voices
 In the style of Perotin (3-voices)
 For feasts of the Blessed Virgin
 Responsory for one of the Offices
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 See
p. 81-82
The Motet
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From the mot – means “word” in French
Top florid, melismatic line of organum
Often in two different languages (polytextual)
 SO
. . . Polytextual vocal composition, either sacred
or secular, with or without instrumental
accompaniment, often containing a countermelody
(interestingly enough, sometimes a “racy” secular text
is combined with a sacred one!)
Anonymous: Mout me fu grief/Robin
m’aime/Portare
(Greatly grieved am I/Robin loves me/To carry))
Secular motet (13th century)
 Text: Polytextual
 Polyphonic (2 voices/1 instrument)
 See p. 84-85
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Secular Music in the Middle Ages
Music in the courts . . . And wandering
minstrels (each have a different name,
depending on the country and gender)
 Texts based on idealized love and chivalry
 Sung monophonically; often accompanied
by instruments
 Chanson – French “song”
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Around 1300 . . . Rise of
instrumental music
Improvised, rarely written down; had no
need to really know the notation; often
decorated their music -- embellishments
 Earnings of these musicians quite high
 Estampie – Stately dance
 Example, p. 88-89
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Renaissance Music 1450-1600)
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Marks the passing of a highly religious society to a more
secular one (scientific inquiry); life explored in the here
and now, as well as the hereafter
Inspiration in Greek and Rome
Employment found in churches, cities, courts, printing
and music publication, performance, church choirs
a cappella singing (without accompaniment)
Begins to sound more “normal”
Cantus firmus (many songs still built on)
Word painting (the text depicted musically): dissonance
on the word death, heavens (a rising melody)
Politically . . . .
Exploration
 New construction . . . Palaces (Greek and
Roman proportions)
 Art: nudity considered beautiful, smiling
Madonnas, dimpled cherubs
 Many fine artists, philosophers, p. 363
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Renaissance Sacred Music
Played a large role in the rituals of the
Church
 The Mass – parts of the Ordinary
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 Kyrie,
Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei)
 Early “mass settings” based on a cantus
firmus
 Some cantus firmus chants were secular
Du Fay: “L’homme arme Mass (The
Armed Man Mass)
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See p. 104-105
Renaissance Motet
Sacred form with a single Latin text, for
use in the Mass and other religious
services
 Motets in praise of the Virgin Mary popular
 Written for 3, 4, or more voices were
sometimes based on a chant or other
cantus firmus
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Josquin des Prez
“He is the master of the notes. They have to do as he bids them; other
composers have to do as the notes will.” (Martin Luther on des Prez)
p. 106-107
 Composed over 100 motets, 17 Masses,
numerous secular pieces
 Some based on chant, some original
 Beautiful blending of sounds
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Giovanni da Palestrina (1525-1592)
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Rescued the Catholic Church after the
“Reformation” (Council of Trent) – he “cleaned
up” the lyrics and made them clear)
Wrote over 100 Masses
Pope Marcellus most famous
 Written
for 6 voice parts, (2 tenors/2 basses)
 Probably performed a cappella
 Sound is “restrained, serene, and celestial”
 See page 109-110, Gloria, from Pope Marcellus Mass
Monteverdi and the Madrigal
Madrigal poetry: exaggerated contrasts of
delight and despair
 Examples of word painting
 Singing Ladies of Ferrara
 Ecco mormorar l’onde (Here, now, the
waves murmur), p. 118-119
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John Farmer
Fair Phyllis, p. 121
 Polyphonic, with varied textures
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 Monophonic
at opening
 Later Polyphonic
 Then Homorhythmic
 Obvious word painting