2011 © McGraw-Hill Higher Education Music: An Appreciation, Brief 7th Edition by Roger Kamien Part II The Middle Ages and Renaissance

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

Time Line Renaissance ( ) Guttenberg Bible—1456 Columbus reaches America—1492 Leonardo da Vinci: Mona Lisa—c Michelangelo: David—1504 Raphael: School of Athens—1505 Martin Luther’s 95 theses—1517 Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet—1596

The Renaissance Rebirth of human creativity Time of exploration & adventure Voyages of Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama and Ferdinand Magellan Age of curiosity & individualism Leonardo da Vinci Intellectual Movement – Humanism Captivated by ancient Greece & Roman cultures Visual arts depicted realism w/ linear perspective and illusion of space & depth Catholic Church far less powerful Education a status symbol for the aristocracy & upper middle class

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 Music primarily vocal and sacred -Instruments not used in church -Few medieval instruments have survived -Music manuscripts did not indicate tempo, dynamics or rhythm - Important musicians were priests - Women were not allowed to sing in church, but did make music in convents - Only sacred music was notated

Gregorian Chant Official music of the Roman Catholic church No longer common since 2 nd Vatican Council ( ) 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 ) 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 (We Have Seen His Star) Vocal Music Guide: p. 66 Basic Set, CD 1:63 Brief Set, CD 1:47 Gregorian Chant Monophonic texture Ternary form: A B A

Listening O successores (You successors) Hildegard of Bingen Vocal Music Guide: p. 69 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)

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

The Development of Polyphony: Organum Between a 2 nd melody line added to chant Additional part initially improvised, not written Paralleled chant line at a different pitch added line grew more independent Developed its own melodic curve (no longer parallel) c 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 3 rd as dissonant Modern chords built of 3 rd s, considered consonant

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 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. 74 Vocal Melody accompanied by two lower parts Syncopation

Listening Agnus Dei from Notre Dame Mass by Guillaume de Machaut Vocal Music Guide: p. 76 Basic Set, CD 1:73 Brief Set, CD 1:53 Polyphonic; triple meter; syncopation Ternary form: A B A (form results from the text)

Ch. 2 - Music in the Renaissance Invention of printing widened the circulation of music Musicians worked in churches, courts, & towns Church remained an important patron of music Church choirs grew in size (all male) Musical activity shifted to the courts Town musicians played for civic processions, weddings Musicians enjoyed higher status & pay Composers sought credit for their work Italy became leading music center

Words and Music Vocal music more important than instrumental Word painting Wide range of emotion w/o extreme contrasts Texture Polyphonic Imitation among the voices Sounds fuller; expanded pitch range; consonant chords are favored w/ use of triads Rhythm and Melody Rhythm a gentle flow rather than sharply defined beat Melodic line has greater rhythmic independence Melody usually moves along a scale w/ few large leaps Characteristics of Renaissance Music

Sacred Music in the Renaissance Motet – Josquin Desprez Short polyphonic choral work Latin text usually overlaid with vernacular text Mass – Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina Polyphonic choral composition of the Catholic church Made up of 5 sections: Kyrie Gloria Credo Sanctus Agnus Dei

Listening Ave Maria…virgo serena Josquin Desprez Vocal Music Guide: p. 80 Basic Set, CD 1:76 Brief Set, CD 1:56 Four voice motet Polyphonic imitation Overlapping voice parts

Listening Palestrina’s work became the model for mass composers Vocal Music Guide: p. 83 Basic Set CD 1:79 Brief Set 1:59 Rich polyphonic texture – 6 voices Vocal imitation Spirit of Gregorian chant Kyrie from Pope Marcellus Mass by Palestrina (1525 – 1594)

Secular Music in the Renaissance Vocal Music Music was an important leisure activity People were expected to play a musical instrument and read notation Madrigal for several solo voices set to a short poem, usually about love Combined homophonic & polyphonic textures Word painting & unusual harmonies Renaissance Lute Song Song for solo voice and lute (plucked string instrument) Popular instrument in the Renaissance home Homophonic texture Lute accompanies the vocal melody

Listening As Vesta was Descending (1601) by Thomas Weelkes Vocal Music Guide: p. 84 Basic Set, CD 1:82 Brief Set, CD 1:62 Madrigal Note text painting: Pitches rise on “ascending” Pitches fall on “descending” “Running down” “Two by two,” “three by three,” “all alone”

Listening Flow My Tears (about 1600) by John Dowland (1563 – 1626) Vocal Music Guide: p. 86 Basic Set, CD 1:83 Brief Set, CD 1:63 Very popular Lute Song (Recorded by rock star, Sting) Expression of melancholy - descending four-note pattern Three brief musical sections: A B C

Instrumental Music Still subordinate to vocal music Instrumentalists accompanied voices Harpsichord, organ, or lute More music written specifically for instruments Instrumental music intended for dancing Pavane or passamezzo in duple meter Galliard in triple meter Distinguished between loud & soft instruments Outdoor (loud): trumpet, shawm Indoor (soft): lute, recorder