The Middle Ages (476 CE-Early 15 th Century): Church dominated intellectual and cultural life Music was perceived as a means of serving God Plainchant (aka Gregorian chant) consisted of monophonic, unaccompanied melodies sung by a single voice/choir in unison Polyphony became important for both sacred and secular music from the 10 th century onward Scales are different than today and most instruments are not used now Music for Sacred Spaces: Era of great, gothic cathedrals, large buildings; meant to inspire and lift the eye heavenward Purpose of sacred music is to enhance texts being sung and inspire worshippers with the beauty of their sound All services of the church were provided with their appropriate melodies. o Many services with the most important service being Mass o Special efforts were made for the many chants of Mass Hildegard von Bingen s Play of Virtues (Ordo virtutum) combine plainchant with new poetry to convey teachings to understand differences between good and evil Music for Entertainment: Medieval castles were symbols of the secular Medieval Europe was divided into a series of kingdoms, duchies, and fiefdoms of varied sizes ruled by a Lord who collected tax Rulers competed for the best poets, dancers, and singers Minstrels passed from town to town providing poetry, song, acrobatics, and juggling Troubadours, Trouvères, and Minnesingers sang and played songs about love, heroism and pastoral life Music was always featured at near every courtly gathering Medieval secular music was sung to texts in the language of the people Music for Dancing: Dance was a highly significant social activity Most dances were group activities (like present day line-dancing) and featured a drummer providing a basic beat Information Technology 1.0: Until the 10 th century, music was transmitted orally, not in written form Early plainchant manuscripts show symbols above texts indicating motion of the pitch up/down Making manuscripts were expensive: parchment was not readily available and ink was expensive
Hildegard von Bingen and Play of Virtues Morality play, dramatized allegory of good and evil 16 virtues; charity, obedience, humility, chastity, victory, etc. Music exerts a powerful pull on the human spirit o Hildegard noticed that Play of Virtues is powerful but could be even more powerful with music Music was perceived as a divine gift from heaven, so the devil in Play of Virtues had no lines but shouted words Hildegard builds on long tradition of liturgical plainchant o Plainchant grew out of chants of Jewish services of worship, mainly the melodic recitation of the psalms Hildegard s chant is similar to more florid types found in worship services Clarity of Monophonic Texture Monophonic texture allows performers to project text with great clarity o The musicians towards the end added the sound of distant bells at the end to emphasize the moment of dramatic triumph Musicians probably added instruments to give variety to music s timbre Preserved music from the middle ages was monophonic and in the church, it because known as plainchant because of the textural simplicity Plainchant was well suited for performance in the large, resonant spaces of medieval churches Medieval Melody Hildegard s flowing melodies move primarily by step (conjunct) but the occasional leaps (disjunct) provide variety and give text clear profiles A sentence of text in plainchant almost always ends with a cadence What makes plainchant sound otherworldly is the scales where melodies are based o Medieval composers had four additional modes (including major and minor) each using a sequence of whole steps and half steps Each scale (mode) was given its own Greek name o Dorian (on D) o Phrygian (on E) o Lydian (on F) o Mixolydian (on G) o Aeolian (on A) o Ionian (on C) Projecting Words through Music Two basic choices in setting words through music o 1. Syllabic: one note per syllable, ensures words will be heard with special clarity o 2. Melismatic: a melisma is a syllable sung to many notes, providing variety and emphasizing key words in a text
Free Rhythm Two general approaches to how plainchant was performed; free or measured o Free rhythm has individual notes lengthened or shortened according to the length of the syllables in the words being sung o Measured performances adhere to consistent meter San Ildefonso Indians of New Mexico and Eagle Dance Eagle dance is part of an ancient Native American rain ceremony and is always accompanied by chant Chant has been, and remains essential to sacred rituals throughout the world Chant is predominant form of music in Native North American Indian culture Where it hasn t died from 19 th century wards with Euro-Americans, it survives on reservations Heard at powwows where Native Americans express their mutual bond and identity Eagle dance portrays life cycle of an eagle, creature regarded as the connecting link between heaven and earth Two men in eagle feathers dance movements imitating eagles turning, flapping and swaying in the air o The feathers aren t allowed to touch the ground Texture: Monophony Eagle dance consists of one melodic line Sung by male voices in unison o Percussion instruments are perceived as singing the chant; sounds punctuate the rhythm of the chant Nearly all Native American music is monophonic and accompanied by percussion Word-Music Relationships: Beyond Language Songs are believed to have come from spirit world Song is transmitted through a person who hears it in a dream or revelation and teaches it to others Native American chants make use of vocables meaningless sung syllables, the sound of which serves like a melodic instrument Form: ABA Each section has its own melody, built of smaller repeating units Varied vocable at the end of each melody group creates contrast within each section Terraced Melody Although A and B contrast in their rhythms and sung syllables, they are similar in the overall downward contour of their melodies Both descend the scale in terraced stages, eventually resolving a low tone
