Part 4
Listening to Western Classical Music
Music to 1600

• Greek Music Theory
– Theoretical Ideas Only
(Greek musical practice was lost.)
– 500 B.C.-200 A.D.
– Plato
– Pythagoras
– Aristotle
– Vocabulary (Many modern musical words have Greek roots.)

• Liturgy from Jewish
Practice
• Dominant Force in all
Cultural Matters for
1400 years.
• Music Mostly Vocal
– Monks
– Boy Choirs
• Great Repertoire of
Chant Melodies
• Terms
– Chant/Gregorian Chant
– Melisma/Melismatic
– Syllabic
– Monophony/Polyphony
– Liturgical Dramas
– Secular/Sacred
• More on the
Renaissance later…

Called “Gregorian Chant” or just “Chant”
Pope Gregory I organized the many chants to coincide better with the church calender and services
Sung by the Priest or Cantor, or the Men/Boys Choir or congregation in that order of importance and frequency
Can be syllabic or melismatic
Typically a flat contour (or shape) melodic line
Follows church scales or “Modes”
As time continues….
add an extra voice add more than one voice add an instrument to double the voice part according to what is allowed at this time in history and who is the
Pope… leading us into polyphony (another slide…)

– Notes
– Rhythms
– Relationships between Parts
– Léonin (French, not Italian (Roman))
– Perotin (French too!)

• Other melodies added to Chant
– Some parallel, some faster than the melody
• Imitative Counterpoint/Contrapuntal (Similar to a “canon” like Row,
Row, Row Your Boat.
)
– Each line independent
• Unified the Compositions
• Characteristics of Polyphonic Texture
– Comparing the Lines
• Usually Different Texts
• Sometimes Different Languages
• Often Difficult to Understand
• In 1500’s, Intersection of musical lines creates the Chord Concept
– Now an intended part of the music, formerly random events in 1200’ &
1300’s
• As time goes forward, more experimentation occurs and is allowed

• Humanism (Drama, Arts,
Philosophy, History, Poetry from Classical Authors)
• Optimism
• Reform (Religion esp.)
• Historic Names
– Michelangelo (Art)
– Leonardo da Vinci (Art)
– Martin Luther (Religion)
– Gutenberg (Printing)
– Shakespeare (Literature)
European “discovery” of
Gunpowder (after China and
Muslim worlds ironically)
• Composers
– Josquin des Prez
– Giovanni Pierluigi da
Palestrina
– Giovanni Gabrieli

• Mass
– Low Mass – Priest only
– High Mass – Choir sings service in chant form usually in LATIN
• Proper = varies according to season or event
• Ordinary = same all the time
– Five typical sections – Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus &
Benedictus, and Agnus Dei
– First Polyphonic settings of Mass by Machaut by/in/for Notre Dame Cathedral
– Josquin (French) and Palestrina (Italian) are other big composers of Masses

• Motet (Sacred Polyphonic work)
– In Latin
– a Cappella (Voices Only)
– Sung by Choirs (instead of congregations)
– 4 – 6 parts
– Cantus Firmus used as a basis for the Work, but the CF had no liturgical use/function
– Gabrielli – Polychoral (Instruments and voices) and homorhythmic used in his works within St.
Marks Cathedral (Venice)

• Madrigal
– 4-5 Parts
– Vernacular language
– Chamber Music
– Secular (away from the church) subjects – love, pastoral scenes, other secular topics)
– Lively and Metrical
– Italy and England
– Since it was free from the Church structures, experimentation was common, and forcast the
Baroque practices…

• Beginning to be Notated (Preserved)
• Modeled the Vocal Styles that were prevalent in the day…
• Grouped into “Consorts” of similar Instruments
(Recorders or Viols typically)
– Soprano
– Alto
– Tenor
– Bass
• Instrumental Music
– Ricercar (typically Keyboards)
– Canzona (typically others)

• String Instruments
– Lyre
– Lute
– Vielle
• Wind Instruments
– Recorder
– Shawm (Straight horn w/reed)
– Krummhorn (Bent horn w/reed)
– Cornett
• Keyboard Instruments
– Harpsichord
– Clavichord
– Organ

• Martin Luther does it in 1517
• Creates Protestantism (vs. Catholic)
• Vernacular Services (instead of Latin)
– Psalters were created in these Vernacular languages
• Church of England did it again in 1534
– Allowed for the development of the Anthem sung in
English (Anglican version of the Latin Motet)
• Counter Reformation of Catholic Church – the response from CC
– Palestrina – Good guy for promoting the musical aspects of the Latin / Catholic music and making easier to understand for the average “Joe”

• German
• Nun
• Theologian
• Mystic
• Poet
• Scientific Writer
• One of the earliest known Composers
• Could she have foretold the Women’s movement…??

– Variety of texts
– Flowing melodies
– Rich harmonies (intended)
– Less restricted rhythms
– Humanistic attitudes/subjects

• Italian
• Choirmaster
• Composer
• Polyphonic
– Overlapping cadences, although the ending cadences show clear harmonic intentions leading towards the Major-Minor tonal concepts of later history
– Singable
– Diatonic melodies (vs. Chromatic)
• Primarily sacred works
– Pure from secular influences
– Used extensively in the RC church
– Good example of the Counter Reformation of the CC’s musical styles

• Italian
• Organist
• Choirmaster
• Composer – especially for multiple choirs
(polychoral) and combinations of voices/instruments
• Established Antiphonal writing and Chordal
Homorhythmic writing which contrasted to the contrapuntal (polyphonic) sections of the music

• Texture
• Chant
• Gregorian Chant
• Monophony
• Homophony
• Polyphony
• Vernacular
• Melismatic
• Syllabic
• Conjunct
• Disjunct
• Imitative Counterpoint
• Cantus Firmus
• High Mass / Low Mass
• Ordinary / Proper
• Sacred / Secular
• Motet
• Homorhythmic
• Madrigal
• Polychoral
• All the instruments and their modern counterparts