DOCSLIB.ORG

Theory. the Abstract Principles Embodied in Music and the Sounds of Which It Consists

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Theory. the Abstract Principles Embodied in Music and the Sounds of Which It Consists Theory. The abstract principles embodied in music and the sounds of which it consists. With respect to Western music, theory has traditionally encompassed the properties of single sounds, pitch, duration, timbre and those of collections of sounds: acoustics, tuning and temperaments, intervals, consonance and dissonance, scales, modes, melody, harmony, counterpoint, rhythm, meter, form, and analysis. Today the term also refers specifically to the teaching of the fundamentals or rudiments of music- e.g, elementary harmony and counterpoint, general musicianship, ear training, solfege. Non-Western musical cultures with rich traditions of explicit formulation and study of music theory include those of East Asia and south Asia. 1. General. In its most general sense, the term theory refers to the contemplation rather than the practice of music. Following Aristotle's division of knowledge (episteme) into praktikë, poiëtikë, and theörëtikê (Metaphysics 1025b-26a), writings about music before I 600 were usually classified as musica theorica musica speculativa, musica contemplativa, musica arithmeticaj, musica practica çmusica at- tivaj, or, particularly after the Musica of Nikolaus Listenius ( 1537), musicapoetica. In this scheme, mu- sica theorica dealt with the arithmetic foundations of music-i.e., music as one of the four mathematical arts Isee Quadrivium). Such discussions typically in- cluded detailed accounts of the gamut and Greater Perfect System, interval ratios, and consonance and dissonance. Musica practica then applied these ideas to musical composltions. Though the distinctions were blurred, especially in the early Middle Ages, musica practica was often subdivided into two branches: musicaplana, which dealt with plainsong, Solmization, mode, and even intervals, etc., and Musica mensurabilis (musica /g/rl/ïll, which explained mensural notion, Discant, and counterpoint. Musica poetica considered more general aspects of musical composition, usually in relation to rhetorical models and afective content Isee Allèctions, doctrine of Figures, doctrine of Rhetoric). Although Aristotle's threefold plan lived on through the 17th and 18th centuries (e.g., in the dictionaries of Janovka, Brossard, Walther, Rousseau), the scope of musical thought grew in several imgon tant areas: through the crystallization of major - minor tonality and the recognition of triadic tonal harmony (Lippius, Werkmeister, Rameau); through the codification of species counterpoint (Zacconi, Dinlta, Berardi, Fuxl; through the use of the thoroughbass method (Agazzari, Penna, Heinichen); through the emergence of the science of acoustics (Descartes, Mersenne, Sauveur); and through the 11. owering of formal analysis toward the end of the 18th century Riepel, Koch, Kollmann, Momigny). During the 19th and 20th centuries, theorists further codihed the structural functions of tonality (Fétis, Riemann, Schoenberg, and, above all, Schenker), thereby rehning the techniques of tonal analysis. Some of the new analytic methods of the 20th century have been prompted by dramatic changes in musical style and others by attempts to adopt the methods of other disciplines, such as linguistics and mathematics. These new methods include the use of ordered and unordered set theories (Babbitt, Lewin, Forte), information theory (Hitler), generative gram- mars (Lerdahl, Jackendoff, Keiler), structuralism and Semiotics (Nattiez, Ruwet), as well as theories of new musical resources (Héba, Yasser, Cowell, Bu- soni, Xenakis, and others). Besides specifying a general area of study, theory is also used in the narrow sense to mean a comprehensive and consistent set of statements that attempt to explain a given musical phenomenon. Prior to the 20th century, little progress was made in the study of theory construction (metatheoa) after the work of classical writers such as Aristoxenus and the Pythagoreans. But since 1900, music theorists have used the many advances in contemporary logic and philosophy of science to reâne their thinking