Music History 1 Final

Babylon

The major metropolis in Mesopotamia

Enheduanna

Sumerian high priestess who is the first known composer and author in history, believed to have sung her hymns to the goddess Inanna with probable stringed instrument accompaniment.

Lyre

Ancient string instrument

Epitaph

Oldest surviving inscription of musical composition during the ancient times.

Pythagoras

Greek philosopher who was credited with discovering the numerical proportions of the octave (2:1) , fifth (3:2), and fourth (4:3). This was important not just for acoustics but also for the ancient medieval associations between music and numbers.

Gregorian chant

Sacred, unmetered, monophonic (single melody) music sung in Latin, associated with the Roman Catholic Church and named after Pope Gregory the Great.

Syllabic

Generally using one note per syllable of text

Melismatic

Music using many notes on long syllables (“slurred”)

Strophic

Verse verse verse verse, etc. (words always different, music always the same)

Responsorial

A leader will sing a line, the group will sing the next line

Antiphonal

Sung by alternating groups of people

Holy Roman Empire

800-1806

Pope leo III crowned charlemagne, king of Franks, emperor

Monophony

single melody line performed by one or more people in unison or by a single instrument.

Neumes

squiggles, the first form of notation.

Tonary

GIANT book of squigglified Psalms, Hymns, etc.

Staff notation

square notation on staff that only had 4 lines

Guido d'Arezzo

(ca. 991-after 1033) is credited with

inventing solfege system (and 5-line staff)

Guidonian hand

Used as a teaching device to teach Solmization

Solmization

Like solfege, but only using “do” up to “la” “Do” was at first called “ut”

Church year

Major events: the birth and death of Christ

Each commemorated once a year

“Seasons” are in relation to those major

events

“Feast days” are commemorations of Saints

and other events in the life of Christ

Divine Office

“LITURGY OF THE HOURS”

Begun by St. Benedict,

500 CE

Performed by monks & nuns 

Usually all of the following services included

music (at least one chant); some more than

others

Mass (Ordinary vs. Proper = what is the difference?)

Ordinary: texts don’t change based on time of church year

Proper: texts change over course of year

Modes

eight church modes—Dorian, Hypodorian, Phrygian, Hypophrygian, Lydian, Hypolydian, Mixolydian, and Hypomixolydian—that formed the basis of Gregorian chant

Organum

general name for singing a countermelody to an existing chant

Conductus

were “rhymed”, metrical. strophic Latin poems on sacred/serious topics either monophonic or polyphonic same text and rhythm.

Rhythmic modes

fixed patterns of long and short note durations

Troubadours & Trouveres

Two groups of popular, secular songs have survived:

• Troubadours, from the South (Occitania)

• Trouvères, from the North

Both were also the “names” of the type of musician/minstrel

Courtly love = “refined love”

Often songs about love triangles/unattainable love

Minnesinger

Knightly/Noble poet-musicians from 12C-14C

Minnelieder were spiritual (Christian) love songs

Strophic, with AAB form

Walther von der Vogelweide (ca. 1170-ca. 1230): Palästinalied

Crusader song, about reaching the Holy Land

Notre Dame School

a group of medieval composers, including Léonin and Pérotin, who created polyphonic music at the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris between roughly 1160 and 1250

Adam de la Halle

One of the most celebrated composers of secular song. First composer to have his songs collected in a manuscript.

Most famous composition: Jeu de Robin et Marion (ca. 1284), a “musical play”

Motet

Was the most important genre to come out of the Notre Dame school

Latin tenor (bottom) and French upper lines (different words in each part! Simultaneously!)

Phillippe de Vitry

Composer, theorist, poet, church canon, adviser to the King of France

Clarified Franconian notation

Added the minim (by adding a stem), which was half the value of a semi-breve

Developed a new style, called Ars nova (“new art”) to separate the new generation from the past

Ars Nova

New art/New practice.

Two innovations in notation of rhythm & meter

Franconian notation

A type of square notation used during the 13th century

Minim

Added in 14th century by Philippe de Vitry

half the value of a semi-breve

Perfect meter

Represented by a circle and is in a triple division.

Imperfect meter

Represented by a half-circle and is in a duple division.

