Music of the Eras
From the Middle Ages to Beethoven
Elizabeth Koehler
April of 2009
This paper contains information about the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, and
Beethoven’s Eras. The information on each era includes but is not limited to information about general
life during the era, the role and style of music during the era, popular composers of the era, and
examples of popular songs of the era.
Music of the Eras
Middle Ages
About the era:
The Middle Ages lasted from 400 A.D. to 1400 A.D. During this time, a system of power
known as feudalism had originated and spread throughout most of Europe. The feudal system
divided the people into various classes; the higher the class the more power and authority one
held. Royalty was the highest class, then the lords, then landowners, and finally the serfs, many
of whom were practically slaves and servants. The higher the class, generally, the fewer the
people were in that class. In other words, there were far more serfs in the land than landowners,
more landowners than lords, etc. Due in part to the terrible lives in which the majority of people
(serfs) in this era were forced to live, this era is also called the “Dark Ages.”
Also during this era, very few of the European countries we know of today existed,
because of the vast amounts of forestry, which covered the land, made dominion of a large area
exceedingly difficult. There were, however, no shortages of wars during these times. Whenever a
war was declared, the serfs were temporarily relieved of their position as slaves in order to
become soldiers. They were often forced to participate in the fighting. Because the quality of
medicine and treatment were so poor at this time, many died in the fighting or by what we today
consider easily curable diseases and infections.
Due in great part to Christianity and the church of this era however, education, art, and
music did not completely die out. Much of the music and other artistic fields were funded by the
Catholic Church. Knowing this, it is not surprising that much of the music that was produced
during this time was religious music.
Music of the Eras
Music of the era:
The vast majority of music that was produced during the Middle Ages was liturgical
music, or music that was meant to be used in Roman Catholic liturgy. Much of this music is
purely vocal music. The vocal music of the early Middle Ages is usually plainchant music.
Plainchant music is monophonic (only one line of music sounds at a time), but it was often
performed by several people at once. Since a majority of plainchant is credited to Pope Gregory I
(540A.D. to 604A.D.) this music is sometimes better known as “Gregorian chant.” Plainchant has
only one melody playing at a time; therefore, the style of the melody is often what seems to give
life to the piece. Some of the more common melodies of plainchant are syllabic, (one note per
syllable), melismatic, (more than three notes per syllable) or neumatic (two or three notes per
syllable). Another way in which plainchant varies is its mode, (a system of melodic organization,
in modern terms, this is essentially a scale). The four main modes used in the Middle Ages were
based on D, E, F, and G. D-mode is often called Dorian mode, Phrygian mode is based on E,
Lydian mode starts on F, and Mixolydian mode begins on G.
Toward the end of this era, two new ideas about music were occurring. One was the
secular song, classified as any nonreligious piece, and the other was polyphonic song in which
more than one melody was heard throughout the piece. A popular kind of Italian secular song
during this era was the caccia. Caccia translates to “hunt” in the English language, and, as the
name suggests, the songs frequently picture hunting themes. Caccia also translates to a “musical
round,” however. A round is a musical term for when voices sing the same music but begin at
different times.
Popular composers of this era
Guillaume de Machaut
Leonius
Perotinus
Examples of this era’s music
Example of Plainchant: Kyrie a religious chant
Example of Secular Song: Doulz Vaire Gracieus by Guillaume de Machaut
Example of Polyphonic Song: Viderunt Omnes by Perotinus
Music of the Eras
The Renaissance
About the era
The Renaissance musical period is generally regarded as having occurred from 1400A.D.
to 1600A.D. However, there are some discrepancies about the actual dates of this era.
Renaissance translates to “rebirth” in English. During this era there was a “rebirth” of
knowledge, Christian ideas, and artistic fields. Many of the accomplishments of this time stems
from the fact that the people of this era tried to model themselves after the ancient Greeks and
Romans by embracing their love of knowledge, humanistic ideals, emphasis on individual as
well as collective achievements, and their feeling of lasting personal worth in regards to the field
of art. The Renaissance is known for many famous events and individuals we still easily
recognize today, such as the Protestant Reformation, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the
discovery and exploration of North America, South America, and Africa.
