Music of Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Period

^^MUSIC OF THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD (700-1400)^^

  • Also known as the Middle Ages (Dark Ages)
    • War and plague
  • Fall of the Roman Empire
  • The Christian Church influenced Europe’s culture and political affairs
  • Pope Gregory approved Monophonic plainchant (Gregorian Chant)
    • Originally transmitted orally
    • Scholars put it to notation to assist dissemination across Europe

CHARACTERISTICS OF GREGORIAN CHANTS

  • Monophonic
    • Only one note sounding at a time
  • Free meter
    • Musical meter free from musical time and T.S.
  • Modal
    • Denoting music using melodies or harmonies based on modes other than the ordinary major and minor scales
  • Usually based on Latin liturgy
    • Ceremony or ritual conducted in the Latin language usually associated in a Catholic mass
    • Secular - non-religious
    • Sacred - religious
  • Use of Neume notation
    • A note or group of notes to be sung to a single syllable

CHARACTERISTICS OF TROUBADOUR MUSIC

  • Secular
  • Improvised instruments
  • Chivalry and courtly love
  • French music
  • French language

FAMOUS COMPOSER OF THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD

Adam De la Halle (France, 1237-1288)

  • Also known as Adam le Bossu (Adam the Hunchback)
  • Son of a well-known citizen of Arras, Henri de la Halle
  • Cistercian Abbey of Vaucelles
  • Trouvere, poet, and musician
  • Works: Le Jeu de Robin et de Marion, La Chanson du roi de Sicile