Music of the Middle Ages From Gregorian Chant to the Renaissance
Jan 14, 2016
Music of the Middle Ages
From Gregorian Chant to the Renaissance
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.
There were two schools of music
during the Middle Ages
Ars Antiqua - 1100-1300&
Ars Nova - 1300 - 1450
Ars Antiqua began in Paris at the Cathedral de Notre Dame
Representative Ars Antiqua Composers
• Leonin (1163-1190)• Perotin (early 13th century)• Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)• Anonymous (?)
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.
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.
ParallelOrganum
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
• Let’s take a look at the many different instruments used in these accompaniments…
Harp
Krumhorn
Lute
Muted Cornett
Psaltery
Sacbut
Serpent
Shawm
Hurdy-Gurdy
Drum or Tambor
Recorder
Viol
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
Representative Ars Nova Composers
• Guillaume de Machaut (1300-1377)• Francesco Landini (1325-1397)• Anonymous (?)
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
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.
This piece is called “Sumer is icumen in” and is the oldest surviving round.
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.