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The Medieval Period, also known as the Middle Ages, spans from 700 to 1400 and marks the beginning of Western classical music, characterized by liturgical and secular music, primarily vocal forms like Gregorian chant. Key features of this music include monophonic texture, free meter, and modal scales, with notable composers such as Stephen of Liège and Léonin contributing to its development. Gregorian chant, a central tradition of Western plainchant, emerged during this era, emphasizing unaccompanied sacred song in Latin.

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8 views2 pages

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The Medieval Period, also known as the Middle Ages, spans from 700 to 1400 and marks the beginning of Western classical music, characterized by liturgical and secular music, primarily vocal forms like Gregorian chant. Key features of this music include monophonic texture, free meter, and modal scales, with notable composers such as Stephen of Liège and Léonin contributing to its development. Gregorian chant, a central tradition of Western plainchant, emerged during this era, emphasizing unaccompanied sacred song in Latin.

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The Medieval Period


Music of The Medieval Period (700-1400)

-The Medieval period is also known as the “Middle Ages” or “Dark Ages” that
started with the fall of the Roman Empire.

-It is the first and longest major era of Western classical music and is followed by
the Renaissance music; the two eras comprise what musicologists generally term
as early music, preceding the common practice period.

- Medieval music includes liturgical music used for the church, other sacred music,
and secular or non-religious music. Much medieval music is purely vocal music,
such as Gregorian chant.

Gregorian Chant: the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of


monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin of the Roman Catholic Church.
Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe during the 9th
and 10th centuries, with later additions and redactions.

Characteristics
 Monophonic-refers to only one note sounding at a time
 Free Meter-a type of musical meter free from musical time and time
 Modal-of or denoting music using melodies or harmonies based on modes
other than the ordinary major and minor scales
 Music Notation- The rhythmic notation of medieval music is one of the
most notable characteristics of medieval music
 Rhythms and modes-looser structures of rhythm and tonal centers than in
modern music
 Latin liturgy-is a ceremony or ritual conducted in the latin language usually
associated in catholic mass
 Neume-(in plainsong) a note or group of notes to be sung to a single
syllable
Composers

STEPHEN of LIEGE
- a Frankish churchman, he is one of the earliest formal composers

- Stephen of Liège was active towards the end of the early medieval period, which
lasted from 500-1150AD.

- He was Bishop of Liège who wrote biographies of saints and religious icons and
composed Gregorian chant, including three Proper Offices for the Office of the
Trinity, the Office of the Invention of St Stephen and the Office of St Lambert.

LEONIN
- A French composer famous for pioneering works in the organum style (a form of
heterophony in which a plainchant is accompanied by another part)

- Léonin worked at the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris in the 12th century. The
major work attributed to him was the Magnus liber ('great book'). This was
designed for use by the choir of the new cathedral.

- He is the earliest member of the Notre Dame school of polyphony and the ars
antiqua style who is known by name.

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