Priests
educated, virtuous, held in high esteem
Peasants
common people, worked hard for nobility, fought for them, very religious, blind trust
nobility
land owners, born into nobility, leaders of armies, fought for control of land, extravagant food, music, life, feudalism
musicians
itinerant, some trained in the church (sacred), minstrels, wandering poets called troubadours or trouveres (secular)
Art
visual art: mostly religious, one dimensional, think icons
literature
canterbury tales, beowulf, inferno
Gregorian chant
Plainsong, cantus firmus, a single line melody sung in unison and a cappella, rhythm established by cantor, melody could be melismatic or syllabic, text in latin based off the mass, monophonic, male voices, non rhythmical
Alleluia: Vidimus stellam
monophonic, a capella, latin, no set rhythm
Rise of Polyphony
with building of Cathedral of Notre Dame (organum)
Leonin
Great Book of Organum
Perotin
expanded dimensions of organum by increasing voice parts to three or four, based on pre existing chants, lower voice sang fixed chant
Alleluia: Vidimus Nativitas
new religious piece composed at the end of the 13th century into early 14th century with new sacred text still sung in latin (motet), perotin, added rhythm, male voices, a cappella, small vocal range
Secular music
monophonically with improvised instrumental accompaniment, used for dancing, focused on idealized love and the values of chivalry, based on chants of church
Minstrels
traveling musicians among courts and towns, played instruments, danced, sang, presented acts like juggling, “lived on the fringes of society”
troubadours and trouveres
much like minstrels but were often members of royalty or aristocracy, usually more educated
Guillaume de Machaut
poet-composer of the French Ars Nova who wrote sacred music and polyphonic chansons (secular songs) set to fixed text forms, wrote sacred songs (motets), first to compose 4 part composition for the mass, Agnus Dei, Puis qu’en oubli (since i am forgotten)
Estampie
rhythms copied from Notre Dame School, small melodic range, triple meter-used for dancing, instruments-rebec or psaltry and tube or recorder
Agnus Dei
Machaut, four voice parts, part of the ordinary of the mass, based on gregorian chant, rhythmic, three sections to symbolize the trinity, hollow sounding due to open fifth
instrumental music
NO instruments in church except a small portable organ, either very soft or very loud, most instrumental parts were improvised
Humanism
society in which man, not God is the center of life. Every well educated man was expected to be trained in music, renaissance man
Renaissance
major awakening of intellectual awareness passing from exclusively religious to more secular age, cadavers, compass, printing press, gun powder
Music in renaissance
polyphonic imitation (a musical idea that is immediately echoed by another voice part or instrument), word or text painting (using musical symbolism to represent the meaning of the text: most common in the madrigal), invention of music printing, rise of secular music
renaissance musicians
every educated man was expected to be trained in music, worked in churches, courts and towns, sacred music still performed by male choirs, a court musician would compose secular pieces to entertain the nobility and sacred works for the court chapel, town musicians played for civic processions, weddings, and town events
renaissance sacred music
vocal music more important than instrumental, reformation greatest influence on sacred music, Catholic church, enhance liturgical texts (close relationship bt words and music), palestrina is the pre eminent composer of sacred music, instruments added in services at the end of renaissance (st marks, venice, gabrielli)
Josquin des Prez
Southern Belgium, served all over Europe (very independent and temperamental), Choirmaster of Ducal Chapel of Sforza family in milan and louis XII in france, first composer to have music printed, first composer to set psalms and passages from old testament to music, Ave maria
Motet
sacred work with latin text, text could come from existing chants or newly written texts based on liturgical passages, polyphonic with 3-4 voices, a cappella, male, regular metrical patterns, use of text painting
Martin Luther and Protestant Reformation
people not involved with worship, text in latin, wanted vernacular, participation, introduced hymns
Counter Reformation (Trent)
church didn’t like instruments, music too imitative and couldn’t understand words, polyphony predominant texture
Palestrina
quintessential catholic composer, wrote chiefly in response to council of trent to please the pope, choir boy, maestro di cappella at st peter’s in rome
Proper liturgical style-Palestrina
imitative counterpoint, new melodic motive for each new text phrase, modal based on gregorian chants, stepwise melodies with few repeated notes, harmony, rhythm, form are present but text governs musical organization
The mass
kyrie, gloria, credo, sanctus, agnus dei, polyphonic, 6 voices (male), a cappella, latin, through composed, Pope Marcellus Mass, Gloria
Renaissance secular music: vocal
chansons (french), madrigals (italian and english), text painting, sometimes accompanied, women sang, texts were light and funny
As Vesta Was Descending
6 voices, text painting, oriana: queen elizabeth I
Rise of Instrumental music
1550, beginning of idiomatic writing for instruments, now used in church, created in “chests”, dance music (susato: three dances), ensembles were called consorts
Gabrielli
maestri di cappella st. mark’s basilica in venice, used instruments antiphonally in balconies, first composed to write original sacred music for instruments