Francesco Landini: Behold, Spring In Behold, Spring, we hear two voices singing independent and equally important lines It is a balata for two voices (balata means danced) Landini s setting captures the feeling of bodies in motion Served as an organist at church in Florence and was renown as a poet Believed to have written more than 150 secular songs, which represent 1/3 of all Italian music survived from 14 th century The Richness of Polyphonic Texture Two or more voices of equal importance combine in a way that each voice retains its own identity Although our ears draw to upper line (because high pitches stand out more), the lower line is just as melodious Earliest polyphonic work was created in 8 th /9 th century by adding new lines above or below the existing plainchant melodies Some early works of polyphony were extraordinarily long and intricate but were based on an existing liturgical melody Perotin, wrote long and intricate works known as organum o These used plainchant in long note values in the lowest voice, with fastermoving voices layered above plainchant Behold, Spring, is actually a new secular composition Rhythm: The Pulse of Meter Behold, Spring, is set around a steady pattern of triple meter (1-2-3 1-2-3 etc.) The length of individual notes vary but music falls into consistent units of 3 beats Units of Melody Conjunct melodic lines were subdivided into smaller units, each ending with a cadence Cadences were used in second and fourth lines in each four-line strophe Landini always cadences on unison (both voices sing exactly the same note) At times, two voices move in same rhythmic pattern while other times the rhythms diverge. They always coincide just before each cadence Form: Turning Poetry into Music Consists of three verses, known as strophes (or stanzas) with the first repeated at the end Form is ABAA Once A is introduced, it can be repeated, varied, or contrasted though intro of new idea He used all of the above Word-Music Relationships: Syllabic vs. Melismatic Text is largely syllabic
Melismas used on line 3 of first strophe and in third line of second strophe This creates a degree of variety Guillaume de Machaut: I Can All Too Well Compare My Lady Song gives voice to medieval art of courtly love Pygmalion in text refers to mystic sculptor of antiquity who carved statue so realistic he fell in love with it and it came to life Love songs are as old as songs themselves Three-Voice Texture Song is for 3 voices and has 3 independent lines that are completely different from one another Uppermost voice is easiest to hear, it is the most rhythmically active and fluid The lower voices move at slower speeds and sing longer (and fewer) notes A Melody Punctuated by Cadences There is a total of 5 cadences Length is as little as 7 seconds to as much as 19 seconds AAB Form: Text consist of 4 sentences Opening sentence is repeated for second sentence Has same form as star-spangled banner Alfonso el Sabio: Songs to the Virgin Mary (Cantigas de Santa Maria), no. 249, He Who Gladly Serves (Aquel que de volontade Drums and two wind instruments bring to life a work originally notated for only one voice Little amounts of music written for instruments survives from the middle ages but composers and musicians rarely made sharp distinctions between vocal and instrumental music o Vocal lines were often performed on instruments if not enough singers were available for performance Alfonso el Sabio ruled the Kingdom of Castile and Leon on the Iberian peninsula between 1252 and 1284 The cantigas is a collection of more than 400 songs preserved in several different manuscripts Timbre: The Sound of Double Reeds The shawm is a double reed instrument because the player blows through the tiny space between a pair of cane strips Air resonates between a long, open-ended tubular base made of wood and produces a reedy, slightly nasal sound Closest modern day relative is the oboe
Form: Repetition and Contrast The form of this piece arises out of two units (A and B) They begin in a similar manner by B moves into a higher register Passage on drums introduces two complete statements of the melody (ABA ABA) The A section is repeated twice at the end Three Kinds of Texture 1. Monophony: both instruments play the same notes together, in unison 2. Homophony: one instrument plays the melody, the other a drone bass a long note held underneath the melodic line. Effect is like a bagpipe also used in medieval times 3. Heterophony: both instruments play same melody at same time but one of them plays a more elaborate and embellished for of it. The lines are thus similar and at the same time different The Renaissance (ca. 1425-1600) Renaissance is French word for rebirth (spirit of humanism was reborn) Composers brought spirit of humanism to art by setting both sacred and secular texts in ways that united words and music directly Typical renaissance vocal composition featured a full, rich sound, intricate in both texture and rhythm Music for Catholics, Music for Protestants Rift among Christians began in 1517 when Martin Luther nailed complaints on doors of church in Wittenberg He set in reformation that established Protestantism as a new branch of Christianity. Church would then be divided as protestant and catholic Music for Growing Markets As kingdoms, duchies, and city-states expanded both in population and wealth, the demand for music and arts became greater Best composers and musicians demanded high salaries Renaissance Man was someone who cultivated knowledge and experience in the full range of arts and sciences A New Sense of Individuality Art was more personal and drama tended toward allegory Playwrights like Shakespeare were writing dramas and comedies with flesh-andblood characters Composers captured emotions in ways that seem far more personal Information Technology 2.0 Invention of printing by metal type changed the way information could be transmitted
