MEDIEVAL - RENAISSANCE

PERIOD

MEDIEVAL - RENAISSANCE

† During the Middle Ages, musical texture was monophonic, meaning it has a single melodic line. Sacred vocal music such as Gregorian chants were set to Latin text and sung unaccompanied. It was the only type of music allowed in churches, so composers kept the melodies pure and simple. Later on, church choirs added one or more melodic lines to the Gregorian chants. This created polyphonic texture, meaning it has two or more melodic lines.

MEDIEVAL - RENAISSANCE

† During the Renaissance, the shell harmony of the Middle Ages was succeeded by true harmony.† Medieval and Renaissance music was based mainly on the eight church modes. This use of the term “mode” is atypical, however: the church modes are actually just seven-note scales. The church modes were developed to help composers write smooth monophonic melodies. While they served this purpose admirably, the church modes are awkward when it comes to composing harmony.

Diff erences Between Medieval And Renaissance

Medieval Renaissance

Monophony > Polyphony

Dry Shell harmony > Sweet True harmony

Portions of scripture were set to traditional Roman melodies.

Revival of classical culture

GUIDO D’

AREZZO

GUIDO D’ AREZZO†Italian musicologist, who was one of the first important music teachers and theorists.†He was also known as Guido Aretinus, Fra Guittone, A guy of aArezzo, born in Arezzo.†His most famous innovation consisted in applying syllables ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la to the first six notes of diatomic scales, starting at any pitch desired.

GUIDO D’ AREZZO

†Guido's most famous treatise is his Micrologus Guidonis de disciplina artis musical, dedicated to Bishop Theobald of Arezzo†Died probably at Pampos Abbey, near Ferrara

GUILLAUME DE

MACHAUT

GUILLAUME DE MACHAUT

†French court poet and musician.†Born at Machaut in Champagne and died of Reims at April 1377†Served king John the Bohemia, John the Good of France and Charles III of Navarre.†He was an initiator of new art of poetry in fixed form popular in the Middle Ages of which the ballad and the rondeau were the most important.

GUILLAUME DE MACHAUT

†He was more of a writer but composed musical compositions.†Musical compositions include lais, motets, ballads, rondeau and a mass sung of the Charles V.

JOSQUIN DESPREZ

JOSQUIN DESPREZ†His name is read as Zhuhs Kan/Zhaws Kan Duh Pray/Day Pray†Born in North France but lived in Italy for many years. †Was a singer at Milan Cathedral and at the Papal Chapel in Rome.†Served the dukes of Milan and Ferrara.†Died on August 27, 1521 and after his death, his music was long neglected, but it is widely admired today.

JOSQUIN DESPREZ †One of the greatest composers of the Renaissance Period.†He has been highly praised for his ability to express words through music.†He was known for his command of musical techniques, especially his skilful use of the canon, a musical device in which the melody is repeated in one or more other parts. He usually wrote music for 4 voices.†He had many of his pieces are love songs.

JOSQUIN DESPREZ

†For Church: he wrote about 100 unaccompanied choral works known as MOTES and 18 masses. †In 1502, several of the earliest books of printed music were devoted to his works.

POPE GREGORY I

POPE GREGORY I (THE GREAT )

†Pope, Saint and Doctor of the Church.†Set standards for the church ceremony that brought the chant into popular use which then fixed the GREGORIAN CHANT. †Italian composer Ottorino Respighi composed a piece named St. Gregory the Great (San Gregorio Magno) that features as the fourth and final part of hisChurch Windows (Vetrate di Chiesa) works, written in 1925.

GREGORIAN

GREGORIAN

† "Gregorian" chant was named for and credited to Pope Gregory I (r. 590-604) is an accident of politics and spin doctoring.†Type of liturgical chant most widely used in Latin Churches.†To be distinguished from the chants used by the Ambrosian, Mozarabre and other rites.†Took definite from after some centuries of development after Pope Gregory I set the standards of chant.

TROUBADOURS

TROUBADOURS

† Was one of a large group of poet-musicians who flourished in Southern France. †The word comes from the Latin Tropare (to compose)†He composed poetry in a romance language called Provençal.† Canso D' Amor ( love song) was one of the rich and varied poetic forms used by the troubadours

TROUBADOURS

†The troubadours' praise of physical love stood in direct contrast to traditional Christian morality†Their ideal of love and praise of women influenced many writers, including Dante and Petrarch 

TROUVÈRES

TROUVÈRES

†Was one of the group of poet musicians†The word comes from an old French word meaning to compose†They composed their poems in old French dialect called langue d' oil†They were strongly influenced by the style and subject matter of the troubadours of southern France†Like the troubadours, the trouvères wrote chansons d' amore (love songs)

MADRIGALS

Luca Marenzio, a highly influential composer of madrigals in the last two decades of the 16th century

MADRIGALS

†Short lyric poem of Italian Origin.- deals with love or pastoral subjects.- consists on 2/3 tercets (group of 3 lines) and spread to England. † Became popular in Italy (15th century) and spread to England.† In the Elizabethan times were meant for singing.Ex: Crabbed Age and Youth (Shakespeare’s the Passionate Pilgrim )

MADRIGALS

†From 2 to 6 unaccompanied voices joined in singing the Madrigals.†Words and melody frequently are inter women so intically that the lines are difficult to follow. Ex: “Brightly Dawns Our Wedding Day” (The Mikado)

MINSTRELS

MINSTRELS

†Well educated poets and musicians.†Composed and sang songs of love, heroic deeds- lute, harp/a stinged instrument. †In the sense, the Troubadours and the Trouvers were minstrels.†Some are not educated and skilled, wandered about the country, centring at fairs at inns/the streets. †Middle ages: term Minstrel was applied to wandering acrobats and jugglers.

CHANSONS

CHANSONS

†Any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. †A singer specialising in chansons is known as a "chanteur" (male) or "chanteuse" (female); a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.†The art Chanson at Medieval Age and Renaissance may be traced as far back as the 11th and 12th centuries, to the Provencal songs of the troubadours.

CHANSONS†From these developed a polyphonic songs from that emerged in the 15th century and reached its height in the 16th century.†The development of the 15th and 16th century Chansons may be divided into 5 stylistics sub periods: 1390-1450= English and Early Burgundian Chanson.• Composed for solo voice with instrumental accompaniment.• The chief composers of the period were John Dunstable, Guillaume Dufay, and Gilles Binchois, whose works have elegance, beauty and refinement.

CHANSONS 1450-1480 = The Early Parisian Chansons, many of which originated in Burgundy.• Phillipe Caron and Johannes Ockeghem--> outstanding composers which were similar in form and style to those of the previous era. 1480-1505 = Odhecaton, from the collection of songs published in 1501.• Were written for from 3-5 voices without accompaniment.• Leading composers included Josquin Depies, Heinrich Isaac, and Jacob Obrecht.

CHANSONS 1505-1549= Were strongly influenced by 2 Italian forms, the FRONTAL and the MADRIGAL (were written for from 3-5 voices and were frequently homophonic in style).• This movement away from pure polyphony in Chanson was led such composers as Nicolas Gombert and Jean Mouton.• The composition of the new Chanson coincide with the rise of the music-printing industry, and they were the 1st to be widely available.

CHANSONS 1549-1603= Era of “HUMANIST” and the Chanson VERS MESURES(measured verse) was the chief form.• The rhythm of the music followed the metrical pattern of the poetry to which it was set.• Claude Le Jeune and Jacques Mauduit were the chief composers of this type of Chanson.• These songs marked the end of the development of the FORMAL RENASSAINCE Chanson.