Medieval Music

By: Joel Tracy & Lori Snyder

Let’s Go!!!

Credits

Welcome to Medieval Music

Let’s beginwith Instruments

You will be learning about Instruments used during

Medieval times as well as the History of the music.

You will learn about 4 families of instruments used during the medieval times:

Strings, Keys, Winds, and Percussions.

Let’s beginwith Strings

Gamba

Listen Description

The Gamba(bass viol da gamba)

Originated by applying a bow to a pre-existing plucked string instrument

Developed in Spain during the late fifteenth century (the tenor viol has the shape, size, and tuning of the Spanish vihuela).

In the year 1600, its outward appearance became standardized.

Of the common sizes of the gamba family, the bass was the largest, and the treble viol was the smallest.

The Dulcimer (Hackbrett)

Listen Description

The Dulcimer (Hackbrett)

In English-speaking countries, dulcimer, from dulce melos, (Greek for sweet sound) was the name given to the type of psaltery or box zither

Trapizoid soundbox and which was played by striking the strings with hammers.

In areas around Germany, the term was Hackbrett (or hackbrad, hackbrade, hakkebrett, or hakkebord) meaning chopping board or chopping block

The Lute

ListenDescription

The Lute

The lute was an ideal accompaniment for voice and other soft instruments

The most eloquent of all solo instruments.

In paintings and other art works the lute is often associated with Apollo, angels, or Orpheus, and it is often mentioned at climactic points in tragedies

Take Quiz

This instrument was used to accompany voice:

Lute

Gamba

Dulcimer

This instrument was developed in Spain during 15th Century:

Lute

Gamba

Dulcimer

This instrument was shaped like a trapezoid:

Lute

Gamba

Dulcimer

This instrument was found mostly in Germany:

Lute

Gamba

Dulcimer

STINGS QUIZ RESULTS

Strings Results

Let’s visitInstruments with keys!!

Harpsichord

Listen Description

Harpsichord

In the harpsichord family the string is plucked by a small plectrum, originally of quill.

The variety of sound from these plucked instruments is achieved not primarily by finger pressure, but more subtly by phrasing and articulation.

The harpsichord was used both for solo performance and accompanying in chamber groups and in larger ensembles of the period.

The Hurdy-Gurdy(symphonia)

Listen

Description

The Hurdy-Gurdy(symphonia)

four string symphonie or organistrum

based on a late fourteenth century Florentine marble fingure in the Vienna Leichtenstein Gallery

Has two unison chanterelles, two drones, and an interior pegbox.

Oblong in shape and has tuneable tangents and a range of two diatonic octaves with drones on g and d1.

The Organetto (portative)

Listen Description

The Organetto (portative)

Organetto was from a fifteenth century painting on wood by Hans Memling.

The bellows provide air pressure only on the downswing, so the player has to space the opening of the bellows much as a vocalist carefully places breaths

Notice the wood inlays which appear on both sides as well as the front

Take Quiz

What is a four string symphonie or organistrum?

Hurdy-Gurdy

Organetto

Harpsichord

This instrument was used for both solo and accompanying in chamber groups:

Hurdy-Gurdy

Organetto

Harpsichord

This instrument has bellows to provide air pressure:

Hurdy-Gurdy

Organetto

Harpsichord

This instrument has two unison chanterelles, two drones, and an interior peg box:

Hurdy-Gurdy

Organetto

Harpsichord

Listen

KEYS QUIZ RESULTS

Keys Results

Let’s studyWind Instruments!

The Bagpipe

Listen Description

The Bagpipe

The origins of the bagpipe can be traced back to the most ancient civilizations.

Rustic instrument in many cultures because a herdsman had the necessary materials at hand: a goat or sheep skin and a reed pipe.

Instrument is mentioned in the Bible, and historians believe that it originated in Sumaria.

Through Celtic migration it was introduced to Persia and India, and subsequently to Greece and Rome.

The Lizard(tenor cornett)

Listen Description

The Lizard(tenor cornett)

Tenor of the zink family (also known as lysard or lysarden) has the peculiar curved shape of a flattened letter s.

Shape helps the player cover the finger holes on this longer zink.

The lizard's tone is pleasing, yet rather foggy.

It blends well with voices and plays on one of the inner voices of an ensemble. A Lyserden is listed in the waits' band of Exeter in 1575

The Bladder Pipe

Listen Description

The Bladder Pipe

Very distinctive loud instrument which has a reed which is enclosed by an animal bladder.

Performer blows into the bladder through its mouthpiece, a wooden pipe.

The bladder serves as a wind reservoir keeping the lips from touching the reed directly.

This medieval instrument was one of the principal early wind cap instruments and is considered the forerunner to the crumhorn.

