Midterm Study Guide

pythagorean tuning

musical tuning system where all notes are derived from stacking pure perfect fifths

liturgy

the customary order of worship for a religious group

purpose of standardizing the liturgy

to teach the congregation the church doctrine in a way that is standard

standardizing the liturgy 

led to music notation and gregorian chant

gregorian chant

monophonic sacred singing in latin

monophony

a single melody line without any harmonic accompaniment or other melodic lines

7 liberal arts

1. grammar

2. logic

3. rhetoric

4. arithmetic

5. geometry

6. astronomy

7. music

Jubal vs. Pythagoras: conflict between Greek reason and Judeo Christian faith

music is a divine gift revealed to humanity within the biblical timeline

vs.

Pythagoras discovered mathematical ratios behind musical harmony

universal history

embraces all aspects of the past (biblical and pagan) and connects it chronologically

medieval christian historians accepted pagan gods as historical figures made possible by euphemism because of the idea of 

universal history 

euphemism

the thought that Greek gods were real people that were deified after their exploits

why Jubal gained favor (universal history)

it was established that Jubal had priority in time over Pythagoras

mass

the most important service in the Roman Catholic Church that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus

organum

two or more voices improvise singing at a 5th/4th below the given melody

structure of organum

1. principal voice = original chant melody

2. organal voice = 5th/4th below

3 types of organum

1. parallel organum

2. mixed parallel organum

3. note-against-note organum

parallel organum

organal voice sings a parallel 5th below

mixed parallel organum

organal voice sings a parallel 4th below while avoiding tritones

note-against-note organum

melody is now in the lower voice 

notre dame cathedral

features the first liturgical polyphony to be composed and performed from notation in church

the notre dame cathedral made

major developments in polyphony and rhythmic modes

the problem with Leonin

1. there is no way to prove that all the “Leonins” in the documents are the Leonin mentioned in anonymous iv

2. there are other “Leonins” who have been documented that could not possibly have been the composer

motet

new genre which added newly written Latin words to the upper voices

where is the principal melody in motet

the principal melody is in the cantus firmus

were motets sacred or secular?

typically sacred (can be both)

isorhythmic motet

the tenor moves very slowly in comparison to the upper voices

de Vitry

french composer who is credited for writing the music treatise Ars nova

the earliest musical works that exemplify the Ars Nova are 

de Vitry’s motets

mensural notation

used note shapes to show both pitch and rhythm clearly

tempus imperfectum

groups of two → when a breve/measure is equal to two semibreves

tempus perfectum

groups of three → when a breve/measure is equal to three semibreves

Machaut: famous mass

Missa de Notre Dame

Machaut: Missa de Notre Dame

1. first complete polyphonic setting of the mass attributed to a single, named composer

2. unified mass movements into a single work

Machaut was one of the first composers to 

compile his works and discuss his compositional methods

retrograde imitation

complements a forward moving line with an identical line stated in reverse

medieval interest in retrograde imitation

1. composers were fascinated with achieving musical symmetry

2. the ability to match rhythmic and melodic patterns with their retrograde demonstrated the composer’s knowledge of mensural notation and counterpoint & tested their skill at canonic riddles

example piece of single melody retrograde

Dominus - Nusmid

Dominus Nusmido

1. single melody retrograde

2. only the melody is reversed exactly, the rhythm has changed

example piece of rhythmic retrograde

Garrit Gallus by de Vitry

de Vitry’s Garrit Gallus features a 

rhythmic retrograde → the same rhythm forwards and backwards

we know the retrograde in de Vitry’s Garrit Gallus is intentional because

de Vitry is a compositional master, but he breaks the rules in order to achieve rhythmic symmetry

an example piece of a retrograde canon realized through the text is

Machaut’s Ma fin est mon commencement

Machaut’s Ma fin est mon commencement is a 

retrograde canon

Given only the tenor and countertenor in Machaut’s Ma fin est mon commencement, how do we realize the other voices exist?

1. the title is a hint

2. retrograde canon:

   1. tenor is normal

   2. cantus is tenor backwards

   3. B section os countertenor is the A section in retrograde

chanson

polyphonic French songs where the upper principal line is the cantus 

chanson: 3 formes fixes

1. ballade

2. rondeau

3. virelai

humanism

the study of humanities, or things pertaining to human knowledge

humanism: humanism emphasized

logic and metaphysics and its reliance on authority

humanism: humanists considered these studies more important

1. grammar

2. rhetoric

3. poetry

4. history

5. moral philosophy

humanism: humanists had faith in

1. dignity of humans

2. human reason

3. the human capacity to understand reality through our senses

humanism: following aristotle, humanists considered music

an essential part of education

court musicians

musicians worked in royal courts or extended households of a monarchy

3 divisions of the courts a musician can work in

1. chapel

2. chamber

3. public

the new counterpoint

1. no parallel 5ths and octaves

2. dissonances must be handled through passing tones, neighbor tones, suspensions, etc

imitative counterpoint

voices imitate or echo a motif or phrase in another voice

examples of imitative counterpoint can be

1. same melody

2. inversion

3. retrograde

4. retrograde inversion

contenance angloise translates to

the english quality

the english quality 

style of music that frequently used 3rds/6s & used syllabic text setting

english discant style

three-part polyphonic composition written with a single plainchant melody as the base

the english discant style would often include

parallel first inversion chords

Dunstable

most highly regarded English composer of the 15th century

English influence on France

the musical (especially harmonic) styles of England influenced Binchois and DuFay