During this era, four important differences emerged from the previous Age. (1) The
accomplishments of sole individuals began to have as much focus as the accomplishments of a
group. (2) The people generally started to abandon the focus on religion in favor of a view of the
views of this world. (3) As methods of mobility improving vastly and the access to printed books
becoming available, world cultures began to intermingle. (4) In this era education was very
highly valued, especially in the field of science, and it was readily available to most individuals.
Knowledge, in every form, was valued and sought after during the Renaissance. Virtually
all educated individuals could perform music with either an instrument or with their voice. Since
the printing press was introduced during the beginning of this era, it became easy to gain literary
knowledge as well. Most people of this era were well educated in more than one field. The most
famous Renaissance Scholar, Leonardo da Vinci, was a magnificent sculptor, instrumentalist,
artist, engineer, and scientist.
Music of the era:
The types of musical songs in the Renaissance and the Middle Ages were basically the
same with liturgical music, motets (sacred Latin songs that are not liturgical), and secular songs;
however, the fashion in which these were composed and performed changed drastically. For
instance, where the music of the Middle Ages was generally monophonic or polyphonic, the
music of the Renaissance began to create music, which was more homophonic, or a melody with
supporting chords.
Music of the Eras
Music of the early Renaissance is far more flowing and less dissonant than the music of
the late Middle Ages. This early Renaissance music contained a new form of polyphony called
imitation. In this form, all of the lines in a piece of music show the same phrase in successive
order creating a continuous overlapping of the musical lines. There are two kinds of imitation.
Strict imitation (a round) is produced when the same music is performed shortly after the starting
line begins. Free imitation, on the other hand, is produced when only the first few notes are
identical followed by a different theme for the remainder of the line. Josquin Desprez, a popular
composer during the mid-Renaissance, helped form imitation “rules” of the era in his Mass, the
Pange Lingua. First, he gave every small musical section a point of imitation, a segment which
shows a sole, minute line, or fragment of a line, imitated among the music. Second, he allowed
overlapping cadences, the set of musical lines, which initiates its music or lyrics just as the
preceding set, comes to an end, to control the music. Lastly, in general, the imitation was paired,
meaning one pair of voices or instruments, which start and another pair responds.
Another composer of the Renaissance era was Giovanni Palestrina. Palestrina composed
during the late Renaissance, and certain changes that had occurred during the passage of time
between the beginning and coming conclusion of the era had begun to affect the music of that
time. One change was that instead of merely ending with the “perfect” intervals (fifths and
octaves), the writers of the music began to include other intervals such as the third and root in
addition to the perfects in order to create a fuller sound. Another was that the Catholic Church
had finally decided to permanently allow certain polyphonic songs into the church music so long
as they stayed within certain boundaries (basically, as long as the song wasn’t so impressive that
people paid more attention to the music than to the sacred text.) Palestrina wrote sacred music
that illustrated how to write a polyphonic song and yet stay within these borders. His primary
working traits include a sense of balance, organization, steadiness, clarity, and flawless musical
and lyrical text settings.
Another kind of sacred music of this era is the motet. The motets of the Renaissance are
purely vocal and generally are performed by a modest singing group instead of individuals. Each
person performs the same sacred text in the same language (usually Latin). The song can be
imitative or homophonic, but it is generally a combination of the two.
The other main song of the Renaissance era is the secular song. During the late
Renaissance, many European countries composed their own style of secular song, the most
significant of which was the Italian madrigal, a secular song sung by a minute group of
performers, usually unaccompanied by instruments. Although the madrigal originated in Italy, it
is not uncommon to find madrigals of this time period which were written in other countries.
This is because the madrigal was so popular in Europe that people in other countries began to
copy or imitate the style.
Music of the Eras
One nation that imitated the style of the madrigal was England. One of the most famous
English composers of madrigals was Thomas Morley. Morley produced a strong influence on
following English madrigals partially because of the great number of madrigals he wrote (more
than any other English composer of this era). Through this influence, he set a style for the
English madrigal that was followed by other madrigalists. Two of his works include Sweet
Nymph Come to Thy Lover, and Fire and Lightning.