about theoretical discovery. Several attempts have recently been made to present musical systems as axiomatic theories. In axiomatic theories, statements are of two types-axioms or given statements (primitives, postulates) and theorems or derived statements. For a theorem to Y valid, it must follow from the axioms according to a given set of rules for deductive inference. Axiomatic theories may be presented either informally in everyday language orïbrmally, using the notation of symbolic logic. As they stand: axiomatic theories make no claim about the material truth of individual statements - the only concern is that theorems follow the axioms by logic alone. In this sense, the theories are unintemreted. Like scientiâc theories, however, music theories require empiric interpretation; such interpretation usually involves the analysis of specific pieces or repertories. The problem is that analytic methods are always heavily theory laden. It may not be possible: therefore, to propose neutral tests for the comparison of rival theories. Though the study of music theory has a long tradition, many questions about the construction, selection, transmission, and genres of music theories remain unanswered. Bibl.: Bibliographies. James B. Coover, ttMusic Theory in Translation: A Bibliography,'' JMTD ( 1959j: 70-96; supp., JMT 13 ( 1969): 230 -48. JoKph Smits van Waeserghe, Pieter Fischer, and Christian Mnnq, eds., The Fâe/?'y of Music#om the Carolingian Era up to 1400, RISM, B/IIl/ 1 - 2 (Mynich-Duiserg: Henle, 196 1 - 68). François Hsure, ed., Ecrits imprimés concernant la musique, RJSM, B/VI/ 1 - 2 (Munich-Duisberg: Henle, 197 1). David Russell Wil- liams, a4. Bibliography of the History of Music Theory, 2nd ed. (Faimorq N.Y.: Rochester Music Pubs, 197 1). Periodicals. Die Reihe, 8 vols. (Austrian ed., 1955-62; trans. Eng., 1958 -68). Journal ofMusic Theory ( 1957 - ). Perspectives of New Music ( 1962 - ). The Music Forum ( 1967 - ). ZeitschrsfûrMusiktheorieç 1970-78). In Fàet)r.p Only ( 1975- ). avusic Theory Spectrum ( 1979 -). Music Analysis ( 1982-). Musiktheorie ( 1986 -). General. Hugo memann, Gèschichte der Musiktheorie im IX. -XIX. Jahrhundert (Leipzig, 1898; 2nd ed., Berlin: M Hesse, 192 1, R: Hildesheim: Olms, 196 1); trans. Eng., bks. 1 -2 by Raymond H. Hae (Lincoln: U of Nebr Pr, 1962) and bk. 3 by William Mickelsen (Lincoln: U of Nebr Pr, 1977). Oliver Strunk, Source Readings in Music History (New York: Nolon, 1950). Gustave Reex, Fourscore Clas- sics ofMusic Literature (NiW York: Lieral Arts Pr, 1957). David Kmehenbuehl, Norman Phelps, Howard Mumhy, Gordon Binkerd, and Roert Melcher, ççThe Professional Music Theorist-His Habits and Training: A Forum,'' JMT4 (1960): 62 -84. FranciKö Jok Vôn Tello, Estudios de historia de Ia teorîa musical (Maddd: CSIC, 1962). Mi- chael KaKsler, CQA Sketch of the U% of FormnlizM Imn- guages forthe Asxrtion of Music,''##M 1/2 ( 1963): 83-94. Milton Babbitt, tt-l'he Structure and Fundion of Music Theory,'' CMS 5 (1965): 49-60. David Vwin, ççBehind the Beyond,'' PNM 712 ( 1969): 59 -69. Benjamin Boretz, ttMeta- variations: Studies in the Foundations of Musical Thought,''##M8/1 (1969): 1-74; 8/2 (1970): 49- 1 1 1; 9/1 (1970): 23-42; 9/2 and 10/1 (1971): 232-70; 11/1 (1972): 146-223; 1 1/2 (1973): 156-203. Thomas Clifton, ççsome Compadsons Ytween Intuitive and Scientiâc Dexriptions of Music,'' JMT 19 (1975): 66- 1 10. Richmond Browne, Vernon L. Kliewer, Peter Westergnnrd, Carl E. Schachter, Carlton Gamer, and Allen Forte, çtMusic Theory: The Art, the Profession, and the Futurey'' CMS 17 (1977): 135-62. John Rahn, ttAsmcts of Musical Explanation,'' PNM 17/2 (1979): 204-24. Harold S. PoweD, ççunguage Models and Musical Analysis,'' Ethno 24 (1980): 1 -60. Richmond Browne, ed., Music Theory. Special Topics (New York: Acad Pr, 198 1). 