Composers writing full masses

starting in the 15th century, it was normal for composers to set the Mass as a coherent whole

the first Mass composed as a whole piece

Machaut’s Missa de Notre Dame was the first mass composed as a coherent whole

DuFay: Se la face ay pale

1. chanson

2. shows strong influence of English music → both the tenor and cantus are equally tuneful

3. the rhythmic energy of the French Ars Nova is still present

DuFay’s Se la face ay pale shows strong influence of English music because 

both the tenor and cantus are equally tuneful 

DuFay: Missa se la face ay pale

1. earliest known complete cyclic mass 

2. used secular song Se la face ay pale as the cantus firmus for the mass

the earliest known complete cyclic mass is

DuFay’s Missa se la face ay pale

the song DuFay used as the cantus firmus for his Missa se la face ay pale is

secular song Se la face ay pale

what was DuFay’s Nuper rosarum flores written for

DuFay’s Nuper rosarum flores was written for the consecration of the dome built for the Florence cathedral

how does DuFay’s Nuper rosarum flores relate to Solomon’s Temple

dufay uses numerology to relate Solomon’s temple to the Duomo cathedral in Florence 

specific numerology examples in DuFay’s Nuper rosarum flores connecting the piece to Solomon’s temple

1. proportions of the piece 6:4:2:3

2. the number 28. is a perfect number

3. multiples of 7

Nuper rosarum flores by DuFay: important numbers

1. 6:4:2:3 → the overarching design of the piece

   1. uncommon proportion

2. 4×7

   1. 4 sections of the work, 28 breves 2 times

   2. 28 is a perfect number

   3. DuFay uses the first 14 notes of the Introit of a Mass for the cantus firmus

cyclic mass

a musical setting of the mass ordinary in which each movement shares the same melody theme in the cantus firmus

cyclic mass: cantus firmus

can be an original melody, famous song, existing chant, etc.

cyclic mass: L’homme arme

1. secular French song

2. over 40 cyclic masses written with the song

examples of cyclic masses

1. Missa L'homme arme

2. Missa fortuna desperata

3. Missa se la face ay pale

Obrecht’s Missa fortuna desperata is a

cyclic mass with retrograde of popular italian song fortuna desperata

“canon” in latin translates to 

rule 

canon

instructs the second voice to sing the same melody starting after the original voice

in canons, the second voice could be

1. imitation

2. inversion

3. retrograde

4. retrograde inversion

mysticism

finding ways to directly experience the divine through music, science, and mathematics

in medieval mystic writing, Christ’s passion is compared to 

the suffering of an early lover going after an unattainable lady 

mystics have written about the paleness of Jesus to represent

Jesus’ suffering and his love

Ockeghem

composer closely identified with the French royal court, where he served three kings

example of mensuration canon

the kyrie in Ockeghem’s Missa prolationum

mensuration canon

two voices simultaneously sing from the same part but use different mensuration signs 

Isaac

1. musician who worked for Lorenzo di Medici

2. composed Palle Palle

Isaac’s Palle palle: how the cantus firmus pays homage to the Medici family

1. written in tempus perfectum → mensuration sign is a circle

2. 8 notes

3. repeated 3 times

4. 3 gigli → higher notes

5. paints the contour of the medici coat of arms

6. 42 = MEDICI spelled in numbers in the latin alphabet

Josquin: Missa Hercules dux ferrariae

matches solmization syllables to the subject

soggetto cavato

matches solmization syllables to another word 

Josquin: Missa L’homme arme

1. transposed the L’homme arme tune to each solmization syllable

2. overall modality of the mass is in dorian

3. uses mensural canon in the Kyrie and Agnus Dei

Josquin: El grillo

1. written about a penis

2. many italian dialects use the word to refer to a penis

rhetoric is expressed in music through the use of

figures

figures:

1. ascending or descending melody?

2. length of note?

3. melisma

4. intervals

5. numerology

6. there is ALWAYS a meaning

circulatio

a series of pitches that form a circle around a certain pitch 

significance of circles

circle is eternal

concepts symbolized by the circle

1. heavenly spheres

2. world

3. eternity

4. God

5. wheel of fortune

Josquin: Ave maria benedicta tu and the Virgin Mary’s breasts

1. the Virgin’s breasts were seen as nourishing

2. circulus on the phrase containing “ubera” meaning “breasts”

3. tempus perfectum → mensuration sign is a circle

4. only section that’s in 3

5. canon at the octave represents the relationship of the mother and son

madrigal (italian)

1. most important secular genre of 16th century Italy

2. explores expression, characterization and dramatization

3. through-composed form

4. themes of love, sex, and wit