MUSIC IN THE MIDDLE AGES

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MUSIC IN THE MIDDLE AGES

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• rt and music were critical
  aspects of medieval religious life and, towards
  the end of the Middle Ages, secular life as well.
  Singing without instrumental accompaniment was an
  essential part of church services. Monks and
  priests chanted the divine offices and the mass
  daily. Some churches had instruments such as
  organs and bells. Two people were required to
  play this stringed instrument--one to turn the
  crank and the other to play the keys.
• Medieval drama grew out of the church
  service, beginning in about the eleventh century.
  Some of the topics were from the Old Testament
  (Noah and the flood, Jonah and the whale, Daniel
  in the lion's den) and others were stories about
  the birth and death of Christ. These dramas were
  performed with costumes and musical instruments
  and at first took place directly outside the
  church. Later they were staged in marketplaces,
  where they were produced by local guilds.

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Art and Music of the Middle Ages

• Click the picture to see artwork and music from
  the Middle Ages

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MUSIC NOTATION

• The first system of learning music was developed
  in the 11th century by Guido dArezzo (Father
  Guido). He assigned each note a name and designed
  the system of placing the notes on horizontal
  lines to notate pitches. This is now known as the
  staff.
• The Guidonian hand is another of his inventions,
  it is a system of assigning each part of the hand
  a certain note by pointing to a part of his hand.
  A group of singers would know which note was
  pointed out and sing the matching note.

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POPE GREGORY

• Plainsong or chants (monophonic melodies
  performed in unison with free rhythm and
  unaccompanied) were also called Gregorian Chants
  named after Pope Gregory
• A system of writing down reminders of chant
  melodies was probably devised by monks around 800
  to aid in unifying the church service throughout
  the empire.
• The idea spread that the chant used in Rome came
  directly from Pope Gregory,
• He is the patron saint of musicians, singers,
  students, and teachers.

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Music of the Middle Ages in the Church

• Click the picture to see a short scene of music
  in the church.

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW!

• Middle Ages or Medieval Era
• Plainsong or chant
• Pope Gregory
• Polyphony
• Gregorian Chants
• Latin

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The Renaissance
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What is the Renaissance?

• The Renaissance (which also means
  re-birth) was a time of great exploration in
  science, music, art, literature and civilization
  discoveries.
• A major change in the Christian religion
  occurred at this time. Various Christian groups
  left the Catholic church and formed some of the
  present-day Protestant denominations.

• Although the Church began to lose its
  influence in the lives of the people, music was
  still sacred. Secular music also flourished
  during this period.
• The center of musical activity gradually
  began to shift from the churches to castles and
  towns.

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• Music that was written for the church was still
  the most composed, secular music was becoming
  more common. In comparison with medieval music,
  Renaissance harmony (two or more melody lines
  singing at the same time) also known as
  polyphony, was more free and more expressive.
• Masses and motets were the main forms of
  spiritual vocal polyphony. Secular vocal forms
  included madrigals (mostly accompanied by the
  lute or a small orchestra). The main instrumental
  works were short polyphonies or music for
  dancing.
• The canzona (a song or composition that is light
  and fast moving) is a typical example of the
  popular type of songs.
• Palestrina was one such composer along with
  William Byrd, Orlando Gibbons, and Andrea and
  Giovanni Gabrielli.

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The Renaissance was a period of great creative
and intellectual activity, during which artists
broke away from the restrictions of Midieval
artists. The same can be said for musicians!
Leonardo da Vinci
Michelangelo
Sandro Botticelli
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IMPORTANT WORLD EVENTS
Queen Isabella commissions Columbus to sail for
America
Gutenburg invents the printing press
Shakespeare a famous playwright from England
wrote 2 plays which became famous operas Hamlet
and Romeo Juliet
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The Impact of the Printing Press

• The composers of the Renaissance, unlike the
  medieval composers emphasized individuality and
  they were recognized more often during their
  lifetimes.. The technology of the printing press
  permitted a much wider distribution of their
  works and enabled a larger public to the study
  music.

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Music Outside the Church

• Outside the church, traveling musicians called
  minstrels sang songs about life and love in the
  language of their people.
• Their songs were often accompanied by instruments
  such as the lute (a type of guitar), recorder or
  hand drum.

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Polyphonic Notation In polyphonic notation, many
voices can share a staff
Then
Now
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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW!

• Printing Press
• Church or spiritual music
• Secular music
• Palestrina Gabrielli
• Motets, madrigals
• Renaissance polyphony
• Minstrels language of their songs and meaning
• Instruments of the minstrels
• Shakespeare
• Columbus

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