11, Representative theorists 350- 1200. Augustine (354-430). De musica (On Music), 387-9 1. PL 32:108 1 - 1 194; Giuseppe Vecchi, ed., Praecepta artis musicae; collecta ex Iibris sex Aurelii Augustini ''De Musica, '' Reale accademia delle scienze dell'1stituto di Bologna, Classe di scienze morali, Memorie, ser. 5, vol. 1 (Bologna, 1950), py. 93- 153; R. Catesby Taliaferro, trans., On Music, ln Writings ofsaint Augustine, pt. 2, The Fathers ofthe Church: ,4 New Translation, vol. 4 (New York: Fa- thers of the Church, 1947). Deânes music as the ççart of measuring we11.'' Books 1 - 5 consider musical rhythm and quàntitative poetic meter and may have been impetus behind modal rhythm. Boethius (ca. 480-ca. 524). De institutione musica (The Principles of Music). PL 63:1 167 - 1300; Gott- fried Friedlein, ed., W. M. T. S. Boetii. De institutione arithmetica Iibri duo. De institutione musica Iibri quinque. (Leipzig, 1867; R: Frankful: Minerva, 1966)., Calvin M. Bower, trans., téBoethius, Theprin- clè/c.î ofMusic'' (Ph.D. diss., George Peabody Co1- lege, 1967); SR, pp. 79-86; RFSC, pp. 12- 13. See ë Calvin Bower, çt-f'he Modes of Boethius,'' JM 3 ( 1984): 252 -63. Principal text for the transmission of Greek theory to the Middle Ages. Bks. 1 -4 proba- ' bly translated from Nicomachus (with material from Euclid (?), Sectio canonis in bk. 4) and bk. 5 from '. molemy. Covers harmonics, arithmetic proportions, ' tones and semitones, comma, notation, tuning, and : modes. Divides music into musica mundana, musica : humana, and musica instrumentalis (bk. 1). d Isidore of Seville (ca. 559 -636). Etymologiarum I sive originum Iibri xx, bk. 3, chaps. 15-23, bk. 6, chap. 19. PL 82:163-69, 251 -60., GS 1:20- 25;Wa1alace M.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Playing with the Performer in Medieval Music: Machaut’S Ideas on Love and Order in Quant Vraie Amour / O Series Summe Rata / Super Omnes Speciosa (Motet 17)
    UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Playing with the performer in Medieval music: Machaut’s ideas on love and order in Quant vraie Amour / O series summe rata / Super omnes speciosa (Motet 17) Boogaart, J. Publication date 2009 Document Version Final published version Published in Dutch Journal of Music Theory Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Boogaart, J. (2009). Playing with the performer in Medieval music: Machaut’s ideas on love and order in Quant vraie Amour / O series summe rata / Super omnes speciosa (Motet 17). Dutch Journal of Music Theory, 14(1), 32-41. http://dpc.uba.uva.nl/vol14/nr01/art05 General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl) Download date:24 Sep 2021 jacques boogaart Playing with the Performer in Medieval Music: Machaut’s Ideas on Love and Order in Quant vraie Amour / O series summe rata / Super omnes speciosa (Motet 17) Machaut’s seventeenth motet might be one of his earliest works.
    [Show full text]
  • A Propos Meter and Rhythm in the Ars Antiqua
    THEORYFORUM: REGARDING "A PROPOS METER AND RHYTHM IN THE ARS ANTIQUA"' Leo Treitler Hans Tischler very generouslyrates my ideas in the paper2 that he has reviewed as "basically sound," notwithstanding the fault that he finds with the details of my argument.But I fear that he has taken in only one aspect of what I tried to show in that paper, the idea that "metric accent is an essential feature of the music of [the School of Notre Dame]," as he puts it. I did indeed make such a claim (and there is nothing particularlyoriginal in it), but as only part of the description of a total music-historicalsituation that entails aspects of style, nota- tion and transmission,and the explanationsof musical theorists. My aim was to look at the severalinteractive facets of that situation all at once and to try to show something of its significancefor a very large-scale historicalmovement in our tradition. A reply is called for in order to place the historical theme back in the center, not to carry on the dispute over transcriptions.For it is transcriptionsthat are once again at issue in Tischler'sreview.Yes, one should make them as good as one can. But as Tischlerhimself recognizes, the differences over transcriptionshardly affect the view that one takes of the "central issues." Yet these disagreementshave continually ob- scured the view toward any issues beyond themselvesin this subject. To measure the historical significanceof the establishmentof what 215 This content downloaded from 159.149.103.9 on Sat, 6 Apr 2013 18:45:09 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions we know as "modal rhythm" we must see in it at least these achieve- ments: -Conceiving and explainingrhythm as the successionof durations.
