Gregorian chant is recognized by its calm, ethereal sound. The magical sound comes from the unfamiliar church modes. It as little sense of beat and was often improvised, producing an uncertain and floating rhythm. The melody could be simple or elaborate based on the importance of text the chant is set to (Book). Gregorian chant was passed through oral tradition and only began notating to ensure musical uniformity. Neither dynamic markings nor instrument indication appear on the notations that have been preserved, so little is known about how the music actually sounded. Occasionally, the vocalized melody was accompanied by a drone, which consists of one or more long, sustained notes at the interval of a perfect fifth (Sherrane).
Very few Gregorian chant scores exist today, but it can be seen that there are not as many differences between modern and ancient notation as one would think. Chants were written in neumes which are symbols used to express notation; these were usually sung on one syllable. Many of the neumes that have been preserved and documented are very similar to modern ...
The music was played very often as a normal routine. People considered it a must to know how to play an instrument, sing, or be involved somehow with music in this age of time. Instruments in the 1600’s were able to make any type of music; the amazing part was no matter how many instruments you used it would always sound pure and the same. Another unique thing about the music and culture in the 1600’s is that it was also healthy for the body. During the Elizabethan Era the people would gather together to dance and dance for hours, their stamina must have been incredible. Music was use to entertain most people. Before the music became a big part in people life during the Elizabethan Era theatre played a really big part during this time. It was out of the ordinary for women to take part in or be a part of the theatre during this period of time. Do to the fact that women were not allowed to play in any of the plays or drama, younger boys who were still young played the role of women.
“For over one thousand years the official music of the Roman Catholic church had been Gregorian Chant, which consists of melody set to sacred Latin texts and sung without accompaniment” (Kamien 67). The credit for developing Gregorian chant music, also known as plain...
In this style of composition, it was very common for composers to use a Gregorian chant as a base to compose original pieces. As a general rule, the tenor voice sang the Gregorian chant, and the upper voices have new original material. Machaut followed this line by putting the chant Ad te suspiramus gementes et flentes on the tenor voice in his piece; whereas, Philippe De Vitry composed original music for all voices. Although the piece by De Vitry is called a motet, it might be just labeled as a polyphonic composition since all the voices have original music.
Music is an art that seems subjective. After all, some like classical music, others like pop, and some even enjoy country. Different genres and pieces of music appeal to different people, dependent on the tastes of the individual. However, there is a sort of musical standard that must be upheld, for a collection of random pitches without pattern or cohesion can hardly be called music as it is currently understood. There must be a certain order to a piece, though the order does not have to be universal. Old Gregorian chant pieces, such as Responsorium: Libera me, do not necessarily follow a specific time signature, and don’t even use the same scale as that which is most recognized today. Another piece, Introitus from St. Matthew’s Passion by
With the decline of the Western Roman empire Western Europe was a disjointed land that had no true unifying structure till the rise of Christianity. In Roman antiquity people used the State or empire of Rome to define themselves and give them a sense of unity despite having a diverse group of people within the empire. When Western Rome fell this belief based on a Roman cultural identity disappeared and no longer were people able to identify themselves with any particular group as they once have. The Christian religion was able to fill this vacuum by having the people associate themselves to a religion instead of a given state or cultural group. During Medieval Europe Christianity became the unifying force that would define what it meant to be European. Christianity gave political leaders legitimacy by showing that they have been favored by the gods. The clergyman that recorded the histories surrounding the kings of the Medieval Europe also provided a link to the Roman Empire to give the Kings a link to Roman empire of antiquity. Christianity became the center of the cultural life in western Europe and created a new social elite in Europe which would dominate literacy and knowledge within Europe for centuries. Christianity provided Europe with an escape from the disorder of the Medieval ages and give them a spiritual outlet for their fears and desires for a better life, whether in the physical life or in the spiritual world after death.
today we do not have a chorus, as it would obscure the view of the
The medieval times were filled with many events that have helped to shape our society today such as the rise of the bubonic plague, the birth of feudalism, the growth of the Catholic Church, and among these is the beginning tales of mythical monsters. The stories of mythical monsters were spurred by the imagination of men who saw an unusual creature or something unexplainable. A world renown German physicist by the name of Albert Einstein claimed, “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.” (brainyquote.com) Mythical creatures were founded by the creativity of very bright individuals who wanted to entertain people by telling elaborate stories that contained a strong antagonist. Mythical creatures also allowed society to have heroes because with every evil monster there must be a savior to slay the hideous beast. Although many different monsters have been mentioned the Dragon, the Kraken, the Basilisk, and the Griffin were among some of the most popular and well known creatures.
WAS THE TIME PERIOD BETWEEN 400 AD AND 1400 AD A “DARK AGE” FOR EUROPE?
McGee, Timothy J. Medieval and Renaissance Music: A Performer’s Guide. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1985.
The rhythms of chants are often free without any accent or beat. Thus it makes more emphasis on the words in the chant then a melody and rhythm. Musicoutfitters.com says, “As early in the fifth and sixth century the chants were in different regions of Europe.” Gregorian chant is said that the reason is scattered throughout Europe is because it unified in musical notations. Gregorian chant replaced most local chants in Rome which at the time before the Gregorian chant was called Old Roman Chant. Gregorian chants in the tenth century there was no virtual musical manuscripts. Gregorian chant would later be introduced as soon as Pope Gregory passed away Gregorian chant was authentic and a original chant of Rome. Pope
Intro: Medieval Europe had many great games that we still use today. Some of the lower class games were Stickball, Horseshoes, and Gameball. Some of the upper class games were Chess, and Backgammon. We still play most of these games today even if they are a different name for example Gameball is an early version of American Football. And Stickball is a version of cricket or baseball.
Music throughout the ages has changed dramatically. Starting in the Medieval period, from 400-1475, music was in the form of what is called the Gregorian chant. Instruments were very rarely used at this time. Since songs during this period were either troubadour or trouvere these chants had no real harmony. One example of this type of medieval composition is “Viderunt Omnes” by Leoninus. Like most Gregorian chants the texture of this piece is monophonic and polyphonic. “Viderunt Omnes” is a typical Gregorian chant in that it uses diatonic, not chromatic notes of the scale. Musical compositions during the Medieval period was made mostly by members of the church for the church. It was and is a very slow and steady movement that was meant to create a feeling of peace for worship purposes.
Music in the Renaissance differed from medieval music because Renaissance music tended to be more complex and polyphonic, while medieval music was often monophonic with one melody. Most music in the medieval era was written for religious services because the catholic church prohibited any other music. With the rise of the renaissance era, music was used for many other reasons. Composers created complex music by using notation and musical forms. During the medieval era, music often contained one tone and one or no instruments. Instruments were more widely accepted in music during the Renaissance.
Many of the songs we have today of the Middle Ages were in Latin, and are by anonymous composers. Many were written by wandering people, many of them men and churchmen without permanent residences of their own. Men who could not obtain a position in the Church and had to drop out were called goliards. These goliards wandered around the land, composing and performing for people. Their music was mostly comprised of the "’eat, drink, and be merry’ type, appropriate to the wanton kind of life the goliards lived" (Stolba, 99). Carl Orff, the composer of the Carmina Burana, used the poems found in the largest surviving records of Latin secular music that we have today. The Codex latinus 4660 was held in the Benedictine monastery at Benediktbeurn. Many of the songs speak of love, many of them lascivious. Others speak of drinking, satires of the religious life and even liturgical plays. A few of them are even written in the vernacular of the region in that time (Stolba, 99).