In a madrigal, the melody, rhythm, and notes that one hears are based upon the text of the
song. This is known as word-painting, the method of portraying the meaning of text through
music. For instance, a sweet love song would probably sound softer and smoother than a song
about a war. Since some of the most popular topics of madrigals include love, war, and scenes of
nature, it is not difficult to see how the music in madrigals can greatly differ. Some types of
word-paintings which portray specific things have names of their own. One example is that of a
contrast between happiness and despair which appears in the same song; this is known as
antithesis.
Another important change during this era was that instrumental music became more
popular, and there were a wider variety of instruments including brass, string, and wind
instruments. The canzona is an example of the instrumental music of the Renaissance era which
often involves counterpoint. One of the most popular composers of the canzona was Giovanni
Gabrieli, whose works include Canzona Duodecimi Toni.
Popular composers of this era
Josquin Desprez
Giovanni Palestrina
Thomas Morley
Giovanni Gabrieli
Examples of this era’s music
Mid-renaissance sacred music: Kyrie from the Pange Lingua Mass by Josquin Desprez
Motet: Exsultate Deo by Giovanni Palestrina
English Madrigal: Sweet Nymph Come to Thy Lover by Thomas Morley
English Madrigal: Fire and Lightning by Thomas Morley
Canzona: Canzona Duodecimi Toni by Giovanni Gabrieli
Music of the Eras
Baroque
About the era
The Baroque era lasted from 1600-1750. Life during this era was dominated by absolute
monarchs. Kings and/or queens dictated the rules of everyday life. These leaders were known as
absolute monarchs because they controlled nearly every aspect of society including the economic
domain, educational domain, literature domain, the art domain, and even life and death. One key
example of an absolute monarch’s power is King Louis XIV of France, who considered himself
to be the image of France as we see in one of his famous quotes, “I am the state.”
There were numerous social boundaries at this time as well. Society was dominated by
strict laws, codes of attire, codes of mannerisms, and social levels. Much of the wars and
political insecurity that had dominated Europe since before the Middle Ages had finally
disappeared, leaving international peace and economic welfare. Although there were no national
wars during this era, there was much political oppression, excessive taxes, and discriminations
against different social classes, which could, on occasion, lead to unrest in the public. If this
unrest was not checked, it often led to problems in later eras, such as the French Revolution in
1789.
The Baroque era revolved very much around ornamentation. The buildings of this era
were often quite grand especially the palace of Versailles, famous for its hall of mirrors. Art was
very detailed and decorative as well. The Baroque era was full of richly colored and detailed
paintings as well as beautiful sculptures.
Music of the era
Music of the Baroque era very much mirrored the lifestyle of the time, in that it followed
strict rules most of the time and was nearly always full of rich ornamentation. The music
followed its own rules in many regards however. This meant that few traditions or types of music
were carried over from the Middle Ages or the Renaissance. The new types of music included
opera, cantatas of two types (church cantatas and chamber cantatas), concertos, sonatas, dance
suites, chorales, oratorios, and basso continuo music.
Music of the Eras
The first great Western opera was composed by Claudio Monteverdi. His opera was
named Orfeo, based on the mythical story of Orpheus and Eurydice, a tale of Orpheus’s journey
to the underworld and back to try and release his beloved wife, Eurydice, after she died. The god
of the underworld agreed to release Eurydice, but he warned Orpheus that he must not look at her
until they had both emerged from the underworld or she would disappear forever. For a while,
Orpheus complies, but toward the end of the journey he looks at his wife, who quickly vanishes
from his sight. The story was set with many different varieties of music including choruses,
dances, instrumental interludes, and recitatives, a musical style designed to mimic the free style
and expressive nature of simple speech. Recitatives are consistently sung by a sole performer
with accompanying basso continuo, a sole instrument or small arrangement of instruments which
generally includes a harpsichord and performs the bass line in Baroque music.