    [Show full text]
  • Early Fifteenth Century
    CONTENTS CHAPTER I ORIENTAL AND GREEK MUSIC Section Item Number Page Number ORIENTAL MUSIC Ι-6 ... 3 Chinese; Japanese; Siamese; Hindu; Arabian; Jewish GREEK MUSIC 7-8 .... 9 Greek; Byzantine CHAPTER II EARLY MEDIEVAL MUSIC (400-1300) LITURGICAL MONOPHONY 9-16 .... 10 Ambrosian Hymns; Ambrosian Chant; Gregorian Chant; Sequences RELIGIOUS AND SECULAR MONOPHONY 17-24 .... 14 Latin Lyrics; Troubadours; Trouvères; Minnesingers; Laude; Can- tigas; English Songs; Mastersingers EARLY POLYPHONY 25-29 .... 21 Parallel Organum; Free Organum; Melismatic Organum; Benedica- mus Domino: Plainsong, Organa, Clausulae, Motets; Organum THIRTEENTH-CENTURY POLYPHONY . 30-39 .... 30 Clausulae; Organum; Motets; Petrus de Cruce; Adam de la Halle; Trope; Conductus THIRTEENTH-CENTURY DANCES 40-41 .... 42 CHAPTER III LATE MEDIEVAL MUSIC (1300-1400) ENGLISH 42 .... 44 Sumer Is Icumen In FRENCH 43-48,56 . 45,60 Roman de Fauvel; Guillaume de Machaut; Jacopin Selesses; Baude Cordier; Guillaume Legrant ITALIAN 49-55,59 · • · 52.63 Jacopo da Bologna; Giovanni da Florentia; Ghirardello da Firenze; Francesco Landini; Johannes Ciconia; Dances χ Section Item Number Page Number ENGLISH 57-58 .... 61 School o£ Worcester; Organ Estampie GERMAN 60 .... 64 Oswald von Wolkenstein CHAPTER IV EARLY FIFTEENTH CENTURY ENGLISH 61-64 .... 65 John Dunstable; Lionel Power; Damett FRENCH 65-72 .... 70 Guillaume Dufay; Gilles Binchois; Arnold de Lantins; Hugo de Lantins CHAPTER V LATE FIFTEENTH CENTURY FLEMISH 73-78 .... 76 Johannes Ockeghem; Jacob Obrecht FRENCH 79 .... 83 Loyset Compère GERMAN 80-84 . ... 84 Heinrich Finck; Conrad Paumann; Glogauer Liederbuch; Adam Ile- borgh; Buxheim Organ Book; Leonhard Kleber; Hans Kotter ENGLISH 85-86 .... 89 Song; Robert Cornysh; Cooper CHAPTER VI EARLY SIXTEENTH CENTURY VOCAL COMPOSITIONS 87,89-98 ...
    [Show full text]
  • The New Dictionary of Music and Musicians
    The New GROVE Dictionary of Music and Musicians EDITED BY Stanley Sadie 12 Meares - M utis London, 1980 376 Moda Harold Powers Mode (from Lat. modus: 'measure', 'standard'; 'manner', 'way'). A term in Western music theory with three main applications, all connected with the above meanings of modus: the relationship between the note values longa and brevis in late medieval notation; interval, in early medieval theory; most significantly, a concept involving scale type and melody type. The term 'mode' has always been used to designate classes of melodies, and in this century to designate certain kinds of norm or model for composition or improvisation as well. Certain pheno­ mena in folksong and in non-Western music are related to this last meaning, and are discussed below in §§IV and V. The word is also used in acoustical parlance to denote a particular pattern of vibrations in which a system can oscillate in a stable way; see SOUND, §5. I. The term. II. Medieval modal theory. III. Modal theo­ ries and polyphonic music. IV. Modal scales and folk­ song melodies. V. Mode as a musicological concept. I. The term I. Mensural notation. 2. Interval. 3. Scale or melody type. I. MENSURAL NOTATION. In this context the term 'mode' has two applications. First, it refers in general to the proportional durational relationship between brevis and /onga: the modus is perfectus (sometimes major) when the relationship is 3: l, imperfectus (sometimes minor) when it is 2 : I. (The attributives major and minor are more properly used with modus to distinguish the rela­ tion of /onga to maxima from the relation of brevis to longa, respectively.) In the earliest stages of mensural notation, the so­ called Franconian notation, 'modus' designated one of five to seven fixed arrangements of longs and breves in particular rhythms, called by scholars rhythmic modes.
