Music History

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Music History

• Middle Ages
• 400-1450

2
From Yesterday

• Hildegard of Bingen
• Her parents were nobles who promised her to the
  church.
• From Childhood on she experienced visions and
  could foretell the future.
• She became an Abess head of her convent
• Also known for scientific and medical writtings
• Regarded as a saint by the church.

3
From Yesterday

• Alleluia, O virga mediatrix
• (Alleluia, O mediating branch)
• Composer Hildegard von Bingen
• Genre Gregorian Chant
• Text In praise of the Virgin Mary
• Occasion Sung during feasts of the Virgin Mary
• Period Middle Ages

4
From Yesterday

• Alleluia, O virga mediatrix
• A translation
• O mediating branch,
• Your holy flesh has overcome death, and your womb
  has illuminated all creatures. Through the
  beautiful flower of your tender purity that
  sprang from your chastity. Alleluia.

5
From Yesterday

• Monophony A texture that involves one single
  line of music.
• Polyphony A texture that involves two or more
  simultaneous lines of music.

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The Rise of Polyphony

• Polyphony is the single most important
  development in the history of Western Music.
• First emerged near the end of the Romanesque era.
  (1150)
• Polyphony helped bring about the use of regular
  meters, which was needed if the different voices
  were to keep together.
• Polyphony allowed for a more exact notation
  system instead of Neumes.

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The Rise of Polyphony

• The earliest polyphonic music was called Organum.
• It developed from the custom of adding a second
  voice that ran above or below the Gregorian
  melody at the interval of a 4th or 5th.
• In the forefront of this evolution was the
  composers centered in the Cathedral of Notre Dame
  in Paris.

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The Rise of Polyphony

• These composers are referred to as the Notre Dame
  School.
• The leader of the Notre Dame School was Leonin.
• Music historians consider Leonin to be the first
  composer to write in polyphony.
• He wrote the Great Book of Organum
• This was music for the entire church year in
  Organum style.

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The Rise of Polyphony

• From the Great Book of Organum
• Title Kyrie from The Tournai Mass
• Composer Leonin
• Genre Organum
• Period Medieval

10
Take A Break

11
Secular Music in the Middle Ages

• Secular music arose in Courts throughout Europe.
• Musicians of secular music had different names
  depending on the region of Europe they were from.
• In EnglandMinstrels
• In FranceTroubadours
• In GermanyMinnesingers

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Secular Music in the Middle Ages

• Secular music became an integral part of courtly
  life, supplying the necessary accompaniment for
  dancing, dinner, and after-dinner entertainment.
• Musicians sung about anything, but mostly
• Love
• Passion
• Rejection
• Lust
• Physical Passion

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Secular Music in the Middle Ages

• A breakup of the feudal social structure brought
  with it new concepts of life, art, and beauty.
• These changes were reflected in the musical style
  known as Ars Nova. (New Art)
• Ars Nova appeared in the start of the 14th
  Century in France, and later, Italy.
• The music of the French Ars Nova shows greater
  refinement than that of Ars Antiqua (Old Art)

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Secular Music in the Middle Ages

• A prominent composer/poet of Ars Nova was
  Guillaume de Machaut.
• He took holy orders at an early age.
• Became secretary to the King of Bohemia
• Machaut was active in the court of Charles, duke
  of Normandy who became king of France.
• Composer of both sacred and secular music.

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Secular Music in the Middle Ages

• Machaut wrote over 20 motets, a complete Ordinary
  of the Mass, and man secular Chansons.
• A chanson is French secular song. Chanson in
  French literally means song.
• Chansons were generally set to love poems.

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Secular Music in the Middle Ages

• Puis quen oubli
• (Since I am forgotten)
• Composer Machaut
• Genre Chanson
• Period Medieval

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Secular Music in the Middle Ages

• Puis quen oubli
• (Since I am forgotten)
• Since I am forgotten by you, sweet friend,
• I bid farewell to a life of love and joy.
• Unlucky was the day I placed my love in you
• Since I am forgotten by you, sweet friend.
• But what was promised to you I will sustain
• That I shall never have any other love.
• Since I am forgotten by you, sweet friend,
• I bid farewell to a life of love and joy.

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Early Instrumental Music

• The 14th Century witnessed a steady growth in the
  scope of instrumental music.
• Instruments were put to more and more uses.
• Vocal music was still central and most important.
  

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Early Instrumental Music

• At first, instruments would be used for doubling
  the singers voice parts.
• Later, instruments began accompanying the voice
  parts.
• Finally, instrumental arrangements of vocal works
  became popular.
• Arrangement A different version of a particular
  piece of music.

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Early Instrumental Music

• Instruments were used mostly in dance music.
• They were used because rhythm was the prime
  consideration.
• Music for instruments was rarely written down.
• Early instrumental music was improvised.
• Improvisation is making it up as you go.
• Ex. Jazz Music

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Early Instrumental Music

• Since early instrumental music was not written
  down. We rely on paintings and historical
  documents from the period.
• We also rely on instruments that survived through
  the ages.

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Early Instrumental Music

• Medieval Instruments fell into families just like
  modern ones
• Strings
• Woodwinds
• Brass
• Percussion
• Keyboard

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Early Instrumental Music

• The instruments were also divided into two other
  categories
• (Bas) indoor instruments/soft
• (used in court and home)
• (Haut) outdoor instruments/loud
• (used for tournaments and processions)

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Early Instrumental Music

• Most Common Bas Instruments
• Recorder
• Lute
• Harp
• Rebec and Vielle

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Early Instrumental Music

• A recorder is an end-blown flute, made of wood,
  that produces a breathy tone.

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Early Instrumental Music

• A lute is a plucked string instrument with a
  rounded back, the guitar of the Middle Ages.

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Early Instrumental Music

• The harp is a plucked string instrument with
  biblical frame.

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Early Instrumental Music

• The rebec and vielle were the two principal
  bowed-string instruments. Similar to the viola
  and violin of today.

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Early Instrumental Music

• Most Common Haut Instruments
• Shawm
• Slide Trumpet
• Tabor
• Nakers
• Organ

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Early Instrumental Music

• The shawm is an ancestor of the oboe and produces
  a loud, nasally tone.

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Early Instrumental Music

• The slide trumpet eventually developed into the
  early trombone known as a sackbut.

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Early Instrumental Music

• A tabor is a large cylindrical drum and nakers
  are small drums.

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Early Instrumental Music

• An organ is a keyboard instrument with long
  pipes. Air travels through the pipes to produce
  various tones. There were several sizes in the
  Middle Ages.

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Early Instrumental Music

• Some of the larger organs required teams of
  several men to pump the giant bellows and then
  several more me to manipulate the devices that
  open and closed the pipes.
• These organs were mostly found in large
  cathedrals.
• Others were small and portable. These were
  called hand organs and were used when traveling.

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Early Instrumental Music

• Most instrumental pieces from the Middle Ages
  were simple monophonic dance melodies.
• Common dances include
• The Saltarello and Estampie

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Early Instrumental Music

• The saltarello is a lively Italian jumping dance.
  

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Early Instrumental Music

• The estampie was a more stately French dance.

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Early Instrumental Music

• Professional Musicians in the Middle Ages were
  highly skilled.
• Evidence suggest that they were paid quite well.
• Only professional musicians played at court.
• Most amateur players were poor and played in the
  streets for money and in their homes.