Composers achieved international stardom because their works could now circulate across the entire continent Josquin des Prez: The Cricket Has four voices and at times the music mimics the sound of a cricket Texture: Polyphony in Four Voices Soprano (highest range), alto (second highest range), tenor (second lowest range) and bass (lowest range) Polyphony is the norm for renaissance music in general Composers took great pride in their skill at counterpoint o Writing a new melody against an existing one then adding a third and fourth and so on Word-Music Relationships: Music Imitates the Text and Form Top and bottom voices sing long notes, inner voices weave around each other in the middle ABA form Thomas Weelkes: Since Robin Hood Is a madrigal song, about dancing Texture: Polyphony in Three Voices No voice predominates and all three contribute equally The move together in same rhythm to make the text easier to understand Poetic Rhythm in Music Most metrical poems stick to a single meter from the beginning to end BUT robin hood shifts from one meter to another Beginning pattern is iambic, then moves to trochaic, and anapestic William Byrd: Sing Joyfully Sacred work to be sung in church with text coming from book of psalms Takes first for verses of psalm 81 Example of a cappella choral music Texture: Polyphony in Six Voices Technique used was imitative counterpoint o Particular style of counterpoint where one voice introduces each new theme and is answered by another voice Only four voices enter in imitative counterpoint (imitation) with both soprano voices entering together Sectional Form Music follows form of text
Each line gets own melodic idea and ends with a cadence o Some cadences are elided where a new line of text and music begins before the previous one has come to a complete stop The Baroque Era (1600-1750) Called baroque because of attention to the extravagant and even bizarre qualities of the music and art Polyphony made room for homophony where one voice was clearly more important than others o Led to the emergence of opera Composers extended the expressive possibilities of solo singing into scared music, creating oratorio; an un-staged opera on a sacred topic. Homophony also brought the genre of concerto Period of energy and motion, ornamentation and extremes and contrasts between light and dark in paintings. Architecture become ornate as did musical lines (ornamental flourishes and trills [notes next to each other that are played in alternation very rapidly]) Baroque composers and performers were committed to representing the passions through music. They could move their audiences by the artful portrayal of emotion. Projecting Cultural Power through Music Nations splendor was measured in cultural terms as well as political and economic terms. Arts were important means of projecting power and authority. Rulers vied with one another to find and retain the best artists, poets, composers, and musicians. The Splendor of the Church Arts served also to project the power of the church. Churches spent large sums of money on lavish decoration that would both convey the church s authority and inspire religious fervor. Churches invested small fortunes in their organs, and organ building enjoyed its golden age in the Baroque era o Johann Sebastian Bach made frequent trips to towns and cities around central Germany to test the craftsmanship of newly installed instruments Opera, Oratorio, and the Entrepreneurial Spirit Earliest operas were performed in private theatres at the courts of the nobility and royalty First public opera houses opened in Venice in 1637 and by early 18 th century, some theatres under control of monarchs began opening doors to paying customers Impresarios invested heavily in new productions and enormous sums to the singers who could ensure the success of a new work
The oratorio was essentially identical to opera in its musical form, but it was upstaged and the libretto was usually based on a scared subject o Handel s Messiah, moves audiences today as it did in 1742 when it was first performed Arson became a serious problem in the opera world for a time during the baroque era The Virtuoso Baroque era was an age of opulence, and it extended to the world of sound. Virtuoso singers and instrumentalists were coveted by rulers and the public alike. o These musicians were expected to embellish parts written for them Castrati, singers who were castrated as young boys so as to preserve high range of their voices were high in demand The most successful castrati became the equivalent of millionaires, possessing high range of a woman s voice and the physical power of a man s voice. Claudio Monteverdi: Orpheus, selection from Act II (composed 1607) Orpheus is one of the earliest operas The scene presents the moment in which legendary poet and singer Orpheus learns of the death of his wife, Eurydice; the chorus, following the conventions of Greek drama Opera was a drama sung from beginning to end, and the genre of opera has remained devoted to its original purpose: to convey a story onstage through characters who express their thoughts and emotions by singing Orpheus is the most frequently performed of all early operas. Music was richly varied, with elaborate songs and choruses for the singers and lively instrumental music for the dancers Homophonic Texture: One Character, One Voice Homophony, a