Prayer
Play Chant during break – have kids put up describing words
Play O successors (Hildegard) (Kamien)
Where was music played during Medieval Period and by whom?
Churches – cathedral center of musical life
Most important musicians were priests.
Boys received music education in cathedral schools.
Most of the written music was sacred.
This started out as vocal music. Instruments came later.
Secular – troubadours and trouveres were French nobles who were performing secular music with lots of
instruments. Much of this was dance music.
TYPES OF MUSIC used in the churchLiturgy – set order of service and structure of each service in the church
Gregorian Chant or Monophony –
Play Alleluia: Vidimus Stellam – look at book at same time (Kamien)
List characteristics
Monophonic – one voice
Latin text
Non metric
Different scales called modes
3,000 chants survive
First just passed down orally, then written
Different type of notation (count number of pitches on e-jus)
Composer – Hildegard of Bingen
1098 – 1180
1150 founded convent – Rupertsberg, Germany
Known for miracles and prophecies
First woman composer whose manuscripts are still known
Composed religious poetry with music
Play Alleluia, o virga, mediatrix (Norton)
Organum –
Earliest music with more than one part
Second melody added either above or below Gregorian chant melody – usually 4th or 5th above or below
EXAMPLE
Began to develop rhythm as they added another part. (began with specific rhythmic patterns called rhythmic
modes)
Organum could have 2, 3, 4 voices
Play Viderunt omnes by Perotin (Norton)
Polyphony
Different melodies for different voices developed.
Chant melody used in really long notes at the bottom.
Precise rhythmic values
More than 1 text – could be in French and Latin at the same time. Sometimes even sacred and secular texts
were mixed.
Specific type of music (genre) developed called motet – from French mot – word
Play Mout me fu grief (Anonymous) (Norton)
Top 2 voices in French, bottom in Latin. Bottom text refers to the Crucifixion and the life of the Virgin Mary.
Middle text refers to an older secular tune (Robin and Marion). Upper is a courtly poem describing a woman
associated with the Virgin Mary.
POINTER GAME
Play Agnus Dei (Machaut) (Kamien)
Gregorian Chant Kyrie (Anonymous) (Norton)
Viderunt omnes (Perotin) (Norton)