Take Quiz

Tenor of the zink family:

Lizard

Bagpipe

Bladder Pipe

A very loud instrument with a reed enclosed by an animal organ:

Lizard

Bagpipe

Bladder Pipe

Origins traced back to ancient civilizations:

Lizard

Bagpipe

Bladder Pipe

Introduced to Persia and India through Celtic migration:

Lizard

Bagpipe

Bladder Pipe

WINDS RESULTS

Wind Results

Now - Check outPercussions!!

Rummelpost

Listen Description

Rummelpost

Looks like a small naker but is not played by striking the head.

Sound is generated by sliding the fingers back and forth on a slender wooden rod which is fastened to the center of the head inside the drum shell.

Rosin is placed on the rod to help provide friction induced sounds which are amplified by the drum head.

The Drum

Listen Description

The Drum

Drums (tambour, Trommel, tamburo, tambor, drome, dromme, drume), were probably among the earliest instruments.

The first membrane drums consisted of naturally hollow tree trunks covered at one or both ends with the skins of water animals, fish, or reptiles.

Later, skins of hunted game and cattle were used.

Drum bodies could be of wood, metal, earthenware, or bone.

Finger Cymbals

ListenDescription

Finger Cymbals

Finger cymbals (crotales, zil) have been known since the middle of the 1st millennium BC.

Played in pairs, sometimes one in each hand as pictured, and often in one hand, one held on the thumb and the other on either the index or middle finger

Used to accompany dances, and sometimes held by the dancers themselves, they are still used chiefly in the Islamic cultures and on the Indian subcontinent.

Take Quiz

Their bodies were made of wood, metal, or bone:

Rummelpost

Finger cymbals

Drum

Listen

Sound is generated by sliding fingers back and forth on a slender wooden rod:

Rummelpost

Finger cymbals

Drum

Listen

Played in pairs, often held in hands:

Rummelpost

Finger cymbals

Drum

Listen

Looks like a small naker but is not played by striking the head:

Rummelpost

Finger cymbals

Drum

Listen

PERCUSSIONS RESULTS

Percussion Results

History Time!

HISTORY

Let’s Begin withSecular Music

Medieval music is impossible for us to truly appreciate, as it can never be as it was. Most of the music enjoyed in everyday life is lost. Most all we have is sacred in nature, and even that is in a musical “language” that is difficult to understand, at best. Musical notation has changed considerably over the hundreds of years. Much of what we know of music during the thousand years of the middle ages (church, court, and commonplace) comes down to us in our own understanding and examples of music today.

SECULAR MUSIC

The area of musical history about which we know the least

The kind of music we enjoy today—entertainment

Song and instrumental

Poetry put to music

Performed professionally by wandering musicians

Bards

Goliards

Troubadours

BARDS

Different roles, depending upon the culturein Celtic society, a musician hired by a nobleman to create songs of praise for himin Scandinavian society, skalds (similar to the Celtic bard) composed some of the most well-known and longest-lasting literaturein later English society, a wandering musician who performed for all levels of society

GOLIARDS

Unlike bards and skalds, the goliard created his songs only to amuse with satire and bawdy humorThe goliard was similar in that he wandered from village to village, like the English bardGoliards were often students from medieval universities--not professional musicians

TROUBADOURS

We tend to think of troubadours as existing only in the later years of the middle ages, but in fact, they originated during the eleventh century

The major theme of a troubadour’s songs was chivalry and courtly love

Songs from the point of view of the singer to a married lover are most famous

BALLADS

We tend to think of this now as a kind of songFor Europeans in the middle ages, this was THE story to tellCould include a love storyOften contained heroes and references to famous battlesIncredibly popular by everyone in the common world

SECULAR MUSIC QUIZ

For the following questions, just click on the correct choice. Your score will be tallied, and you will see how you did at the end.

Good luck!

Take QuizReview Secular

What is the difference between a Celtic bard and an English bard?

An English bard made more money

A Celtic bard only composed love songs

There is no difference

An English bard traveled while a Celtic bard did not

What was a bard called in Scandinavian countries?

A skiyard

A skald

There were no Scandinavian bards

A kenning

How was a goliard similar to an English bard?

Both bards and goliards wrote harp music

Both bards and goliards were paid only by kings

A goliard traveled, just as an English bard did

A goliard was as well educated as an English bard

What were the major themes of troubadour songs?

Love of money

Chivalry and courtly love

The honor of war

Loneliness of the road

What was the most popular kind of song for a bard to sing?

