500-1100

Early Medieval Music and ArtRomanesque Period

Influences• Rise of Christianity

– Church was sole patron of the arts– Medieval Christianity emphasized salvation while life was full of suffering– Poverty and labor were virtues—reduced temptation for pleasurable pursuits– Monasteries were centers of scholarly activity– Greek culture was condemned because it was pagan; works of Plato and Aristotle were

banned• Feudalism

– Provided protection and economic stability for lower classes– Enabled nobility to exploit lower class for economic and military purposes– Feudal lords were often bishops or archbishops– Nobles provided wealth while monks directed construction and decoration of churches– Church and feudalism together were a fortress of economic and political power based

on agrarian and spiritual control– Church became the supreme power in Medieval Europe

Medieval Castle

Romanesque Architecture

Characteristics of Romanesque Architecture

• Stone arches– Adapted from Romans– Solid and strong; capable of bearing tremendous weight

• Dark vast spaces– Massive walls– Little light

• Not concerned with proportion or balance– Arches often in threes to reflect trinity– Lack of precision

• Functional– Intended for large group meetings– Quiet, dark spaces to contemplate God

CloistersCloisters

Structure of Churches1. Nave-Large central area 2. Aisle-Space on either side of nave3. Crossing-Area where Transept

meets Nave4. Choir-Area for choir to sit5. Transept-Perpendicular to Nave,

separates congregation from altar6. Chancel-Area for altar and rituals7. Apse-semicircular part of church,

often capped with a dome8. Ambulatory-Passageway around

Apse9. Radiating Chapel-Areas where

relics were stored

Manuscripts

• Covers Gilded (decorated with gold) • Books were either in rotulus (scroll) or codex

(stacked and bound pages) • Parchment was thick and vellum was softer

and thinner; both made of calf skin• Until the invention of the printing press, all

books were called manuscripts

Illuminations

Manuscript illustrations featured biblical figures, used saturated colors

From Pope Gregory’s “Moralia on Job” (France)Winchester Bible

(England) “Christ in Majesty” fromStavelot Bible (Belgium)

Early Medieval Sacred Music• Plainchant

– Single, simple melodic line– Sacred text– Notation used neumes– Hildegard Von Bingen

• Antiphons (poetic text set to chant) • Ordo Virtutum

– Allegorical morality play– Portrays struggle for the human soul (Anima) between the Devil and the Virtues– Virtues include Humility, Chastity, Hope, Innocence, Modesty, Mercy, Patience, Obedience, Faith,

Knowledge of God, Fear of God• Gregorian Chant

– Single melodic line, more complex than plainchant– Sacred text– Pope Gregory often credited with the development of Gregorian chant, but this is debated by scholars– Used church modes– Improvisation was common– Performed by monks and nuns

Parts of the Mass– Introit*– Kyrie^– Gloria^– Gradual*– Alleluia*– Offertory*– Sanctus^– Agnus Dei^– Commuion*– Ite, missa est^– ^Ordinary—sections of the mass that were always present– *Proper—sections of the mass that were sometimes present, depending on

the church clalendar

Guido of Arezzo

• Benedictine Monk from Arezzo, Italy• Music theorist, credited with inventing

modern musical notation• Devised the Guidonian Hand to assist with the

teaching of music reading• Developed system of solmization (use of

syllables as mnemonic device) to teach singing

Guidonian Hand

Developed in the 11th century, the Guidonian Hand is a mnemonic system in which musical “steps” are arranged in a spiral across twenty joints on the left hand. Like the alphabet, it was a basis for understanding relationships between different characters – in this case, musical notes (ut, re, mi, fa, sol, and la). It’s not certain whether medieval singers used the Hand during performance, but we can be sure their musical thinking was informed by it.

Late Medieval Art and MusicGothic Period

Influences• Year 1000 passed without the end of the world; people began worrying less about

salvation and pursued a more pleasurable life• Scholasticism

– Product of Medieval universities– Argued that while religious dogma was infallible, it could be explained and clarified by logic

and reason– Curriculum included quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music under the

heading “Mathematics”) and trivium (rhetoric, grammar, and logic)• Weakening of Church

– Corruption was well-known– High positions were obtained by trade and barter– Popes were ex-communicating each other

• Crusades– Cultural influences from the East spread around Europe– Crusaders returned more intellectually and economically independent– Development of towns and systems of roads

Gothic Cathedrals

• Built as expressions of faith, as well as magnificent structures to compete with neighboring towns

• Located in public squares surrounded by the homes of its builders, paid for by public subscription

• Functioned as church, art gallery, concert hall, theatre, library, and school

Symbolism

• St. Matthew (man), St. Mark (lion), St. Luke (ox), St. John (eagle)

• Numerical references: 1=God, 2=dual nature of Christ, 3=Holy Trinity, 4=Gospels, 5=wounds of Christ, 6=days of creation, 7=deadly sins

• Light symbolized Jesus as the “light of the world”

Architecture

• Pointed arch• Flying buttresses—half arches that transferred

outward thrust to piers outside the walls• More light than Romanesque architecture• Attention to vertical space• Stained glass—often in the form of rose windows• Gargoyles—diverted water and symbolized

protection

Rose Windows

Flying Buttress

Cathedral of St. John the Divine

West Entrance Detail

Gargoyle

Giotto

• Most well-known painter of the period• Famous for his fresco, Life of Christ• Fresco is a technique of painting on wet

plaster

Organum• Characteristics

– A plainchant melody with at least one added voice– Organum duplum—2 voices, Organum triplum—3 voices, Organum quadruplum—4 voices– Added voices may include a supporting bass line or may follow the melody in parallel motion– Originally, the second voice was improvised; later composers began writing down more

complex parts, creating polyphony• Leonin(1150-1201)

– First known composer of organum– French– Works preserved in Magnus Liber—book of organum

• Perotin(1200-?)– Also French, known for organum– Works preserved in Magnus Liber– Known for taking a well-known melody and stretching it out so that it becomes a drone, over

which more rhythmically complex parts are woven

Secular Music

• Troubadors/Trouveres– Composers/performers of lyric poetry– Themes of chivalry and courtly love– Many humorous or vulgar satires– Bernart de Ventadorn– Beatriz de Dia http://youtu.be/4NACeUqS2D4– Wizlau von Rugen

• Musical Plays– Adam de la Halle—Jeu de Robin et de Marion– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCIx07t14jw

Rhythmic Modes

• Based on poetic rhythmic patterns• Long-short (trochee) • Short-long (iamb)• Long-short-short (dactyl) • Short-short-long (anapaest)• Long-long (spondee)• Short-short-short (tribrach or choree)

Clausula

• A clausula is a self-contained bit of organum ending with a cadence.

• It contained a polyphonic section for two or more voices sung in discant style (note against note) over a “cantus firmus” (chant melody)

• Composers composed many "substitute" clausulae that were designed to fit within the organum as a subsitute for the original.

Motet

• Eventually words were added to the clausulae and the first motets were born

• Rhythm strayed from earlier rhythmic modes and instead was driven by the text

• Sacred and secular motets were written• Some motets incorporated more than one

language• Phillipe de Vitry and Gulliame Machaut were two

significant composers of Medieval motets

Instruments

• Lute • Pipe and Tabor• Sacbut• Bladder Pipe• Organetto• Rebec• Hurdy-Gurdy