Medieval

Musical Texture:

• The density and disposition of musical lines

  • Dense, heavy

  • Light, airy

• Monophony:

  • Monophonic= a single line of music unison

  • Multiple people sing or play the same line

  • Thin monophonic texture

  • Music in octaves is still monophonic

    • Ex. Happy Birthday or Beethoven 5th opening motive

• Homophony:

  • Literal means= “same sounding”

  • All voices move at roughly the same time

  • Most common type of homophony is a tune plus a chordal accompaniment

  • Draws attention to the melody line

  • Used in hymns, Christmas carols, folk songs

• Polyphony:

  • Literally meaning= “many sounding”

  • Two or more musical lines happening simultaneously

  • Polyphonic textures creates Counterpoint; independent lines of equal importance

• Types of CounterPoint

  • Imitative/imitation

    • Voices duplicate some portion of the previous voice

    • CANON: voices exactly duplicate the previous voice at different times

  • Free Counterpoint

    • Each line melodically independent of any other

    • Common in jazz improv

      • Main “voices” to listen for are Trumpet and Guitar

      • These lines are free and can move from working together to moving in different directions. This weaving in and out of their independent melodies creates relaxed jazzy feel

• Musical Form: The purposeful organization of music

  • Compositions general shape as perceived by the listener

  • Most forms (even in Jazz or Rock) have been used for centuries

• Repetition: established weight, balance and symmetry, conveys a sense of security, identify the repetition by using the same letter: A A

  • Ex. Amazing grace

• Contrast: provides variety and conflict

  • Satisfies need for excitement and novelty

  • Contrasting sections are labeled with other letter: like B, C, D, etc

  • Dynamics are often used to enhance contrast

    • A Section: gentle, flowing melody

    • B Section: lighthearted, more active

    • C section: very dramatic

      • Ex.

• Variation:

  • Middle ground between reptilian & contrast

  • Music is familiar but altered a but

  • Given a superscript label: A1, B1

  • All musical forms based on repetition, contrast, and variation

    • Ex. Mozart: 12 variations

• Strophic Form:

  • Most familiar musical form

  • Basic unit(A) is continually repeated: AAA

  • In strophic form, the music remains the same throughout the piece, while the lyrics change with each stanza

  • Strophe=poetic stanza

  • Many pop songs use strophe that includes a verse of text and ends with a chorus- textual refrain that repeats

    • Ex. Blown in the WInd (Peter, Paul, and Mary

      • Verse 1 (A): How many roads must a man walk down…

• Binary Forms:

  • Consists of two contrasting sections: A & B

  • A and B are constructed to balance and complement each other

  • Variety in the B section is typically created through a different mood, new key signatures or a noticeable new melody

  • Music in binary form often repeats each section of music AABB

    • Ex.

    • A: section presented by strings

    • A: section repeated, with the “surprise” at the end

    • B Secion present by strings

    • B section retreated, with flutes added to melody

• Ternary Form:

  • One of the most widely used forms in classical music

  • Musical journey= home - away - home (ABA)

  • Return to section A feels complete, satisfying

    • Ex.

      • A=flutes melody + string pizz. Melody repeats with other instruments adding counterpoint

      • B= minor mode, trumpet melody

      • A’ = return to major with flutes added melody

• Rondo Form:

  • The section alternates with contrasting sections, usually at least two contrasting sections (B,C)

  • Common rondo formsz;

    • ABACA

    • ABACABA

    • ABACADA

      • Ex.

        • A = refrain played by full orchestra, trumpet and drums

        • B= quieter contrasting sections played by strings and woodwind

        • A refrain returns(trumpets)

        • C= new contrasting section

        • A refrain returns and is repeated

Medieval Music: 476-1450 (religious life, warfare, poverty & plague, cathedrals)

Fall o Roman Empire(476)→ Charlemagne(800)→Hildegard von Bingen(1098-1179)→ Notre Dame(1160)→Black Death(1348)→Chaucer writes Canterbury Tales(1390)

Medieval life:

• Work and prayer

• Rural communities

  • Common population (non-nobles) rarely encountered music outside of mass

• Monasteries and/or convents

  • Oral tradition; teaching music by ear(chant)

  • Gregorian Chant - Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) [Holy spirit bird singing myth] many chant authors

    • Guido Of Arezzo: known for the hand of Guido, musical notation, unified way of learning music

      • Ex. Dies Irae (day of wrath)

        • One of the most famous chant tunes

        • Smile melody, intense text

        • Burial chant from Catholic Church

        • This chant later appears in countless masses and in popular culture Today

          • Examples in Pop-culture: used to create an ominous feeling, feel a kind of darkness around this melody

  • Hildegard Of Bingen(1098-1179)

    • Prolific author of Gregorian Chant

    • She was the 10th child in her family and was given by her parents to the church as a tithe (a donation of tenth of one’s worldly possessions)

    • Spiritual visionary

    • Syllabic signing= one or two notes per word

    • melismatic singing= many notes per word sung

      • Think Christina Aguilera, Mariah Cary, Beyoncé

        • Ex. O rub or sanguinis, flowing melody

  • Catherdrals(1150-1350) (Nicknamed the Age of Cathedrals)

    • Northern France’s growing urban areas with a need to accommodate religious needs of population

    • Gothic architecture is the dominant style

      • Focus on pointed arches, high vaulted ceiling, natural lights and colorful stainglass

      • Reaching for something greater/higher

      • Stone interior reverberates sound incredibly

  • New Style: Organum

    • Organum=early church polyphony

    • Composers add additional voices to the chant melody

    • Often long sustained tones in supporting voices

      • Echoing cathedrals allow singers to breathe without interrupting the sustained harmony

      • Composers began measuring how long to substation each note to maintain beautiful harmony

      • Menstrual Notation= Measured notation

  • Court Music:

    • Music in the royal courts often included secular songs

    • Kings, dukes, counts, lesser nobles

    • More forms of musical “entertainment”, considered too worldly for the church

    • Actor, jesters, gossip, love, songs

    • Instruments included in music, not just voices

      • Ex. Je Vivroie Liement (14th century French song written by Guillame De Machaut

  • The Renaissance(1450-1600):

    • The “rebirth” was period of intellectual and personal flourishing in Italy, France’s and England

    • Rediscovery of classical antiquity,; Greek and Roman literature. Power of expression

    • Alliance between music and the lyrics