A duet

A dirge

A ballad

A lullaby

SECULAR RESULTSSecular Results

Let’s move onto Sacred History

SACRED MUSIC

The kind of music about which we know the most, purely because it was written down

Based solely on worship, and that normally in the Catholic Church

Sounds (as far as we know) very similar to chant cds made popular a few years ago

Still performed in some monasteries throughout the world

SONG

Some historians will tell you that the human voice was the first instrument, and so far as sacred music goes, it was the beginningThe early Christian Church eschewed all forms of secular music as “inappropriate”The first “acceptable” Christian music were the psalmsOver time, this form of music grew to include all forms of praise that was sung--most notably, the chants

CHANT

Unaccompanied singing during religious services

There are six main versions:Syrian Chant

Coptic Chant

Armenian Chant

Byzantine Chant

Carolingian Chant (better known as Gregorian)

Early Western Chant

GREGORIAN CHANT

This should really be called “Carolingian Chant,” as it was adopted and adapted during the reign of Charlemagne

When the Holy Roman Emperor sought to renew his religious ceremonies, he sent to Rome and adopted their chant

This form of chant is credited to Pope Gregory I, but it was developed almost 200 years after his death

EARLY WESTERN CHANT

These forms of chant existed in the early days of the Church in Western EuropeOf these five, only “Old Roman” is well known, as it was adapted to become what is most often called “Gregorian”

Ambrosian ChantBeneventan Chant“Old Roman” ChantMozarabic ChantGallican Chant

INSTRUMENTAL

We know with some certainty when certain musical instruments either entered Europe or were invented

We have little data about when instruments began to accompany chant and other singing in liturgy

Some believe this did not occur until the Renaissance, when the most popular forms of music were secular

SACRED MUSIC QUIZ

For the following questions, just click on the correct choice. Your score will be tallied, and you will see how you did at the end.

Good luck!

Take QuizReview Sacred

What do some historians believe was the earliest human instrument?

The drum

The flute

The ukelele

The human voice

Which of the following was not a form of Medieval chant?

Armenian

Egyptian

Syrian

Byzantine

The best known form of chant, Gregorian, should really be called what?

Carolingian

Roman

Psalmic

Gallic

Why do we know more about sacred Medieval music than secular?

Historians are generally Christian

Religious music sounds better to us

Sacred music was written down

Church fathers guarded the information carefully

Choose the best definition for Medieval “chant”

Repetitive oral noise

Unaccompanied singing during religious services

A prayer said in montone

A cheer put to music

SACRED MUSIC RESULTS

Now for theComposers!

Sacred Results

COMPOSERS

As with so much of human invention, the farther back one goes, and the more seminal the work, the less likely one is to find a nameOf the religious orders, farthest in historyIn the secular world, required certain connections, so one’s work could be recorded (normally by a monk)

RELIGIOUS ORDERS

At the birth of the Christian Church, folk music was first used to entertain travelers on pilgrimage to holy sites

This fell out of favor, and only religious songs were sung while traveling

Thus, the earliest versions of what would become Medieval sacred music were sung by members of the foundling Church

PSALMS

As psalms and other religious texts and poetry had been sung in the Jewish faith, the early Christians also sang their prayers

As other prayers were created by Church members, these, too, were sung

The first composers of Medieval sacred music were not trying to entertain, but merely going about part of their worship

ADDITIONS TO LITURGY

The liturgy of the Church developed slowly over time, and included sacred music as part of the formal ceremonyIn the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth centuries, new holy feasts were created, along with the attendant music for mass and officeDuring this time, past liturgical practices were copied down and spread through the previously unknown staff notation

SECULAR COMPOSERS

The area of musical history about which we know the leastThe kind of music we enjoy today—entertainmentSong and instrumentalPoetry put to musicPerformed professionally by wandering musicians

BardsGoliardsTroubadours

ARS NOVA

The fourteenth century saw profound musical changes in both secular and sacred music

Philippe de Vitry used the phrase “ars nova” to characterize this new style

Changes include those associated with notation and the use of isorhythm (involving color and talea)

COMPOSERS QUIZ

For the following questions, just click on the correct choice. Your score will be tallied, and you will see how you did at the end.

Good luck!

Take QuizReview Composers

The first sacred music sanctioned by the Church was?

Folk music

Psalms

The Hail Mary

The Lord’s Prayer

Additions to the liturgy came about during what time period?

First through third centuries

Fifth through seventh centuries

Thirteenth through fifteen centuries

Ninth through eleventh centuries

When do secular composers make their appearance?

The twelfth through fourteenth centuries

Not until the end of the Medieval period

The same time as the sacred composers

Not until the Renaissance

Why is Guillaume de Machaut probably one of the most famous secular composers?

He composed “Happy Birthday to You”

He composed for King Henry VIII

He arranged to have his music played all over Europe

He had his compositions copied into manuscripts

When was the most change in music evident?

Just before the Renaissance

During the reign of Charlemagne

Musical development was slow and smooth

Just as the Medieval period was beginning

COMPOSERS RESULTS

Composer Results

You have finishedyour study of

Medieval MusicClick here foryour results!

Bibliography

www.s-hamilton.k12.ia.us/antiqua/instrumt.html

www.medieval.orgwww.csupomona.eduwww.en.wikipedia.orgwww.nmt.eduwww.vanderbilt.eduwww.unf.edu