Notes on Medieval/ Renaissance Period

I. Background of Music

During the medieval period or the Middle Ages from roughly 500 A.D. to
approximately 1400, musical notation began such as Gregorian chants, a monophonic
vocal line sung by monks, and choral music for a group of singers. These two were
among the main types of music during this period. Church (liturgical or sacred) music
dominated the period. The Renaissance or "rebirth" was a period from 1400 to 1600 of
significant changes in history including music. The kings, princes and other prominent
members of the courts were beginning to have an impact on the direction of music.
Most music remained religious during the Renaissance, the relaxation of the Church’s
political control over society meant that composers were allowed greater freedom to be
influenced by art, classical mythology and even astronomy and mathematics.

II. Period Highlights

Medieval Period
590—604
 During this time the Gregorian chant was developed. It is also known as plain-
chant or plainsong and named after Pope St. Gregory the Great. This pope was
credited with bringing it to the West.
 Development in ecclesiastical music further led to the invention and usage of
different musical instruments.
 The monks specifically, were the only ones who could write and record any stories
that still existed from the oral tradition.
 Notable among these were the Celtic chants, the Gallic chants and later, the
Gregorian chants.
1000 – 1100
 During this time, liturgical musical drama unfolds throughout Europe.

1030
 It was around this time when a new method to teach singing was invented by a
Benedictine monk and choirmaster named Guido de Arezzo. He is regarded as the
inventor of modern musical notation.
1200s
 The spread of geisslerlieder or flagellant songs. The practice of flagellation was
practiced by people whipping themselves with various instruments as a way to
repent to God with hopes of ending the disease and wars of the time.
Geisslerlieder music was simple and closely related to folk songs.

1300s
 The period of ars nova, or "new art," coined by Philippe de Vitry. During this
period, secular music acquired polyphonic sophistication. The most notable
practitioner of this style was Guillaume de Machaut

Renaissance Period
1397-1474
 The lifetime of Guillaume Dufay, a French and Flemish composer, popular as a
leading composer of the early Renaissance. He is known for his church music and
secular songs. One of his compositions, "Nuper Rosarum Flores" was written for
the consecration of Florence's great cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore (Il Duomo) in
1436.

1450 – 1550
 During this period composers experimented with cantus firmus (firm chants).
Known composers during this period were Johannes Ockeghem, Jacob Obrecht,
and Josquin Desprez.

1525 – 1594
 The lifetime of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, known as the high Renaissance
composer of Counter-Reformation sacred music. During this period
Renaissance polyphony reached its height.

1563-1626

 The lifetime of John Dowland, known for his lute music in Europe and composed
beautiful melancholic music.
III. Musical Texture

MUSICAL TEXTURES FOUND IN BOTH PERIODS

During the Middle Ages, musical texture was monophonic, meaning it has a single
melodic line. Sacred vocal music, such as Gregorian chants, was set to Latin text and sung
unaccompanied. It was the only type of music allowed in churches, so composers kept the
melodies pure and simple.

During the Renaissance, musical texture is polyphonic. The church had less power
over musical activity. Instead, the Kings, Princes and other prominent members of the
courts had more influence. The size of church choirs grew and with it more voice parts
were added. This created music that was richer and fuller. Polyphony was widely used
during this period, but soon, music also became homophonic.

Composers wrote pieces that shifted between polyphonic and homophonic textures.
This made the melodies more complex and elaborate. Many factors contributed to the
change of musical texture during these periods. The influence of the Church, a shift in
musical focus, the change in status of composers, the invention of printing and religious
reformation were some of the factors that contributed to these changes.