    [Show full text]
  • The Musical Notation and Rhythm of the Italian Laude *
    26 THE MUSICAL NOTATION AND RHYTHM OF THE ITALIAN LAUDE * Thc Typical Italian Charactcr oj tfzc Laudc. When we study the musical repertoire of the Medievallaude 1, we find a situation qui te different from that of Provençal, French, or Spanish lyric poetry and from that of the German minnesingers. In Italy, there existed a repertoire of rcligious songs in the verna­ cular language dedicated to Christ, Our Lady, and the various Saints, generally anonymous, and composed far the use of the faithful of the confraternita - something unknown in other countries. By vir­ tue of the literary subjects of their texts, by their melodies, and by thei r musical notation, these laude became, in the eyes of the world, a manifestation of a very pronounced Italian artistic indivi­ duality. In the repertoire of lyric monody of other European countries, we fmd certain melodies of a traditional, popular vein which remind us of others - international ones. In the laude, on the other hand, this similarity to international tunes is absent; they are exclusively national in character. It is, in fact, remarkable that the laude reflect no melodie analogies with either international folklore or with the profane or religious lyric poetry of other European countries. In examining the Italian lauda repertoire, the first things to claim our attention in the music are its simple style and its popular charac- • Publishcd in Essays i11 Musicology . A Birthday O.fferi11g far Willi Ape/. Hms Tischler, Ed. Indiana Univcrsity, Bloomington (Indiana 1968), 56-6o. From the samc author sce also Las Laudi italianas de los siglos XIII y XIV.
    [Show full text]
  • "Fixed Do": What They Are, What They Aren't, and Why "Movable Do" Should Be Used As the Basis for Musicianship Training
    "Movable do" and "fixed do": what they are, what they aren't, and why "movable do" should be used as the basis for musicianship training. PART I - SYSTEMATIC "Movable do" The "movable do" system is based on the understanding that the names given to the notes serve as reminders, to aid the singer in correctly establishing the distance between the various scale degrees. The syllables are: "do re mi fa sol la ti". In some common misrepresentations of this method, the seventh syllable is given as "si" instead of "ti". The latter is obviously a better choice, since it does not reuse the consonant "s". In the major-minor key system, central to the language of European art- music from 1700 to 1900, and still thriving in certain streams of popular music, chromatic alteration of the "natural" scale degrees comes about mainly because of modulation, in which the tonic note shifts to a new pitch, or else because of scale coloration, in which the new notes are used simply to vary the character of the prevailing scale without suggesting a change of tonic. The boundary between these two procedures is not always clear, but the "movable do" system addresses that line, however fine, in a way that leaves the perceptual and analytical processes open to productive discussion. When chromaticism is locally based, that is, without modulation, the solmization syllables are: ascending: do di re ri mi fa fi sol si la li ti do descending: do ti ta la le sol fi fa mi ma re ra do When modulation is involved, the system tends to grow progressively more flexible in its application and, as the harmonic style itself, more complex.
