Music: An Appreciation 10th Edition by Roger Kamien Part II The Middle Ages 2011 © McGraw-Hill Higher Education

Time Line Middle Ages (450-1450) Rome sacked by Vandals—455 Beowulf—c. 700 First Crusade—1066 Black Death—1347-52 Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales – 1387-1400 Joan of Arc executed by English—1431

The Middle Ages A thousand years of European history Early - a time of migrations, upheavals & wars Later – a period of cultural growth Romanesque churches & monasteries; Gothic cathedrals; Crusades to recover the Holy City from the Muslims Class Distinctions Nobility sheltered in fortified castles; knights in armor; amused themselves with hunting, feasting & tournaments Peasants vast majority of population; lived miserably; subject to feudal overlords Clergy Roman Catholic church exerted power; monks held a virtual monopoly on learning

Ch. 1 - Music in the Middle Ages Church was the center of musical life - Important musicians were priests - Women were not allowed to sing in church, but did make music in convents - Only sacred music was notated Music primarily vocal and sacred Instruments not used in church Few medieval instruments have survived Music manuscripts did not indicate tempo, dynamics or rhythm

Ch. 2 - Gregorian Chant The Church Modes Official music of the Roman Catholic church No longer common since 2nd Vatican Council (1962-1965) Represents the voice of the church rather than an individual Monophonic melody set to Latin text Melodies tend to move by steps in a narrow range Flexible rhythm - without meter and sense of beat Named for Pope Gregory I (r. 590-604) Later the melodies were notated Notation developed over several centuries The Church Modes Basic scales made of different whole & half-step patterns

Listening Alleluia: Vidimus stellam Gregorian Chant Monophonic texture (We Have Seen His Star) Vocal Music Guide: p. 76 Basic Set, CD 1:63 Brief Set, CD 1:47 Gregorian Chant Monophonic texture Ternary form: A B A

Listening O successores (You successors) Chant Hildegard of Bingen Vocal Music Guide: p. 79 Basic Set, CD 1:66 Brief Set, CD 1:50 Chant Originally written without accompaniment This recording includes a drone—long, sustained notes Note extended range of melody Written for nuns by a nun (sung in a convent)

Ch. 3 – Secular Music in the Middle Ages Composed by French nobles who were poet-musicians Troubadours (southern France) Trouvères (northern France) Performed by jongleurs (traveling minstrels) Song topics: love, Crusades, dancing, spinning songs Instrumental dances

Listening - Estampie Medieval dance music Strong beat (for dancing) Single melody line is notated Performers improvised instrumental accompaniment Basic Set, CD 1:67 Brief Set, CD 1:51

Ch. 4 – The Development of Polyphony: Organum Between 700-900 a 2nd melody line added to chant Additional part initially improvised, not written Paralleled chant line at a different pitch 900-1200 added line grew more independent Developed its own melodic curve (no longer parallel) c. 1100 note-against-note motion abandoned 2 lines w/ individual rhythmic and melodic content New part, in top voice, moved faster than the chant line School of Notre Dame (Paris): Measured Rhythm Leonin & Perotin developed notation of precise rhythms Chant notation had only indicated pitch Medieval theorists considered interval of 3rd as dissonant Modern chords built of 3rds, considered consonant

Listening Alleluia: Nativitas (The Birth; 1200?) by Perotin CD 1: 68 Organum in three voices Cantus firmus Note: clearly defined meter

Ch. 5 - Fourteenth-Century Music: The “New Art” in Italy and France Secular music more important than sacred Changes in musical style – known as new art ars nova (Latin) New music notation system evolved Beats could be subdivided into 2 as well as 3 Syncopation became important rhythmic practice

Listening Ecco la primavera (Spring has come; Fourteenth Century) by Francesco Landini Basic Set, CD 1:69 Vocal Music Guide: p. 85 Syncopation Ballata

Listening Puis qu’en oubli sui de vous (Since I am forgotten by you; around 1363) by Guillaume de Machaut Basic Set: CD 1: 72, Brief Set: 1:52 Vocal Music Guide: p. 86 Vocal Melody accompanied by two lower parts Syncopation

Listening Agnus Dei from Notre Dame Mass by Guillaume de Machaut Basic Set, CD 1:73; Brief Set, CD 1:53 Vocal Music Guide: p. 88 Polyphonic; triple meter; syncopation Ternary form: A B A (form results from the text)