MEDIEVAL PERIOD

 Early Christian period (ca. 200-500), portions of scripture were set to traditional
Roman melodies.
 In the Dark Ages (ca. 500-1000), these works were organized into an official Church
repertoire, largely under the reign of Pope Gregory I. They are consequently known as
Gregorian chant.
 Gregorian chants are monophonic vocal works, historically performed during various
Roman Catholic ceremonies. The scale of chant performance ranges from a lone
soloist to a large choir. In some cases, chant performance may alternate between
groups, or between a group and soloist.
 The evolution of polyphony began in the late Dark Ages, when some musicians began
to embellish Gregorian chants with a parallel melody line.
 Fully developed polyphony emerged in the later medieval period (ca. 1000-1400),
when each line acquired independent pitch movement and rhythm. The number of lines
also expanded, such that three- and four-part polyphony became common.

RENAISSANCE PERIOD

 Throughout the later medieval period, composers elevated polyphonic music to

staggering heights of complexity. Renaissance composers reigned in this tendency,
preferring melodies and harmonies of greater simplicity and clarity.
 Renaissance music is also notable for its ample use of imitation (the repetition or
variation of a melody, often at a different pitch), which has remained a key element of
Western music ever since. Imitation expands and amplifies the effect of a melody, and
serves as a unifying force throughout a musical work.
 The Renaissance also witnessed the embrace of sweet true harmony in place of
dry shell harmony. "Shell harmony" has two parts: a root note and its fifth. "True
harmony" has three parts: a root note, its third, and its fifth.

MONOPHONIC
 has only one melodic line, with no harmony or counterpoint. There may be rhythmic
accompaniment, but only one line that has specific pitches.
 can also be called monophony.
 This texture is used very little in music of the Western European tradition after the
Middle Ages.
Examples of Monophony
 One person whistling a tune
 A single bugle sounding “Taps”
 A group of people all singing a single melody together without harmony or
instrumental accompaniment
 A fife and drum corp, with all the fifes playing the same melody
 POLYPHONIC
 can also be called polyphony, counterpoint, or contrapuntal music.
 If more than one independent melody is occurring at the same time, the music is
polyphonic.
Examples of Polyphony
 Rounds, canons, and fugues are all polyphonic. (Even if there is only one melody, if
different people are singing or playing it at different times, the parts sound
independent.)
 Much late Baroque music is contrapuntal, particularly the works of J.S. Bach.
 Most music for large instrumental groups such as bands or orchestras is contrapuntal
at least some of the time.
 Music that is mostly homophonic can become temporarily polyphonic if an
independent countermelody is added. Think of a favorite pop or gospel tune that, near
the end, has the soloist “ad libbing” while the back-up singers repeat the refrain.

IV. Musical Movements

Musical development: MEDIEVAL PERIOD to RENAISSANCE PERIOD. From
sacred and monophonic to secular and polyphonic
Medieval Period
 Middle-ages music originally had no rhythmic structure.
 In the early middle ages, music was monophonic. Meaning: a single voice – a
single melody line
 Medieval music was both sacred and secular. During the earlier medieval period,
the liturgical genre, predominantly Gregorian chant was monophonic.
 Roman Catholic Church was in charge which controlled much of music’s
development
 The church could afford to buy the materials the composers would need to write
music.
 People outside the church were too poor to buy what was needed to compose
music.

Renaissance Period
 As time passed, Polyphonic genres began to develop during the high medieval era,
becoming prevalent by the later thirteenth and early fourteenth century.
  Polyphony – multiple melodies happening in the same time. This is one of the
notable changes that mark the renaissance from the medieval period musically.
 As polyphony developed, secular music also rose. In the early renaissance period,
there were a lot of vocal pieces and dances.
 Non-religious music was given way to shine.
 This created music that was richer and fuller.

Musical Instruments Used in Medieval and Renaissance Music

 During the Middle Ages, most of the music was vocal and unaccompanied.
 The church wanted to keep music pure and solemn because it was less distracting.
 Later on, musical instruments such as bells and organs were allowed in church, but
it was mainly used to observe important days in the Liturgical calendar.
 The instruments they used include fiddles, harps, and lutes.
 During the Renaissance period, most of the musical activity shifted from the church
to the courts. Composers were more open to experimentation.
 As a result, more composers used musical instruments in their compositions.
 Instruments that produced softer and less bright sounds were preferred for indoor
events.
 Louder and more brilliant-sounding instruments were preferred for outdoor events.
 Musical instruments used during this period include the cornett, harpsichord, and
recorder.
 A musical instrument called shawm was used for dance music and outdoor events.

