Music of the Middle Ages

Two-part series on the music of the Middle Ages.
Contextualization with previous discussions in music history: Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Impressionist, Modernism, Blues.
Focus on the climate, sound, and key genres of Medieval music.
Listening examples to illustrate concepts.

Three primary types of music to be discussed:
  - Sacred Vocal Music (religious music)
  - Secular Vocal Music
  - Instrumental Music

Time Frame: Approximately 476 to 1450.
Defined by the fall of the Roman Empire and the transition to the Renaissance.
Roman Catholic Church wielded substantial power, influencing musical development.
Characterized by:
  - Plagues
  - War
  - Violence
  - Poverty
Often referred to as the "Dark Ages" due to negative societal conditions.

Music notation evolved significantly across the Middle Ages, transitioning from virtually nothing to a primitive version of modern sheet music.
This evolution culminated in refined notation during the Renaissance and Baroque period.

Early Structure: Initially monophonic with a single voice and melody line.
Transitioned to polyphony over time, allowing multiple melodies to occur simultaneously.
Modal Music: Music was modal, not defined by key signatures, which developed later around the Baroque period.
- Example of a modal reference: Instead of stating a piece is in D major, it would be described as in Dorian mode.

Definition: The most common type of plain chant, originating from Rome; akin to the 'brand name' of plain chant.
Characteristics of Gregorian chant:
  - Monophonic in nature, featuring a single melodic line.
  - Lacks rhythmic structure with melodies mirroring the natural inflection of text.
  - Composed in Latin, based on sacred texts (like the Bible).
  - Typically straightforward with stepwise vocal patterns, minimal leaps or jumps in melodies.
  - Includes melisma, where multiple notes are sung on a single syllable (e.g., "hi" sung with many notes).
Historical Contribution: Pope Gregory the Great organized these chants, which led to specific chants being assigned to particular times during Catholic Mass.
Example to Listen: "University Key Teh Expectant" from the first Sunday Mass during Advent.

Time Frame: Emerged in the ninth century.
Due to boredom from repetitive Gregorian chants, monks began to improvise.
  - Initial development involved adding harmonies to the monophonic melody line, such as:
    - Octave Doubling: Singing the same melody an octave higher or lower.
    - Introduction of fourths and fifths harmonically, which sounded dissonant by modern standards.
This technique is called parallel organum, where notes move parallel to each other in the same direction.
Early Polyphony: By the 12th and 13th centuries, free organum emerged, featuring independent melody lines that diverged from each other.

Definition: Emerged in the 13th century, indicating multiple texts set to a single musical piece.
Developed as a solution to the challenges posed by complex melismatic sections with significant pitch leaps.
Common practice included layering sacred Latin texts with secular texts (e.g., French poetry).
While these developments made melodies more complex and included three-part structure, challenges remained in the comprehensibility of lyrics.
Listening Reference: Notable examples available online, like performances of various motets demonstrating text layering.

This first part focused entirely on sacred music of the Middle Ages.
The upcoming second part will delve into secular and instrumental music within the Medieval period.
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