single principal voice with a subordinate accompaniment is essential in opera, for it allows one singer to represent a single character onstage. Instruments accompanying the singer is called basso continuo (continuous bass) o Basso continuo consists of two instruments: one that can sustain long notes (bass, viol, cello, bassoon), and one that can play chords (lute or a harpsichord). Organ was one of the few instruments that alone could both sustain a sound and play chords. Homophonic texture made it easier for audiences to understand the text being sung. A single singer carrying the melodic line, could articulate the words clearly without competition from other voices Homophonic texture, restored a greater sense of balance between text and music Word-Music Relationships: Between Speech and Song Selection opens with an extended recitative by Orpheus. o Recitative derives from the same root word as recite and lies between singing and speaking
Advantage of recitative over more conventional styles of singing is that it allows the words to be projected with special clarity: melody is less important. Texture is polyphonic because the chorus represents the reactions of the many characters onstage who are witnessing the drama Henry Purcell: Dido and Aeneas, Overture and Act 1, nos. 1-4; composed 1689 One of the first operas to be written in English Story comes from Virgil s Aeneid, which is about the aftermath of the Trojan war and founding of Rome Chief characters were: o Dido, the queen of Carthage (soprano; the highest vocal range) o Aeneas, a Trojan prince (baritone; the middle-low male voice) o Belinda, Dido s maidservant (soprano) Form by the Numbers 1. Overture: an instrumental opening signaled to the audience that it was time to leave the socializing and direct attention to the stage, where the singers would soon appear. This form of overture is known as a French overture. There are two characteristics a. The slow long introduction features a consistent alternation between long and short notes b. The fast section begins with imitation among the voices: the same theme introduced by different instruments of the orchestra in succession. 2. Scene and chorus: an aria, sung by Belinda to queen Dido. Aria is Italian for air or melody and is used to describe any lyrical movement or piece for solo voice 3. Song: another aria, this one more elaborate. Dido sings her melody over an ostinato pattern in the bass, a short array of nine notes repeated over and over. This kind of pattern is known as ground bas or simply a ground. 4. Recitative: Belinda and Dido in dialogue, provided a way of delivering text quickly and clearly in a singing style similar to speech. Accompaniment of basso continuo 5. Chorus: in the manner of the chorus in an ancient Greek tragedy, the chorus comments on what just happened on stage Word-Music Relationships: Speaking, Expressing, Commenting When Purcell s characters talk to each other, he gives them something between speech and song: the recitative. When they convey something of deep feeling, he gives them lyrical arias in which they linger expressively over individual words. Each unit of the opera is dominated by a single affect, or emotion. Mbuti Pygmies: Marriage Celebration Song (1958) In the marriage celebration song of the Mbuti Pygmies of central Africa, the repetition of a single pattern of notes and rhythms throughout the entire song provides a unifying structure above which a variety of melodies are presented The Mbuti use ostinatos as the basis for complex musical structures involving polyphony, interlocking rhythms and the alternation of voices to create a melody
The music of the Pygmies has found growing interest among western audiences and has influenced pop, jazz and world beat genres Texture: Layers upon Layers Ostinato in this song is made of multiple layers that overlap and interlock in intriguing ways with the most obvious textural layer being call and response Beneath the call and response structure is two heterophonic lines stacked. o Heterophony is simultaneous playing or singing of two or more versions of a melody. Heterophony is a basic way of creating harmonic support without using harmony built from chords, giving a thicker texture to polyphony. Two heterophonic lines are further layered by a hocket construction. Hocket is a form of polyphony consisting of two or more rhythmically interlocking voices. Form: A Call-and-Response Ostinato Consists of four phrases; ABBB covering a total of 8 beats o Essential melodic unit repeats over and over to create the ostinato while the 5 basic lines remain consistent Barbara Strozzi: Revenge (1651) Song allows singer to display great vocal agility and makes effective use of contrasting timbres. Music requires small group of musicians: one singer, two violinists, and a basso continuo consisting of the cello and lute Decoration of the Melody Singer adds extra notes to the notated melody line, decorating it more elaborately as the piece progresses. Music of the baroque era is like jazz music today: musicians embellish a basic tune in a highly individual and often quote spontaneous manner. Form: Contrast and Repetition Alternate two contrasting melodies first in duple meter, second in triple meter to create a large-scale structure. Timbre: Contrast and Punctuation Strozzi uses two violins to great effect punctuating the end of every line in the refrain (A section) echoing the soprano The violins drop out entirely during the B sections to emphasize contrast between A and B Johann Sebastian Bach: Fugue in G Minor, BWV 578 ( Little ) [1705] A fugue is a polyphonic work based on a central theme. They are easily to recognize as they begin with the theme in one voice, which is imitated by all the other voices in succession.