V. Famous Medieval and Renaissance music and its composers

Medieval
 Cantigas de Santa Maria (Canticles of Holy Mary)- a collection of 420 poems that have
musical notations that was written in Galician-Portuguese language in early Medieval. It
is one of the largest collections of monophonic songs. The cantigas showed the life of the
Virgin Mary in a very humanized way.
- Composed by Alfonso X who was a fluent speaker since his childhood. His works
were focused in poetic tradition, including his introduction on religious song.

 Messe de Nostre Dame (Mass of Our Lady)- a polyphonic religious music in 1365 that
was used widely in complete setting of ordinary mass. It consists of 5 movements, the
Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Agnus Dei. According to a rubric found at the Cathedral,
it would have likely been performed for the Saturday Lady Mass.
- Composed by a very important French poet and composer of the 14th century,
Guillaume de Machaut (“the last great poet who was also a composer). He is part
of the musical movement and helped develop the motet and secular song forms.
 Requiem/ Ockeghem - a polyphonic music for Requiem Mass (Mass for the dead) that
uses the technique of Gregorian chant (unaccompanied sacred song of Roman Catholic)
that varies greatly in style of movements. It is believed it may have been composed for the
funeral of Charles VII (King of France) in 1451.
- Composed by Johannes Ockeghem, the most composer of the Franco-Flemish
school in the last half of the 15th century and is often considered the most influential
composer between Guillaume Dufay and Josquin des Perez both were also famous
during the era. Aside from being a composer, he wa also an honored singer,
choirmaster, and a teacher.

 Carmina Burana- collection of Medieval goliardic ( group of clergy that protested the
growing contradictions of the church) songs. The themes of the song include: critiques of
simony and greed in the church, lamentations in the form of the planctus (song or poem
expressing griefs), etc.
- It appears to have been written by Goliards because the text is mostly an
anonymous work to avoid death.

 Cantaben els osells- a secular song that describes the love of a man to a woman.
- Unknown troubadour composers and performers during the High Middle Ages
(1100 - 1350 CE) in Occitania (present day Southern France & part of Spain). They
travelled throughout the land, spreading news and writing and performing lyric
poetry and music.

 Ut queant laxis (Hymnus in Ioannem) – written in Horatian Sapphics (orm spanning

four lines), Latin hymn to honor John the Baptist. It is famous for its part in the history of
musical notation. The hymn belongs to the tradition of Gregorian chant.
- Compose by Guido of Arezzo who was a music theorist of the medieval era. He is
regarded as the inventor of modern musical notation (staff notation).
 Ordo Virtutum (Order of the Virtues)- a mortality play ( genre of medieval and early
Tudor theatrical entertainment) composed on 1151, during the construction and relocation
of her Abbey at Rupertsberg. It is the only Medieval musical drama to survive with an
attribution for both the text and the music.
- Composed by Hildegard of Bingen a.k.a. Saint Hildegard, a German writer,
composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, Benedictine abbess, visionary, and
polymath.
Renaissance
 Missa L’Homme armé super voces musicales – the earliest printed collection and the
most famous music by the composer, surviving in numerous manuscripts and print editions.
A polyphonic made with formal pattern of the mass having a setting of four voices.
- Composed by a French composer, Josquin des Prez, who was a famous European
composer between Guillaume Dufay and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. He was
 widely considered by music scholars to be the first master of the high Renaissance
style of polyphonic vocal music that was emerging during his lifetime.