    [Show full text]
  • 02 Chapter 1 Stoessel
    Prologue La harpe de melodie faite saunz mirancholie par plaisir doit bien cescun resjorr pour l'armonie orr, sonner et vei'r. J With the prior verses begins one of the most fascinating musical works in the ars subtilior style, composed by the master musician Jacob de Senleches. This composer, as his name suggests, was a native of northern France whose scant biographical details indicate he was a valued musician at courts in the south at Castile, Navarre and possibly Avignon.2 La harpe de melodie typifies several aspects of the present study. Firstly, its presence in a n1anuscripe copied in the city of Pavia in Lombardy indicates the cultivation of ostensibly French music in the ars subtilior style in northern Italy. Secondly, its musical notation contains novel, experimental notational devices and note shapes that parallel intellectual developments in other fields of culture in this period. I "The melodious harp made without melancholy to please, well may each person rejoice to hear, sing and hear its harmony." (All translations are mine, unless otherwise specified.) 2 The conclusion that Jacob de Senleches was a native of northern France is made on the premise that Senleches is the near-homophone of Senlecques, a village just south of Calais in the County of Artois. The only surviving archival evidence concerning Jacob de Senleches consists of a dispensation made at the Court of Navarre by Charles II of Navarre on 21 sl August, 1383 which speCifies: ... 100 libras a Jacomill de Sen/aches, juglar de harpe, para regresar a donde se encontraba el cardenal de Aragon, su maestro (" 100 libras for Jacob de Senleches, player of the harp, to return to where he was to meet the Cardinal of Aragon, his master."), Jlid.
    [Show full text]
  • Conductus and Modal Rhythm
    Conductus and Modal Rhythm BY ERNEST H. SANDERS T HAS BEEN MORE THAN EIGHTY YEARS since Friedrich Ludwig (1872-193o), arguably the greatest of the seminal figures in twenti- eth-century musicology, began to publish his studies of medieval music. His single-handed occupation of the field, his absolute sover- eignty over the entire repertoire and all issues of scholarly significance arising from it, and his enormous, inescapably determinative influ- ence on the thinking of his successors, most of whom had studied with him, explain the epithet der Grossehe was given on at least one occasion.' Almost his entire professional energies were devoted to the music of the twelfth and, particularly, the thirteenth centuries, as well as to the polyphony of the fourteenth century, which he began to explore in depth in the 1920s. His stringent devotion to the facts and to conclusions supported by them was a trait singled out by several commentators.2 Ludwig's insistence on scholarly rigor, however, cannot be said to account completely for his Modaltheorie,which appeared to posit the applicability of modal rhythm to all music of the Notre Dame period-except organal style-and of the pre-Garlandian (or pre- Franconian) thirteenth century, including particularly the musical settings of poetry. Much of the pre-Garlandian ligature notation in thirteenth-century sources of melismatic polyphonic compositions of the first half of that century (clausulae, organa for more than two voices) and of melismatic portions of certain genres, such as the caudae of conducti,3 signifies modal rhythms, and the appropriatenessof the modal system cannot be disputed in this context.
    [Show full text]
  • Narrow Range -More Virtuosic
    Medieval Theory -Guido of Arezzo developed solomization -solfege came from the hymn “Ut queant laxis” -9th century oral transmission of music -10th century heightened neumes -11th century four line staff and square notation Secular Music Jongleur -Golliards -age of chivalry, courtly love -knightly love kin to monk with god -a religious love in secular music -chanson de geste (song of deeds) ex. King Arthur -were looked down upon, traveled from town to town Troubadour (Southern France) -12th century -educated family, higher class -knew how to read and write music -langue d’oc Trouveres (Northern France) -founder and seeker of song -langue d’oil -chansonnier secular love poetry (monophonic) -pastourelle seduction song Adam de la Halle’s Jeu de Robin et Marion -trouvere -monophonic rondeau (repeating refrain) -low style (profane aspect) -unsuccessful love -vernacular language (langue d’oil) Can vei la lauzeta mover -troubadour -strophic form -8 stanzas -modal music, Dorian mode -word-painting www.notesolution.com -narrow range -more virtuosic A Chantar -troubadour -ABABCDB -phrase end with same cadence (rhyme scheme) -more structural organization -Frauenlob famous German Minnesinger) Polyphony -organum earliest witten polyphony singing simultaneously at more than one pitch evidence in Musica & Scolica Enchriadis -parallel motion note vs. note, harmonized with fourth and fifth -contrary motion one melody with another melody beneath early cadence structure usually ends in octave Alleluia Justus ut Palma -word-painting melisma on “multiply”,
    [Show full text]
  • Vestiges of Midsummer Ritual in Motets for John the Baptist
    Early Music History (2011) Volume 30. Cambridge University Press doi:10.1017/S0261127911000027 M A A Email: [email protected] FIRE, FOLIAGE AND FURY: VESTIGES OF MIDSUMMER RITUAL IN MOTETS FOR JOHN THE BAPTIST The thirteenth-century motet repertory has been understood on a wide spectrum, with recent scholarship amplifying the relationship between the liturgical tenors and the commentary in the upper voices. This study examines a family of motets based on the tenors IOHANNE and MULIERUM from the feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist (24 June). Several texts within this motet family make references to well-known traditions associated with the pagan festival of Midsummer, the celebration of the summer solstice. Allusions to popular solstitial practices including the lighting of bonfires and the public criticism of authority, in addition to the cultural awareness of the sun’s power on this day, conspicuously surface in these motets, particularly when viewed through the lens of the tenor. The study suggests the further obfuscation of sacred and secular poles in the motet through attentiveness to images of popular, pre-Christian rituals that survive in these polyphonic works. In the northern French village of Jumièges from the late Middle Ages to the middle of the nineteenth century, a peculiar fraternal ritual took place. Each year on the evening of the twenty-third of June, the Brotherhood of the Green Wolf chose its new chief. Arrayed in a brimless green hat in the shape of a cone, the elected master led the men to a priest and choir; Portions of this study were read at the Medieval and Renaissance Conference at the Institut für Musikwissenschaft, University of Vienna, 8–11 August 2007 and at the University of Chicago’s Medieval Workshop on 19 May 2006.