The lyrical part of operas came to be known as aria. Arias follow after the recitatives and
were generally composed in set forms (they had a steady arrangement of repetition).The
recitative of an opera is today’s equivalent of a narration. The most common form of arias
consisted of one melody in the beginning, then an alternative melody, finally concluding with a
repeat of the original melody and/or lyrics. This form is known as da capo. Part of what made
arias so popular was the rising interest in a new style of songs called monody, which was written
for solo voice and/or basso continuo and imitated the natural rhythm of passionate speech.
Another opera composer of the Baroque era was Henry Purcell of England. Purcell’s best
known work was a short opera entitled Dido and Aeneas. The opera was based upon a poem
called Aeneid and tells the story of Dido, the queen of Carthage, and her love affair with a Trojan
warrior named Aeneas. Dido’s lament is unquestionably the most well-known aria from the
opera, in which Dido has been abandoned by Aeneas and decides to take her life.
Another type of music of the Baroque era was the sonata, a chamber piece with numerous
movements intended for a minute amount of instruments. Solo sonatas were composed for a
solitary instrument with basso continuo. Trio sonatas, on the other hand, were written for two
instruments accompanied by a basso continuo. If the movements of a sonata were based upon
dancing beats, then it was dubbed a sonata da camera (chamber sonata). If they were more
somber in nature, then it was a sonata da chiesa (church sonata).
Concertos were yet another form of music in the Baroque era, and, apart from the sonata,
were the favorite type of music at the time. Concertos were longer than sonatas which were
intended to be played in more public areas as well. Concertos involve both solo performers as
well as orchestras. It is acceptable in concertos for the solo performers to play along with the
orchestra, or in contrast to it. The first type of concerto was known as a concerto grosso, in
which a group of sole instrumentalists played in contrast to the orchestra. Solo concertos instead
had a single soloist play in contrast to the orchestra. It was the solo concerto which gave the
concerto an element of virtuosic, or dazzling skill. In nearly all types of concertos the first and
Music of the Eras
third movements are composed in ritornello form (the contrast between the solo instrument or
instruments and the orchestra is exploited in a very organized manner.)
Meanwhile, in France yet another type of music was becoming popular. This was the
dance suite, music originally designed for dancing. Often dance suites were used as evening
entertainment. Even King Louis XIV of France loved dancing during this time. Two popular
composers of French dance suites were Francois Couperin and Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la
Guerre.
One of the most popular composers of the Baroque era was Antonio Vivaldi. Vivaldi was
the director of music at Ospedale della Pietà a school for orphaned girls and young women. The
school performed numerous concerts and people gathered from far and near to hear them play.
Altogether, Vivaldi wrote many solo and trio sonatas, oratorios, sacred music, and almost 600
concertos. Among Vivaldi’s most popular concertos is The Four Seasons. This is an example of
program music, or a piece of music that tells a story.
Another very legendary composer of the Baroque era was Johann Sebastian Bach. His
music is still immensely popular today. Exempting opera, this composer wrote pieces in every
major Baroque genre. He also wrote in many different styles including sacred, secular, large,
small, etc. The type of music he wrote generally depended on what job position he had at the
time. For instance, while he was a church organist he wrote a majority of sacred music for the
organ, but when he was at the court of the Prince of Cöthen, he wrote primarily for the keyboard.
During his years in Leipzig, he wrote a lot of church music and instrumental compositions.
Bach’s organ music often included fugues, polyphonic compositions with a common idea which
is present in all of the voices or musical lines in turn. Bach’s other popular works, written during
his time in Leipzig, are the two Passions, the Gospel story of Jesus’ death and resurrection with a
musical setting.
One other popular composer of the Baroque era was George Frederic Handel. Handel
wrote many operas including Giulio Cesare (Julius Caesar). Although Handel spent the majority
of his time on his operas, he is much better known today for his oratorios including Messiah,
known for the famous “Hallelujah” chorus. His two most popular instrumental works were
Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks.
