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Medieval Music Powerpoint

A PowerPoint Presentation giving a brief overview of the Medieval Period in music, including cultural philosophies, societal norms, musical forms, and composers.

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Krista Baer
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271 views24 pages

Medieval Music Powerpoint

A PowerPoint Presentation giving a brief overview of the Medieval Period in music, including cultural philosophies, societal norms, musical forms, and composers.

Uploaded by

Krista Baer
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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MEDIEVAL MUSIC

GREGORIAN CHANT (PLAINCHANT)


MIDDLE AGES OVERVIEW

GOES FAST: SO PAY ATTENTION!


BBC “STORY OF MUSIC - THE AGE OF DISCOVERY” WATCH FROM 8:18 - 24:00
GREGORIAN CHANT
ORIGINS: WHAT IS GREGORIAN CHANT?

- LANGUAGE: LATIN (EXCEPT FOR ONE PART)


- FORM OF WORSHIP
- POPE GREGORY I
- NO WAY TO WRITE IT DOWN
- EVERYTHING COMES FROM CHANT
- LITURGY = WHAT THE CHURCH SAYS YOU NEED TO DO WHEN YOU GET TOGETHER
AND WORSHIP
- IT’S HOLY. YOU CAN’T CHANGE IT
MASS

ORDINARY: PROPER:

- KYRIE JUST SPECIAL OCCASIONS, SUCH AS


- GLORIA CHRISTMAS AND EASTER
- CREDO
- SANCTUS (WITH BENEDICTUS)
- AGNUS DEI

- Standardized by the 11th century


- Some musical notation, just to remind people of what they already knew, not to teach them
something new
MASS
OR THIS...
FACTS ABOUT THE NOTATION...

- NOTES ARE CALLED “NEUMES”


- 4 LINE STAFF
- NEUMES ARE NOT DURATIONAL. THEY ARE MORE DIRECTIONAL.
USING YOUNG BOYS AS SOPRANOS

- IN MEDIEVAL MUSIC (GREGORIAN CHANT), WOMEN WEREN’T ALLOWED TO SING FOR


THE MOST PART. IF A CHANT WAS WRITTEN FOR WOMEN IT WAS NO LONGER
LITURGICAL.

- THE CHURCH STILL WANTED HIGH NOTES TO BE SUNG, SO INSTEAD OF HAVING


WOMEN SING, THEY HAD 8-14 YEAR OLD BOYS SING SOPRANO AND ALTO.

- YOUNG BOYS STILL DO THAT TODAY!


FORMS OF CHANT:

- SYLLABIC
- ONE NOTE PER SYLLABLE
- MELISMATIC
- MANY NOTES PER SYLLABLE (MORE EXTREME THAN NEUMATIC)
- NEUMATIC
- 2-5 NOTES PER SYLLABLE
CAN BE PERFORMED...

- SOLO
- CHORAL
- ANTIPHONAL
- 2 GROUPS TRADING PHRASES
- RESPONSORIAL
- SOLO ALTERNATING WITH A GROUP, LIKE Q&A
MORE TERMS TO KNOW

- PLAINCHANT: UNACCOMPANIED, MONOPHONIC MUSIC USED IN LITURGY OF THE


WESTERN CHURCH.
- MONOPHONY: A SINGLE MELODY PLAYED, SUNG, OR WRITTEN WITH NO HARMONY.
- POLYPHONY: MUSIC FEATURING TWO OR MORE INDEPENDENT VOICES OR MELODIES
PLAYED, SUNG, OR WRITTEN SIMULTANEOUSLY.
- SACRED MUSIC: MUSIC RELATING TO RELIGION OR RELIGIOUS SERVICES.
- SECULAR MUSIC: MUSIC NOT RELATED TO RELIGION OR RELIGIOUS SERVICES.
COMPOSERS
GUIDO DE AREZZO (991-1033)

- GUIDO WAS AN ITALIAN MONK WHO CREATED A SET OF SYLLABLES TO HELP SINGERS
REMEMBER MELODIES.
- THESE SYLLABLES DEVELOPED INTO THE SOLFEGE SYLLABLES MUSICIANS STILL USE
TODAY.
- GUIDO ALSO DEVELOPED STAFF NOTATION; A CHANGE FROM NEUMATIC NOTATION,
WHICH ONLY GAVE A GENERAL OUTLINE OF THE MELODY.
- THIS WAS HUGE FOR MUSIC.
HILDEGARD VON BINGEN (1098-1179)

- A WOMAN!
- SHE WAS A WRITER, PHILOSOPHER, VISIONARY, NUN, AND COMPOSER.
- SHE WAS ALSO NAMED AS A SAINT IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.
- SHE COMPOSED MONOPHONIC MUSIC.
- SHE IS ONE OF THE EARLIEST KNOWN COMPOSERS AND HAS ONE OF THE LARGEST
REPERTOIRES AMONG COMPOSERS OF HER TIME.
- HER MUSIC IS CONSIDERED NON-LITURGICAL BECAUSE SHE’S A WOMAN AND
INCLUDED WOMEN IN HER VOICE PART WRITING.
PÉROTIN (1163-1190)

- HE IS BEST KNOWN FOR HIS WORK WITH ORGANUM, A TYPE OF POLYPHONIC


COMPOSITION (A TYPE OF GREGORIAN CHANT).
- HE HELPED TO DEVELOP THREE AND FOUR-VOICE POLYPHONY.
- BEFORE COMPOSERS LIKE HIM, ALL CHURCH MUSIC WAS MONOPHONIC.
BONUS MATERIAL
BONUS MATERIAL

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