450 – 1450 A.D. • What comes to mind when you hear the term(s) "middle ages" or "dark ages"? Write down some sort of answer... • Can you name any important stories, people, art or even legends from this time period? • Can you think of any specific music or even general types of music from this time period? • “Oh, great…old, boring stuff…why are we studying dead-guy music from more than 1,000 years ago?” • Though every culture around the world has had music, only from Western Europe do we have written records that can be translated into sound reliably. It is likely that every song you have ever heard is descended from this tradition. • In addition, the background harmonies of the Western music tradition are literally embedded in the fundamental functioning of the physical universe. Any object that can be made to vibrate sets up a series of overtones in the air, and the first harmonies (stacks of vibrations) formed by those waves are major and minor chords…the same types that we hear in our music. This helps explain the appeal of Western music in even non-Western culture…it “seems” to speak to humans on a basic level beyond words Terms • Feudalism – Nobility, Peasantry, Clergy • Crusades • Black Death • Magna Carta • Plainchant/Gregorian Chant • Oral tradition • Notation • Sacred • Secular Troubadors Mass Hildegard of Bingen Machaut “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). Middle Ages • Around 450 the Roman Empire began to disintegrate. • This was the beginning of the “dark ages”. • Life was hard and full of migrations, upheavals, and wars. • In the later Middle Ages churches and monasteries were constructed, towns grew, universities were founded. • What was the Roman Empire? • Name something in our society/modern world that comes to us from the Roman Empire. Digital Roman Empire map • The Circus maximus was the largest arena ever constructed in the ancient world (and still one of the largest in history). After its last expansion, it could hold between 150,000-250,000 spectators of various events. • Since our class is about music, when are we going to discuss any Roman music? • For that matter, why haven't we discussed music in this time yet? • Major events across the world had impacts on every aspect of society, including music. • 600’s—Rise of Islam leading to conquest of most of the Mediterranean and Spain. • 1100’s-1300’s—Crusades, a series of wars fought between Christian and Muslim armies for control of the Holy Land. Warriors returning to Europe brought back new foods, philosophical ideas, music and…disease!! THE BLACK DEATH 1347—1350’s The Black Death (actually the bubonic plague) is believed to have wiped out between 30-50% of the population of Europe. It is believed to have been carried by fleas who lived on rats that were brought to Italy in 1347 on merchant ships. The loss of so many left a labor shortage that led to workers demanding more wages, riots, etc. • This was a time of three social classes organized in a system known as feudalism: • NOBILITY • PEASANTRY • CLERGY NOBILITY • Nobles were sheltered within castles surrounded by moats. They owned the land. • The men were often knights during war time. • In peace time, they amused themselves with hunting, feasting, and tournaments. Peasants • Peasants – the majority of people – lived miserably in one-room huts. • Many were serfs, bound to the soil and subject to feudal overlords. They worked the land. • Homes were damp and cold. The entire family shared two rooms. • For protection, there were no windows. Clergy • The clergy worked for the Catholic Church and were among the few people of the time who could read and write. • The church was the center of all life, including music • Musicians were priests and worked for the church. • An important occupation in monasteries was liturgical singing. • Women were not allowed to sing in the church. Romanesque 800-1100 AD Gothic 1100-1400 AD Cathedrals Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption A Gothic cathedral in Covington, Kentucky. It has what is considered the largest stained glass window in the world. Early Music • Most of our records of early music comes to us from the traditions of the Catholic Church. Music of the Church was considered “sacred” • The earliest forms of music were chants used in worship services (from just after the time of Christ to about 600 AD) • These were known as “plainchant” and—though all were sung in Latin— there were minor differences from region to region Music in the Middle Ages • Most medieval music was vocal. • The church frowned on instruments. • Around 1100, however, instruments were used increasingly in church. • The organ was most prominent. • At first it was primitive and could only be played by hitting it with your fist. • It was so loud that it could be heard for miles around. Organ Organ from the 900s. Gregorian Chant • Pope Gregory I (540-604 AD) decided to create a compilation of the music of the church, so he ordered a gathering of all of the plainchants in a compendium (legend said that all of the chants were dictated to him by a dove sent from heaven). They were known afterwards as “Gregorian Chant” . Gregorian Chant Characteristics • Sung in Latin • It is a single line (no harmony). This makes Gregorian Chant “monophonic” texture. • It has flexible rhythm, without meter, and little sense of beat. Free-flowing rhythm gives the chant a floating, improvisational feeling. • The effect is otherworldly, or calm. • “Dies Irae” –Day of Wrath--from a Mass for the Dead • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsn9LWh230k • The melodies moved by step. • At first, the melodies were passed on by oral tradition (learning directly by listening), but as the numbers of chants grew to the thousands, systems of notation (writing down music) were invented and eventually became standardized. • The