 Missa Aeterna Christi munera- originally composed of 4 voices that is a paraphrase mass
using the melody of Gregorian hymn which is used for the feast of martyrs and apostles.
 Stabat Mater (The Sorrowful Mother was Standing)- eight unaccompanied voices
Christian hymn to Mary, which portrays her suffering as Jesus Christ's mother during his
crucifixion.
- Both were composed by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, an Italian composer of
sacred music and a well-known representative of the Roman school of musical
composition. Palestrina left hundreds of compositions, including 105 masses, 68
offertories, at least 140 madrigals and more than 300 motets that considered him as
the culmination of Renaissance polyphony.

 Miserere mei, Deus (Have mercy on me, O God)- it was composed about 1638, and is a
simple, part-harmonised setting of Psalm 51. Sung by two choirs, one of five and one of
four voices, making it a polyphony. It is exclusively use in the Sistine Chapel (official
residence of the Pope, in Vatican City) for the service on Holy Wednesday and Good Friday
of the Holy week.
- Composed by a Roman Catholic priest and Italian composer Gregorio Allegri. He
composed multiple motets (polyphonic choral composition) and other sacred
music, which brought him to get notice by Pope Ubran VIII, obtained for him an
appointment in the choir of the Sistine Chapel.

 Spem In Alium (Hope in any other)- involves eight choirs, each with 5 voices. Stands as
extemporary Renaissance motet that creates a choral piece of wonderous texture
complexity.
- a “crowning achievement” song by Thomas Tallis, an an English composer who
was born in the early 16th century. Queen Elizabeth granted to him and William
Byrd a 21-year monopoly for polyphonic music and a patent to print and publish
music, which was one of the first arrangements of that type in the country.

 Fantasia - have stood the test of time and remain key compositions in of the Late
Renaissance.
- Composed by William Byrd who was a pupil working under Thomas Tallis, both
were granted by Queen Elizabeth. Apart from his choral works, Byrd is considered
by many to be the first "genius" of the keyboard.
  The Vespers (evening prayers) - a massive piece of choral music that is composed around
several Biblical texts that are traditionally used as part of the liturgy for several Marian
feasts in the Roman Catholic church. An outstanding beauty and elegance rightly that
placed Monteverdi a major place in musical history.
- Composed by an Italian composer, string player, and choirmaster, Claudio
Monteverdi. He composes both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the
development of opera. He was considered a pioneer in the realm of opera and an
artist who served an integral transitional role between the Renaissance and Baroque
periods.

 Cantate Domino, Ch.6- A collection of 45 motets for 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, and 16 voices,
and 16 canzonas and sonatas for 8, 10, 12, and 15 instruments
- One of the song that was composed by Giovanni Gabrieli, an Italian composer and
organist, also bridges the Renaissance to the Baroque and is most known for his
mastery in the style of the Venetian School. Gabrieli preferred composing sacred
works.

 Missa Ave sanctissima Maria- a six-voice canon, a technically difficult feat reminiscent
of some of the work of Ockeghem. This is also the earliest six-voice mass known to exist.
- Composed by Pierre de La Rue, a Frenco-Flemish composer and singer, wrote
many styles of music. His style of voicing shows that he preferred low voice types,
often composing Cs and B-flats below the bass clef.

Sources:
https://www.thoughtco.com/the-medieval-and-renaissance-periods-2456620
http://www.essential-humanities.net/western-art/music/medieval-renaissance/#medieval-music
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/musicapp-medieval-modern/chapter/texture/
https://www.google.com/search?q=medieval+to+renaissance+period+%3A+monophonic+to+polyphonic
&oq=medieval+to+renaissance+period+%3A+monophonic+to+polyphonic&aqs=chrome..69i57.31498j0j
7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et_ahjD0Uxc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU64x8YvV4s
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/musicappreciation_with_theory/chapter/overview-of-medieval-music/
https://www.google.com/search?q=medival+sacred+music+renaissance+secular+music&oq=medival+sac
red+music+renaissance+secular+music&aqs=chrome..69i57.10554j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
https://www.thoughtco.com/the-medieval-and-renaissance-periods-2456620

LACKING
RENZO, DEN , TRIXIE SOURCES