Medieval Music

Medieval music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_music
Medieval music
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Medieval music is songs and pieces from an era

of Western music, including liturgical music (for
the church) and secular music (non-religious
music). Medieval music includes solely vocal
music, such as Gregorian chant and choral music
(music for a group of singers), solely
instrumental music, and music that uses both
voices and instruments (typically with the
instruments accompanying the voices). This era
begins with the fall of the Western Roman
Empire in the fifth century and ends sometime in
the early fifteenth century. Establishing the end
of the medieval era and the beginning of the
Renaissance music era is difficult, since the
trends started in different regions. The usage in
this article is the one usually adopted by
musicologists.
Periods and eras of

Western classical music
Early
Medieval
c. 5001400
Renaissance
c. 14001600
Common practice
Baroque
c. 16001750
Classical
c. 17301820
Romantic
c. 17801910
Impressionist
c. 18751925
Modern and contemporary

Modern High modern
20th-century
c. 18901975
(19002000)
During the Medieval period the foundation was

Contemporary Postmodern
c. 1975present
laid for the notational and theoretical practices
21st-century
(2000present)
that would shape Western music into the norms
that developed during the common-practice era.
The most obvious of these is the development of
a comprehensive music notational system which enabled
composers to write out their songs and pieces on parchment or
paper. Prior to the development of musical notation, songs and
pieces had to be learned "by ear", from one person who knew a
song to another person. This greatly limited the geographic
spread of songs or pieces. The development of music notation
made it easier to disseminate songs and musical pieces to a
larger geographic area. However the theoretical advances,
particularly in regard to rhythmthe timing of notesand
polyphonyusing multiple, interweaving melodies at the same
Christian and Muslim playing
timeare equally important to the development of Western
lutes in a miniature from
music.
Cantigas de Santa Maria of
Alfonso X
Contents
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1 Overview
1.1 Instruments
1.2 Genres
1.3 Theory and notation
1.3.1 Notation
1.3.2 Music theory
1.3.2.1 Rhythm
1.3.2.2 Polyphony
2 Early medieval music (before 1150)
2.1 Early chant traditions
2.2 Early polyphony: organum
2.3 Liturgical drama
2.4 Goliards
3 High medieval music (11501300)
3.1 Ars antiqua
3.2 Cantigas de Santa Maria
3.3 Troubadours and trouvres
3.4 Trovadorismo
4 Late medieval music (13001400)
4.1 France: Ars nova
4.2 Italy: Trecento
4.3 Germany: Geisslerlieder
4.4 Mannerism and Ars subtilior
4.5 Transitioning to the Renaissance
5 Study and vocational training
6 Influence in contemporary music
7 See also
8 References
9 Further reading
10 External links
Overview
Instruments
Many instruments used to perform medieval music still exist in the 2010s, but in different and
typically more technologically developed forms. The flute was once made of wood rather than
silver or other metal, and could be made as a side-blown or end-blown instrument. While modern
orchestral flutes are usually made of metal and have complex key mechanisms, medieval flutes had
holes that the performer had to cover with the fingers (as with the recorder). The recorder was made
of wood during the Medieval era, and despite the fact that in the 2000s, it may be made of synthetic
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materials, it has more or less retained its past form. The gemshorn is
similar to the recorder as it has finger holes on its front, though it is
actually a member of the ocarina family. One of the flute's predecessors,
the pan flute, was popular in medieval times, and is possibly of Hellenic
origin. This instrument's pipes were made of wood, and were graduated
in length to produce different pitches.
Medieval music used many plucked string instruments like the lute,
mandore, gittern and psaltery. The dulcimers, similar in structure to the
psaltery and zither, were originally plucked, but musicians began to
strike the dulcimer with hammers in the 14th century after the arrival of
new metal technology that made metal strings possible.
A musician plays the

vielle in a fourteenthcentury Medieval
manuscript
The bowed lyra of the Byzantine Empire was the first recorded European
bowed string instrument. The Persian geographer Ibn Khurradadhbih of
the 9th century (d. 911) cited the Byzantine lyra, in his lexicographical
discussion of instruments as a bowed instrument equivalent to the Arab
rabb and typical instrument of the Byzantines along with the urghun (organ), shilyani (probably a
type of harp or lyre) and the salandj (probably a bagpipe).[1] The hurdy-gurdy was (and still is) a
mechanical violin using a rosined wooden wheel attached to a crank to "bow" its strings.
Instruments without sound boxes like the jaw harp were also popular in the time. Early versions of
the organ, fiddle (or vielle), and a precursor to the modern trombone (called the sackbut) existed.
Genres
Medieval music for both sacred (church use) and secular (non-religious use) was composed.[2]
During the earlier medieval period, the liturgical genre, predominantly Gregorian chant, was
monophonic ("monophonic" means a single melodic line, without a harmony part or instrumental
accompaniment).[3] Polyphonic genres, in which multiple independent melodic lines are performed
simultaneously, began to develop during the high medieval era, becoming prevalent by the later
13th and early 14th century. The development of such forms is often associated with the Ars nova
style.
The earliest innovations upon monophonic plainchant were heterophonic. "Heterophony" is the
performance of the same melody by two different performers at the same time, in which each
performer slightly alters the ornaments she is using. The Organum, for example, expanded upon
plainchant melody using an accompanying line, sung at a fixed interval (often a perfect fifth or
perfect fourth), with a resulting alternation between a simple form of polyphony and monophony.[4]
The principles of the organum date back to an anonymous 9th century tract, the Musica enchiriadis,
which established the tradition of duplicating a preexisting plainchant in parallel motion at the
interval of an octave, a fifth or a fourth.[5]
Of greater sophistication was the motet, which developed from the clausula genre of medieval
plainchant. The motet would become the most popular form of medieval polyphony.[6] While early
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motets were liturgical or sacred (designed for use in a church service), by the end of the thirteenth
century the genre had expanded to include secular topics, such as courtly love. Courtly love was the
respectful veneration of a lady from afar by an amorous suitor.
During the Renaissance music era, the Italian secular genre of the Madrigal also became popular.
Similar to the polyphonic character of the motet, madrigals featured greater fluidity and motion in
the leading line. The madrigal form also gave rise to polyphonic canons, especially in Italy where
they were composed under the title Caccia. These were three-part secular pieces, which featured
the two higher voices in canon, with an underlying instrumental long-note accompaniment.[7]
Finally, purely instrumental music also developed during this period, both in the context of a
growing theatrical tradition and for court performances for the aristocracy. Dance music, often
improvised around familiar tropes, was the largest purely instrumental genre.[8] The secular Ballata,
which became very popular in Trecento Italy, had its origins, for instance, in medieval instrumental
dance music.[9]
Theory and notation

