A Presentation by Eric Jonswold

 The development of “modern” classical music typically begins with the early Roman Catholic Church.
 Music did exist outside of the church as well.
 The survival of compositions depended on transcription
 Earliest music was monophonic- single melodic line whether sung by one or one hundred voices.
 This form of music was most commonly recognized as
Gregorian Chant or Plainsong/Plainchant.
 The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the Roman Catholic Church to music.

 Syllabic: 1 note per syllable
 Neumatic: 2-3 notes per syllable
 Melismatic: many notes per syllable
 540-1100 AD
 With very few exceptions, music composed during this period was written by composers in the direct service of the church
 Therefore it is quite rare to find chant material with a specific name attached to it.

 From the first section of the Mass known as the Ordinary.
 Sample of both neumatic and melismatic styles of chant compositions.
 Note how the melody adds more notes per syllable the longer the piece continues.
 Three-part structure is meant to represent the Holy Trinity.
 Also known as ternary form or A-B-A
 The Kýrie prayer:
"Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy."

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Leonin (ca. 1135-1201)
Perotin (ca. 1160-1240)
First written examples of polyphonic music- music with more than one melodic line.
Manuscripts from the Cathedral began to display two independent lines of music, a style called organum.
The concept of the cantus firmus, or fixed song, became a regular feature in most sacred compositions, centralizing or fixing the composition on the Gregorian chart with additional melodic lines serving as embellishments.
Organum: two-voice
Motet: three- and four voice.

 Three-voiced motet
 Tenor part (exclusively instruments) = cantus firmus
 Based on Kyrie “Cum Jubilo” but the old melody has been stretched into long durations while new melodies have been composed over the top.
 Note the fairly strict repeated rhythmic patterns, called an isorhythm, accredited to composer Philippe de
Vitry.

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Compared to sacred music during the Middle Ages, very little is known about the development of secular music in general and instrumental secular music in particular
Most secular music was performed by poet/musicians called troubadours, trouveres, minnesingers, or
jonglars, depending on their place of origin in Europe.
Lower-class, functioned as modern day CNN spreading gossip from court to court.
Compositions were generally monophonic with accompaniment by a chordal instrument .
Much of secular music was also polyphonic, though this was predominantly instrumental and often improvisational.

 D’ Arras was a monk from northern France.
 Tragic love song
 Melody is repeated five times.
 The only written music in existence is the melody
 This is a best guess of how the work might have been performed
 Strophic trouveres song
 The simplest and most durable of musical forms, elaborating a piece of music by repetition of a single formal section. This may be analyzed as "A A A...".

 Shearer, James Edward. Classical Basics: a Brief
Overview with Historical Documents and Recordings.
Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt, 2005. Print.