Introduction to Music Part II, Ch. 1: The Middle Ages

1. Introduction to MusicPart II, Ch. 1: The Middle Ages Historical overview Early Middle Ages: Sacred Music Secular Music Late Middle Ages: Development of Polyphony Jongleurs Troubadours Notre Dame & the Ars Nova

2. Overview—Middle Ages Roman Empire weakening ≈ 300 A.D. Marauding bands over-run Roman Empire (Europe) Society & culture disintegrate ≈500-year “Dark Ages” Feudalism emerges ≈ 1000 ≈ 1300 ≈1400

3. Overview—Middle Ages • Feudalism’s 3 classes: • nobility (feudal lords)--wealth • [NO INTEREST in culture] • peasantry--labor on feudal manors • [NO TIME for culture] • clergy--knowledge, literacy • [INTEREST, TIME, EDUCATION] • Result: Church = repository of fine arts

4. Overview—Middle Ages Roman Empire weakening ≈ 300 A.D. Marauding bands over-run Roman Empire (Europe) Society & culture disintegrate ≈500-year “Dark Ages” Feudalism emerges ≈ 1000 Society rebounds Town life revives Romanesque architecture Crusades, plague, war weaken Church ≈ 1300 Gothic architecture Rise of universities ≈1400 100 Years’ War, Bubonic plague, Great Schism Secularization Renaissance

5. Sacred Music • Purpose: worship • Chant (aka “Gregorian” chant) • ancient Jewish culture early Christian church • 1000s of chants • many types, many purposes • melodies aurally transmitted (no notation until 7th C) • Early church services = informal, house meetings, secrecy--much chant

6. Sacred Music • Rome transitions from persecuting to encouraging Christian Church. • Roman Catholic Church emerges as MIMP M.A. institution • Organization resembles that of previous Roman Empire • Universal throughout Europe; powerful

7. Sacred Music • Mass liturgy • established by 5th C • many sung components, chants • Ca 600 A.D. Pope Gregory re-organizes, standardizes liturgy, hence “Gregorian chant”

8. Listening Summary • Composer: anonymous • Title: Alleluia: Vidimus Stellam • Genre: chant • Information: • Latin text • Monophony • Melody: • Does it move mostly by steps, or by skips, or is there a balance? • Is it’s pitch range wide? or narrow? • Melismatic (What is this, and is it normal for a chant?) • Response (Explain why “unison” describes this.) • How strong is the beat? 1 (none) (moderate) 5 (very strong, metrical) 10 ConnectKamienListening

9. Vocal music: texts about life (love, work, heroes, etc.) Instrumental music: mostly for dancing th/f prominent beat any instrument will do Secular Music

10. Listening Summary • Anonymous • Untitled • estampie (popular medieval dance) • I = • Monophony rebec and pipe playchords? in harmony? in unison? psaltery playschords? the beat? in unison? the measure? • How strong is the beat? 1 (none) (moderate) 5 (very strong, metrical) 10 ConnectKamienListening

11. The Development of Polyphony Eureka! 700 1200 1300 Monophonic chant Various stages of combining melodies—simple, NOT synchronized by beat or rhythm NO BEAT; NO RHYTHM Polyphony Several melodies synchronized by beat Ars NovaComplex rhythm & polyphony Measured Rhythm: beat, rhythms

12. lowest social level wandering entertainers disseminated news established Guilds to train performers 10C Jongleurs

13. nobles songs: ballads, love songs, songs about politics, morals, society notated melodies women participated freely first glimpses of social mobility 12C, 13C Troubadours & Trouvères

14. 14th CenturyArs Nova • Musicians innovate • Rhythm: more complex • Notation: more precise • Harmony: more modern-sounding • Increasingly more secular society more secular music • Guillame de Machaut—writes more secular music than sacred! See text for Puisqu’enoubli, pg 75

15. MASS = Principal worship service of the Catholic Church liturgy (order of worship) includes much music: Items of the Proper:different texts each Sunday of the year according to the church calendar. Introit Kyrie Gloria Collects Epistle Gradual Alleluia/tract Sequence Gospel Sermon [spoken] Credo Offertory Preface Sanctus Agnus Dei Communion Post-communion [Ita missa est.] Items ofthe Ordinary: same texts everySunday throughoutthe church year.

16. MASS Know these terms! liturgy Kyrie Gloria Credo Sanctus Agnus Dei Proper difference Ordinary (K., G., C., S., A.)

17. When composers began writing Masses, they set ONLY the texts of the Ordinary (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei).

18. Machaut Agnus Deifrom the Notre Dame Mass Mass I= Part of a 4-voice polyphonic setting of mass ordinary Latin text (of course!) 3 sections (A B A) Listening Summary Study questions next slide ConnectKamienListening

19. Ruminate on Machaut’sAgnus Dei(helpful info on pp. 65, 66, 76) • The four voice parts in Agnus Dei are roughly our modern soprano, alto, tenor, bass. • Is there a beat? • If there is a beat, what meter emerges? • Note the unusual timbre of the recording’s soprano and alto parts. • Who was allowed and who was NOT allowed to sing in Medieval church services? • Based on that information, all four voice parts of Agnus Dei must be sung by ___. (See point 3 again.) • Can you perceive Agnus Dei’s 3-part (ABA) form? • What church doctrine does its 3-part form probably symbolize?

20. Dark Ages feudalism chant (Gregorian chant) melisma liturgy response (responsorial) organum cantus firmus measured rhythm Ars Nova Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris Mass Ordinary Proper K, G, C, S, A Jongleurs troubadours, trouvères Pope Gregory Guillaume de Machaut Middle Ages term bank