1. Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Music

2. What is classical music?
Classical music consists of not one style but many
Medieval:
Renaissance:
Baroque:

3. Roots of Classical Music
Traced to ancient Greece and Rome
Classical music was also known as “Court” music – very much a part of social life.
Little is known about early music beyond the writings of ancient historians and philosophers

4. Historical Writings
Discuss the purposes of music and some of the instruments
Artworks from the eras also help show individuals playing various instruments
Harps, drums and the aulos, a forerunner to the modern oboe.

5. Pythagoras and Aristoxenus
Developed theories about the relationship among musical sounds
Their writings were the basis for modern Western music
One of the chief contributions was the establishment of the octave as the basic mathematical unit in music.

6. Medieval Period or Middle Ages
Earliest surviving music is dated to this time.
Church assumed leadership role in most fields including the arts.
Church music is known as sacred music
Church music became the foundation of modern classical music.

7. Plainsong
Music with no strict meter or accompaniment, sung by a single voice or unison choir.
Plainsong is monophonic
A single melody line
Some composers felt restricted by its simplicity
To compensate, some adventurous composers experimented with parallel organum

8. Parallel Organum
Two voice parts sing the same melody, one at a perfect fourth or fifth higher than the other.
Early attempt at harmony

9. Musical Preservation
Today when musicians want to perform music, they obtain a copy of the written notation called the score
Music of the medieval period had to be learned by rote and passed down orally to each successive generation
What do you think happened to the music if it was not written down?

10. First Attempt at Musical Notation
Early notation called neumes
Markings over or under the text to signal pitch changes.
First to create a true system of staff notation was a Benedictine monk named Guido de Arezzo

11. Guido of Arezzo (c )
Invented first true staff notation system
Based on a four line staff.
The higher the placement of the note on the staff, the higher the pitch
Also invented solmization
A method of assigning a syllabic name to each tone of the scale to facilitate memorization.

12. Solmization Basis for our modern do-re-mi system of solfege.
Used Hymn to St. John the Baptist
Each note of the phrase began one tone or semitone higher than the previous phrase. He borrowed the first syllable from each of the six phrases to represent a scale
UT, RE, MI, FA, SOL, LA
Eventually UT was changed to DO and the seventh tone (SI or TI) was added. This method is still used today!

13. Rise of Secular music
Non-religious music that was written for social activities such as singing and dancing.
Whereas church music was uniformly a capella, secular music features instruments as well as voices.
Instrumental music was also set in monophonic texture.

14. Troubadours Poetic musicians
Traveled widely, entertaining in the palaces of the feudal lords.
Their songs told the news and other stories.
They also frequently sang about love.

15. Hymn to St. John the Baptist
Ut queant laxis
Resonare fibris
Mira gestorum
Famulituorum
Solve poluri
Labii reatum
Sancte Johannes

16. Hymn to St. John the Baptist
Can you tap the beat?

17. Estampie – a medieval dance
Can you tap the beat? Is the music organized into specific meter?
What type of instrument plays the melody?
Compare the musical characteristics of “Estampie” to Hymn to St. John the Baptist.

18. Guillaume d’Amiens Late 13th century troubador who sang of love.
Performed the song Prendes I Garde
Lyrics tell of the secret meeting between two lovers.
It is not known how troubadour melodies were originally performed
Only melodies, not rhythms were notated.

19. Prendes I Garde (Be on your Guard)
Take care, lest anyone see us
If someone sees us, tell me.
It’s just there in that wooded grove.
Take care, lest anyone see us.
That pleasant lass was looking after the animals,
“Charming brunette, I would like to meet with you”
Take care lest anyone see us,

20. Prendes Questions 1. A B A B A C A C 2. A B A B A B A B
3. A B A A A B A B A B C A D E A B
1. Which of the patterns above reresents the musical form of the song’s eight phrases?
2. Which of the patterns above represents the poetic form of the text?
-Poetic form is called a rondeau – a fixed poetic form of the thirteenth century.