Music Appreciation Topic II: Music of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance
Transcript of Music Appreciation Topic II: Music of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance
• The Middle Ages (a.k.a. the “Dark Ages”) began around 450 with the disintegration and fall of the Roman Empire.
• For the next thousand
years, all segments of
society were
dominated by the
powerful influence of
the Roman Catholic
church.
• In this age of
widespread faith, the
concept of hell was
very real.
• The church was also the center of musical life.
• Liturgical music was an important occupation in monasteries and convents.
• In large medieval churches, sung words were heard more easily than spoken words.
• Most medieval
music was vocal,
though musicians
also performed on a
wide variety of
instruments.
• The church frowned
on instruments
because of their
earlier role in pagan
rites.
• However, after 1100, organs and bells became increasingly common in cathedrals and monastic churches.
• Organs were
played mainly
on feast days
and other
special
occasions.
• Sometimes,
the clergy
complained
about noisy
organs that
distracted
worshipers.
For over
1,000
years, the
official
music of
the Roman
Catholic
church has
been the
Gregorian
chant.
• Gregorian chant
consists of melody
set to sacred Latin
texts that is sung
without instrumental
accompaniment.
• Its purpose is to
enhance specific
parts of the religious
service and to set
the atmosphere for
prayers and ritual
actions.
Medieval
monks and
nuns spent
several
hours of
each day
singing
Gregorian
chants
during
church
services,
which were
comprised
of both sung
and spoken
texts in
Latin.
• Gregorian chant is named after Pope Gregory I (“the Great”), who reorganized the Catholic liturgy during his reign from 590-604.
• Gregory, depicted in these two paintings, is also the patron saint
of musicians.
• Most of the several thousand Gregorian chants known today were created between 600 and 1300 A.D.
• Gregorian chant conveys a calm, otherworldly quality; it represents the voice of the church, rather than that of any single individual.
• At first, Gregorian
melodies were passed
along by oral tradition,
but as the number of
chants grew to the
thousands, they were
notated to ensure
musical uniformity
throughout the western
church.
• The composers
of Gregorian
chant remain
almost
completely
unknown.
• Males
received
music
education
in schools,
which were
associated
with
churches
and
cathedrals.
• Women were
excluded from
religious music-
making
everywhere but
in convents,
where they
were trained to
sing and even
wrote music.
One of the
earliest
known
composers is
Hildegard of
Bingen
(1098-1179),
who is
regarded as
one of the
most
creative and
many-sided
personalities
of the Middle
Ages.
• Hildegard was born the tenth child into a noble German family.
• At the age of eight, she was sent as a novice to the Benedictine monastery of Disibodenberg.
• In 1136,
Hildegard
became an
abbess.
• Around the
age of 50, she
founded a
nunnery near
Bingen in the
Rhine Valley.
• She died at
the advanced
age of 81.
• A visionary and a
mystic, Hildegard
gained a reputation as
a prophetess during
her lifetime.
• Popes, emperors,
monarchs,
archbishops and
clergymen of all kinds
flocked to Bingen to
consult this “Sibyl of
the Rhine.”
• She also preached
throughout Germany.
• Between 1141 and 1170, Hildegard recorded her mystical experiences.
• Scivias (Know the Ways), written between 1141-51 is a book about her visions.
• After her death, Hildegard’s name was put forward by several popes as a candidate for canonization.
• Though
never
formally
canonized,
she is often
referred to
as a saint.
• She has a
feast day
which is
particularly
celebrated
in Germany.
Hildegard of Bingen
wrote:
• Lyric and dramatic
poetry.
• Music.
• Treatises on theology,
science, and
medicine.
• A musical drama,
Ordo virtutum (Play of
the Virtues), which is
the earliest known
morality play.
• Hildegard is now the
best-known and
most recorded
composer of sacred
medieval music.
Favus
Distillans
(“Dripping
Honeycomb”)
Responsory to
Saint Ursula
• A responsory is a
sacred musical work
sung with a cantor
or small group
singing verses while
the whole choir or
congregation
respond with a
refrain.
