Transcript Part 1 The Materials of Music

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
Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris
(1163–1235)
•
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
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
Scene from the life of the Virgin, Giotto di Bondone (1267–1337)
Whitsunday Mass, “Alleluia, emitte spiritum”
Music in the Middle Ages
Classes of Chant:
•
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
Music in the Middle Ages
•
Neumes – symbols used to help singers
•
This eventually developed into a type of
musical notation using square notes on a fourline staff.
remember the general shape of the melodies.
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
Early Church Modes
Lydian
Ionian (major)
Mixolydian
Dorian
Aolean (minor)
Phrygian
Locrian
Modal (old system) vs. Tonal (major/minor system used later)
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)
Artwork: The priest Volmar records
Hildegard of Bingen’s visions. The
image, a miniature, is from her
poetry collection Scivias (1141–51).
•
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.
“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
•
Composer at Notre
Dame in Paris
•
First major composer of
polyphonic music
•
Compiled the “Great
Book of Organum”
&
Perotin
• 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
http://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/
harp.htm
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/rebec.htm
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/psaltery.htm
STRINGED INSTRUMENTS
DULCIMER - The Dulcimer
was played by striking the
strings with small hammers
http://www.music.iastate.edu/a
ntiqua/dulcimer.htm
HURDY GURDY - the hurdygurdy was introduced to England
during the 12th century - the bow
was replaced by strings attached to
a wheel which was cranked by a
handle
http://www.music.iastate.edu/antiq
ua/hurdy.htm
STRINGED INSTRUMENTS
VIOL - Viols were played
with a bow and held on the
lap or between the legs
http://www.music.iastate.edu
/antiqua/t_viol.htm
LUTE - a plucked instrument
having a pear-shaped body, a
usually bent neck, and a fretted
fingerboard.
http://www.music.iastate.edu/an
tiqua/lute.htm
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.e
du/antiqua/pipetabr.htm
SHAWM - The shawm
was a reed instrument
with vent holes
http://www.music.iastate.
edu/antiqua/renshawm.h
tm
WIND INSTRUMENTS
RECORDER - The recorder
was an extremely basic
instrument with melody
holes
http://www.music.iastate.ed
u/antiqua/r_record.htm
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/bagpipe.htm
WIND INSTRUMENTS
CRUMHORN - The crumhorm
(Curved Horn) was introduced in
the 1400's as a double reed
musical instrument
http://www.music.iastate.edu/anti
qua/crumhorn.htm
GEMSHORN - The gemshorn was
made of an ox horn and played as a
flute-like musical instrument
http://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqu
a/gemshorn.htm
WIND INSTRUMENTS
LIZARD - The lizard was a
descriptive term for an sshaped horn
http://www.music.iastate.ed
u/antiqua/lizard.htm
SACKBUT – a type of
Renaissance trombone
http://www.music.iastate.
edu/antiqua/sacbut.htm
WIND INSTRUMENTS
SERPENT http://www.music.iastate.edu/a
ntiqua/serpent.htm
TRANSVERSE FLUTE http://www.music.iastate.edu/an
tiqua/tr_flute.htm
PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS
Drums, Cymbals, Triangles, and Tambourines
ORGANS
•
Medieval organs:
– Large instruments for church
– Small instruments (portative,
positive)
http://www.music.iastate.edu/a
ntiqua/organeto.htm
PERFORMANCES
http://www.music.iastat
e.edu/antiqua/album_so
unds/instrument_sounds
.htm