Mensuration sign

ancestors of our time signatures

Isorhythm

Means the same rhythm. Different parts (or different sections of the same part) have related rhythmic patterns and both melodies had the same rhythms.

Was also called the talea

Mystery play

Musical dramas were often based on

sacred and Biblical stories, for the purposes of education (and proselytizing). “Mystery” in this sense means the “Mystery of God.” (aka “Liturgical Drama”)

Medieval veggie tales

Renaissance

1400-1600 (15th and 16th centuries)

Means “rebirth” (term coined in 1855)

Age of exploration

Burgundian states

Franco-Flemish region

We know today as Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg

Controlled by the enormously wealthy Dukes of Burgundy (Burgundy is a region in France).

Humanism

an intellectual and cultural movement that emphasized human potential, achievements, and dignity by reviving the study of classical antiquity

Realism in art

Art started to portray reality through perspective and visual likeness to the reference.

Musical features of Renaissance

• Independence of parts

• “Equality” of parts

• Clarity

• Many more “tertian” harmonies (English influence)

• Instrumental music

• Invention of the keyboard

• More pieces identified as “by” a composer

• Court composers

• Pieces no longer “required” to be based on chant

• (but some were still)

• Imitative counterpoint

• Homophony = melody + accompaniment

Imitative counterpoint

a compositional technique where one musical line imitates another, creating a dialogue between different voices that share the same melodic ideas.

Homophony

a musical texture where a prominent melody is supported by one or more accompanying parts

Temperament

any tuning system used to determine the specific frequencies of notes in an instrument.

new problem, because of “fixed”

intonation of keyboard instruments

Equal temperament not invented until 18th century

Guillaume Du Fay

Major “Franco-Flemish” composer

Also member of the “Burgundian School”

Grew up in Cambrai, France

Very prolific, and many of his works survived

Secular and sacred music

“Fauxbourdon” style = chant variation in cantus (top line); harmonized with a 4th below (not notated) + bass part

Musica ficta

practice of adding accidentals (sharps, flats, or naturals) to music that are not written in the score

"Low Countries"

An area that is now Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

Major art and cultural period happened in the 16th century.

cantus firmus

fixed melodic line forming the basis for medieval or renaissance composition.

imitative counterpoint

a musical technique where a main melody (subject) is introduced in one voice and then repeated or echoed by other voices, often at different pitches or slightly varied, creating texture and unity

music printing

During this era they used a printing press to print out notation.

Reformation

a religious revolution

95 Theses

Writings from Martin Luther about his critisizm towards the church and his ideas.

Lutheranism/Protestantism

originated from Martin Luther's 16th-century Reformation against the Roman Catholic Church.

believe the Bible is the highest authority and are saved by grace through faith alone.

Core tenets include a focus on the gospel, the Trinity, Jesus as both God and man, and a belief in original sin.

Lutheran Chorale

major music emergment with the new branch of worship.

are hymns.

Counter-Reformation

Council of Trent (1545-1563)

• Tried to “clean up” corruption in priesthood

• Removed the indulgence thing

• Otherwise upheld Catholic traditions & services (and Latin!...until the 1960s!)

» Led to several wars, executions, purges, the Spanish Inquisition, etc.

Reformation in England

the church of England broke away from the pope

British monarchy switched from Catholicism to Protestantism several times during 16C

Suddenly Church services were in English, and maybe next week they could be in Latin again!

English madrigal

Form was borrowed from Italy & imitated by English composers.

a short, a cappella choral song, often polyphonic and based on Italian models but with a distinctly English style.

Lute song

A song for a lute…

solo singer accomp. by lute

Consort

a group of “like” instruments, usually in a SATB set up

Shawm

a conical bore, double-reed woodwind instrument made in Europe from the 13th or possibly 12th century

early ancestor to the oboe

Cornetto

lip-reed wind instrument

leather-covered conical wooden pipe with finger holes

Sackbut

an early version of the trombone

smaller bore, a less flared bell, and a mellower sound

Crumhorn

double reed

lowkey looks like a cane

Antiphonal

a performance style where two or more groups of singers or instrumentalists alternate singing or playing in response to each other, often described as "call and response"

Harpsichord (and the 3 other names for it)

Keyboard instrument of the time.

not touch sensitive

Virginal (england)

Clavecin (france)

Clavicembalo (italy)

Pavane

Renaissance processional dance

Galliard

performed after stately Pavane.