    [Show full text]
  • PÉROTIN and the ARS ANTIQUA the Hilliard Ensemble
    CORO hilliard live CORO hilliard live 1 The Hilliard Ensemble For more than three decades now The Hilliard Ensemble has been active in the realms of both early and contemporary music. As well as recording and performing music by composers such as Pérotin, Dufay, Josquin and Bach the ensemble has been involved in the creation of a large number of new works. James PÉROTIN MacMillan, Heinz Holliger, Arvo Pärt, Steven Hartke and many other composers have written both large and the and small-scale pieces for them. The ensemble’s performances ARS frequently include collaborations with other musicians such as the saxophonist Jan Garbarek, violinist ANTIQUA Christoph Poppen, violist Kim Kashkashian and orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra. John Potter’s contribution was crucial to getting the Hilliard Live project under way. John has since left to take up a post in the Music Department of York University. His place in the group has been filled by Steven Harrold. www.hilliardensemble.demon.co.uk the hilliard ensemble To find out more about CORO and to buy CDs, visit www.thesixteen.com cor16046 The hilliard live series of recordings came about for various reasons. 1 Vetus abit littera Anon. (C13th) 3:47 At the time self-published recordings were a fairly new and increasingly David James Rogers Covey-Crump John Potter Gordon Jones common phenomenon in popular music and we were keen to see if 2 Deus misertus hominis Anon. (C13th) 5:00 we could make the process work for us in the context of a series of David James Rogers Covey-Crump John Potter Gordon Jones public concerts.
    [Show full text]
  • Western Culture Has Roots in Ancient
    3 13. What happened in 395, 476, 1054, 1453? Chapter 2 Division (Milan, Rome) and (Byzantium, Constantinople, The Christian Church in the First Millennium Istanbul); fall of Rome; Roman Catholic Church and Byzantine Church split; fall of Constantinople. East 1. (22) How is the history of music in medieval Europe under the control of the emperor; in the west a bishop intertwined with the history of the Christian church? assumed authority Notation and polyphony developed within church music; schools were church; composers and theorists were 14. (26) SR: What two things did singing of psalms trained there; notation preserved the music of the church accomplish for St. Basil? Taught doctrine; softens an angry spirit 2. (23) What was the deal about Christianity before 313? OK as long as worship Roman gods and emperors; Christians 15. SR: What was Augustine's dilemma and justification? had only one god and tried to convert others. Deeply moved but was also pleasurable; weaker souls would benefit more 3. What did the Edict of Milan do? Legalized Christianity and church own property 16. (27) SR: Who was Egeria? What texts were sung? Any ethos going on? What service was it? 4. What happened in 392? Spanish nun on pilgrimage to Jerusalem; psalms; people wept Christianity is the official religion; all others suppressed when gospel was read; Matins except Judaism 17. What is the language of the Catholic Church? 5. What's the connection between Christian observances Byzantine? TQ: Old Testament? New Testament? and Jewish traditions? Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Greek Chanting of Scripture and singing of psalms 18.
    [Show full text]