Music history quiz 2
Italy
remained fragmented among several rulers, including the Pope,
The antiphon
was a setting of a psalm, divided between two individuals or groups.
Jeu de Robin et de Marion
(ca. 1284), by the trouvère Adam de la Halle (ca. 1240-?1288), is the most famous musical play. Among the song forms he uses is the rondeau. (NAWM 10).
In the south (feminine)
(feminine: trobairitz
jongleurs
(lower class itinerant musicans who perfomed tricks, sang or played and instrument, and told stories),
bards
(poet-singers in Celtic lands, who performed at feasts),
Among the most widely known of the troubadours was
Bernart de Ventadorn
Name six medieval instruments, and describe each of them.
Bowed strings such as the vielle; a European bowed stringed instrument used in the Medieval period, The transverse flute Shawm (reed instrument, predecessor of the modern oboe), Pipe and tabor (a perforated pipe, played with one hand, and a portable snare drum, played with the other). Bagpipes (similar to the Scottish pipes seen today) were also played. In churches, there were bells and large organs
Who were the trouvères? The troubadours? What languages did they speak?
By the late-twelfth century, the troubadour tradition which began in southern France, had spread to the trouvères in northern France and countries beyond. They spoke French. They were poet-composers who wrote in the language of Occitan, also called the langue d'oc. Their counterparts in northern France were trouvères, who wrote in Old French, called the lange d'oil. Both types of musicians were supported by aristocrats at court and in cities.
Christmas Day Vespers song
Christe Redemptor omnium
From 800 to 1200,
Europe experienced economic, educational and artistic growth along with an increase in population.
English royalty used the language of
French and supported French poet-composers; therefore, few melodies for medieval English poems survive.
How did Europe change between 800 and 1200?
From 800 to 1200, Europe experienced economic, educational and artistic growth along with an increase in population.
Name the oldest surviving music drama not attached to the liturgy. Who composed it?
Hildegard of Bingen Ordo virtutum
What were the goliard songs?
In the 20th century German composer Carl Orff wrote a secular oratorio, also called Carmina Burana, based on songs from that collection.) The subject matter of the songs varies, ranging from political and religious satire to love songs of an unusual directness and to songs of drinking and riotous life. The goliard songs dealt with a range of subjects, from the religious and moral, to satires and celebration of love, spring, eating, drinking, and other earthly pleasures
Who were the minnesingers?
In the German-speaking lands, the Minnesinger were knightly poet-composers active from the twelfth through the fourteenth centuries.
the Proper
In the Proper of the Mass, the words varied from day to day according to the church calendar.
Who claimed the title of Holy Roman Emperors?
In the western part, the German kings claimed the title of Holy Roman Emperors, as Charlemagne's successors. Their realm, known as the Holy Roman Empire, included northern Italy and the Netherlands as well. By 1250, real power lay in the hands of the princes, dukes and bishops, who competed for prestige by hiring the best singers, instrumentalists and musicians.
Give two examples of medieval dance music.
Medieval instrumental dance music had a steady beat, clear meter, repeated sections, and predictable phrasing.
Hildegard of Bingen
Ordo virtutum is the earliest surviving music drama not attached to the liturgy. She uses music (and the absence of it) to reflect relationships between characters.
What were the versus and conductus? How were they notated?
Songs of the period included both sacred and secular works. The versus and conductus were sacred songs, original musical settings of newly composed Latin texts; these were not based on chant. Many of these songs were notated in staffless neumes, so that they cannot be exactly transcribed.
What is the difference between bards, jongleurs and minstrels?
The Medieval Minstrels were replaced by Troubadours and started to move around and were known as 'Wandering Minstrels'. The Minstrel was not as refined or poetic as the Troubadour. A minstrel was a servant first employed as a travelling entertainer and then as a castle or court musician or Medieval Bard.
What was the chanson de geste? Give an example.
The chanson de geste ("song of deeds") is one type of epic narrative poem in the vernacular or local language, sung to simple melodic formulas. Medieval Minstrels often created their own ballads but they were also famous for memorising long poems based on myths and legends which were called 'chansons de geste'.
What are the three most important parts of the Office?