Baroque

an artistic style that flourished in Europe from the early 17th to mid-18th centuries, characterized by grandeur, drama, and elaborate ornamentation in fields like architecture, painting, sculpture, and music

the next era

Secunda prattica

a revolutionary musical style from the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods that prioritized emotional expression and the text over strict counterpoint rules

Thirty Years' War

a major European conflict that began during the later stages of the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation, and it was the last major religious war in Europe

started just religious then got political

Affect

the music's ability to portray and evoke a full range of human emotions, such as joy, anger, or pain, through a more expressive and dynamic style

basso continuo

Bass + keyboard; only bass line written + figure bass

Monody

a musical style with a single prominent melody and instrumental accompaniment

opera

generally means: all text is sung

Early operas were (allegedly) based on Ancient Greek performances of classic plays

• Based on a misunderstanding of Greek tradition

• They didn’t actually sing everything

Began as entertainment for the court of Florence, created by poets & musicians who called themselves the “Florentine Camerata”

Florentine camerata

a group of humanists, musicians, poets and intellectuals in late Renaissance Florence who gathered under the patronage of Count Giovanni de' Bardi to discuss and guide trends in the arts, especially music and drama.

Recitative

that imitates the natural rhythms and inflections of speech to deliver dialogue and advance the plot, contrasting with the melodic arias

Aria

a solo vocal piece with orchestral accompaniment, typically in opera, oratorio, or cantata, designed to showcase a singer's skill and express a character's deep emotion or reflection during a pause in the dramatic action, similar to a soliloquy in a play.

Da capo aria

• Very common aria form in both operas & cantatas
• Only A and B sections were printed
• End of B section: “Aria da capo” (from the head, the start)
• End of A section: “fine” (end)
• In performance, makes ternary form: A B A
• B section provided contrast: new key, different emotions, new texture
• Ex.: Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725): aria from La Griselda (1721)

ritornello

a recurring instrumental passage

sinfonia

a symphony.

group of instruments playing together

chorus (in opera)

a large ensemble of singers—representing groups like soldiers, villagers, or priests—who perform together to advance the plot, provide atmospheric backdrop, or offer commentary

oratorio

unstaged religious dramatic piece, usually with soloists & chorus

cantata

solo voice, with basso continuo (later, added chorus)

libretto

The text

sacred concerto

like an oratorio, but not as elaborate

◦ Composed by both Catholics and Lutherans (in Germany)

Mean-tone temperament

a 16th–18th century tuning system that narrows perfect fifths to achieve purer, more consonant major and minor thirds, resulting in highly sweet-sounding, well-in-tune chords within a limited number of keys

Equal temperament

the modern Western tuning system that divides the octave into 12 perfectly equal steps (semitones), making all keys and transpositions sound consistent, even though it means some intervals (like major thirds) aren't perfectly "pure"

Ballet

Dance

"Sun King"

King Louis XIV

Gotten from his performance as Apollo in a Ballet

24 Violons du Roi

A select, prestigious ensemble of 24 string instruments in the violin family that served the French court under Louis XIII, XIV, and XV.

Baroque Dance Suite (and what are the essential movements? What are some optional ones?)

Usually used for keyboard music

• Stylized dances (not used for actual dancing)

Typical order: Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Gigue

• Later in the Baroque (by the time of J.S. Bach), a Prelude usually began the set

• Various dances could be “inserted” in between spots 3 and 4 (esp. the Minuet)

semi-opera

dramatic opera or English opera

spoken drama with substantial musical episodes (songs, masques, dancing) typically performed by secondary, supernatural, or pastoral characters

Trio sonata

• Genre for 2 treble instruments + basso continuo (bass instrument + keyboard)

• This set up could be used for either sonata da chiesa or da camera

Sonata

an instrumental chamber work, typically featuring 1–4 players with basso continuo, divided into 3–4 movements

sonata da camera

Chamber sonata

• Stylized dances, like a suite

• Often 4 movements, slow-fast-slow-fast

sonata da chiesa

Church sonata

• More “serious” in nature

• Never used dance names (even though they sounded similar)

• Could be played in church to substitute for Mass movements