Terms
What is:
The most important service in the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church
Includes prayers, readings from the Bible, and a reenactment of the Last Supper, referred to as the Eucharist or Holy Communion
Consists of texts that are variable according to the church calendar (Proper) and texts that remain the same (Ordinary)
Became an important genre, particularly during the Renaissance era
What is Mass?
What is the term for:
"mono" means one
Music consisting of a single line of melody (referred to as a "voice")
No harmony or accompaniment
What is monophonic texture?
What is the term for:
Latin for "new art", from the title of a treatise by composer Philippe de Vitry
Used in reference to French Music of the 14th century; the previous era came to be known as Arg Antiqua
Involved greater complexity in melody, harmony, and rhythm and included use of isorhythm, hockey, and music ficta
What is Ars Nova Style?
Who is this person?
Active at the Notre Dame Cathedral in the 13th century
Expanded polyphonic technique by composing three and four part polyphony
Composed "substitute clasulae" to replace sections with organa originally composed by Leonin
Who is Perotin?
Cheers to you if you also added (fl.1175-1225). Flourished from 1175 to 1225.
Which Composition is this?
Genre: Monophonic chanson
Composesr: Moniot d'Arras
Composition date: Mid 13th century
Source of text: Secular poem
Language: Old French
Performing forces: Solo singer
Texture: Monophonic (with improvised accompaniment on some recordings)
What is Ce fut en mai?
What is the term for:
One of the earliest Medieval dances
Stately character
Involves elaborate body movements
Danced by couples
What is Estampie?
What is the term for:
"poly" means many
Two or more independent melodic lines (or voices) heard simultaneously
Referred to as contrapuntal texture
What is polyphonic texture?
What is:
French for "Songbook of the King"
Anonymous 13th century French manuscript
Contains troubadour and trouvere songs as well as eight monophonic dances, including the Royal Estampie No.4
Earliest example of notated dance music
What is Chansonnier du Roy?
Who is this person?
Leader of Roman Catholic Church from (590-604)
Organized and codified the chants that had accumulated, leading to the establishment of a uniform liturgical serviceterm-7
Oversaw the expansion of schools to train singers in performance of sacred repertoire (schola cantorum)
Who is Pope Gregory the First.
Who is this person?
He was a monk who lived and worked at the Abbey of St. Vaast in France
He was among the last composers in the trouvere tradition
He wrote both sacred and secular music
His monophonic secular songs used modal melodies and would likely have been performed with an improvised accompaniment
Who is Moniot d'Arras?
What is the term for:
A compositional device perfected in the Ars Nova
Combines melodic patterns (colours) with rhythmic patterns (talea)
Colour and talea are typically not the same length, overlapping rather than coinciding
What is isorhythm?
What is the term for:
Many notes for a single syllable of text
The most elaborate and florid form of text setting
What is Melismatic text setting?
What is:
Latin for "Music Handbook"
Anonymous 9th-century treatise
Contains the earliest examples of notated polyphony in Western art music
Scholars believed that this was a book for theorists and not used in performance, as singers most likely could not read the specific notation employed
Includes parallel organum, with new melodic lines added above or below the original chant
What is Musica Enchiriadis?
Who is this person?
French composer, poet, and the bishop of Meaux
His Ars Nova treatise defines the musical language of the 14th century, while his motets demonstrate innovations in rhythmic notation and the feature new techniques and composition devices
Author of treatise Ars Nova (1322)
Innovator in the notation of rhythm, including the "imperfect" division of notes into two equal units (a move away from the division of notes into three equal units considered "perfect")
Broke free from older patters and rhythmic modes
Used isorhythm, the repetition of an extended pattern, in which melodic patterns and rhymes segments of different lengths are combined
Who is Philippe de Vitry?
(1291-1361)
Who is this person?
The most celebrated and significant composer of French Ars Nova style
Contributed to both sacred and secular music
Used a greater variety of intervals (including thirds and sixths) and employed highly sophisticated contrapuntal techniques
14th century rhythmic complexity is demonstrated in his use of devices such as syncopation, hocket, and isorhythm
Wrote both monophonic and polyphonic chansons; monophonic chansons represent a continuation of the trouvere tradition
Machaut frequently wrote his own poetry, using the fixed poetic forms: rondeau, ballade, and virelai
His words were often longer and more complex than those of the Ars Antiqua
Composed the first complete polyphonic setting of Mass Ordinary - Messe de Nostre Dame
Who is Guillaume de Machaut?
What is the term for:
Latin for "fixed song"
Borrowed material, often from a Gregorian chant
Serves as a structural framework for a new polyphonic composition
Originally found in the lowed voice
What is cantus firmus?
What is the term for:
Latin for "false music"
Performance practice applied in modal music for the late Middle Ages and Renaissance
Performers raised or lowered pitches by a half step to avoid undesirable intervals
Much like modern-day accidentals
What is Musica Ficta
What is the term for:
A song structure in which the same music is performed for each verse of the poem
As a result, little connection can be achieved between the words and music
What is Strophic form?
Who is this person?
First composer of polyphony known to us by name
Active in Paris in the late 12th century
He produced two part organum, using organa and distant style and employing rhythmic modes
Wrote Magmus Liber Organi (Great Book of Organum)
Who is Leonin?
Cheers to you if you also answered (fl. 1150-1201).
Which Composition is this?
Genre: Kyrie, the first movement of the Mass Ordinary
Composer: Machaut
Compositional date: ca 1350
Source of text: Mass Ordinary
Language: Greek
Texture: Polyphonic
Number of Voices: Four (triplum, motetus, tenor, contratenor)
Performing forces: Singers; parts may have been reinforced by instruments
Borrowed Materials: Cantus firmus in tenor is based on the plainchant Kyrie (Cunctipotens Genitor Deus) from Gregorian Mass IV
Form: Three sections; text follows ABA form
What is Kyrie from Messe de Nostre Dame?
What is:
Evolved from the Hebrew chant traditions
Served as functional music in the worship services of the Roman Catholic Church
Originally passed down orally; among the earliest forms of notated music in the Western tradition
Organized and codified during the papal reign of Pope Gregory the Great
Used as the basis for many new compositions during the Middle Ages and Renaissance
What is Gregorian Chant - Background and Origins?
What is:
Developed in the 13th century
An important stage in the development of polyphony
New texts were added to the upper voices of organum
Secular texts often appeared alongside sacred texts; languages were mixed
What is Motet - Background and Origins?
What are the category of instruments do these instruments belong in?
Cornetto, Crumhorn, Flute, Pipe, Recorder, Sackbut, Shawm, Trumpet
What are wind instruments?
Who is the person who created the first complete polyphonic setting of the Mass Ordinary, Messe de Notre Dame? Which is among the longest extant work from the Middle Ages.
Who is Guillaume de Machaut?
Which Composition is this?
Genre: Dance music
Composer: Anonymous
Composition date: Late 13th century
Texture: Monophonic
Form: Sectional structure, with open and closed endings
Performing forces: Variable (instruments)
What is "Royal Estampie No.4" from Chansonnier du Roy?