During the Medieval period the foundation was laid for the notational and theoretical practices that
would shape Western music into the norms that developed during the common practice era. The
most obvious of these is the development of a comprehensive music notational system; however the
theoretical advances, particularly in regard to rhythm and polyphony, are equally important to the
development of Western music.
Notation
The earliest Medieval music did not have any kind of
notational system. The tunes were primarily monophonic
(a single melody without accompaniment) and
transmitted by oral tradition.[3] As Rome tried to
centralize the various liturgies and establish the Roman
A sample of Krie Elison XI (Orbis
rite as the primary church tradition the need to transmit
Factor) from the Liber Usualis. The
these chant melodies across vast distances effectively
"neume" markings above the text of the
was equally glaring.[10] So long as music could only be
song indicate whether the melody goes
taught to people "by ear", it limited the ability of the
up or down in pitch. Listen to it
church to get different regions to sing the same melodies,
interpreted.
since each new person would have to spend time with a
person who already knew a song and learn it "by ear".
The first step to fix this problem came with the
introduction of various signs written above the chant texts to indicate direction of pitch movement,
called neumes.[3]
The origin of neumes is unclear and subject to some debate; however, most scholars agree that their
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closest ancestors are the classic Greek and Roman grammatical signs that indicated important
points of declamation by recording the rise and fall of the voice.[11] The two basic signs of the
classical grammarians were the acutus, /, indicating a raising of the voice, and the gravis, \,
indicating a lowering of the voice. A singer reading a chant text with neume markings would be
able to get a general sense of whether the melody line went up in pitch, stayed the same, or went
down in pitch. For a singer who already knew a song, seeing the written neume markings above the
text could help to jog his or her memory about how the melody went. However, a singer reading a
chant text with neume markings would not be able to sight read a song which he or she had never
heard sung before.
These neumes eventually evolved into the basic symbols for neumatic notation, the virga (or "rod")
which indicates a higher note and still looked like the acutus from which it came; and the punctum
(or "dot") which indicates a lower note and, as the name suggests, reduced the gravis symbol to a
point.[11] These the acutus and the gravis could be combined to represent graphical vocal
inflections on the syllable [12] This kind of notation seems to have developed no earlier than the
eighth century, but by the ninth it was firmly established as the primary method of musical
notation.[13] The basic notation of the virga and the punctum remained the symbols for individual
notes, but other neumes soon developed which showed several notes joined together. These new
neumescalled ligaturesare essentially combinations of the two original signs.[14]
The first music notation was the use of dots over the lyrics to a chant, with some dots being higher
or lower, giving the reader a general sense of the direction of the melody. However, this form of
notation only served as a memory aid for a singer who already knew the melody.[15]This basic
neumatic notation could only specify the number of notes and whether they moved up or down.
There was no way to indicate exact pitch, any rhythm, or even the starting note. These limitations
are further indication that the neumes were developed as tools to support the practice of oral
tradition, rather than to supplant it. However, even though it started as a mere memory aid, the
worth of having more specific notation soon became evident.[13]
The next development in musical notation was "heighted neumes", in which neumes were carefully
placed at different heights in relation to each other. This allowed the neumes to give a rough
indication of the size of a given interval as well as the direction. This quickly led to one or two
lines, each representing a particular note, being placed on the music with all of the neumes relating
back to them. At first, these lines had no particular meaning and instead had a letter placed at the
beginning indicating which note was represented. However, the lines indicating middle C and the F
a fifth below slowly became most common. Having been at first merely scratched on the
parchment, the lines now were drawn in two different colored inks: usually red for F, and yellow or
green for C. This was the beginning of the musical staff as we know it today.[16] The completion of
the four-line staff is usually credited to Guido d Arezzo (c. 1000-1050), one of the most important
musical theorists of the Middle Ages. While older sources attribute the development of the staff to
Guido, some modern scholars suggest that he acted more as a codifier of a system that was already
being developed. Either way, this new notation allowed a singer to learn pieces completely
unknown to him in a much shorter amount of time.[10][17] However, even though chant notation had
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progressed in many ways, one fundamental problem remained: rhythm. The neumatic notational
system, even in its fully developed state, did not clearly define any kind of rhythm for the singing
of notes.[18]
Music theory
The music theory of the Medieval period saw several advances over previous practice both in
regard to tonal material, texture, and rhythm.
Rhythm
Concerning rhythm, this period had several dramatic changes in

both its conception and notation. During the early Medieval
period there was no method to notate rhythm, and thus the
rhythmical practice of this early music is subject to heated
debate among scholars.[18] The first kind of written rhythmic
system developed during the 13th century and was based on a
series of modes. This rhythmic plan was codified by the music
theorist Johannes de Garlandia, author of the De Mensurabili
Musica (c.1250), the treatise which defined and most
completely elucidated these rhythmic modes.[19] In his treatise
Johannes de Garlandia describes six species of mode, or six
different ways in which longs and breves can be arranged. Each
mode establishes a rhythmic pattern in beats (or tempora)
within a common unit of three tempora (a perfectio) that is
repeated again and again. Furthermore, notation without text is
based on chains of ligatures (the characteristic notations by
which groups of notes are bound to one another).
Protin, "Alleluia nativitas", in
The rhythmic mode can generally be determined by the patterns

the third rhythmic mode.
[20]
of ligatures used.
Once a rhythmic mode had been assigned
to a melodic line, there was generally little deviation from that
mode, although rhythmic adjustments could be indicated by changes in the expected pattern of
ligatures, even to the extent of changing to another rhythmic mode.[21] The next step forward
concerning rhythm came from the German theorist Franco of Cologne. In his treatise Ars cantus
mensurabilis ("The Art of Mensurable Music"), written around 1280, he describes a system of
notation in which differently shaped notes have entirely different rhythmic values. This is a striking
change from the earlier system of de Garlandia. Whereas before the length of the individual note
could only be gathered from the mode itself, this new inverted relationship made the mode
dependent uponand determined bythe individual notes or figurae that have incontrovertible
durational values,[22] an innovation which had a massive impact on the subsequent history of
European music. Most of the surviving notated music of the 13th century uses the rhythmic modes
as defined by Garlandia. The step in the evolution of rhythm came after the turn of the 13th century
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with the development of the Ars Nova style.

