Music of the Middle Ages

1
Music of the Middle Ages

• From Gregorian Chant to the Renaissance

2
(No Transcript)
3
On the Misery of the Human Condition, c. 1200

•   inspiring words from Pope Innocent III
• . . . man was formed of dust, slime, and ashes
  what is even more vile, of the filthiest seed.
  He was conceived from the itch of the flesh, in
  the heat of passion and the stench of lust, and
  worse yet, with the stain of sin. He was born to
  toil, dread, and trouble and more wretched
  still, was born only to die. He commits depraved
  acts by which he offends God, his neighbor, and
  himself shameful acts by which he defiles his
  name, his person, and his conscience and vain
  acts by which he ignores all things important,
  useful, and necessary. He will become fuel for
  those fires which are forever hot and burn
  forever bright food for the worm which forever
  nibbles and digests a mass of rottenness which
  will forever stink and reek.
•  

4
(No Transcript)
5
(No Transcript)
6
(No Transcript)
7
There were two schools of music during the
Middle Ages

• Ars Antiqua - 1100-1300
• Ars Nova - 1300 - 1450

8
Ars Antiqua began in Paris at the Cathedral de
Notre Dame
9
(No Transcript)
10
Representative Ars Antiqua Composers

• Leonin (1163-1190)
• Perotin (early 13th century)
• Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)
• Anonymous (?)

11
What is Ars Antiqua?

• Literally means old art
• Stemmed directly from Gregorian Chant
• This style of music can be characterized as
  adding hollow sounding harmonies(perfect 4ths
  5ths) to existing chants.
• This type of music is called organum.
• Originally, one voice would be added above the
  existing chant. The chant would be sung very
  slowly - it was called the cantus firmus.

12
Early Polyphony

• Polyphony means more than one pitch played at the
  same time - what we typically call harmony.
• The first type of polyphony was called parallel
  organum. Here the cantus firmus and the higher
  harmony mirrored each other.
• Eventually composers like Leonin and his student
  Perotin began adding a third and fourth part
  above the cantus firmus, and moved away from the
  eerie sounding parallel organum.

13
Parallel Organum
14
Meanwhile, in Germany

• Hildegard von Bingen, who herself was a nun with
  reported mystical powers, began composing music
  different from the Notre Dame school.
• Von Bingen wrote music that sounded wildly
  different than plainchant, which some attributed
  to her lack of musical training. Her melodies,
  even today, seem contemporary.

15
(No Transcript)
16
What kind of music was happening outside of the
church?

• Secular music, or popular music, has existed
  throughout history, especially during the Middle
  Ages.
• Secular music of the Middle Ages was the first to
  be written down on paper and preserved. Today,
  performances of secular music is possible using
  these surviving pieces of music.

17
Troubadours

• Troubadours were French musicians who traveled
  across Europe during the 12th and 13th centuries.
• They sang mostly love songs.
• They accompanied their love songs with
  instruments, unlike the church.

18
(No Transcript)
19
Adam de la Halle (1237-1286)

• The most famous troubadour ever
• Wrote the first ever musical theater piece Le Jeu
  de Robin et Marion
• Inventor of the Motet
• Motet - a piece of music where two or more
  different verses are fit together simultaneously,
  without regard to harmony

20
Medieval Instruments

• Instruments in early secular music were used to
  accompany songs.
• Musicians usually improvised the simple
  accompaniments.
• While the accompaniments were melodically simple,
  they were rhythmically lively.
• Lets take a look at the many different
  instruments used in these accompaniments

21
Harp
22
Krumhorn
23
Lute
24
Muted Cornett
25
Psaltery
26
Sacbut
27
Serpent
28
Shawm
29
Hurdy-Gurdy
30
Drum or Tambor
31
Recorder
32
Viol
33
Ars Nova

• 14th 15th century France
• The invention of modern notation
• The creation of the Ordinary of the Catholic Mass
• The popularity of the motet

34
Representative Ars Nova Composers

• Guillaume de Machaut (1300-1377)
• Francesco Landini (1325-1397)
• Anonymous (?)

35
(No Transcript)
36
Guillaume de Machaut

• A poet a musician
• Created the first Ordinary for the Catholic Mass
• Created many of the musical forms of today
  (rondos and ballades)
• Master of counterpoint

37
Examples of Ars Nova Music
Music from this period was the first to add stems
to the nuemes, thereby creating our modern system
of notation.
38
(No Transcript)
39
This piece is called Sumer is icumen in and is
the oldest surviving round.
40
Conclusions

• Most Medieval composers wrote mainly for the
  church and remained anonymous.
• These early composers did not take the art of
  composition seriously. It was more a necessary
  function, or duty.
• Most secular musicians had day jobs. Full time
  musicians were poor.
• While music itself was held in high regard, those
  who made it were not. This is very different
  today.