• Hildegard
composed many
chants in honor of
Saint Ursula
(depicted at right).
Ursula was a Romano-British princess from south-west England, who set sail to join her future husband, the governor of Brittany (in modern northwest France), along with 11,000 virginal handmaidens.
A miraculous storm brought them over the sea in a single day, whereupon where Ursula declared that before her marriage she would undertake a pilgrimage across Europe.
Ursula headed for Rome with her followers, and persuaded the Pope and the Bishop of Ravenna to join them.
After setting out for Cologne (in Germany), which was being besieged by Huns, all the virgins were beheaded in a dreadful massacre, and the leader of the Huns shot Ursula dead with an arrow.
There were
many different
types of
instruments
used in
secular music
of the Middle
Ages.
Hurdy-gurdy (a.k.a.
“wheel fiddle”)
• Produces sound by a crank-turned wheel rubbing against the strings.
• The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to a violin.
• Melodies are played on a keyboard that presses tangents(small wedges, usually made of wood) against one or more of the strings to change their pitch.
The vielle,
the
predecessor
of the
modern
violin, was
the principle
medieval
bowed
instrument.
Harp, Vielle, Psaltery
Medieval
manuscript
illustration
of a rabbit
playing a
harp
A remote ancestor of the
harpsichord and the
piano, the psaltery’s
strings were attached to
a frame over a wooden
sounding board and
plucked by the player.
Medieval trumpets were straight
and had no valves.
A medieval
shawm (far
left)
resembled a
trumpet but
was made of
wood and
had a single
reed.
Also pictured
is a bagpipe.
The hammered
dulcimer, an
instrument with
strings stretched
over a sounding
board that are
struck by mallets.
It was used
extensively
throughout the
Middle Ages in
England, France,
Italy, Germany,
Holland and Spain.
Nakers were the ancestor of modern
kettle drums. The gittern (center) was
a medieval guitar.
Lady playing a
medieval viol,
predecessor of
the modern
viola.
Minstrel playing a tabor, which was a portable snare drum
played with one hand
Dances in the Middle Ages were often accompanied by
instrumental music .
Nobles dancing to tabor and bagpipes
Shepherds Dancing at a Feast,
(14th century), with a musician on
the bagpipes (far left)
Musicians in the
Middle Ages
• Few records
survive to
document the
professional
musicians of the
Middle Ages.
were traveling entertainers who told
stories and performed tricks in addition to making
music in castles, taverns, and town squares.
• The modern word
“juggler” is derived
from the French
“jongleur.”
• These wandering
minstrels usually
sang songs and
played instrumental
dances on harps,
fiddles and lutes.
• They were also an
important source of
information in a time
when there were no
newspapers.
Only a lucky few
performers found
steady work in the
service of the
nobility.
Left: Court jester
playing vielle.
and
• French aristocrats cultivated courtly song by poet-composers.
• Called troubadours and trouvères, these courtly composers wrote the first large body of secular songs in decipherable notation during the 12th-13th centuries.
• The term “troubadours” was used in the south of France and “trouvères” in the north.
• Some were members of the nobility, while others were born to servants at court.
• Others were accepted into aristocratic circles because of their accomplishments.
• The central theme of their songs was “
” (“courtly love” or “refined love”).
• This was an idealized form of love that
refined the lover (not sexual).
• Love from a distance, with respect and
humility.
• The object was a real woman, often
another man’s wife.
• The woman was unattainable, making
unrewarded yearning (unrequited love) a
major theme.
Guillaume
de Mauchat
(c.1300-77)
• One of the most important composers of the
14th century.
• French-born musician and poet who studied
theology.
• Around 1323, he became secretary and
chaplain to John, king of Bohemia.
• Traveled to many courts and presented
copies of his music and poetry to noble
patrons.
• His output is equally divided between sacred
and secular music.
Puis qu’en oubli sui de vous
(“Since I am forgotten by you”)
by Mauchat
• Secular love song written about Peronne, a
beautiful young noblewoman whom Mauchat
loved.
• The relationship ended in disappointment.
• Expresses Mauchat’s “farewell to joy,” since
he has been forgotten by his beloved.