The theorist who is most well recognized in regard to this new style is Philippe de Vitry, famous for
writing the Ars Nova ("New Art") treatise around 1320. This treatise on music gave its name to the
style of this entire era.[23] In some ways the modern system of rhythmic notation began with Vitry,
who completely broke free from the older idea of the rhythmic modes. The notational predecessors
of modern time meters also originate in the Ars Nova. This new style was clearly built upon the
work of Franco of Cologne. In Franco's system, the relationship between a breve and a semibreves
(that is, half breves) was equivalent to that between a breve and a long: and, since for him modus
was always perfect (grouped in threes), the tempus or beat was also inherently perfect and therefore
contained three semibreves. Sometimes the context of the mode would require a group of only two
semibreves, however, these two semibreves would always be one of normal length and one of
double length, thereby taking the same space of time, and thus preserving the perfect subdivision of
the tempus.[24] This ternary division held for all note values. In contrast, the Ars Nova period
introduced two important changes: the first was an even smaller subdivision of notes (semibreves,
could now be divided into minim), and the second was the development of "mensuration."
Mensurations could be combined in various manners to produce metrical groupings. These
groupings of mensurations are the precursors of simple and compound meter.[25] By the time of Ars
Nova, the perfect division of the tempus was not the only option as duple divisions became more
accepted. For Vitry the breve could be divided, for an entire composition, or section of one, into
groups of two or three smaller semibreves. This way, the tempus (the term that came to denote the
division of the breve) could be either "perfect," (Tempus perfectus) with ternary subdivision, or
"imperfect,"(Tempus imperfectus) with binary subdivision.[26] In a similar fashion, the semibreve's
division (termed prolation) could be divided into three minima (prolatio perfectus or major
prolation) or two minima (prolatio imperfectus or minor prolation) and, at the higher level, the
longs division (called modus) could be three or two breves (modus perfectus or perfect mode, or
modus imperfectus or imperfect mode respectively).[27][28] Vitry took this a step further by
indicating the proper division of a given piece at the beginning through the use of a "mensuration
sign," equivalent to our modern "time signature.[29]
Tempus perfectus was indicated by a circle, while tempus imperfectus was denoted by a
half-circle[29] (our current "C" as a stand-in for the 4/4 time signature is actually a holdover from
this practice, not an abbreviation for "common time", as popularly believed). While many of these
innovations are ascribed to Vitry, and somewhat present in the Ars Nova treatise, it was a
contemporaryand personal acquaintanceof de Vitry, named Johannes de Muris (Jehan des
Mars) who offered the most comprehensive and systematic treatment of the new mensural
innovations of the Ars Nova[25] (for a brief explanation of the mensural notation in general, see the
article Renaissance music). Many scholars, citing a lack of positive attributory evidence, now
consider "Vitry's" treatise to be anonymous, but this does not diminish its importance for the history
of rhythmic notation. However, this makes the first definitely identifiable scholar to accept and
explain the mensural system to be de Muris, who can be said to have done for it what Garlandia did
for the rhythmic modes.
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For the duration of the medieval period, most music would be composed primarily in perfect
tempus, with special effects created by sections of imperfect tempus; there is a great current
controversy among musicologists as to whether such sections were performed with a breve of equal
length or whether it changed, and if so, at what proportion. This Ars Nova style remained the
primary rhythmical system until the highly syncopated works of the Ars subtilior at the end of the
14th century, characterized by extremes of notational and rhythmic complexity.[30] This sub-genera
pushed the rhythmic freedom provided by Ars Nova to its limits, with some compositions having
different voices written in different tempus signatures simultaneously. The rhythmic complexity
that was realized in this music is comparable to that in the 20th century.[31]
Polyphony
Of equal importance to the overall history of western music theory

were the textural changes that came with the advent of polyphony. This
practice shaped western music into the harmonically-dominated music
that we know today.[32] The first accounts of this textual development
were found in two anonymous yet widely circulated treatises on music,
the Musica and the Scolica enchiriadis. These texts are dated to
sometime within the last half of the ninth century.[33] The treatises
describe a technique that seemed already to be well established in
Protin's Viderunt omnes,
practice.[33] This early polyphony is based on three simple and three
ca. 13th century.
compound intervals. The first group comprises fourths, fifths, and
octaves; while the second group has octave-plus-fourths, octaveplus-fifths, and double octaves.[33] This new practice is given the name organum by the author of
the treatises.[33] Organum can further be classified depending on the time period in which it was
written. The early organum as described in the enchiriadis can be termed "strict organum" [34]
Strict organum can, in turn, be subdivided into two types: diapente (organum at the interval of a
fifth) and diatesseron (organum at the interval of a fourth).[34] However, both of these kinds of
strict organum had problems with the musical rules of the time. If either of them paralleled an
original chant for too long (depending on the mode) a tritone would result.[35]
This problem was somewhat overcome with the use of a second type of organum. This second style
of organum was called "free organum". Its distinguishing factor is that the parts did not have to
move only in parallel motion, but could also move in oblique, or contrary motion. This made it
much easier to avoid the dreaded tritone.[36] The final style of organum that developed was known
as "melismatic organum", which was a rather dramatic departure from the rest of the polyphonic
music up to this point. This new style was not note against note, but was rather one sustained line
accompanied by a florid melismatic line.[37] This final kind of organum was also incorporated by
the most famous polyphonic composer of this timeLonin. He united this style with measured
discant passages, which used the rhythmic modes to create the pinnacle of organum
composition.[37] This final stage of organum is sometimes referred to as Notre Dame school of
polyphony, since that was where Lonin (and his student Protin) were stationed. Furthermore, this
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kind of polyphony influenced all subsequent styles, with the later polyphonic genera of motets
starting as a trope of existing Notre Dame organums.
Another important element of Medieval music theory was the unique tonal system by which pitches
were arranged and understood. During the Middle Ages, this systematic arrangement of a series of
whole steps and half steps, what we now call a scale, was known as a mode. The modal system
worked like the scales of today, insomuch that it provided the rules and material for melodic
writing.[38] The eight church modes are: Dorian, Hypodorian, Phrygian, Hypophrygian, Lydian,
Hypolydian, Mixolydian, and Hypomixolydian.[39] Much of the information concerning these
modes, as well as the practical application of them, was codified in the 11th century by the theorist
Johannes Afflighemensis. In his work he describes three defining elements to each mode. The
finalis, the reciting tone, and the range. The finalis is the tone that serves as the focal point for the
mode. It is also almost always used as the final tone (hence the name). The reciting tone
(sometimes referred to as the tenor or confinalis) is the tone that serves as the primary focal point in
the melody (particularly internally). It is generally also the tone most often repeated in the piece,
and finally the range (or ambitus) is the maximum proscribed tones for a given mode.[40] The eight
modes can be further divided into four categories based on their final (finalis).
Medieval theorists called these pairs maneriae and labeled them according to the Greek ordinal
numbers. Those modes that have d, e, f, and g as their final are put into the groups protus, deuterus,
tritus, and tetrardus respectively.[41] These can then be divided further based on whether the mode
is "authentic" or "plagal." These distinctions deal with the range of the mode in relation to the final.
The authentic modes have a range that is about an octave (one tone above or below is allowed) and
start on the final, whereas the plagal modes, while still covering about an octave, start a perfect
fourth below the authentic.[42] Another interesting aspect of the modal system is the universal
allowance for altering B to Bb no matter what the mode.[43] The inclusion of this tone has several
uses, but one that seems particularly common is in order to avoid melodic difficulties caused, once
again, by the tritone.[44]
These ecclesiastical modes, although they have Greek names, have little relationship to the modes
as set out by Greek theorists. Rather, most of the terminology seems to be a misappropriation on the
part of the medieval theorists[39] Although the church modes have no relation to the ancient Greek
modes, the overabundance of Greek terminology does point to an interesting possible origin in the
liturgical melodies of the Byzantine tradition. This system is called oktoechos and is also divided
into eight categories, called echoi.[45]
For specific medieval music theorists, see also: Isidore of Seville, Aurelian of Rme, Odo of
Cluny, Guido of Arezzo, Hermannus Contractus, Johannes Cotto (Johannes Afflighemensis),
Johannes de Muris, Franco of Cologne, Johannes de Garlandia (Johannes Gallicus), Anonymous
IV, Marchetto da Padova (Marchettus of Padua), Jacques of Lige, Johannes de Grocheo, Petrus de
Cruce (Pierre de la Croix), and Philippe de Vitry.
Early medieval music (before 1150)
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Early chant traditions