The most important Office services, liturgically and musically, are Matins, Lauds Vespers
What does the Mass commemorate?
The most important service in the Roman church is the Mass. It is a symbolic reenactment of Christ's Last Supper with his disciples. Around this central ritual action were arranged bible readings, prayers and psalm singing.
the Ordinary
The musical setting of the Ordinary of the Mass included the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. Same text.
Best known Minnesinger
Walther von der Vogelweide
the office
a series of eight services that since the early middle ages have been celebrated at certain specified times.
Woman poets such as the Countess of Di (Comtessa de Dia) adapted similar language. Their songs were preserved in manuscript anthologies called
chansonniers.
the notation of these songs usually
does not indicate rhythm, and the accompaniment is not notated, although interestingly, pictures and accoutns do indicate plucked or bowed string instruments.
The most common theme is
fin'amors, or fine amour (also called courtly love),
responsorial,
in which a soloist alternates with the choir or congregation;
neumatic,
in which each syllable has 1-6 notes;
syllabic,
in which each syllable of the text gets a note;
antiphonal,
in which two halves of the choir alternate singing;
Chants were for
inspiring devotion in the congregants and singers. They were not composed to depict emotions or images.
a gloss
interpreting the chant text and linking it more closely to the occasion.
Quam queritas in presepe
is a late 10th century trope to the Introit for Mass for Christmas Day.
The most important Office services,
liturgically and musically, are Matins, Lauds and Vespers.
Minnelieder
love songs
There are three ways of performing Gregorian chant:
responsorial, in which a soloist alternates with the choir or congregation; antiphonal, in which two halves of the choir alternate singing; and direct, where there is no alternation.
The versus and conductus were
sacred songs, original musical settings of newly composed Latin texts; these were not based on chant.
minstrels,
specialized musicans who might be empoyed at a court or city for at least part of a year.
Troubadour and trouvère melodies are
strophic and mostly syllabic with a narrow range;
There are three types of text setting;
syllabic, in which each syllable of the text gets a note; neumatic, in which each syllable has 1-6 notes; and melismatic, where there are melismas, long melodic passages on a single syllable.
in Spain, monophonic songs in Spanish were
the Cantigas
In the western part,
the German kings claimed the title of Holy Roman Emperors, as Charlemagne's successors. Their realm, known as the Holy Roman Empire, included northern Italy and the Netherland
The most important service in the Roman church is
the Mass a symbolic re-enactment of Christ's Last Supper with his disciples
In the German-speaking lands,
the Minnesinger were knightly poet-composers active from the twelfth through the fourteenth centuries.
The text of the Mass alternates between
the Proper and the Ordinary
One of the rare examples of an epic where the music is preserved is
the Song of Roland
A popular dance in France was
the carole. Medieval instrumental dance music had a steady beat, clear meter, repeated sections, and predictable phrasing.
Most of the songs we have from the Middle ages were from
the cultivated in courts and cities under aristocratic sponsorship, probably because the lower classes were nonliterate, and could not write down their music.
One type of poem which did survive is
the epic, a long narrative describing the deeds of a heroic character. The chanson de geste ("song of deeds") is one type of epic narrative poem in the vernacular or local language, sung to simple melodic formulas.
The most common medieval French dance form was
the estampie, in which each section was played twice, first with an open cadence and then with a closed one.
In the south were (masculine)
the troubadours
By 800,
the western part of the old Roman empire was united under Charlemagne. After his death, this western empire was further divided. The eastern part became France, where nobles provided opportunities for poets and musicians, nurturing the troubadours and trouveres
Their counterparts in northern France were
trouvères
liturgical drama
was a trope in the form of a dialogue, illustrating stories in the Gospel. These could take the form of little staged plays added to the Mass, at Christmas and Easter, for instance.
Spain
was divided between the Christian kingdom in the north and the Muslim lands in the south.
A sequence
was generally new text and music added to follow an Alleluia; an interpolation to a chant that expanded it using new words and/or music.
goliard songs,
were secular songs in Latin associated with wandering scholars and clerics known as goliards.
melismatic,
where there are melismas, long melodic passages on a single syllable.
and direct,
where there is no alternation.
