The Medieval Era, Middle Ages

1. The Medieval Period
Ancient Music & the Middle Ages
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1-1
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

2. Ancient Period
 Beg of time unknown
to 1300
 Up until birth of
Christ-Ancient Music,
0-1300-Medieval
Period
 Instruments-violin,
flute, versions of No known composers,
trumpet, oboe mostly passed down
 Rna-chum-Tibet, orally between
made of human skulls generations
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1-2
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

3. Greek & Roman
Civilizations
 1st written music
found in Greece, 600
B.C.
 Golden Age of
Pericles-value of
music in Greek
society
 Plato-considered
music essential part
of education,
influenced moral
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character
1-3 PRENTICE HALL
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

4. Greek & Roman
Civilizations
 Greeks developed
instruments
 Zither or Lyre
 Harp-like Instrument
 Romans emphasized
military music
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1-4
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

5. Middle Ages:
476 CE - ~1400 CE
 Beginning with the fall of the Roman Empire
 Ending with the beginning of the
Renaissance Period
 Music: reflects sacred and secular functions
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By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

6. Middle Ages(450-1450)
 Development of monasteries responsible for
preserving writings & culture of ancient world
 Gothic Period-1100 to 1450
 Poems of troubadours, legends of King Arthur
 Dante The Divine Comedy
 Most secular music lost but did exist outside the
Church
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By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

7. Middle Ages: Overview
Time Period: 476 CE - ~1400 CE
 476--Fall of Western Roman Empire
 800--Pope Leo III crowns Charlemagne
 936--Otto I establishes Holy Roman
Empire
 1066--Normans conquer England
 1095--Beginning of first crusade
 1215--King John of England signs Magna
Carta
 1348-1350--Black Death ravages Europe
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1-7
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

8. Christianity
 Had no standard musical practice for 1st 3
centuries
 Borrowed from Judaism, reciting psalms, call
& response method
 Adopted other practices upon expansion
through Asia Minor & Europe
 Symbolism very important to medieval life-
age of miracles, mysticism, etc.
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1-8
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

9. Middle Ages: Music for
Sacred Spaces
 Churches/Cathedrals = most important sacred
structures of the Middle Ages
 Reflected testimonies toward God and power of
Church itself
 Created spaces in which music could be
performed
 Large with incredible acoustic qualities
 Built to instruct the faithful (e.g., stained glass
windows depicting Biblical scenes)
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1-9
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

10. Pope Gregory I
 6th Century-codified music of
worship services, establishment
of liturgy, body of rites
prescribed for worship
 Function = to project the text
clearly so that it could be
understood by the people.
 Possessed clarity and melodic
beauty; thus it was inspirational.
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1-10
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

11. Music of the Catholic
Church
 The “Ordinary” of the Mass: the part that
doesn’t change each day: 5 parts
 Kyrie Eleison: Lord, Have Mercy (in Greek)
 Gloria: Glory to God in the Highest (in Latin)
 Credo: I Believe (in Latin)
 Sanctus and Benedictus: Holy, Holy, Holy
(in Latin)
 Agneus Dei: Lamb of God (in Latin)
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1-11
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

12. Music of the Catholic
Church
 The “Proper” of the Mass: changes every day: the
main chanted parts (in Latin):
 Introit: introductory prayer
 Gradual: often prayer of thanks or intercession
(request)
 Offertory: prayer of offering
 Communion: prayer of thanks after communion
 Post-Communion: prayer just before end of Mass
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By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

13. The Liturgical Year
Advent Palm Sunday
Nativity/Christmas Maundy Thursday
Epiphany Good Friday
Candlemass Easter
Ash Wednesday Pentecost
Lent All Saints/All Souls (Halloween)
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By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

14. Parts of Mass Were Sung
in Chant
 Liturgical (for worship) Chants: also called
plainchant or plainsong: were based on
“modes.”
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1-14
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

15. The Church Modes
 Unfamiliar scales, not like major & minor
 Consist of seven different tones, an eighth
tone duplicating the first(octave)
 Different pattern of half-steps & whole-steps
 Were the basic scales of Western music
during the Middle Ages-Renaissance
 Used in secular & sacred music
 Many still used in Western folk music
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1-15
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

16. The Church Modes
 Setting words to music
 Syllabic--one note per syllable
 Melismatic--many notes per syllable
 Melismas often used to emphasize words
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1-16
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

17. Gregorian Chant
 Sung only by monks &
priests
 Text-Latin
 Features
 Non-metrical rhythm
 Monophonic texture
 Smooth, stepwise
contour Composers of chant primarily
unknown
 Modal scales
Music passed down almost strictly
 Reverent mood
by oral tradition
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1-17
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