Chant (or plainsong) is a monophonic sacred form which represents the earliest known music of the
Christian church.
Chant developed separately in several European centres. Although the most important were Rome,
Hispania, Gaul, Milan, and Ireland, there were others as well. These chants were all developed to
support the regional liturgies used when celebrating the Mass there. Each area developed its own
chants and rules for celebration. In Spain and Portugal, Mozarabic chant was used and shows the
influence of North African music. The Mozarabic liturgy even survived through Muslim rule,
though this was an isolated strand and this music was later suppressed in an attempt to enforce
conformity on the entire liturgy. In Milan, Ambrosian chant, named after St. Ambrose, was the
standard, while Beneventan chant developed around Benevento, another Italian liturgical center.
Gallican chant was used in Gaul, and Celtic chant in Ireland and Great Britain.
Around AD 1011, the Roman Catholic Church wanted to standardize the Mass and chant. At this
time, Rome was the religious centre of western Europe, and Paris was the political centre. The
standardization effort consisted mainly of combining these two (Roman and Gallican) regional
liturgies. Pope Gregory I and Charlemagne sent trained singers throughout the Holy Roman Empire
to teach this new form of chant.[46] This body of chant became known as Gregorian Chant, named
after Pope Gregory I. By the 12th and 13th centuries, Gregorian chant had superseded all the other
Western chant traditions, with the exception of the Ambrosian chant in Milan and the Mozarabic
chant in a few specially designated Spanish chapels.
Early polyphony: organum

Around the end of the 9th century, singers in monasteries such as St. Gall in Switzerland began
experimenting with adding another part to the chant, generally a voice in parallel motion, singing
mostly in perfect fourths or fifths above the original tune (see interval). This development is called
organum and represents the beginnings of counterpoint and, ultimately, harmony. Over the next
several centuries, organum developed in several ways.
The most significant of these developments was the creation of "florid organum" around 1100,
sometimes known as the school of St. Martial (named after a monastery in south-central France,
which contains the best-preserved manuscript of this repertory). In "florid organum" the original
tune would be sung in long notes while an accompanying voice would sing many notes to each one
of the original, often in a highly elaborate fashion, all the while emphasizing the perfect
consonances (fourths, fifths and octaves), as in the earlier organa. Later developments of organum
occurred in England, where the interval of the third was particularly favoured, and where organa
were likely improvised against an existing chant melody, and at Notre Dame in Paris, which was to
be the centre of musical creative activity throughout the thirteenth century.
Much of the music from the early medieval period is anonymous. Some of the names may have
been poets and lyric writers, and the tunes for which they wrote words may have been composed by
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others. Attribution of monophonic music of the medieval period is not always reliable. Surviving
manuscripts from this period include the Musica Enchiriadis, Codex Calixtinus of Santiago de
Compostela, the Magnus Liber, and the Winchester Troper.
For information about specific composers or poets writing during the early medieval period, see
Pope Gregory I, St. Godric, Hildegard of Bingen, Hucbald, Notker Balbulus, Odo of Arezzo, Odo
of Cluny, and Tutilo.
Liturgical drama
Another musical tradition of Europe originating during the early Middle Ages was the liturgical
drama. In its original form, it may represent a survival of Roman drama with Christian stories mainly the Gospel, the Passion, and the lives of the saints - grafted on. Every part of Europe had
some sort of tradition of musical or semi-musical drama in the Middle Ages, involving acting,
speaking, singing and instrumental accompaniment in some combination. These dramas were
probably performed by travelling actors and musicians. Many have been preserved sufficiently to
allow modern reconstruction and performance (for example the Play of Daniel, which has been
recently recorded).
Goliards
The Goliards were itinerant poet-musicians of Europe from the tenth to the middle of the thirteenth
century. Most were scholars or ecclesiastics, and they wrote and sang in Latin. Although many of
the poems have survived, very little of the music has. They were possibly influential even
decisively so on the troubadour-trouvre tradition which was to follow. Most of their poetry is
secular and, while some of the songs celebrate religious ideals, others are frankly profane, dealing
with drunkenness, debauchery and lechery. One of the most important extant sources of Goliards
chansons is the Carmina Burana.
High medieval music (11501300)