• Is an example of a , one of the main
poetic and musical forms in 14th-15th century
France.
Puis qu'en oubli sui de vous, dous
amis,
Vie amoureuse et joie à Dieu
commant.
Mar vi le jour que m'amour en vous
mis,
Puis qu'en oubli sui de vous, dous
amis.
Mais ce tenray que je vous ay promis,
C'est que jamais n'aray nul autre
amant.
Puis qu'en oubli sui de vous, dous
amis,
Vie amoureuse et joie à Dieu
commant.
Since I am forgotten by you, sweet
friend,
I bid farewell to a life of love and joy.
Ill-fated was the day I placed my love
in you;
Since I am forgotten by you, sweet
friend.
But what I have promised you I will
sustain:
That I shall never have any other
love.
Since I am forgotten by you, sweet
friend,
I bid farewell to a life of love and joy.
Francesco
Landini
(c.1325-97)
• Most celebrated
Italian composer
of the 14th
century
• Blind from
boyhood
• Was a famous organist, poet, scholar, and the inventor of a new string instrument.
• Played many instruments, but was a virtuoso on the small organ (organetto/ portative organ).
• Worked for a monastery and a church, but composed mostly secular music.
• Music consists exclusively of Italian songs for two or three voices dealing with subjects from nature and love to morality and politics.
• His song “Ecco la primavera” is a , an Italian poetic and musical form that originated as a song to accompany dancing.
“Ecco la Primavera” (“Spring has Come”)
by Landini
Ecco la primaverache 'l cor fa rallegrare;temp'F da 'nnamoraree star con lieta cera.
No' vegiam l'aria e 'l tempoche pur chiama allegreza;
in questo vago tempoogni cosa ha vagheza.
L'erbe con gran freschezae fiori copron pratie gli alberi adornati
sono in simil manera.
Spring is here To cheer the heart. Time to fall in love
And put on a merry face.
The newly fresh air Calls us to cheer and
merrymaking In this changing time.
Everything is quite lovely.
The greenery is new and fresh, And flowers cover the meadow And the trees are adorned with
blossoms In the same way.
• The renaissance
in music occurred
between 1450
and 1600.
• The invention of
the printing press
and movable type
widened the
circulation of
music, and the
number of
composers and
performers
increased.
• Every
educated
person was
expected to
be trained in
music.
• Although the
church remained
an important
patron of music,
musical activity
gradually shifted
from the church to
the courts.
• Musicians enjoyed
a higher status
than ever before.
Josquin
Des Prez
(c.1450-1521)
• Most influential composer of his time.
• Contemporary of Leondado da Vinci and
Christopher Columbus.
• Probably born in northern France.
• Was a singer in the private chapels of the
Dukes of Anjou (France) and Milan (Italy).
• Later became a singer in the Sistine Chapel
in Rome.
• In his later years, Josquin held several
church posts in France under King Louis XII.
• Was one of the first musical composers to
relate his music closely to the text.
“Scaramella” by Josquin
Scaramella va alla guerra
colla lancia et la rotella
La zombero boro borombetta,
La boro borombo.
Scaramella fa la gala
colla scharpa et la stivala
La zombero boro borombetta,
La zombero boro borombo.
Scaramella is going off to war
With lance and buckler
La zombero boro borombetta,La boro borombo
Scaramella is out on a spree
With boot and shoe
La zombero boro borombetta,La boro borombo.
• In England, the age
of Queen Elizabeth I
(1533-1603) and
William
Shakespeare (1564-
1616) was as much
a golden age in
music as it was in
literature.
• The impetus for
Renaissance music
and drama arose in
Italy, but the
English treatment
exhibited a lighter
touch than its
Italian models.
Thomas Tallis (ca. 1505-1585)
• During his long and
productive lifetime,
the English
composer Thomas
Tallis served four
Tudor Renaissance
monarchs.
Henry VIII
Edward VI
Mary Tudor
Elizabeth I
(1533-1693)
Though born a Catholic, Tallis
managed to survive an
extremely dangerous age of
religious upheaval and
persecution, mainly by adapting
his musical style to suit the
circumstances, and by keeping a
low personal profile.