18. Middle Ages: Notation
 Earliest chant manuscripts merely
showed whether the chant went up or
down, not specific pitches.
 Most manuscripts created by monks in
monasteries, by hand. Parchment and
ink were expensive.
 Printing emerged--middle of 15th century.
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1-18
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

19. Chapter 1: Hildegard von
Bingen--Play of Virtues
 A morality play--dramatized allegory of Good vs. Evil
struggling over the fate of a single soul
 Written for dedication of convent church at Rupertsberg
 Plot centers around disputes between Satan and 16
virtues (e.g., Charity, Obedience, Humility, Chastity,
Knowledge of God, Discipline, Compassion, Mercy,
Victory, Discretion, Patience, Faith, Hope, Innocence,
World Rejection, Heavenly Love).
 Each virtue = 1 female singer
 Chorus of all virtues sings same melody monophonically
(called unison singing).
 Music was based on a florid style of liturgical plainchant.
 Devil was a spoken part (by a male).
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1-19
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

20. Hildegard von Bingen(1098-1179)
The Composer
 Hildegard von Bingen--most prolific composer before 1500
 First woman composer from whom a large number of
works survived
 Powerful abbess, theologian, naturalist, healer, poet,
musician
 Born in what is now western Germany to a noble family.
Became a Benedictine nun at age of 16.
 Used prominent position in Church to improve that of
women
 Experienced visions and revelations that were recorded in
books-writer of theology, medicine, botany, and lives of the
Saints
 Musical works consisted of chants for religious services
which took place throughout the day in the convent.
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1-20
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

21. A Medieval Castle in
Wales--13th Century
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1-21
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

22. Middle Ages: Music for
Entertainment
 Castles = most important secular structures of
the Middle Ages
 Reflected importance of secular and worldly
power for royalty/aristocracy
 Created opportunities for musical performances
 Demonstrated power to subjects and each other.
 Rulers competed for services of best composers,
artists, and musicians.
 Songs for Medieval entertainment sung in
language of people.
 Music for dancing served an important social
function.
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1-22
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

23. Middle Ages: Secular
Music
 Not much is known about this non-religious
music because little of it was written down.
 What was written was monophonic, but it is
believed it was accompanied by instruments
(homophonic).
 We know it existed because of paintings and
illustrated manuscripts from the period.
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1-23
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

24. Estampie
 13th century dance in triple meter
 Anonymous composer
 Clear, fast tempo
 No instrumentation specified
 This recording
 Rebec
 Pipe
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By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

25. Middle Ages: Secular
Musicians of the Period
 Minstrels: professional poet-musicians
who traveled the countryside
 Their music was the “news” of the day:
gossip, recent events, legends.
 They were the original “vaudeville”
performers.
 They performed a variety of acts: juggling,
magic, acrobatics.
 They were itinerant and didn’t write their
songs down.
 They were outcasts in society.
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1-25
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

26. Middle Ages: Secular
Musicians of the Period
 Troubadours: about the 12th century, these
knights of the Provence of Southern France
performed songs about love, the beauty of
women, honor, and the Crusades.
 Trouvères: about the 12th and 13th
centuries, noblemen from the courts of
Northern France composed songs related to
love and chivalry in their own French dialect.
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1-26
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

27. Middle Ages: Secular
Musicians of the Period
 Minnesingers: German knights who composed and
sang their own songs about the approach of dawn
(“watchers’” songs), and the beauty of nature and of
women
 Meistersingers: c. 14th-16th centuries, middle class
performers who built on tradition of Minnesingers
 Formed guilds (the first musical unions)
 Developed rules for songwriting
 Tested composers for knowledge of rules before
admitting them to the guild
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1-27
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

28. The Development of Polyphony
 The first harmony was
organum: singers
sang same melody,
but at different
intervals
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1-28
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

29. The Development of Polyphony:
Organum
 Polyphony
 Combination of two melodic lines
 Appeared sometime between 700 & 900
 11th century notation indicates other pitches
added to melody
 Take line of chant, add additional parallel line a
fourth or fifth below
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1-29
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

30. The Development of Polyphony
 Second line eventually
became more independent
around 1100, when chant and
added melody were no longer
restricted to note against note
style
 Development of music related
to development of musical
notation system
 Neumes-signs written above
words to indicate direction of
pitch movements
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By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

