Medieval Era
600-1450
Copyright 2010
Timeframe and
Geographical
Centers
• 600 – 1450
• France
• Italy
Cultural Background
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Feudalism
Roman Catholic Church
People
Events
Feudalism
• Political and
military system
• King, Lords,
Clerics, Peasants
Roman Catholic Church
• Pope,
Archbishops,
Bishops, Priests
• Served the King
• Owned land
People
• Gregory the Great
– (540 – 604)
– Pope
– Organized the Roman
Catholic Church including
choosing a body of
canonized chants
• Charlemagne
– (742 – 814)
– Holy Roman Emperor
– Unified Western and Central
Europe
• William the Conqueror
– (1028 – 1087)
– King of Normandy
– King of England
• Joan of Arc
– (1412 – 1431)
– Led the French army
during the Hundred
Years War
– Martyred
Events
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Black Plague
Hundred Years’ War
Crusades
Magna Carta
The Arts
• Architecture
– Cathedrals
• Arches
• Flying butresses
– Castles
• Frescos and Painting
• Sculpture and Illuminated Manuscripts
Literature and Writing
• Religous Writing
– St. Thomas of Aquinas
– Francis of Assisi
• Secular Writing
– Beowulf (Old English)
– Nibelungenlied (Germany)
– Chanson de Roland (France)
– Arthurian Cycles
Geoffrey Chaucer
(1343 – 1400)
• Father of English literature
• Canterbury Tales
Alighieri Dante
(1265 – 1321)
• Italian Poet
• Divine Comedy
Vocal Music
• Sacred chant
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Texture: Monophonic
Rhythm: Unmetered
Harmony: Modal
Melody: Small range and mostly stepwise movements
Form: Could have utitlized a three-part form ( Holy
Trinity)
– Dynamics: Blocked or Terraced
– Timbre: Vocal (male)
– Sung in Latin
• Purpose: to serve in liturgy during the Mass
Mass
• Ordinary Texts: sung or spoken at every Mass
– Kyrie
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–
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Gloria
Credo
Sanctus
Agnus Dei
Lord Have Mercy, Christ have
Mercy, Lord Have Mercy
Glory to God in the highest
I believe in God
Holy, Holy, Holy
Lamb of God
• Proper Texts
– Differed according to the Christian Year
Hildegard von Bingen
(1098 – 1179)
• Christian mystic
• German Benedictine Abbess
“O Successores”
Perotin (c. 1160 – 1240)
• Associated with
Notre Dame in
Paris
• “Alleluya”
Instrumental Music
• Associated with Dance
• Improvised, not written down
• Melody: Longer melodic
ranges
• Rhythm: Metered rhythms
• Harmony: Modal
• Texture: Essentially
monophonic
• Dynamics: Blocked or terraced
• Timbres: string, percussion,
woodwind, brass
• Anonymous, “Estampie”
Renaissance
(1450 – 1600)
• Meaning: Rebirth
• Timeframe: 1450-1600
• Geographic Center: Italy
• Cultural Background
Humanism
• Dominant philosophy
• Human dignity and
humane values are
foremost
Age of Discovery
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Christopher Columbus
Magellan
Sir Francis Drake
Sir Walter Raleigh
Heliocentric Universe
• Nicolaus Copernicus
(1473 – 1543)
• Galileo Galilei
(1564 – 1642)
Printing Press
• Bore witness to humanism
• Germany, around 1440
• Johannes Gutenberg (1398 -1468)
Protestant Reformation
• Wittenberg, Germany
(1517 -1648)
• Martin Luther
(1483 – 1586)
Roman Catholic
Counter-Reformation
• A period of Catholic revival following the
Protestant Reformation (1545 – 1648)
• Begins with the Council of Trent (1545 –
1563)
• Reforms include: church structure,
religious orders and political dimensions
Visual Arts in the
Renaissance
Architecture
 Sculpture
 Painting

Architecture
• Return to Greek and Roman models
– Round arch
– Column
– Dome
• Moved away from Gothic Style of Medieval
• Filipo Brunelleschi (Cathedral of Florence)
• Donato Bramante (St. Peter’s Basilica)
Sculpture
• Realism,
especially of
the human
form
• Movement
• Michelangelo
• Donatello
Michelangelo – Pieta Sculpture
Painting
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Raphael
Realism
Depth
Perspective
Raphael
Michelangelo
da Vinci
Literature
• William
Shakespeare
• 1564 – 1616
• Poet and playwright
• Plays
• Sonnets
Music in the Renaissance
Patronage System
 Instrumental/Vocal
 Genres

Musical Elements
Melody
 Harmony
 Rhythm
 Texture
 Timbre
 Dynamics
 Form

Composers

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
(1525-1594)
Kyrie from Pope Marcellus Mass