Comes from the word fugitive as it refers to the tendency of voices chasing each other Fugue is regarded as the touchstone of a composer s art for it demanded more than just the invention of a good tune. Bach wrote this fugue when he was 20 in Arnstadt Timbres of the Organ, Timbres of the Orchestra No other instrument has the range of volume and timbre found in the organ High voices have a particular sound, perhaps a bit reedy, middle voices have a more rounded tone, and the lowest notes blast like brass instruments. Number of combinations goes well into the 100 s A Distinctive Melody The progression slow to faster to fastest gives the theme a strong sense of forward progression. Fugal Texture: Fugues begin with a central theme (subject) in one voice all by itself. Subject is often recognizable and has features such as a melodic leap, distinctive rhythms etc. Imitative counterpoint is recognizable as the voices imitate each other sounding against (countering) the others at the same time Opening entry of all voices on the main subject is known as a fugal exposition as it exposes the main idea of the work Fugues were common in baroque era Antonio Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Winter, first movement (1720) A concerto is an instrumental work for a soloist and larger ensemble. This one is for a solo violin and an orchestra of stringed instruments plus basso continuo. Contrasting Timbres: Concerto was a favorite for baroque audiences as it featured dramatic contrasts between the sound of a solo instruments and the combined sound of all other instruments. Solo parts in a concerto are demanding and downright flamboyant. Form: The Ritornello Principle Movement consists of series of alternating sections between the orchestra and soloist The statements made by soloists and the return of the full ensemble after is the ritornello principle Tonic note is F minor Operatic arias contain ritornellos also
Word-Music Relationships: Program Music Vivaldi indicated which lines of the following poem corresponded to the specific points of the concerto Johan Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concerto no. 2 in F Major, BWV 1047, finale (1720) Features multiple soloists: trumpet, oboe, violin, and recorder Not all concertos are for only one soloist Extreme Timbres Solo instruments provide unusual contrast amount themselves. o Trumpet is loud and penetrating o Recorder is soft and gentle o Oboe and violin lie in between George Frideric Handel: Water Music, Hornpipe (1717) King George hired Handel to write a song for his party on the Thames. Water Music is a suite, a series of some two dozen individual dance movements o Usually consists of different types of dances such as minuets, gavottes, and gigues. Was performed 3 times in succession Binary Form Consists of two sections, both repeated First section begins in the primary key, or tonic, and modulates to a secondary key area At the end of the first section, the central note is not the same as the point of origin (modulation) and it changes the harmonic home Second section begins in any key except for the tonic and remains unstable before finally returning to tonic Melodically, binary form rests on a single basic idea Movements appear in genres such as sonatas and symphonies as well as suites and later became the basis for sonata form Timbre: Strings vs. Winds Orchestration is the manner in which various instruments are assigned to the musical lines Each line sounds different because of different orchestration Johann Sebastian Bach: Cantata 140, Awake a Voice Calls to Us, selections (1731) Cantata is a work sung during a service of worship Bach wrote cantatas when he was music director at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig
Unified Timbre Instruments of the orchestra double the voices o High instruments like violin, flute, and oboe double soprano line while low instruments (violas, cellos, basses) double lower voice lines When instruments double voices, the contrast is minimized and creates a sense of unity A Familiar Melody Lutherans placed high importance on the personal connection of each believer Chorale melodies played a role in making this connection Bar Form: Form is AAB Opening phrase (A) is sung twice then melody concludes with contrasting section (B) Star spangled banner has this form Form: Ritornello Principle Similar to that of Winter by Vivaldi George Frideric Handel: Messiah, selections (1747) Church remained ambivalent toward opera Oratorio is like opera except it wasn t staged Handel s oratorio, messiah, doesn t have characters or plot nit uses conventions of opera and has recitative, aria, and chorus Form: Paired Movements: the aria is built on the ritornello principle Single Melody aria speaks of destruction Handel thus does not use any melodic contrast READ REVIEW PG 165