earliest manuscripts (written chants) were from the 800s. • Chants eventually became standardized in use and intent, with many serving as regular parts of church services. • These musical church services became the earliest form of the Catholic Mass The composers of Gregorian Chant remain almost completely unknown, but one of the few we do know, and one of the earliest female composers is… • Hildegard of Bingen • In addition to being a nun, a writer of spiritual literature, a writer of Gregorian Chant and eventually an abbess, Hildegard was also considered by many in her time to be a prophet. Her music was radically different than other chant forms, often expression much more passion than most officials of the Church were comfortable hearing (though her passions were all for the love of duty to the Church and God) her music often resembles the sounds of modern movie scores, with haunting sounds… • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yXJ0MDTI4Q Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179) •In 1150 founded convent in Germany •Known for miracles and prophecies •Works include collections of visions and prophecies, music, and scientific writing. Secular Music • Besides Gregorian chant in the church, there was much music outside of the church, too. • The first secular (not of the church) music that has survived in notation was composed during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries by wandering French musicians called troubadours. • Many of the songs they sang have been preserved because nobles had clerics write them down. • Some 1,650 melodies have been preserved. Medieval Instruments • Instruments in early secular music were used to accompany songs. • Musicians usually improvised the simple accompaniments. • While the accompaniments were melodically simple, they were rhythmically lively. • Let’s take a look at the many different instruments used in these accompaniments… Harp Krumhorn Krumhorn Lute Lute Muted Cornett Cornett Psaltery Psaltery Sacbut Sackbut Serpent Serpent Shawm Shawm Hurdy-Gurdy Hurdy gurdy Drum or Tambor Recorder Recorder Viol Viol • During the Middle Ages, wandering minstrels performed music and acrobatics in castles, and towns. • They had no civil rights and were on the lowest social level. It was a tough life. • Without newspapers, the music of the minstrels was an important source of information. • But sometime around 700 – 900 AD monks began to add a second melodic line to Gregorian chant. • At the beginning, it was usually improvised…possibly even added by accident by monks who simply could not sing in tune with others!! • Listeners at that time must have been surprised! • This early form of harmony was known as “Organum” • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngCRm7uLirA • Developments in notation and changing practices in the use and purposes of Gregorian Chants led to divisions in the writing and performing of these works. • The older style (or “old art”) became known as the “Ars Antiqua”—the antique art. It flourished from about 1100-1300 AD and included early harmony in the form of “Organum”. • The more progressive style became known as the “Ars Nova”—the new art. This style became widespread in about 1300 and continued to be used for centuries (both styles are now sung in many monasteries). Polyphonic Music • Polyphonic music has more than one sound, but they are equal in importance. • Using precise rhythms, this was the first time in music history that notation indicated precise rhythms as well as pitches. • Soon music had more than two voices. Music with three parts began to develop, although the range was still small and hollow sounding. Early Polyphony • The first type of polyphony was called parallel organum. Here the cantus firmus (the original chant) and the higher harmony mirrored each other. • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3sTpHVfcf0 • Eventually composers like Leonin and his student Perotin began adding a third and fourth part above the cantus firmus, and moved away from the eerie sounding parallel organum. • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhqWgfGK1 Xw Fourteenth Century • Secular music became more important in the lives of the people in the 1300s. • This was due to many factors including the Hundred Years’ War, the black plague, the weakening of the feudal system, and the fighting of the Popes in the Catholic church…and secular music was just not as depressing!! Guillaume de Machaut • Guillaume de Machaut was a priest, but spent most of his life working with the noble families of France. • Machaut travelled to many courts and presented beautifully decorated copies of his music to the nobles. • Because of this, his music has survived for us to enjoy today. • This piece you are about to hear (The Agnus Dei) is possibly the finest composition known from the Middle Ages. Agnus Dei • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gEV4 2RKf6E • This piece is from a Mass, which is a sacred piece of music. • It is written in four voices, some of which are doubled by instruments. • The Agnus Dei is a prayer for mercy and peace and is solemn and elaborate. • It is in triple meter. • This piece is based on Gregorian Chant, but you can hear how much this idea has developed. Agnus Dei • Like the chant it is based on, it has three sections. • The form for this piece is: A B A • In Machaut’s time, music was meant to appeal to the mind – as well as to the ear! • Although this sounds so different to us today, it is pleasing to our ears. Notre Dame • The Big Takeaway… • The fall of Rome was horrible, but it also led to the growth of many different cultures as populations rebounded and grew in knowledge as well as numbers. • Music reflects these trends as it grows from simple worship music to creations of power, subtlety, beauty, and pure entertainment.
