Week 32 - Three Medieval Composers

Stuff done this week:

- Mostly started reading about the Medieval music period. Notes and sources are listed at the bottom of this page.

- Started on research point 2, which requires me to select three composers and write short biographical notes on them and listen to examples of their work.
- Interesting link I found that I need to check out: https://historiesofemotion.com/2015/06/09/arousing-sluggish-souls-hildegard-of-bingen-and-the-ordo-virtutum/

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What I learned:

Here my notes.

Religious music in the Medieval period

Medieval music was predominantly religious music and it had a liturgical function.
The church music of the early Middle Ages - before the advent of polyphony around the 9th century - is referred to as plain chant (Knight, 2012). It is thought to have emerged around 100 A.D. and was, in fact, the only type of music allowed in the early Christian churches.

It involved chanting, only using the words that are sung, without instrumental accompaniment. As a general rule the use of instruments in worship was condemned (Dickinson, 2016). They would only distract the and make the listener less receptive to spiritual thoughts and reflections, it was deemed necessary to keep the melody pure and unaccompanied (Estrella, 2016).

The music texts were in Latin (Burkholder et al, 2014: A14). The rhythm of the music was derived from the natural rhythms of its text.

The music pitch was built on modes, scales or melody types, identified by particular intervallic relationships among the notes in the mode (Burkholder et al, 2014: A11). From about the sixth century to the twelfth, an early form of musical notation was used. Symbols called neumae were used to indicate pitch and syllable phrasing (Estrella, 2016). They signified mostly intonations, upward or downward slides of the voice, and not absolute pitch (Matthews, 2007).

Below is an example (Matthews, 2007):

Neume notation of the 10th century (Matthews, 2007, p. 181)

Around the year 600, Pope Gregory the Great (also known as Pope Gregory 1) compiled the different types of chants into one repertory. This compilation will later be known as Gregorian Chant (Estrella, 2016). Here is a link to The St. Gregory Hymnal and Catholic Choir Book.

Dickinson (2013) states: "Harmony was virtually unknown during the first one thousand years or more of the Christian era, and instrumental music had no independent existence, the whole vast system of chant melodies was purely unison and unaccompanied, its rhythm usually subordinated to that of the text."

Through the ninth and thirteenth century a musical innovation occurs. The unison plainchant became harmonized with organum. This involved the addition of one or more voices to an existing chant (Burkholder et al, 2014). The body of music of the thirteenth century is referred to as Ars Antiqua.

Later cantus firmus (="fixed melody") developed. This meant that around an existing melody freer polyphonic lines were added. The melodies in medieval song were largely passed down in oral tradition and kept stable. This was usually the task of the tenor of a choir. The other parts had the function of embelleshing this main melody.

This culminated approximately around 1310 in a body of music known as Ars Nova. New forms of composition developed, such as the motet, virelais and ballade.
Composers of this periode are Kassia of Constantinople, Abbess Hildegard von Bingen, Léonin, Pérotin and Guillaume de Machaut.

Troubadours and Trouveres

Besides the religious, there was also a tradition of secular music. This tradition was carried by a class of travelling minstrels, the Troubadours and Trouveres. As defined by Medieval Life and Times (n.d.) the troubadours can be described as "one of a school of poets who flourished from the eleventh to the thirteenth century, principally in Provence, in the south of France, and also in the north of Italy. They invented, and especially cultivated, a kind of lyrical poetry characterized by intricacy of meter and rhyme, and usually of a romantic, amatory strain." (n.d.).

Trouvères were simply troubadours of nobler birth, and perhaps of finer imagination as stated by Matthews (2007). 

In fact, many Medieval Troubadours were nobles and knights who had joined the Crusades. The aristocratic Medieval Troubadours were poets who originated in the south of France where they wrote the lyrics in Provencal (langue d'oc). The Trouvères were medieval troubadours of the north of France that wrote in French  (langue d'oil) (Medieval Life and Times, n.d.).

In Germany, the troubadours became minnesingers, or singers of love songs, and as early as the middle of the twelfth century the minnesingers were already a powerful factor in the life of the era, counting among their number many great nobles and kings. The German minnesingers differed from the French troubadours in that they themselves accompanied their songs on the viol, instead of employing jongleurs (Medieval Life and Times, n.d.).

The Jongleurs were often collaborators or assistants of Medieval Troubadours or trouveres. Jongleurs gained a reputation of itinerant entertainers of the Middle Ages in France and Norman England. Their repertoire included extravagant skills in dancing, conjuring, acrobatics, and juggling. The Jongleurs also played a part in singing, and storytelling. Many were skilled in playing musical instruments, although their skills were not greatly recognised or rewarded (Medieval Life and Times, n.d.).

A noteworthy minstrel was Adam de la Halle, of Arras in Picardy (1240-1286). Matthews (2007) emphasizes his significance as a good natural melodist and as the author of the earliest comic opera of which we have any account, the play of "Robin and Marion."

Their instrument of music - the troubadour harp - was a small harp of ten or twelve strings, but no more—a much smaller and less effective instrument than the Irish harp of the eleventh century, or the Saxon of the tenth (Matthews, 2007). The choice of instruments was influenced a lot by political events and changes of national boundaries. For instance, after the Norman Conquest in England (1066) the Anglo Saxon Lyre was superseded by the French troubadour harp.

