Gregorian chant
A body of music to which the medieval Roman Catholic liturgy was sung,
consisting of monophonic, single-line melodies sung without instrumental
accompaniment (Plainchant)
Syllabic
Designating a musical phrase in which each syllable of text is
given one note.
Melisma
Several notes sung to a single syllable of text.
Melismatic
Designating a melodic phrase in which one syllable of text is
spread over several notes.
MEDIEVAL SACRED MUSIC
Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)
- One of the best known female composers of sacred music in
the medieval period
- Claimed to receive divine visions
- Her compositions incorporated greater range than was typical
in the medieval era, but still monophonic and unmeasured
Ordinary (of the Mass)
The sections of the Mass that stay the same throughout the church year. They are
the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei.
Proper (of the Mass)
The sections of the Catholic Mass that change with the church
year. The proper is generally not set to music because each text
is used so seldom.
Leonin (1163-1190) Early polyphonic composer from the Notre Dame
School in France. He wrote new melodies to be sung on top of
pre-existing chant.
Perotin (1190-1225) Early polyphonic composer from the Notre Dame
School in France. Successor to Leonin. He sometimes composed
three new melodies to be sung on top of pre-existing chant
Organum
The earliest type of medieval polyphonic music.
Mensural notation
A system of notating the length of time a given note is to be
held.
Measured rhythm
Regulated rhythm in which precise time values are related to
each other.
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Guillaume de Machaut (c.1300 – 1377)
- Composed secular and sacred music
- Composed each section of the Mass
- Known for advanced 4-voice compositions with more
ornamentation and contrary motion
MEDIEVAL SECULAR MUSIC
- Secular (non-religious) music written in vernacular
(everyday) language
Troubadours
Medieval poet/singers from southern France. They were often
people of noble rank who would not perform in public but would
sing to family members and friends
Trouvères
Medieval poet/singers from northern France. Like troubadours,
they were often people of noble rank who would not perform in
public but would sing to family members and friends.
Minnesingers
Medieval German poet-singers.
Minstrels
Medieval wandering street musicians and entertainers.
Jongleurs
Medieval street musicians who sang, played instruments, and
sometimes acted in plays.
Refrain
Text and/or music that is returned to or repeated within a larger
piece of music.
Strophic
Designating a song in which all verses of text are sung to the
same music
Beatriz of Dia
- Troubadour in the late 12th Century
- Known for secular themes (love)
- Most of the music she performed exists as test only
Motet
A polyphonic choral work set to a sacred text.
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PRELUDE: The Culture of the Medieval Period
CHAPTER 4: Medieval Music
CHAPTER OUTLINE
Medieval Sacred Music
Medieval Secular Music
LISTENING GUIDES
“Salve Regina” (“Hail, Holy Queen”), Anonymous
“Ave, Generosa” (“Hail, Noble One”), Hildegard of Bingen
“Agnus Dei” from Messe de Nostre Dame (Mass of Our Lady), Machaut
“A Chantar” (“It Is Mine to Sing”), Beatriz of Dia
NEW PEOPLE AND CONCEPTS
Gregorian chant
plainchant
church modes
syllabic
melismatic
melisma
Hildegard of Bingen
Mass
liturgy
Ordinary
Proper
Léonin
Pérotin
organum
mensural notation
measured rhythm
Guillaume de Machaut
secular
vernacular
trouvères
troubadours
minnesingers
minstrels
jongleurs
refrain
strophic
Beatriz of Dia
motet
OVERVIEW OF CHAPTER 4
The “Prelude” to this chapter helps students better understand the culture in which this
music was created. It makes clear the roles played by the development of the Christian
church and by the manorial (feudal) system. Clear examples of both sacred and secular
music are provided to help illustrate the distinct roles each type played.
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Although women’s involvement in music was more restricted than that of men,
women composers made important contributions. Two examples--one sacred, the other
secular--are provided.
It is important to stress that medieval musicians had no clear models on which to
base their compositions. Music notation and theory had to be rediscovered or invented.
At first music was transmitted orally. Gradually a notational system was developed. This
system was standardized by either Pope Gregory I (590-604) or Pope Gregory II (715731). Although scholars disagree over which pope was responsible for this achievement,
it was nonetheless an important milestone in music.
Secular music lagged behind sacred music in terms of development. Professional
entertainers (jongleurs in France, from which comes our word juggler) were generally
lower-class, uneducated individuals. They could not notate the music that they
performed. Improvisation played an important part in this practice as jongleurs and
minstrels improvised accompaniments to songs, and so on.
Equally important to the history of music was the move from monophonic texture
to polyphony and from unmeasured rhythm to measured. These two developments
spurred a rapid development of genres and styles leading into the Renaissance.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS
1. The importance of the Christian Church in the life of the medieval man and
woman can not be over emphasized. This was a time of the great cathedral
building of Europe--Notre Dame in Paris, in Chartres, in Amiens, and so on.
