Music in the Middle Ages
The Middle Ages spans nearly 1000 years, what 3 periods does it consist of and what occurs within them?
Dark ages - the disintegration of the roman empire. Time of migrations, upheavals, and war.
Romanesque Period - cultural growth, expanision
Gothic Period - Cathedrals, bigger towns, etc.
Official Music of the Roman Catholic Church, consists of melodies set to sacred latin texts and sung without accompaniment (monophonic).
Gregorian chant
French nobles who composed the earliest surviving Secular music in the 12th and 13th Centuries.
Troubadours and Trouveres
Define: Unison, Drone, Parallel, and Contrary motion as it pertains to melodic motion.
Unison - 2 notes, both on the same pitch
Drone - 2 notes, 1 is unchanging
Parallel - 2 notes, moving in same direction
Contrary - 2 notes, moving in opposite directions
100 year war in Europe (1337-1453)
The black Plague (around 1350)
Church was weakened from the war - 3 popes claimed authority of the church
Social Classicism is prevalent in the Middle Ages, what 3 social classes are present and what are they described as?
Nobility - upper class, prosperous, rulers
Peasantry - Largest class, lived miserably. Poverty and hunger. “Serfs” - bound to the solid and subject to feudal overlords
Clergy - Monks - related to church.
DOUBLE JEOPARDY!!!!
When a song uses the accepted language of a country it is said to be in the _____________ of that country.
Vernacular.
What are the 6 purposes of secular music in the Middle Ages?
Love songs
Poems about great deeds by knights
Stories of crusades
Dancing or “spinning” songs
Festivals/parties/etc.
Delivering news!
Gregorian chant and one or more additional melodic lines is known as __________.
Organum
DOUBLE JEOPARDY!!!!
italian and French musical style from the 14th Century. Refers specifically to the profound changes in composition.
Ars Nova
What is the difference between sacred and secular music?
Purpose
Medium
Language
Who is Gregorian chant named after?
Pope Gregory I
A musician of the peasant class in the Middle Ages is known as a ________.
Minstrel
Two composer are known for creating the necessity for a new rhythmic notation within polyphonic organum. Who are they?
This celebrated italian composer of the 14 was Blind and known as an Organist, poet, scholar, and the inventor of a new String instrument. He only wrote SECULAR music about nature and love, morality, and politics.
Francisco Landini (??-1397)
Careers in music were primarily based in what social class during the Middle Ages? Why?
Clergy, because Roman Catholocism was reflected in every social class and aspect of society.
What are 6 characteristics of Gregorian chant?
Calm otherworldly, inspires meditation
Flexible rhythm, no meter, little sense of beat, Free flowing
Composed with Modes
Narrow pitch range
Monophonic
Latin
A wandering Minstrel of the peasant class known for having few civil rights or for being a slave in the Middle Ages is known as a ____________.
Jonglier
What is the Timeline for Gregorian chant. (write it down).
450-700 Gregorian Chant Monophonic
700-900 Organum Homophonic-w/ parallel motion
900-1100 Organum Homophonic-w/ independent melodies
1200 Polyphonic Organum Polyphonic-W/Independent melodies AND rhythms.
A collection of the daily texts of a church service including the Kyrie, gloria, credo, sanctus, and agnus dei is known as the ___________________.
Mass Ordinary.
This composer of sacred music in the Middle Ages is known as the first female composer documented. She wrote music, books, studied natural medical practices, and had sacred visions. She is from Bingen which is modern day Germany
Hildegard Von Bingen (1098-1179)
Describe the importance of Gregorian chant in history.
- Influences all western music that follows
- Inspired the modern notation system
Name and describe 4 instruments of the Middle Ages.
Rebec - bowed string instrument
Pipe - tubular wind instrument
Drum - drum
Lute - guitar-like ancestor
By the end of the Middle Ages, 3 types of sacred music co-existed in western culture (the old way, the really old way, and the new way). What are each of their titles?
Gregorian Chant
Organum
Polyphonic Organum
This French composer was very famous in his time and was Known for gifting royalty ornate copies of his music. He is credited for writing the first polyphonic setting of the mass ordinary. He only composed SACRED music.
Guillame de Machaut