Popular composers of this era
Monteverdi
Purcell
Vivaldi
Bach
Music of the Eras
Handel
Examples of this era’s music
Orfeo by Monteverdi
Dido and Aeneas by Purcell
The Four Seasons by Vivaldi
St. Matthew Passion by Bach
Messiah by Handel
Music of the Eras
Classical
About the era
The Classical Era occurred from 1750 to 1800. This era was radically different from the
Baroque era in that people in the lower classes began to revolt against the people in the upper
class. The people struggled to gain a higher rank in society as well as wealth. This power
struggle resulted in the French Revolution (1789-1794). Another instance of the struggle for
equality with the higher class was the American War for Independence against Britain, which
took place from 1775 to 1783.
Part of the reason for this struggle was the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment
development was headed by the Frenchmen Voltaire and Rousseau. The main goal of this
movement was to apply the values of scientific impartiality to matters of social justice. This
movement favored logic above faith, man over God, and clearness over the complex. Some of
the goals set by the movement were to establish improvements in the field of learning, destroying
superstitions and prejudice, and to abolish the social structure which separated the people into
various classes.
A certain term that reflected these ideals soon came to be associated with the
Enlightenment movement, “Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood!” The word “brotherhood” creates a
clear point in one of the restrictions of the Enlightenment. This is the fact that the role of women
was still infinitely smaller than the role of men. There was little to no room in this era for
feminine libertines. Only toward the very end of the era were women’s roles allowed to broadenslightly.
Music of the era
The music of this era was far less structured and ornamented than that of the Baroque era.
A great example of this change can be seen when one compares the operas of the two eras. The
operas of the Baroque era were vastly complex, ornamented, and based on serious or dramatic
subjects. In contrast, Classical operas were generally far less complicated and were often based
upon comical plots. It was in this era that comic operas were born. Comic operas were the main
type of opera during this era instead of the opera seria (serious opera) of the Baroque era. Italian
operas of any kind were generally preceded by an overture, an instrumental opening with three
short movements. The first and last movements generally had a quick tempo while the second’s
tempo was significantly slower.
Some of the most popular musical genres of this era were symphonies, operas, stringed
quartets, and sonatas. Although some composers of this era such as Mozart composed other types
of music, in general most music fell into the previously stated categories.
Music of the Eras
Sonata form was generally used for the first section of a piece of music. Despite its name
however, this form was used for many other types of music than mere sonatas. Sonata form
consists of the exposition (beginning), the development, and the recapitulation. On occasion, in
addition to the primary elements, a coda (short musical section) could be added to the end of a
piece in sonata form.
Another musical form of this era is aria form. Aria form has a slow exposition, a
divergent section in a different key, and then a repeat of the exposition. Aria form was generally
used for the second movement of a musical piece.
Minuet and trio form, another popular form of this era, is basically a pattern of Minuet
form (exposition, exposition, contrasting development, contrasting development), Trio form (two
entirely new sections different from the minuet form with the first section repeating itself once
and then the following section played twice), and a repeat of the Minuet form. I’ll use letters to
make that easier to comprehend:
Minuet (AABB) Trio (CCDD) Minuet (AABB or occasionally AB)
Besides the order in which the sections are played (see section above), Minuet and Trio
form can usually be identified by a few characteristics. First, it is always in ¾ meter and has a
moderate tempo. Second, it always has a contrast of some sort during the Trio section. Finally,
Minuet and Trio is generally used in the third movement of its song, piece, etc.
The other main form of this era is called Rondo form. Rondo form was generally used for
the final movement of its piece. In Rondo form episodes containing contrasting musical text
appear between repeats of the main theme.
Popular composers of this era
Franz Joseph Haydn
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Examples of this era’s music
The Seasons by Haydn
The Magic Flute by Mozart
Music of the Eras
Beethoven
About the era
Beethoven’s life fell just in the right place to give him his own era inside two other eras.
In other words, Beethoven lived in between two distinct eras, the Classic era and the Romantic
era. His life extended from 1770 to 1827, well before the end of the Classic era in 1800, but well
after the start of the Romantic era, which began immediately following the close of the Classic
era. Since his life fell between these two eras, I could just restate everything I already said about
the Classic Era and then type about the Romantic Era thereafter, but since that seems somewhat
redundant and since Beethoven modeled his life after each era in which he was currently living,
I’m just going to talk about his life.