Ars antiqua
The flowering of the Notre Dame school of polyphony from around 1150 to 1250 corresponded to
the equally impressive achievements in Gothic architecture: indeed the centre of activity was at the
cathedral of Notre Dame itself. Sometimes the music of this period is called the Parisian school, or
Parisian organum, and represents the beginning of what is conventionally known as Ars antiqua.
This was the period in which rhythmic notation first appeared in western music, mainly a
context-based method of rhythmic notation known as the rhythmic modes.
This was also the period in which concepts of formal structure developed which were attentive to
proportion, texture, and architectural effect. Composers of the period alternated florid and discant
organum (more note-against-note, as opposed to the succession of many-note melismas against
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long-held notes found in the florid type), and created several

new musical forms: clausulae, which were melismatic sections
of organa extracted and fitted with new words and further
musical elaboration; conductus, which was a song for one or
more voices to be sung rhythmically, most likely in a procession
of some sort; and tropes, which were additions of new words
and sometimes new music to sections of older chants. All of
these genres save one were based upon chant; that is, one of the
voices, (usually three, though sometimes four) nearly always
the lowest (the tenor at this point) sang a chant melody, though
with freely composed note-lengths, over which the other voices
sang organum. The exception to this method was the conductus,
a two-voice composition that was freely composed in its
entirety.
The motet, one of the most important musical forms of the high
Middle Ages and Renaissance, developed initially during the
Notre Dame period out of the clausula, especially the form
using multiple voices as elaborated by Protin, who paved the
way for this particularly by replacing many of his predecessor
(as canon of the cathedral) Lonin's lengthy florid clausulae
with substitutes in a discant style. Gradually, there came to be
entire books of these substitutes, available to be fitted in and out
of the various chants. Since, in fact, there were more than can
possibly have been used in context, it is probable that the
clausulae came to be performed independently, either in other
parts of the mass, or in private devotions. The clausulae, thus
practised, became the motet when troped with non-liturgical
words, and were further developed into a form of great
elaboration, sophistication and subtlety in the fourteenth
century, the period of Ars nova. Surviving manuscripts from
this era include the Montpellier Codex, Bamberg Codex, and
Las Huelgas Codex.
Musicians playing the Spanish

vihuela, one with a bow, the other
plucked by hand, in the Cantigas
de Santa Maria of Alfonso X of
Castile, 13th century
Men playing the organistrum,

from the Ourense Cathedral,
Spain, 12th century
Composers of this time include Lonin, Protin, W. de

Wycombe, Adam de St. Victor, and Petrus de Cruce (Pierre de
la Croix). Petrus is credited with the innovation of writing more than three semibreves to fit the
length of a breve. Coming before the innovation of imperfect tempus, this practice inaugurated the
era of what are now called "Petronian" motets. These late 13th-century works are in three to four
parts and have multiple texts sung simultaneously. Originally, the tenor line (from the Latin tenere,
"to hold") held a preexisting liturgical chant line in the original Latin, while the text of the one, two,
or even three voices above, called the voces organales, provided commentary on the liturgical
subject either in Latin or in the vernacular French. The rhythmic values of the voces organales
decreased as the parts multiplied, with the duplum (the part above the tenor) having smaller
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rhythmic values than the tenor, the triplum (the line above the duplum) having smaller rhythmic
values than the duplum, and so on. As time went by, the texts of the voces organales became
increasingly secular in nature and had less and less overt connection to the liturgical text in the
tenor line.[47]
The Petronian motet is a highly complex genre, given its mixture of several semibreve breves with
rhythmic modes and sometimes (with increasing frequency) substitution of secular songs for chant
in the tenor. Indeed, ever-increasing rhythmic complexity would be a fundamental characteristic of
the 14th century, though music in France, Italy, and England would take quite different paths during
that time.
Cantigas de Santa Maria

The Cantigas de Santa Maria ("Canticles of Holy Mary"; Portuguese: [k ti s t mi.],
Galician: [katiaz e sata mai.a]) are 420 poems with musical notation, written in GalicianPortuguese during the reign of Alfonso X El Sabio (12211284) and often attributed to him. It is
one of the largest collections of monophonic (solo) songs from the Middle Ages and is
characterized by the mention of the Virgin Mary in every song, while every tenth song is a hymn.
The manuscripts have survived in four codices: two at El Escorial, one at Madrid's National
Library, and one in Florence, Italy. Some have colored miniatures showing pairs of musicians
playing a wide variety of instruments.
Troubadours and trouvres

