Music History Study Guide: Middle Ages to Baroque

Oral Transmission

Music passed down orally before written notation.

Neumes

Early notation symbols indicating pitch direction (up or down).

Heighted Neumes

Neumes placed at different heights to show relative pitch.

Guido of Arezzo

Invented the 4-line staff for precise pitch notation.

6 Rhythmic Modes

Patterns based on poetic meters (e.g., trochaic, iambic).

Franconian Notation

Franco of Cologne introduced note shapes to indicate rhythm.

Mensuration Signs

Symbols indicating rhythmic proportions (e.g., tempus, prolatio).

Chant

Monophonic, unaccompanied liturgical music.

Gregorian Chant

Standardized by the Catholic Church.

Mass

Ordinary of the Mass: Fixed texts (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei).

Proper of the Mass

Variable texts for specific occasions (e.g., Introit, Gradual).

Liturgical Drama

Hildegard of Bingen: Composed Ordo Virtutum, a morality play with music.

Troubadours and Trobaritz

Poet-musicians in southern France (12th-13th centuries).

Medieval Dance Music

Instrumental music for social dancing.

Motet

Evolved from sacred to both sacred and secular vocal music.

Organum

Early polyphony, adding a second voice to chant.

Parallel Organum

Voices move in parallel motion.

Free Organum

Voices move independently.

Notre Dame Period

Leonin: Composed Magnus Liber Organi (Great Book of Organum).

Perotin

Expanded polyphony to 3-4 voices.

Perfection Rhythm

Triple meter as the 'perfect' rhythm.

Ars Nova

Imperfection Rhythm: Introduction of duple meter.

Guillaume de Machaut

Composed the first complete polyphonic Mass (Messe de Nostre Dame).

Isorhythm

Repetition of rhythmic patterns in the tenor voice.

Mass Cycle

Unified polyphonic setting of the Mass Ordinary.

Humanism

Focus on human emotion and expression in music.

Music Printing

Enabled wider dissemination of music (e.g., Ottaviano Petrucci).

Consonance

Greater use of 3rds and 6ths for harmony.

English Style

John Dunstable: Influenced continental composers with consonant harmonies.

Burgundian Style

Guillaume Du Fay: Blended English and continental styles.

Franco-Flemish Style

Josquin Desprez: Master of imitative counterpoint and text expression.

Imitative Counterpoint

Point of Imitation: Voices echo each other in succession.

Text-Music Relationship

Music structured to reflect the text (e.g., word painting).

Reformation

Martin Luther: Created Lutheran Chorales (simple, strophic hymns).

Contrafactum

New religious texts set to existing melodies.

Counter-Reformation

Palestrina: Ideal composer for clear text declamation and balanced polyphony.

Madrigal

Expressive secular vocal music.

Text Painting

Music depicts or expresses the text.

Secular Songs

Growth of vernacular song genres (e.g., chanson, frottola).

Doctrine of Affections

Music expresses specific emotions.

Seconda Practica

Emphasis on text over rules (e.g., Monteverdi).

Basso Continuo

Continuous bass line with harmonies (harpsichord, organ, lute).

Idiomatic Writing

Music tailored to specific instruments.

Opera

Florentine Camerata: Developed monody (solo voice with accompaniment).

Recitative

Speech-like singing for dialogue.

Aria

Lyrical, expressive solo song.

Monteverdi's Orfeo

Early opera masterpiece.

Tragédie Lyrique

Jean-Baptiste Lully's style under Louis XIV.

Dance Music

Dance Suite: Collection of stylized dances (allemande, courante, sarabande, gigue).

Court Ballet

Theatrical dance with music.

Baroque Sonata

Trio Sonata: Two melody instruments with basso continuo.

Solo Sonata

One melody instrument with continuo.

Concerto

Ritornello Form: Alternating tutti and solo sections.

Antonio Vivaldi

Composed The Four Seasons and worked at the Pio Ospedale della Pietá.

Johann Sebastian Bach

Cantatas: Sacred and secular vocal works.

Art of Fugue

Masterpiece of contrapuntal technique.

George Frideric Handel

Oratorio: Sacred dramatic works (e.g., Messiah).

English Oratorio

Large-scale works for English audiences.