• Tallis is chiefly remembered for his church
music; he composed masses and hymns in
Latin as well as English service music,
depending on the religious climate at the
time (Catholic or Protestant) and the vastly
different demands of the various monarchs
he served under.
• “When Shall My Sorrowful Sighing Slack” is
one of the most obscure compositions from
Tallis’s output: it appears to be secular song.
• It may have been written for choirboys to
perform for members of the nobility outside
their church duties.
“When Shall My Sorrowful Sighing Slack?”
by Tallis
When shall my sorrowful sighing slack?When shall my woeful wailing cease?
When shall my tears and mourning make mercy and pity me to release?
When shall the pensive heart find peace?When shall the mind find quiet rest, that hath
been long with thought opprest?
How long shall I in woe lament?How long shall I in care complain?
How long shall danger me torment, augmenting still my deadly pain,
till hope and dread between them twain, agree that hope have her request?
Till then live I with thought opprest.
English Folk Music: “Greensleeves”
• Famous and familiar English folk tune.
• First entered in English records in 1580.
• There is a persistent belief that it was
composed by Henry VIII for his lover and
future queen Anne Boleyn, though this is not
true.
• Mentioned by Shakespeare in his play The
Merry Wives of Windsor.
• “What Child is This?” is a popular Christmas
carol written by William Chatterton Dix in
1865 to the same tune.
William Byrd
(c. 1540-1623)
A student of Tallis,
William Byrd wrote
both church and
secular music.
• Byrd was the most important English
composer of the Renaissance.
• Although, like Tallis, he was Catholic, Byrd
served the Church of England as an
organist and composer.
• His secular music included madrigals,
consort pieces for viols, and keyboard
music, especially the popular dance music
loved by Queen Elizabeth and her court.
• “Sing Joyfully unto God” is an anthem for
six voices.
Giovanni
Gabrieli
(c.1555-1612)
• A native of
Venice, Gabrieli
was the most
important
Venetian
composer of the
Renaissance.
• Became the principal organist and
composer at St. Mark’s Basilica in Rome.
• Wrote secular vocal music early in life,
but later switched to sacred instrumental
music that exploited sonorous sound to
maximum effect.
• Used the unusual layout of Saint Mark’s
Basilica, with its two choir lofts facing
each other, to create striking spatial
effects with his music.
• His “Canzon Prima” is scored for four-five
brass instruments.
• Famous composer
and lutenist.
• In 1592, he played
before Queen
Elizabeth.
• Traveled
throughout
Europe and
became court
lutenist to King
Christian IV of
Denmark.
John Dowland
(c.1563-1626)
• In 1612, he achieved an appointment at court in England.
• Wrote many religious songs in his later years.
• Melancholy and sensitive to criticism
• Some of his finest songs have a quality of sadness.
• Today, Dowland is ranked among the greatest English composers.
Michael
Praetorius
(c.1571-1621)
• German composer and music theorist.
• Wrote a nine-volume collection of church music called MusaeSionae (1605-1610).
• Also published a collection of over 300 instrumental dances based on tunes by Parisian dancing masters titled Terpsichore (1612).
• As a theorist, Praetoriusprovided a detailed account of the forms, instruments (with descriptions and illustrations), and performance practices of his day, which is still of great historical significance.
• “Ballet des Coqs” (“Dance of the Roosters”) was collected in Praetorius’s Terpsichore.
• It is a dance tune keyed for five instruments.
The madrigal “As Vesta
Was Descending” by
Thomas Weelkes (mid-
1570s to 1623) is the
most famous madrigal
in the collection.
An English church
musician and prolific
composer, Weelkes
served variously as a
singer and instructor.
: Classical goddess of hearth and home,
(who was honored by the vestal virgins).
: Queen Elizabeth (a.k.a. the
“virgin queen”), arrives, attended by the
(young shepherd boys).
: young virginal women (who
are represented by Diana, the virgin goddess
of chastity). They abandon Vesta’s side and
run to join the shepherds.
: a nickname for Queen Elizabeth I
(meaning the rising or golden sun).