The music of the troubadours and trouvres was a vernacular
tradition of monophonic secular song, probably accompanied by
instruments, sung by professional, occasionally itinerant,
musicians who were as skilled as poets as they were singers and
instrumentalists. The language of the troubadours was Occitan
(also known as the langue d'oc, or Provenal); the language of the
trouvres was Old French (also known as langue d'oil). The period
of the troubadours corresponded to the flowering of cultural life in
Provence which lasted through the twelfth century and into the
first decade of the thirteenth. Typical subjects of troubadour song
were war, chivalry and courtly lovethe love of an idealized
Trobadours, 14th century
woman from afar. The period of the troubadours wound down after
the Albigensian Crusade, the fierce campaign by Pope Innocent III
to eliminate the Cathar heresy (and northern barons' desire to appropriate the wealth of the south).
Surviving troubadours went either to Portugal,Spain, northern Italy or northern France (where the
trouvre tradition lived on), where their skills and techniques contributed to the later developments
of secular musical culture in those places.[46]
The trouvres and troubadours shared similar musical styes, but the trouvres were generally
noblemen.[46] The music of the trouvres was similar to that of the troubadours, but was able to
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survive into the thirteenth century unaffected by the Albigensian Crusade. Most of the more than
two thousand surviving trouvre songs include music, and show a sophistication as great as that of
the poetry it accompanies.
The Minnesinger tradition was the Germanic counterpart to the activity of the troubadours and
trouvres to the west. Unfortunately, few sources survive from the time; the sources of Minnesang
are mostly from two or three centuries after the peak of the movement, leading to some controversy
over the accuracy of these sources. Among the Minnesingers with surviving music are Wolfram
von Eschenbach, Walther von der Vogelweide, and Niedhart von Reuenthal.
Trovadorismo
In the Middle Ages, Galician-Portuguese was the language used in nearly all of Iberia for lyric
poetry. From this language derive both modern Galician and Portuguese. The Galician-Portuguese
school, which was influenced to some extent (mainly in certain formal aspects) by the Occitan
troubadours, is first documented at the end of the twelfth century and lasted until the middle of the
fourteenth.
The earliest extant composition in this school is usually agreed to be Ora faz ost' o senhor de
Navarra by the Portuguese Joo Soares de Paiva, usually dated just before or after 1200. The
troubadours of the movement, not to be confused with the Occitan troubadours (who frequented
courts in nearby Len and Castile), wrote almost entirely cantigas. Beginning probably around the
middle of the thirteenth century, these songs, known also as cantares or trovas, began to be
compiled in collections known as cancioneiros (songbooks). Three such anthologies are known: the
Cancioneiro da Ajuda, the Cancioneiro Colocci-Brancuti (or Cancioneiro da Biblioteca Nacional de
Lisboa), and the Cancioneiro da Vaticana. In addition to these there is the priceless collection of
over 400 Galician-Portugues cantigas in the Cantigas de Santa Maria, which tradition attributes to
Alfonso X.
The Galician-Portuguese cantigas can be divided into three basic genres: male-voiced love poetry,
called cantigas de amor (or cantigas d'amor) female-voiced love poetry, called cantigas de amigo
(cantigas d'amigo); and poetry of insult and mockery called cantigas d'escarnho e de mal dizer. All
three are lyric genres in the technical sense that they were strophic songs with either musical
accompaniment or introduction on a stringed instrument. But all three genres also have dramatic
elements, leading early scholars to characterize them as lyric-dramatic.
The origins of the cantigas d'amor are usually traced to Provenal and Old French lyric poetry, but
formally and rhetorically they are quite different. The cantigas d'amigo are probably rooted in a
native song tradition (Lang 1894, Michalis 1904), though this view has been contested. The
cantigas d'escarnho e maldizer may also (according to Lang) have deep local roots. The latter two
genres (totalling around 900 texts) make the Galician-Portuguese lyric unique in the entire
panorama of medieval Romance poetry.
Troubadours with surviving melodies
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Aimeric de
Belenoi
Aimeric de
Peguilhan
Aires Nunes
Albertet de
Sestaro
Arnaut Daniel
Arnaut de
Maruoill
Beatritz de Dia
Berenguier de
Palazol
Bernart de
Ventadorn
Bertran de Born
Blacasset
Cadenet
Daude de Pradas
Denis of Portugal
Folquet de
Marselha
Gaucelm Faidit
Gui d'Ussel
Guilhem Ademar
Guilhem Augier
Novella
Guilhem Magret
Guilhem de Saint
Leidier
Guiraut de Bornelh
Guiraut d'Espanha
Guiraut Riquier
Jaufre Rudel
Joo Soares de
Paiva
Joo Zorro
Jordan Bonel
Marcabru
Martn Codax
Monge de
Montaudon
Peire d'Alvernhe
Peire Cardenal
Peire Raimon de
Tolosa
Peire Vidal
Peirol
Perdigon
Pistoleta
Pons d'Ortaffa
Pons de Capduoill
Raimbaut
d'Aurenga
Raimbaut de
Vaqueiras
Raimon Jordan
Raimon de
Miraval
Rigaut de
Berbezilh
Uc Brunet
Uc de Saint Circ
William IX of
Aquitaine
Composers of the high and late medieval era
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Late medieval music (13001400)

France: Ars nova
The beginning of the Ars nova is one of the few clear chronological divisions in medieval music,
since it corresponds to the publication of the Roman de Fauvel, a huge compilation of poetry and
music, in 1310 and 1314. The Roman de Fauvel is a satire on abuses in the medieval church, and is
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filled with medieval motets, lais, rondeaux and other new

secular forms. While most of the music is anonymous, it
contains several pieces by Philippe de Vitry, one of the first
composers of the isorhythmic motet, a development which
distinguishes the fourteenth century. The isorhythmic motet
was perfected by Guillaume de Machaut, the finest
composer of the time.
During the Ars nova era, secular music acquired a
polyphonic sophistication formerly found only in sacred
music, a development not surprising considering the secular
character of the early Renaissance (while this music is
typically considered "medieval", the social forces that
produced it were responsible for the beginning of the
literary and artistic Renaissance in Italythe distinction
between Middle Ages and Renaissance is a blurry one,
especially considering arts as different as music and
painting). The term "Ars nova" (new art, or new technique)
was coined by Philippe de Vitry in his treatise of that name
(probably written in 1322), in order to distinguish the
practice from the music of the immediately preceding age.
In this illustration from the satirical

