Norton Media Library
Enjoyment of Music
Essential Listening Edition
Chapter 13
Medieval Music
by
Kristine Forney
Joseph Machlis
13. Medieval Music
A.
Sacred Music in the Middle Ages
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Liturgy: set order of services and structure of each service in
the church
Characteristics of Gregorian chant (plainchant)
a. Monophonic texture
b. Nonmetric
c. Latin text
Chant is classified by the way the notes are set to the text
a.
Syllabic: one note per syllable of text
b.
Melismatic: many notes per syllable of text
Early chants were handed down orally
Early chant notation used neumes
a. Neumes suggested contours of the melody but not rhythm
Scale patterns used are the church modes
13. Medieval Music (cont’d)
B.
The Mass
1.
One of two categories of services in the Roman Catholic Church,
the other being the Offices
2.
The prayers that make up the Mass fall into two categories:
a.
Proper: texts change according to the day
b.
Ordinary: texts are the same for every Mass
C.
Life in the Medieval Cloister
1.
Cloister: a place for religious seclusion
a.
Monastery: men
b.
Convent: women
2. Cloisters were places of prayer, scholarship, preaching, charity,
healing
13. Medieval Music (cont’d)
D.
The Music of Hildegard of Bingen
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179)
1150 founded convent in Rupertsberg, Germany
Known for miracles and prophecies
Recorded collections of visions and prophecies in manuscript
Composed religious poetry with music
Characteristics of Hildegard’s poetry
a.
Brilliant imagery
b.
Visionary language
c.
Collected in volume: Symphony of the Harmony of Celestial
d.
Revelations, for liturgical church year
13. Medieval Music (cont’d)
E.
Hildegard of Bingen: Alleluia, O virga mediatrix (Listening
Guide 2)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
From the Mass Proper
a.
For feasts of the Virgin Mary
Ternary form (A-B-A)
Responsorial form (soloist alternates with chorus)
Monophonic texture
Conjunct melody with few leaps
Free, nonmetric rhythm
Text setting falls between syllabic and melismatic (neumatic)
13. Medieval Music (cont’d)
F.
The Rise of Polyphony
1. Polyphony evolved toward the end of the Romanesque period (c.
850–1150)
2.
Organum: earliest polyphonic music
3. Second melody added above or below the older Gregorian
melody
4. Evolved at Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris
5. Polyphony necessitated the use of notated rhythm and pitch
a. Rhythm was chosen from a group of patterns called rhythmic
modes
6. A new genre emerged near the end of the thirteenth century
7. Composers wrote texts to second melody in organum
13. Medieval Music (cont’d)
F.
The Rise of Polyphony (cont’d)
8. New genre called motet (mot is French for “word”)
a. Sometimes the languages were mixed in one piece
i.
French and Latin
b. Motets can be sacred or secular
c. A Gregorian chant is the basis for a motet
13. Medieval Music (cont’d)
G.
Secular Music in the Middle Ages
1. Secular music grew in a separate tradition from sacred
polyphony
2. Different classes of secular musicians emerged
a.
Troubadours were southern French high-class musicians
b.
Trouvères were northern French high-class musicians
3. The poems of the troubadours and trouvères had diverse
subjects
a. Poetry of secular song often focused on idealized love and
chivalry
b. Secular songs sung monophonically, with improvised
accompaniment
13. Medieval Music (cont’d)
H.
The French Ars nova and Guillaume de Machaut
1.
Ars nova (new art): movement beginning in 14th-century France
a.
Greater refinement than music of the Ars antiqua (old art)
b. New developments in rhythm, meter, harmony, and
counterpoint
c.
Guillaume de Machaut (c. 1300–1377) was the foremost
composer
i.
French poet and composer
ii. Double career as cleric and courtier
iii. Composed motets, chansons (French for “songs”), and
a polyphonic Mass Ordinary
iv. Favored fixed text forms: rondeau, ballade, virelai
13. Medieval Music (cont’d)
I.
Machaut chanson: Puis qu’en oubli (Listening Guide 3)
1.
2.
3.
J.
Three-voice French chanson
Text: rondeau form
Music reflects pain of unrequited love
a. Low melodic range (depths of despair)
Early Instrumental Music
1.
Instruments played a supporting role in vocal music; sometimes
doubling
2. Instrumental music mostly improvised (not notated) for dance
a. Performed by ensembles of soft (bas) or loud (haut)
instruments
i.
Soft instruments include recorder
ii. Loud instruments include sackbut (early trombone) and
shawm (medieval oboe)
b. Instruments were categorized by their use (indoor or
outdoor)
Exploration 3: Chant as Music for
Worship
A.
Ritual music is evidenced in most cultures
1.
Western Christian sacred songs take various forms
a.
Sung or recited to text
2.
Early Christian music had several influences
a.
Singing in Judaism
b. Music of the Church of Byzantium
3.
In Islam the Koran is chanted
a.
Call to prayer is chanted
Exploration 4: Opening Doors to the East
A.
Religious wars and exploration opened doors to the east
1.
Five organized Crusades (1096–1221)
a.
An attempt to take the Holy Land of Palestine from the
Muslims
b. Crusading knights learned military skills and weaponry from
Turkish and Moorish warriors
c.
Advanced medical and scientific knowledge of Arab world
imported to Europe
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Slide Set for Chapter 13
Enjoyment of Music
Essential Listening Edition
by
Kristine Forney
Joseph Machlis