Thomas Weelkes (1576-1623)
As Vesta Was From Latmos Hill Descending

Giovanni Gabrieli (1554/57-1612)
Ricercare
Michael Praetorious
(1571-1621)
• 6 Dances from “Terpsichore”
Entrée - Courante
The Baroque Era
1600-1750
Baroque Culture
• Definitions
Portuguese for “irregularlyshaped” pearl
• Geographical Centers
England
France
Germany
The Times
• Science
Sir Isaac Newton
Galileo Galilei
René Descartes
William Gilbert (1544-1603)
• Properties of electricity
Sir William Harvey (1578-1657)
• Circulation of the blood
Robert Boyle (1627-1691)
• Chemistry
• Politics – Age of Absolute Monarchs
Charles II of England
Frederick II of Prussia
Louis XIV of France
Phillip IV of Spain
• Religion
– Roman Catholic
– Protestant
– New Religions
• Deism
– Influenced by the advances in scientific knowledge
– Operated on reason alone without supernatural
manifestations
– Ethan Allen, Thomas Payne, Thomas Jefferson,
Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, James Madison
Visual Arts
• Architecture
– In the Renaissance:
simple, straight lines
and detail
Bramante – St. Peter’s Cathedral
Brunelleschi – Florence Cathedral
– In the Baroque: ornate, extravagant, showy
St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican
Palace of Versailles, Paris
• Painting
– Emotionally charged
– Dramatic subjects
– Contrast; play
between light and
shadow
• Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)
• Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669)
• Sculpture
– Strong light and dark
contrasts
– Dramatic tension
– Subjects are never still but
moving, struggling, twisted
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Self-Portrait
Louis XIV
Age of Paradox/Contrasts
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Church ↔ State
Monarchy ↔ Bourgeoisie
Aristocracy ↔ Affluent Middle Class
Importance of Religions ↔ Rise of Secular
Scientific Research ↔ Superstition, Witchcraft
Importance of humanity ↔ Religious
Persecution
Music’s Response to
Paradox/Contrast
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Vocal ↔ Instrumental
8 Church Modes ↔ Tonality (Major, minor)
Sacred Music ↔ Secular Music
Polyphonic Texture ↔ Homophonic
Texture
The Composer’s Life
• Patronage System
• Church ↔ Court
Music of the Baroque
• Doctrine of Affections
• Elements of Music
– Melody
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Long, instrumental in conception
Use of sequences
Monothematic
Use of ornamentation
– Harmony
• Tonal
• Use of Major and minor scales
– Rhythm
• Metric
• Motoric
– Texture
• Homophony and Polyphony equal in importance (Late
Baroque)
• Thorough Bass or Basso Continuo
– Form
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Binary
Ternary
Fugue
Ritornello
– Dynamics
• Terraced
• Not written into the score
– Timbre
• Vocal
• Instrumental
Keyboard Instruments
Pipe Organ
Harpsichord
String Instruments
Viol Family
Lute
Woodwind Instruments
Wood Flute
Recorder Family
Brass Instruments
Long Trumpet
Trombones
Percussion Instruments
Kettledrums
Vocal Genres
• Opera
– Began as court entertainments in Italy
– Includes a story (libretto), solo singing, choral singing, dancing,
costumes and sets
– Forms: recitative, aria , chorus
Orfeo, 1607
Tu se’ morta
Claudio Monteverdi
(1567-1643)
• Cantata
– Short, unstaged operas (secular and sacred)
– Used operatic forms (recitative, aria, chorus)
– Sacred cantatas often based on a chorale
Cantata 140: Wachet Auf, 1731
Awake, A Voice is Calling Us
First Movement: Chorus and Orchestra
Johann Sebastian Bach
(1685-1750)
• Oratorio
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A sacred, large-scale opera
Always based on a biblical story
No staging or costumes
Larger role for the chorus
Uses opera forms (recitative, aria, chorus)
Messiah, 1741
Recitative: The Voice of Him
Aria: Every Valley Shall Be Exalted
George Frideric Handel
(1685-1789)
Instrumental Genres
• Dance Suite
– Originally a series of dances played for dancing
– By the Baroque, suites became independent instrumental pieces no longer
intended for dancing
– Usually contained four dances
– Often unified by key
– Differed by tempo and international background
– Used binary form
Suite No. 3 in D Major, 1729-1731
Air
Bourée
J.S. Bach
Gigue
• Sonata
– Originally a “sound piece” for one instrument
– Became a chamber music genre in the Baroque (from 2 to 6
players)
– Four movements: fast, fast, slow, fast
– Trio sonatas were popular
Trio Sonata in A Minor, Op. 3, No. 10 (1689)
First Movement
Arcangelo Corelli
(1653-1713)
• Concerto Grosso
– “friendly contention”
– Contrasts a larger ensemble (ripieno or tutti) with a solo group
(concertino)
– Three movements: fast, slow, fast
– Often uses ritornello form
Spring Concerto The Four Seasons, 1725
First Movement: Allegro
Spring has come, and joyfully,
The birds greet it with happy song.
And the streams, fanned by gentle breezes,
Flow along with a sweet murmur.
Covering the sky with a black cloak,
Thunder and lightning come to announce the season.
When these have quieted down, the little birds
Return to their enchanting song.
Antonio Vivaldi
(1678-1741)
Ritornello Form
• Keyboard Music
– Organ and harpsichord
– Often paired a “free” piece with a contrapuntal fugue [Prelude and
Fugue]
– Toccata: added elements of virtuosic “touch” keyboard technique
Fugue in g minor, BWV 578
J.S. Bach
J.S. Bach – Fugue in g minor, BWV 578
Composers
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Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)