collection of music and poetry Roman
de Fauvel, the horse Fauvel is about
to join Vainglory in the bridal bed and
the people form a charivari in protest.
The dominant secular genre of the Ars Nova was the chanson, as it would continue to be in France
for another two centuries. These chansons were composed in musical forms corresponding to the
poetry they set, which were in the so-called formes fixes of rondeau, ballade, and virelai. These
forms significantly affected the development of musical structure in ways that are felt even today;
for example, the ouvert-clos rhyme-scheme shared by all three demanded a musical realization
which contributed directly to the modern notion of antecedent and consequent phrases. It was in
this period, too, in which began the long tradition of setting the mass ordinary. This tradition started
around mid-century with isolated or paired settings of Kyries, Glorias, etc., but Machaut composed
what is thought to be the first complete mass conceived as one composition. The sound world of
Ars Nova music is very much one of linear primacy and rhythmic complexity. "Resting" intervals
are the fifth and octave, with thirds and sixths considered dissonances. Leaps of more than a sixth
in individual voices are not uncommon, leading to speculation of instrumental participation at least
in secular performance. Surviving French manuscripts include the Ivrea Codex and the Apt Codex.
For information about specific French composers writing in late medieval era, see Jehan de
Lescurel, Philippe de Vitry, Guillaume de Machaut, Borlet, Solage, and Franois Andrieu.
Italy: Trecento
Most of the music of Ars nova was French in origin; however, the term is often loosely applied to
all of the music of the fourteenth century, especially to include the secular music in Italy. There this
period was often referred to as Trecento. Italian music has alway been known for its lyrical or
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melodic character, and this goes back to the 14th century in many respects. Italian secular music of
this time (what little surviving liturgical music there is, is similar to the French except for
somewhat different notation) featured what has been called the cantalina style, with a florid top
voice supported by two (or even one; a fair amount of Italian Trecento music is for only two
voices) that are more regular and slower moving. This type of texture remained a feature of Italian
music in the popular 15th and 16th century secular genres as well, and was an important influence
on the eventual development of the trio texture that revolutionized music in the 17th.
There were three main forms for secular works in the Trecento. One was the madrigal, not the same
as that of 150250 years later, but with a verse/refrain-like form. Three-line stanzas, each with
different words, alternated with a two-line ritornello, with the same text at each appearance.
Perhaps we can see the seeds of the subsequent late-Renaissance and Baroque ritornello in this
device; it too returns again and again, recognizable each time, in contrast with its surrounding
disparate sections. Another form, the caccia ("chase,") was written for two voices in a canon at the
unison. Sometimes, this form also featured a ritornello, which was occasionally also in a canonic
style. Usually, the name of this genre provided a double meaning, since the texts of caccia were
primarily about hunts and related outdoor activities, or at least action-filled scenes. The third main
form was the ballata, which was roughly equivalent to the French virelai.
Surviving Italian manuscripts include the Squarcialupi Codex and the Rossi Codex. For
information about specific Italian composers writing in the late medieval era, see Francesco
Landini, Gherardello da Firenze, Andrea da Firenze, Lorenzo da Firenze, Giovanni da Firenze (aka
Giovanni da Cascia), Bartolino da Padova, Jacopo da Bologna, Donato da Cascia, Lorenzo Masini,
Niccol da Perugia, and Maestro Piero.
Germany: Geisslerlieder
The Geisslerlieder were the songs of wandering bands of flagellants, who sought to appease the
wrath of an angry God by penitential music accompanied by mortification of their bodies. There
were two separate periods of activity of Geisslerlied: one around the middle of the thirteenth
century, from which, unfortunately, no music survives (although numerous lyrics do); and another
from 1349, for which both words and music survive intact due to the attention of a single priest
who wrote about the movement and recorded its music. This second period corresponds to the
spread of the Black Death in Europe, and documents one of the most terrible events in European
history. Both periods of Geisslerlied activity were mainly in Germany.
There was also French-influenced polyphony written in German areas at this time, but it was
somewhat less sophisticated than its models. In fairness to the mostly anonymous composers of this
repertoire, however, most of the surviving manuscripts seem to have been copied with extreme
incompetence, and are filled with errors that make a truly thorough evaluation of the music's quality
impossible.
Mannerism and Ars subtilior
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As often seen at the end of any musical era, the end of the
medieval era is marked by a highly manneristic style known as
Ars subtilior. In some ways, this was an attempt to meld the
French and Italian styles. This music was highly stylized, with a
rhythmic complexity that was not matched until the 20th
century. In fact, not only was the rhythmic complexity of this
repertoire largely unmatched for five and a half centuries, with
extreme syncopations, mensural trickery, and even examples of
augenmusik (such as a chanson by Baude Cordier written out in
manuscript in the shape of a heart), but also its melodic material
was quite complex as well, particularly in its interaction with
the rhythmic structures. Already discussed under Ars Nova has
been the practice of isorhythm, which continued to develop
through late-century and in fact did not achieve its highest
The chanson Belle, bonne, sage
degree of sophistication until early in the 15th century. Instead
by Baude Cordier, an Ars
of using isorhythmic techniques in one or two voices, or trading
subtilior piece included in the
them among voices, some works came to feature a pervading
Chantilly Codex
isorhythmic texture which rivals the integral serialism of the
20th century in its systematic ordering of rhythmic and tonal
elements. The term "mannerism" was applied by later scholars,
as it often is, in response to an impression of sophistication being practised for its own sake, a
malady which some authors have felt infected the Ars subtilior.
One of the most important extant sources of Ars Subtilior chansons is the Chantilly Codex. For
information about specific composers writing music in Ars subtilior style, see Anthonello de
Caserta, Philippus de Caserta (aka Philipoctus de Caserta), Johannes Ciconia, Matteo da Perugia,
Lorenzo da Firenze, Grimace, Jacob Senleches, and Baude Cordier.
Transitioning to the Renaissance

Demarcating the end of the medieval era and the beginning of the
Renaissance era, with regard to the composition of music, is
difficult. While the music of the fourteenth century is fairly
obviously medieval in conception, the music of the early fifteenth
century is often conceived as belonging to a transitional period,
not only retaining some of the ideals of the end of the Middle Ages
(such as a type of polyphonic writing in which the parts differ
widely from each other in character, as each has its specific
Manuscript of the Mass Missa
textural function), but also showing some of the characteristic
O Crux Lignum by Antoine
traits of the Renaissance (such as the increasingly international
Busnois (ca. 1450).
style developing through the diffusion of Franco-Flemish
musicians throughout Europe, and in terms of texture an increasing
equality of parts). Music historians do not agree on when the Renaissance era began, but most
historians agree that England was still a medieval society in the early fifteenth century (see
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periodization issues of the Middle Ages). While there is no consensus, 1400 is a useful marker,
because it was around that time that the Renaissance came into full swing in Italy.
The increasing reliance on the interval of the third as a consonance is one of the most pronounced
features of transition into the Renaissance. Polyphony, in use since the 12th century, became
increasingly elaborate with highly independent voices throughout the 14th century. With John
Dunstaple and other English composers, partly through the local technique of faburden (an
improvisatory process in which a chant melody and a written part predominantly in parallel sixths
above it are ornamented by one sung in perfect fourths below the latter, and which later took hold
on the continent as "fauxbordon"), the interval of the third emerges as an important musical
development; because of this Contenance Angloise ("English countenance"), English composers'
music is often regarded as the first to sound less truly bizarre to 2000s-era audiences who are not
trained in music history.
English stylistic tendencies in this regard had come to fruition and began to influence continental
composers as early as the 1420s, as can be seen in works of the young Dufay, among others. While
the Hundred Years' War continued, English nobles, armies, their chapels and retinues, and therefore
some of their composers, travelled in France and performed their music there; it must also of course
be remembered that the English controlled portions of northern France at this time. English
manuscripts include the Worcester Fragments, the Old St. Andrews Music Book, the Old Hall
Manuscript, and Egerton Manuscript. For information about specific composers who are considered
transitional between the medieval and the Renaissance, see Zacara da Teramo, Paolo da Firenze,
Giovanni Mazzuoli, Antonio da Cividale, Antonius Romanus, Bartolomeo da Bologna, Roy Henry,
Arnold de Lantins, Leonel Power, and John Dunstaple.
An early composer from the Franco-Flemish School of the Renaissance was Johannes Ockeghem
(1410/1425 1497). He was the most famous member of the Franco-Flemish School in the last half
of the 15th century, and is often considered the most influential composer between Dufay and
Josquin des Prez. Ockeghem probably studied with Gilles Binchois, and at least was closely
associated with him at the Burgundian court. Antoine Busnois wrote a motet in honor of
Ockeghem. Ockeghem is a direct link from the Burgundian style to the next generation of
Netherlanders, such as Obrecht and Josquin. A strong influence on Josquin des Prez and the
subsequent generation of Netherlanders, Ockeghem was famous throughout Europe Charles VII for
his expressive music, although he was equally renowned for his technical prowess.[48]
Study and vocational training

The Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, university for old music in Basel, Switzerland, provides the only
full-time practical study course for the music of the Middle Ages. A two-year vocational training
for musicians is offered at the academy Burg Frsteneck (http://www.burg-fuersteneck.de) in
Germany. Distinguished expert Kees Boeke coordinates a new Master of Music- Musik des
Mittelalters und des Renaissance for both singers and instrumentalists in the Staatliche Hochschule
fr Musik Trossingen (http://www.mh-trossingen.de/english/studies/early-music/medievaland-renaissance-music.html), also in Germany.
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Influence in contemporary music

The musical styles of Lonin and Protin influenced 20th century minimalist[49] composers such as
Steve Reich[50][51] and La Monte Young.
See also
History of music
List of early music ensembles
List of Medieval composers
Medieval dance
Neo-Medieval music
References
1. Kartomi (1990), p. 124.
2. Hoppin p.256
3. Hoppin (1978) p.57
4. Vanderbilt University Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies
5. Hoppin p.189
6. Yudkin p. 382, 391
7. Yudkin 529
8. Yudkin p. 434
9. Yudkin pg 523
10. Seay (1965), p. 41.
11. Parrish (1957). p. 4.
12. Parrish p. 4
13. Hoppin (1978), p. 58.
14. Parrish (1957), p. 5.
15. Seay (1965), p. 40.
16. Hoppin (1978), pp. 59-60.
17. Hoppin (1978), p. 60.
18. Hoppin (1978), p. 89.
19. Christensen (2002), p. 628.
20. Christensen (2002), pp. 629-30.
21. Ultan (1977), p. 10.
22. Christensen (2002), p. 632.
23. Yudkin (1989), p. 458.
24. Caldwell (1978), p. 160.
25. Christensen (2002), p. 635.
26. Hoppin (1978), pp. 354-5.
27. Ultan (1977), pp. 62-3.
28. Hoppin (1978), p. 355.
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29. Seay (1965), p. 131.

30. Hoppin 472
31. McKinnon (1990), p. 237.
32. Hoppin (1978), p. 187.
33. Christensen (2002), p. 480.
34. Ultan (1977), p. 52.
35. Ultan (1977), p. 53.
36. Ultan (1977), p. 55.
37. Ultan (1977), p. 58.
38. Seay (1965), p. 32.
39. Seay (1965), p. 33.
40. Ultan (1977), p. 25.
41. Hoppin (1977), p. 64.
42. Christensen (2002), p. 311.
43. Hoppin (1978), p. 66.
44. Seay (1965), p. 34.
45. Christensen (2002), p. 310.
46. Lorde, Suzanne (2008). Music in the Middle Ages. London: Greenwood Press.
47. Hindley (1971), pp.66-69.
48. Brown & Stein, p61-71.
49. http://www.johnlutheradams.com/interview/endsoftheearth.html
50. http://music.indiana.edu/html/som/theory/activities/colloquium.shtml
51. "Minimalism". wsu.edu.
Further reading
Butterfield, Ardis (2002) Poetry and Music in Medieval France, Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Caldwell, John (1978) Medieval Music Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Christensen, Thomas (2002) ed., The Cambridge History of Western Music Theory,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Derrick, Henry (1983) The Listeners Guide to Medieval & Renaissance Music, New York,
NY: Facts on File.
Hindley, Goffrey (1971) ed., The Larousse Encyclopedia of Music, London: The Hamlyn
Publishing Group Limited.
Hoppin, Richard H. (1978) Medieval Music, New York, NY: W. W. Norton.
Kartomi, Margaret J. (1990) On Concepts and Classifications of Musical Instruments Chicago
IL: University of Chicago Press.
McKinnon, James (1990) ed., Antiquity and the Middle Ages Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice
Hall.
Parrish, Carl (1957) The Notation of Medieval Music, London: Faber & Faber.
Pirrotta, Nino (1980) "Medieval" in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed.
Stanley Sadie, vol. 20, London: Macmillan.
Reese, Gustave (1940) Music in the Middle Ages, New York, NY: W. W. Norton.
Seay, Albert (1965) Music in the Medieval World, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
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Ultan, Lloyd (1977) Music Theory: Problems and Practices in the Middle Ages and
Renaissance, Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Vanderbilt University (199), Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies
(http://people.vanderbilt.edu/~cynthia.cyrus/ORB/orbgloss.htm).
Yudkin, Jeremy (1989) Music in Medieval Europe, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
External links
Pandora Radio: Medieval Period (http://www.pandora.com
/stations
Wikiquote has
quotations related to:
Medieval music
/029fc71e0bc1d5184727a46abb1a462ee3c751ee3636d9de)
Ancient FM (http://www.ancientfm.com) (online radio featuring medieval and renaissance
music)
The Schyen Collection: Music (http://www.schoyencollection.com/music.html) (scans of
medieval musical notation)
Guide to Medieval and Renaissance Instruments (http://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua
/instrumt.html) photos, descriptions, and sounds of early musical instruments
Medieval Music & Arts Foundation (http://www.medieval.org/)
Wine, Women, and Song: Mediaeval Latin Students' songs (http://www.gutenberg.org/etext
/18044), trans. John Addington Symons (1884).
Vocational training in medieval music in Germany (http://www.burg-fuersteneck.de
/fortbildung/mittelalter-musik)
Rpertoire International des Sources Musicales (RISM) (http://www.rism.info), a free,
searchable database of worldwide locations for music manuscripts up to ca. 1800
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Medieval music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Medieval music is songs and pieces from an era

Periods and eras of

Modern and contemporary

During the Medieval period the foundation was

Medieval music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Medieval music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A musician plays the

Medieval music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Theory and notation

Medieval music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Medieval music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Concerning rhythm, this period had several dramatic changes in

The rhythmic mode can generally be determined by the patterns

Medieval music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

with the development of the Ars Nova style.

Medieval music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Of equal importance to the overall history of western music theory

Medieval music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Early medieval music (before 1150)

Medieval music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Early chant traditions

Early polyphony: organum

Medieval music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

High medieval music (11501300)

Medieval music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

long-held notes found in the florid type), and created several

Musicians playing the Spanish

Men playing the organistrum,

Composers of this time include Lonin, Protin, W. de

Medieval music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cantigas de Santa Maria

Troubadours and trouvres

Medieval music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Medieval music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Composers of the high and late medieval era

Medieval music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Late medieval music (13001400)

Medieval music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

filled with medieval motets, lais, rondeaux and other new

In this illustration from the satirical

Medieval music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mannerism and Ars subtilior

Medieval music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Transitioning to the Renaissance

Medieval music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Study and vocational training

Medieval music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Influence in contemporary music

Medieval music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

29. Seay (1965), p. 131.

Medieval music - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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