Minstrel harps of the 13th century (Matthews, 2007)

Now I shall present my notes on significant composers (Hildegard von Bingen, Guillaume de Machaut, and Francesco Landini) and musical instruments of the Medieval period.

Three Medieval Composers

1. Hildegard von Bingen (1098 - 1179)

She was born to nobility in Bermersheim in the Rhine region (Germany)
At the age of 8 she was consecrated to the church of her parents.
Six years later she took her vows at the Benedictine monastery of Disibodenberg.
In 1136, she became prioress of the convent.
In 1150 she founded her own convent at Rupertsberg near Bingen, where she was abbess.
She was famous for her (religious) visions, and corresponded with emperors, kings, popes and bishops.

An important work of hers is "Scivias" (Know the Ways, 1141-51), an account of 26 of her visions.
Furthermore she wrote books on Science and Healing.

She also wrote poems, which she put to music in the 1140's.
Her songs are preserved in two manuscripts, organized in liturgical cycle.

Another important work is "Ordo virtutum" (The Virtues, ca. 1151), which is the earliest surviving music drama not attached to the liturgy.

In a male dominated church, she had to make a place in the margins.

Hildegard von Bingen.jpg

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MAJOR WORKS:
- Ordo Virtutum
- 43 antiphons
- 18 responsories
- 7 sequences
- 4 hymns
- 5 other chants

Most of her songs praise the virgin Mary, the Trinity or local saints.
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LEGACY:
During her lifetime she was only known locally. Her writings were edited and published in the 19th century.Her music was rediscovered in the late 20th century. She became the best-known composer of sacred monophony.
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2. Guillaume de Machaut (1300 - 1377)

He was born in the province of Champagne, North Eastern France.
Machaut is considered to be the most important composer/poet in 14th century France.
His music is an example of French Ars Nova.

What we know about him comes mostly from his narrative poems, describing events in his life or of that of his patron.
He was educated as a cleric (Reims?).
In 1323 he entered the service of John of Luxembourg, king of Bohemia as a clerk.
He eventually became the king'ssecretary.
In this capacity, he accompanied king John on his travels/conquests, describing his exploits in his poetry.
From 1340 until his death, he resided as canon of the cathedral in Reims. There, he ample opportunity to write poetry and compositions.
His other patrons were: John's daughter Bonne, kings of Navarre and France, dukes of Berry and Burgundy.

Machaut was one of the first composers to compile his complete work and to discuss his working methods. He preferred to write his poems first, before setting them to music. He was most content with music that was sweet and pleasing.

His important work is "Le Livre du Voir Dit" (1363-65).

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MAJOR WORKS:
- LA Messe de Nostre Dame
- Hoquetus David
- 23 motets
- 42 ballades
- 22 rondeaux
- 33 virelais
- 19 lais
- 1 complainte
- 1 chanson royale

POETICAL WORKS:
- Remede de Fortune
- Le Livre du Voir Dit
- 280 lyric poems
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LEGACY:
Machaut was widely esteemed in his own time and for several decades after his death.
He exercised influence on many composers and poets, for instance Chaucer.
Much because of his own efforts, his work is very well preserved.
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3. Francesco Landini (ca. 1325 - 1397)

Landini, son of a painter, was born in Northern Italy (Florence?) and a peer of the French poet/composer Guillaume de Machaut.

After being blinded by small pox as a child, he turned to music, becoming an esteemed composer, performer and poet.
He was a multi-instrumentalist, and was especially accomplished as player on the organetto.

From 1361 to 1365 he was organis at the monastery of Santa Trinita.
He then became chaplain at San Lorenzo until his death.

He did not write secular music and he was well
known for his ballate.

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MAJOR WORKS:
- 140 ballate
- 12 madrigals
- 1 caccia
- 1 virelai

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LEGACY:
He is well known for using a famous harmonic progression that has come to be known as "Landini cadence". This involves an unstable sixth (usually major) expanding to a stable octave. This progression continued to play a vital role in the music of the early Renaissance (Schulter, n.d.).

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Sources:

BURKHOLDER, J, GROUT, D. and PALISCA, C. (2014) A history of western music, 9th edition, New York: W.W. Norton. Pages: 64-65, 133-135.

DICKINSON, E. (2013) Music in the History of the Western Church. Available from: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/43208/43208-0.txt [Accessed 13th August 2016].

ESTRELLA, E. (2016) What is Plainchant?Available from: http://musiced.about.com/od/faqs/f/plainchant.htm [Accessed 5th August 2016].

GLOVER-WHITLEY, A., LAWRY, C. and REES, C. (2016) Foundations Music, 1st edition, Barnsley: Open College of the Arts.

KNIGHT, K. (2012) Plain Chant. Available from: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12144a.htm [Accessed 5th August 2016].

MATHEWS, W.S.B. (2007) A Popular History of the Art of Music From the Earliest Times Until the Present. Available from: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20293/20293-h/20293-h.htm [Accessed 13th August 2016]

MEDIEVAL LIFE AND TIMES (n.d.), Troubadours. Available at: http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-music/troubadours.htm [Accessed 13th August 2016]

SCHULTER, M. (n.d.) What is a Landini cadence? Available from:
http://www.medieval.org/emfaq/harmony/landini.html [Accessed 5th August 2016].
Illustration from:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hildegard_of_Bingen