Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Baroque Review
Middle
Ages
Mood and Emotional
Expression
 Gregorian chant
conveys a calm
otherworldly,
spiritual quality
 Uninterested in
showing emotion
Rhythm




No clear
defined beat
No meter
Dances have
regular clearly
defined beat
School of Notre
Dame—set
rules
Dynamics

Tone Color

Nothing
written just
implied or
performed

Instruments
were not
clearly
defined in the
score
Drone



Melody and
Harmony
Usually just

melody
homophonic
Based on church
modes
Used open fifths, 
thirds were
considered
dissonant
Texture
Monophonic
700-900 CE
second line
was added to
music
1200—
composers
wrote
polyphonic
with 3-4 parts
Famous Composers: Hildegard of Bingen, Perotin, Francesco Landini, Guillaume de Machaut
Genres: Gregorian chant, Estampie, Mass, Organum, Rondeau, Ballata
Important terms: polyphonic, church modes, ars nova, mass ordinary, cantus firmus
Renaissance 


Mood and
Emotional
Expression
Vocal music was 
used to enhance
the meaning of

the text
Secular vocal
music contains
rapid shifts of

mood
Madrigals—word
painting
Rhythm
Sharply

defined beat
Music is
notated (looks
more like
todays music)
Great
rhythmic
independence
between lines
Dynamics
Not
indicated
Tone Color



A cappella
Instrumental parts
would imitate
vocal line
Still do not define
instrumentation
Melody and
Harmony




Triads are
used
Clearly
defined
melody and
clearly
defined
harmony
Bass register
used for the
1st time
Stepwise
melodies
Texture




Polyphonic
Polychoral
Imitation
Outside
instruments
verses inside
instruments
Rhythm

Dynamics
Repeated
rhythmic
patterns
Clear beat
with regular
pulse
Unity of
rhythm

Tone Color
Terraced
dynamics—
sudden shifts
no gradual
change


Melody and
Harmony
Texture
Melody heard  Polyphonic
throughout
 Soprano and
the piece
bass were

 Complex
the important


melodies
lines
 Build on one

melody

 Vocal
melodies

included wide
leaps and
chromaticism
 Harmony is
based on the
major and
minor scales
Important terms: fugues, affections, terraced dynamics, basso continuo, figured bass, subject, answer, countersubject, episode, stretto,
pedal point, inversion, retrograde, augmentation, diminution, libretto, librettist, aria, camerata, castrato, ostinato
Baroque

Mood and
Emotional
Expression
One mood per
piece or
movement
(unity of mood)
Affections—
term for moods
Basso continuo
Soprano part
was important
Imitation
among voices
Baroque
orchestras—
10-40 players
String
instruments
were popular

Important composers: Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Montiverdi, Purcell, Corelli
Part 2: Composition and Theory—Complete the following chart of possible chords in major and minor keys.
Major
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Minor
Analyze the following Chorale: Remember to label the Key at the beginning of the first line. 