31. The School of Notre Dame
 Leonin(1169-1201)
 Composer at Notre Dame
 Began to give chant longer note values, composed more
active line above
 Perotin(1198-1236)
 Followed same practice, added
3rd & 4th line
 First known composer to write
music with more than 2 voices
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1-31
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

32. The School of Notre Dame
 Name given to these composers & their followers
 Made use of measured rhythm, with definite time
values & defined meter
 First time in history-notation indicated precise
rhythm as well as pitch
 Sounds hollow because of accepted intervals
 8ve, 4th, 5th- consonant, 3rd dissonant but found
in secular music
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By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

33. Alleluia vidimus stellam(We Have
Seen His Star)
 Based on Gregorian alleluia melody, referred to
as a cantus firmus(fixed melody)
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By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

34. Guido d’Arezzo(995-1050)
 First “music theorist”
 Made fixed pitch
relationships possible
 Solfege syllables for scale
patterns
 do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do
 Patricia Gray Website
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1-34
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

35. 14th Century Music: The Ars Nova (New
Art) in France
 Ars nova
 1322 Treastise by Philippe de Vitry
including acceptance of division of beat
 Literary works became more about
sensuality than virtue
 Secular music more important than
sacred
 New system of music notation
evolved
 Composers could specify any rhythm
pattern
 Beats divided into 2s as well as 3s
 Syncopation appears
 Polyphony not based on chant, drinking
songs, etc.
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1-35
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

36. Guillaume de Machaut(1304-1377)
 Single most important figure in
French Ars Nova
 Priest-studied theology & took holy
orders
 Served as court musician for royal
families; King of Bohemia, royal
family of France
 Important church official in Reims
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By Mark Evan Bonds
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37. Guillaume de Machaut
 Most important works
 Secular songs
 Inspired by relationship with
Peronne d’Armentieres which
ended in disappointment
 Decline of church reflects works-
mainly love songs for one or two
voices & instrumental
accompaniment
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1-37
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

38. Notre Dame Mass-Agnus Dei (Mid-
14th Century)
 First polyphonic treatment of
mass ordinary by known
composer
 Written for four voices
 Some parts probably
performed and/or doubled on
instruments
 Performance practice of
piece unknown
 When & why mass was
written unknown
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1-38
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

39. Instruments of the Middle
Ages
 Harps
 Lutes (like a guitar)
 Flutes (end blown, called
recorders)
 Shawns (like oboes)
 Early violins
 Trumpets and drums
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1-39
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

40. Chapter 3: Francesco
Landini--Behold Spring
 A secular song of love
 Courtly love in this age
 Knight declares himself servant of his lady love
 Heroic deeds done in her honor
 Love for her ennobles him
 Poet Giovanni Boccaccio (poem: Decameron)
describes how a group of lords and ladies,
fleeing the plague, sang this song to divert their
minds.
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1-40
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

41. Francesco Landini
The Composer
 Most prolific and famous Italian composer of
the 14th century
 Blinded by smallpox as a child
 Served as organist at a church in Florence
 Was also a famous poet
 Music:
 Balletas--like Behold Spring
 Virelais--French songs
 Caccia--hunting songs
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By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

42. Chapter 4: Alfonso el Sabio--
“He Who Gladly Serves”
 From Songs to the Virgin Mary, no. 249
 A collection of more than 400 songs
 A piece using voice, drums (percussion)
and shawms (woodwinds, like the oboe)
 Shawm = double reed instrument
 Player blows through a pair of reeds that
vibrate; vibrations are magnified by a long
wooden tubular instrument.
 Has a raucous, rough sound
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1-42
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

43. Alfonso el Sabio--“He Who
Gladly Serves”
 Form: The form of this piece is ABA ABA
AA
 Based on 2 relatively short melodic units
 A and B move similarly, but B moves to a
higher register.
 The whole form (ABA) is repeated twice.
 The A section is then repeated twice
again at the end.
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1-43
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

44. Alfonso el Sabio--“He Who
Gladly Serves”
 Texture--three kinds in this piece
 Monophony--both instruments play same
notes together.
 Homophony--one instrument plays
melody while the other plays a single long
note underneath (called a drone bass).
 Heterophony--both instruments play
same melody at same time, but one is
embellished and more elaborate than the
other.
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By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

45. Alfonso el Sabio
The Composer
 Ruled the Kingdom of Castile and León (in
modern central and northwestern Spain) during
the 13th century.
 May not be the real composer; probably
attributed to him, but really by an anonymous
person.
 Possibly a monk, priest, or nun
 Could have been a court musician or a traveling
musician (called a troubadour, trouvère, or
minnesinger).
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1-45
By Mark Evan Bonds
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458