Medieval and Renaissance Music Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from medieval to Renaissance music, including composers, forms, techniques, and stylistic distinctions.

Noise

A sound lacking a definite pitch; unpitched or non-melodic sound.

Rhythm

Pattern of durations in music; organization of time and beat.

Church Modes

Medieval scale system based on patterns of intervals; typically eight modal patterns.

Musical Tone

A sound with a definite pitch.

Meter

The grouped, recurring pattern of beats in a piece of music.

Organum

Early polyphonic technique where one voice moves with a chant or another line.

Pitch

The perceived highness or lowness of a sound (frequency).

Syncopation

Rhythmic emphasis on off-beats or weak beats, creating a displaced pulse.

Troubadours

Medieval poet-musicians from the Occitan-speaking regions who composed secular songs.

Soprano

The highest vocal range or voice part.

Tempo

The speed at which a piece of music is played.

Strophic Form

A musical form in which the same music repeats for every verse of the text.

Alto

The vocal range below soprano, often the lower female voice or countertenor.

Melody

A linear sequence of pitches forming the main musical line.

Motet

A polyphonic vocal work, typically sacred, often with Latin text.

Tenor

A high male voice range or the voice part that often carries the cantus or structural line.

Song

A short vocal musical composition; can be secular or sacred depending on context.

Isorhythm

Rhythmic technique using a repeating talea (rhythmic pattern) and color (melodic pattern).

Bass

The low vocal range or lowest male voice part.

Motive, Motif

A short musical idea that recurs and helps unify a composition.

Ars Nova vs. Ars Antiqua

Ars Nova (New Art) features refined rhythm and notation in the 14th c.; Ars Antiqua (Old Art) precedes it with older rhythmic practices.

Staff

The set of five lines and four spaces on which musical notes are written.

Phrase

A musical unit within a melody, akin to a musical sentence.

Humanism

Renaissance intellectual movement emphasizing human potential and achievements.

Ledger Lines

Lines added above or below the staff to extend the pitch range.

Chord

Three or more notes sounded together to create harmony.

Declamation

Setting or shaping of text syllables to music; how words are sung.

Clef

Symbol on the staff indicating the pitch of the notes (e.g., G, F, C clefs).

Harmony

Vertical combination of tones; the simultaneous sounding of pitches.

Points of Imitation

Entries of a melodic idea in different voices at different times, creating imitation.

Interval

The distance between two pitches.

Cadence

A musical ending or pause that concludes a phrase or section.

Musical Settings

Setting text or poetry to music; the process of composing to text.

Octave

An interval of eight diatonic steps; doubling of pitch above or below.

Consonance

Pleasant-sounding, stable intervals or chords.

Madrigal

A secular vocal piece from the Renaissance for multiple voices, often with text painting.

Dynamics

Variations in loudness within a musical work.

Dissonance

Tension-filled, unstable intervals that resolve to consonance.

Word (Text) Painting

Musical depiction of the meaning or emotion of the text through music.

Duration

Length of time a note or rest lasts.

Texture

The overall fabric of sound; monophony, polyphony, or homophony.

Melisma

A singingle syllable stretched over several notes.

Timbre

Tone color; the quality of a sound that distinguishes different voices or instruments.

Monophony

Music with a single melodic line and no harmonic accompaniment.

Scale

An ordered series of notes ascending or descending within an octave.

Homophony

A clear melody with accompanying harmony or chords.

Diatonic Scales

Major and minor scales built from seven pitches within the key signature.

Polyphony

Music with two or more independent melodic lines sounding together.

Major

A tonal system based on major scales and chords; bright-sounding.

Imitative polyphony

Polyphony where voices imitate each other at entrances.

Minor

A tonal system based on minor scales; often darker-sounding.

Non-imitative polyphony

Polyphony where lines develop independently without imitation.

Chromatic Scale

Scale including all twelve pitches within an octave (including semitones).

Tonality

Organization of pitches around a central pitch or key center.

Sederunt

A four-voice organum by Pérotin, illustrating the rise of polyphony.

Organum quadruplum

A four-voice organum, an advanced form of early polyphony.

Notre Dame Composers

Leonin and Pérotin, masters of polyphony at the Notre Dame school.

Leonin

Early Notre Dame composer known for organizing and expanding organum.

Pérotin

13th-century Notre Dame composer who advanced four-voice organum.

Bernart de Ventadorn

A famous medieval troubadour known for secular songs.

Can vei la lauzeta mover

A well-known secular song by Bernart de Ventadorn.

The Troubadours

Medieval poet-musicians who wrote and performed secular songs in southern France.

Strophic (vs Through Composed)

Strophic repeats the same music for each verse; through-composed varies music with lyrics.

Philippe de Vitry

14th-century composer/theorist associated with Ars Nova and new rhythmic notation.

Garrit Gallus/Nova Fert

Renaissance motet pieces by Philippe de Vitry illustrating Ars Nova techniques.

The Motet (renaissance context)

A polyphonic vocal work with a Latin text, often sacred.

color

In isorhythm, the melodic line used as a recurring color.

talea

In isorhythm, the repeating rhythmic pattern.

Isorhythm

Rhythmic technique using recurring color and talea for structural coherence.

Ars Nova

14th-century musical style with innovative rhythmic notation and complexity.

Ars Antiqua

Earlier medieval polyphonic style preceding Ars Nova.

Roman de Fauvel

Satirical French verse romance influencing Ars Nova and musical politics.

Early Renaissance

Period of clear harmonic structure and new consonances; following medieval practices.

Du Fay

Late medieval/early Renaissance composer (c.1400–1474) known for refined polyphony.

Josquin des Prez

High Renaissance composer (c.1450–1521) noted for textual clarity and imitation.

Late Renaissance

Period culminating in Palestrina’s style; balance of polyphony and clarity.

Palestrina

Late Renaissance composer famed for six-voice, consonant polyphony and Counter-Reformation influence.

De Wert

Late Renaissance Madrigal composer (1535–1596) noted for text painting.

Vezzosi augelli

A madrigal by De Wert; title means 'Graceful little birds' and exemplifies text painting.

Agnus Dei (Pope Marcellus Mass)

Six-voice mass movement by Palestrina; noted for balanced, consonant polyphony and imitation.

Pope Marcellus Mass

Palestrina mass setting famed for clarity, restraint, and six-part polyphony.

Word Painting/Text Painting

Music that mirrors the meaning or imagery of the text.

Madrigal (renaissance)

Secular vocal piece for several voices with expressive text setting.