Beethoven was born on December 16, 1770 to a musical family. His grandpa was a
respected musician, but his father, another prominent musician, was an alcoholic. Perhaps in one
of his drunken states he began to tell the world that Ludwig van Beethoven was born in 1772.
(Beethoven’s father wanted him to seem as talented as the child musical prodigy Mozart and
lying about his birthday seemed to further his cause.)
Beethoven was something of a rebel. He stopped attending school when he was eleven,
and at the age of sixteen he became a court organist. During this time he began to write some
small musical pieces and became an expert at sight reading. For a time he studied under Haydn,
but his pride and moodiness prevented him from learning much. His pride was reflected later in
life as well, as is shown in the following statement he made to his then patron, Prince
Lichnowsky, “There are and will be thousands of princes. There is only one Beethoven!” He
was also extremely stubborn and would often refuse to play when he didn’t feel obligated to,
even if someone such as the Countess Thun fell to her knees and urgently begged him perform
some music. The higher members of society weren’t the only victims of Beethoven’s ill moods.
He rarely kept servants for more than a month, never convinced a woman to marry him (granted
he didn’t try nearly hard enough to impress many women), and on one occasion dumped a full
tray of food over a waiters head.
The middle years of Beethoven’s life were, perhaps, a little more stable than his early
years. This phase of his life gained him a great deal of fame and is often called the “Heroic
phase” of Beethoven’s life. It is during this time that Beethoven is recorded to have said “I shall
seize Fate by the throat.” Also during this time, Beethoven wrote many of his most popular
works. He wrote six symphonies, four concertos, five string quartets, an opera, a fair number of
orchestral overtures, numerous piano sonatas, and some pieces of chamber music between the
years of 1802 and 1812 alone. Part of the reason for this great productivity no doubt comes from
a tragic fact which Beethoven learned during 1802. He was becoming deaf. Perhaps he sought to
outdo himself while he could still hear his music played in its full glory.
Music of the Eras
His productivity came to a screeching halt in 1815 and continued to remain at a standstill
for many years thereafter. His brother had died and had left him joint custody of his son Karl,
along with his mother. Beethoven had long yearned for the comfort of a wife and child, but
thought such a thing to be an impossible dream, as he wrote to a friend. Beethoven was not
satisfied with joint custody of Karl though, and soon he started a long series of legal battles to
obtain sole custody of the boy. Partly due to some of Beethoven’s powerful friends, he
eventually won the legal battles, but Karl was not exactly happy with the arrangement. At the age
of nineteen, the boy tried to kill himself. After he recovered from his attempted suicide he was
allowed to return to his mother. Later, he completely escaped Beethoven by joining the army.
Gradually, in his later years, Beethoven began to regain some of his productivity that
marked his heroic phase. His most popular piece at this time was his Ninth Symphony which he
completed in 1824. He died three years later on March 26, 1827.
Music of the era
All of Beethoven’s works have characteristics that mark the piece as his work. Some of
these characteristics include lengthy authoritative crescendos, musical themes which sound
acceptable both in pianissimo (soft) volume or forte (loud) volume, theatrical use of Classical
configurations, and sudden, unexpected key changes.
Beethoven composed many works, the style of which generally disregarded the rules of all
the previous eras, and, in addition, they shared very few rules with each other. For that reason
there is not really a musical “style” for Beethoven, besides the fact that none of it followed any
rules or stayed within certain boundaries. Some of his works include trios, sonatas, concertos,
quintets for various instruments, symphonies, serenades for many different instruments, an
opera, a ballet, marches, rondos, overtures, and many others. Obviously, his music was quite
varied. He wrote music for all kinds of occasions, reasons, keys, and instruments.
Popular composers of this era
Beethoven
Examples of this era’s music
Fidelio by Beethoven
Fur Elise by Beethoven
The Sixth Symphony “Pastoral” by Beethoven
Music of the Eras