The document summarizes aspects of music during the Middle Ages, specifically the Dark Ages (450-1000 AD) and High Middle Ages (1000-1450 AD). It describes how the Roman Catholic Church filled a void of authority after the fall of Rome. Plainchant, or Gregorian chant, was the primary sacred music and was monophonic and unaccompanied. The High Middle Ages saw the development of polyphony, musical notation, and composers like Leonin and Perotin of the Notre Dame school. Secular music emerged through troubadours and trouveres. The 14th century was a time of crisis and saw the development of isorhythm and composers like Machaut in the Ars Nova style.

1. The Middle Ages
(Medieval)
Dark Ages 450 – 1000 a.d. or c.e.
High Middle Ages 1000 a.d. – 1450
a.d.

2. The Dark Ages
The rise of the Roman Catholic Church
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When Rome fell, there was a void in
municipal authority. The Roman Catholic
Church, to a degree, filled that void.
The Church became the last bastion and
preserver of culture and learning.
By about 600, the age of Theocracy had begun
and lasted until about 1400.

3. Religious Music of the Dark Ages
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The early church differentiated itself from pagan and
Jewish ritual by instituting 3 guidelines for the use of
music in Christian worship:
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It must remind the listener of divine and perfect beauty.
It is a servant of religion. Because non-vocal music cannot
teach Christian thoughts, instrumental music must not be
used in services.
Pagan influences such as large choruses, “majorish”
melodies and dancing must not be used.

4. The Dark Ages
Historical Highlights
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600-800 were horrible.
Education and technology of Ancient Greco-Roman
civilization were all but lost and the average person
lived under extremely primitive conditions.
The institution of serfdom tied the peasantry to the
land from birth to death.
Europe was periodically ravaged by invaders, and
communication and trade between Europe and the
rest of the world almost came to a complete halt.

5. The Dark Ages
Historical Highlights, ctd.
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The Roman Catholic Church served as a
patron of art, education, civility and literacy.
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If you wanted to be literate you almost had to join
the priesthood/nunhood.

6. Dark Ages (Medieval)
Church Music
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The role of music in the medieval church was
to create a mood of peace conducive to prayer
and to embellish the liturgy.
Plainchant or Gregorian Chant
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Unadorned and monophonic, a single
unaccompanied melody.
The name “Gregorian” comes from the
codification of the liturgy during the reign of Pope
Gregory 1 (540-604), but much of the music was
created long after Gregory lived.

7. Dark Ages (Medieval) Church Music
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Concept: The music is vocal, unaccompanied, and
simple in order to establish a peaceful, contemplative
state of being and mind so the word of God can enter
and take hold.
What makes it relaxing and conducive to meditation
and prayer?
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Monophonic
Conjunct Melodies
No meter and no steady beat
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Example: Alleluia: Vidimus Stellam
Example: O successores by Hildegard of Bingen

8. High Middle Ages
Historical Highlights
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Europe gradually returned to civilized society.
Dramatic social, technological and artistic changes
happened.
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Technology saw advent of horse-drawn plows, crop
rotation, wind and water power for irrigation and milling.
These allowed more food to be grown and so populations
grew.
Cities were reborn and universities were founded.
Romanesque and gothic architecture developed.
Secular courts saw tremendous growth
Greek and Arabic texts were translated into the vernacular,
and new literature emerged (e.g. Chaucer and Dante)
The Crusades (1090-c. 1290) were a foreign policy
disaster.

9. High Middle Ages
Changes in Concept
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Concept: Basically the same as before, but now, we have the very first
polyphony.
Texture:
Polyphonic, not Monophonic
Harmony: Dissonant, still predominantly vocal, didn’t care about the
way the pitches blended between the vocal lines.
Melodic line: Only the beauty of each individual vocal line was
important. Still mainly stepwise, fairly narrow pitch
range.
Rhythm:
still mainly un-metered, very connected to the words
New Development: Troubadours & Trouveres, Instrumental Music
begins to be notated, 12th &13th centuries.
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Sacred vs. Secular: Languages are used very specifically
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Sacred = Latin, Secular = Vernacular
Composers: Begin to see names; Leonin and Perotin (Ars Antiqua)

10. High Middle Ages
Musical Overview
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900-1000 saw the development of composed
polyphony.
Musical notation was developed, refined and
standardized.
Composition replaced improvisation as the
basic mode of musical creation.
Rules of composition came into being along
with specialists who could compose and notate
polyphony

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High Middle Ages- Musical
Overview, ctd.
Organum
Earliest composed and notated polyphony (c. 900
a.d.).
Organum presents a plainchant in one voice while
another voice decorates and embellishes the
plainchant.
It reached its artistic peak from about 1150-1300 in a
group of composers centered at Notre Dame in Paris.
They were known as the School of Notre Dame (later
- Ars Antiqua).