These great Gothic structures towered over their surrounding towns, pointing their
way heavenward. Having some slides of these and other cathedrals on hand can
lead to a brief discussion of the importance of the church and of liturgical music.
2. Music notation took centuries to develop. At first, short, memorized melodic
formulas were used and passed on orally. These were based somewhat on Jewish
psalmody. As more and more music was needed and became more complex, a
method of noting the music was needed. You might want to spend some time
discussing the evolution of neumatic notation from its earliest form through
heightened neumes and eventually to Gregorian notation, showing examples of
each.
3. The text provides ample opportunities for listening. Don’t overlook the
opportunity to start with the introductory listening experience. Be sure your
students answer the questions. Then follow up later with the “Hearing the
Difference” comparative listening experiences. Focus on differences in texts
(Latin vs. vernacular) and settings (melismatic vs. syllabic)
4. Plainchant melodies were collected and preserved to be used again at the
appropriate time in the church year. Although the trained choir sang these
melodies lay people would have recognized them. They became the basis for later
polyphonic settings.
5. Although we know very little about Léonin and Léonin, they are important to the
development of polyphony. Their works, preserved in the Magnus liber organi
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6.
7.
8.
9.
(Big Book of Organum), are milestones. Students might be interested to know
about the poetic meters that were the basis for the first measured rhythm:
Iambic: u / (unaccented syllable, accented syllable) = short, long rhythm
Trochaic: u = long, short rhythm
Anapestic: u u /= triplet rhythm with accent on last note
Dactylic: / u u = triplet rhythm with accent on first note
Spondaic: / / = two equal notes
These poetic modes formed the basis of what became the rhythmic modes of
Léonin and Pérotin, but they are not exactly the same. Léonin developed a way to
indicate which rhythmic mode (based on a poetic mode) was to be used
throughout a composition. This mode was applied to the upper voice (or voices in
organum triplum), the plainchant voice being sustained. Because the original
plainchant melody was so augmented (individual notes sometimes extending for
the equivalent of one or two measures), it became difficult for singers to manage,
so instruments were used to play the lowest part.
Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) is an important figure from the medieval period.
She produced a large and highly original body of music. There are two principal
collections: Symphonia armonie celesitum revelationum” (“Symphony of the
Harmony of Celestial Revelations”) and Ordo virtutum (“Play of the Virtues”).
This latter work is a liturgical drama, or morality play, consisting of 82
monophonic songs. A very good video, titled Hildegard, is available from
Gateway films. It gives valuable insight into this remarkable woman and it only
runs about 50 minutes in length.
Guillame de Machaut (c.1300-1377) was the most significant French composer of
the ars nova. In addition to the Messe de Nostre Dame, his polyphonic chansons
are important contributions to secular music. Structurally they are formes fixes,
the virelai, ballade, and rondeau, all well-known poetic structures of the era.
Monophonic songs created by troubadours and trouvères were similar in nature
but differed in dialect. The troubadour, generally of the noble class, came from
southern France and wrote in what today is called ProvenÇal. His (or her) northern
counterpart, the trouvère, wrote in medieval French. Some 2,100 trouvère songs
extant (both text and music), but of 2,500 troubadour texts, only about 250 have
musical settings. The subject matter of most of these songs is courtly love. There
are also laments, pastorals, and dialogues. Most are set strophically.
The motet began as a sacred composition. As secular texts began creeping in,
though, it evolved into a secular work. Eventually the motet came to be one of the
most popular forms of the medieval era. The preferred texture through most of the
era was three voices, each having its own text.
FURTHER TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Discuss the role of sacred and secular music in the medieval era.
2. Discuss the relationship of the public performer (jongleur/minstrel) to the
troubadour or trouvère.
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3. What are the differences between melismatic and syllabic song settings?
4. What distinguishes a polylingual motet from a polytextual motet?
5. Discuss the changing nature of the motet. (Is it sacred or secular?)
FURTHER LISTENING
Although it is easy to overwhelm students with listening examples, a few more works,
which may help to clarify certain genres, textures, and so on, are listed below. All are
easily available. I would recommend any of the works contained in Masterpieces of
Music before 1750. Unfortunately, it is not always easy to find recordings of these works.
If you are unable to obtain the selections listed below, numerous other good recordings
are available on compact disc. The monks of Solesmes have issued several good chant
discs over the past several years, and a number of good early-music groups in the United
States and Europe are turning out fine performances.
Plainchant: Sequence, Victimae Paschali (eleventh-century chant), a nice example of
syllabic setting; Alleluia, Vidimus stellam, example of melismatic setting; Organum:
Sequence, Rex caeli, Domini
Motet: En non Diu!/Quant voi/Eius in Oriente, thirteenth century, Notre Dame school
Mass: Other sections from the Machaut Messe de Nostre Dame are readily available. An
especially nice compact disc of this and several of Machaut’s secular works is available
on the Hyperion label.
Troubador song: Or la truix, virelai ( twelfth-thirteenth century)
Polyphonic chanson: Thomas Crequillon, Pour ung plaisir
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