12. Organum, ctd.
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During the period of Ars Antiqua, the organum is
called florid organum
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The lower voice (Latin and Italian: tenore) sings the
plainchant, the upper voice (duplum) sings the embellished
or ornamented melody.
The duplum is melismatic which means there are many
notes over one syllable of text.
The plainchant anchors and controls the music.
Best known composer of this style of writing is
Leonin (1135-1201) who was the 1st, post – ancient
composer to regularly sign his name to his works.
By the 13th century (1200’s) the church had relaxed its
edict about instruments in church and the organ was
frequently used.

13. School of Notre Dame
Ars Antiqua or “Antique Art”
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Leonin and Perotin were the “founders” of this school
of writing between 1170-1200.
The School of Notre Dame is responsible for writing
polyphony in measured (or metered) rhythm
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They used definite time values and clearly defined meter.
For the 1st time in music history, notation indicated precise
rhythms as well as pitches.
The beat had to be divided into 3, representing the Trinity.

14. High Middle Ages - Secular Music
Troubadours & Trouveres
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Troubadours (southern France) and Trouveres
(northern France) were French nobles who
were poets and musicians.
They were responsible for the 1st large body of
secular songs surviving in decipherable
notation.
Their music was in French, NOT Latin and
dealt with the topics of the Crusades, love,
lust, dance, and spinning songs.
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Example: Estampie, instrumental

15. High Middle Ages 14th century
Historical Highlights
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The 14th c. was an age of disintegration
The Age of Theocracy began to weaken during this
time.
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The papal court left Rome and went to Avignon
France (they stayed for 80 years) during which time
there were 3, self-proclaimed Popes at the same time
creating The Great Schism (1378-1417).
The Plague (1347-1350)
Hundred Years’ War
Weakening of the feudal system
All of this generated a crisis of faith
Secular rulers increasingly challenged the Roman Catholic
Church’s political rights.

16. High Middle Ages 14th century
Historical Highlights, ctd.
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One response to the faith crisis was a rise of
secular ideas, literature, and art.
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New vernacular literature was written which
satirized matters of church and state.
A rebirth of classical Latin and Greek culture was
promoted by Humanists.

17. High Middle Ages 14th century
Changes in Concept
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Now that we can notate rhythm and make it do
whatever we want, creativity is sparked and we begin
to see the musical crossover from the secular to the
sacred. Dance, pop tunes & secular styles are being
used in sacred music.
Texture: Polyphonic
Harmony: Dissonant, still predominantly vocal
New Development: Ars Nova 14th c. - Isorhythm,
“spikey”, syncopated rhythms having little to no
relationship to the Words
Composers: Machaut (Ars Nova)

18. High Middle Ages 14th century
Ars Nova or “New Art”
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The main achievement or development of this
musical age was isorhythm. This term
designates both the musical style and the
composers who wrote in that style.
Isorhythm is a technique of writing which
allowed the composer to manipulate rhythm
and melodic intervals in isolation from each
other.

19. High Middle Ages 14th century –
Ars Nova
Guillaume de Machaut (1300-1377)
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Background – read Kamien
He was the most representative composer of the Ars
Nova.
He wrote both religious and secular music
Notre Dame Mass: Agnus Dei – a prayer for mercy
and peace
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Based on a Gregorian chant sung in the tenor and was
given new rhythmic patters from the original chant. The
chant is barely recognizable.
It is in 3 sections Agnus Dei 1 and 2 say “miserere nobis”
or have mercy on us and the final Agnus Dei (3) says
“dona nobis pacem” or grant us peace. Otherwise, the
same text appears in each section. The 3 sections are
believed to represent the Trinity.

20. Machaut Secular Music –
Puis qu’en oubli sui de vous
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(Since I am forgotten by you)
Is a rondeau, one of the main poetic and
musical forms in 14th c. France.
Written after a mutually hoped for relationship
with a much younger woman did not work.
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The music has 2 phrases, a and b. The different
phrases are set to specific text. (see book).
Phrase A begins with longer notes and moves in an
ascending conjunct manner.
 Phrase B begins with faster notes which descend before
ascending.
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