The Music of antiquity
the medieval era
Music in the Medieval world was powerful and important.
It was believed that in the hands of an adept player, music could dispel demons,
ward off evil, and even reshape the physical world!
The early medieval period (500-1000)
The High Medieval Period (1000-1250)
Late Medieval Period (1250-1500)
A group of Medieval musicians – just jammin’ it out!
The Medieval Era spanned approximately one thousand years, from c.5th -15th Centuries, and was also known as The Dark Ages or The Middle Ages. It began with the fall of the Roman Empire, which brought significant political, and geographical changes. It was also a time of great expansion for Christianity, which led to the vicious waves of attacks on the Middle East, known as The Crusades. The entire Period was beset by war, the rise and fall of often brutal empires, not to mention devasting plagues, famine, pestilence, and disease. On a more positive note – there was also music!
Music historians have traced the origins of Western Music, back to the 6th and 7th Centuries. Since then, surviving hymns, notation and compositions, have enabled us to observe how music developed over the centuries. Throughout the millennium, music moved from the single-line sacred music of the Gregorian Chants in the Early Medieval Era, to the four-part harmony and refinement of music in the Early Renaissance!
The main advancement for Western music, began in the Catholic Church, with the Gregorian Chant (probably named after Pope Gregory II (669AD-731) and not Gregory I as often thought!). These chants originally consisted of one glorious note, sung to utter perfection, with only one goal in mind – to glorify the name of God. Then one fine day, someone, somewhere, thought, ‘What happens if we put another voice on top of that one?’ This was considered utter blasphemy at the time, and the work of the devil, but eventually the church had to except this outrageous new idea!
It seems a little ironic that at the time the church accepted, and indeed encouraged, the slaughtering of innocent women and children, not to mention the loss of countless soldiers all in the name of God. Yet the introduction of two-part harmony, was considered utter blasphemy!
Over time, another voice was added, then another, and by the time the Renaissance came along (about 1300), eventually these combined voices formed what we now call harmony – soprano, alto, tenor and bass. These early laws of harmony still form the foundation of all harmonic music today. This idea continued to be developed over the centuries, becoming common place in the Renaissance, and later the Baroque Period and beyond. Bach, for example, would improvise using six voices or even seven or eight!
Sacred music throughout the entire Medieval and Early Renaissance Periods was unashamedly ‘simple’ (deceptively so as in fact it was highly virtuosic!). As it was believed that only the ‘simplest’ and purest of notes would reach Heaven. There was no vibrato, no embellishments, just purity and an almost childlike innocence. For it was written of course, that ‘only as a child may ye enter the Kingdom of Heaven’!
According to the church, music belonged in church. It was to glorify the name of God through song. Music was considered Divine in nature. Sacred music was written to accompany weekly sermons, and to impart scripture to the local population, most of whom were illiterate.
In the days of no television or radio, music, song, and dance were a part of every household. For those unable to afford instruments, family members simply sang. Music was the only form of entertainment and everyone made the most of it! Each village and region had their own style, producing their own unique songs and sounds. Folk music was written by everyday people about their everyday lives. Wherever a crowd gathered, lively dance tunes were played, and bawdy drinking songs spilled out of every tavern!
For those wanting to discover more about the world of Medieval music, then I suggest you explore the works of the extraordinary Jordi Savall. Together with his wife (now passed), children, and fellow Early Music devotees, Savall has done more to bring ancient music into this modern age, than any other.
A Master Musician, composer, and virtuoso on the viola da gamba, Savall has produced over 100 recordings of the most sublime music from the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque Eras. Often performing with his ensemble Hespèrion XX (and now that we’re in the 21st Century, Hespèrion XXI). Their recordings are exceptionally beautiful, all performed on traditional instruments, many of which are hundreds of years old!
THE RENAISSANCE
The Early Renaissance (1300-1470)
The Middle Renaissance (1470-1530)
The Late (or High) Renaissance (1530-1600)
(Once again all dates are approximate and all overlap!)
The Early Renaissance (1300-1470)
The Renaissance, while inheriting much of the nightmares of the Medieval Period, was also a time of great discovery, of burgeoning religions, new lands were discovered, there were numerous and significant scientific breakthroughs, and a rise in education for the masses which began with the invention of the printing press in 1440.
It was a time of great experimentation and countless inventions. Various musical styles and genres flourished, both sacred and secular. Great changes occurred in rhythm, harmony, form, and notation resulting in new and transformed instruments and new ways of playing them. Much is known about the music of this era thanks to the printing press and the printed scores that remain. Renaissance musicians made greater use of different scales (modes), chord progressions, and in particular the newly created, harmony.
The introduction, and blending together of multiple ‘voices’, created what became known as polyphonic music, where three, four, or even more independent melodic lines were performed simultaneously. This interweaving of melodies, is one of the defining features of Renaissance music, and changed the face of music completely.
The Early Renaissance produced composers such as: Englishmen Leonel Power and the great John Dunstable; Belgian Gilles Binchois; Frenchmen Guillaume Du Fay; and German Oswald von Wolkenstein, known for three main themes throughout his music – travel, God and sex!
John Dunstable (or Dunstaple) c. 1390-1453 was an English composer whose music marked the transition from the Medieval to the Renaissance Period. He was the leading English composer of his time and considered one of England’s most important early music proponents. His style not only inspired other English players, but had enormous impact with composers on the continent, for example, Guillaume Du Fay and Gilles Binchois, and the later Burgundian School. In fact Dunstable’s influence would continue for centuries to come, inspiring William Byrd of the late Renaissance, and Henry Purcell from the Baroque Period.
“They [Du Fay and Binchois] took on the guise of the English and follow Dunstable and thereby a marvelous pleasingness makes their music joyous and remarkable”.
Martin le Franc
Le Champion des Dames, before May 1488.
The musical output of medieval England was prodigious, unfortunately almost all of these musical manuscripts (together with countless books, images, icons, altars and shrines), were destroyed during the English Reformation. Thus, most of the 50 or so works of Dunstables that remain were recovered from Europe, in particular, Italy.
Of the 50 works attributed to Dunstable, there are two complete masses (and numerous individual mass sections), twelve isorhythmic motets, liturgical texts, including three Magnificats and seven settings of Marian antiphons, such as Alma redemptoris Mater and Salve Regina, Mater misericordiae. Dunstaple was one of the first to compose masses using a single melody as cantus firmus. A good example of this technique is his Missa Rex seculorum.
While first found in music during the Medieval Era, the drone became particularly popular during the Renaissance, when wonderful, exotic instruments appeared, such as the hurdy gurdy, the sackbut, and in Scotland of course, the bagpipes! Such instruments meant a player could simply hold one long droning note while various musicians – perhaps singers, recorder players, or percussionists – would improvise solos over the top.
These occasions would have been similar to today’s jazz or blues musicians jamming. From the manuscripts that still exist, these impromptu ‘jam sessions’ were highly virtuosic, with extraordinarily complex scores for various instruments, voice, and percussion.
Interestingly, the concept of the drone wasn’t just found in Western music, but appears in the traditional music of Europe, Africa, The Americas, Asia, and of course Australia, where the Australian Aborigines hollowed out tree branches to produce the now famous droning sounds of the didgeridoo.
What makes it fascinating, is that none of these musical styles, cultures or musicians would never have come in contact with one another, yet the drone was a common theme in music across the globe. In fact, it is one of the great mysteries of music and suggests that there is a universal origin to music.
Later in the Baroque Era, Bach used the single note drone with extraordinary results, in one of his pieces a single note sustains for seventeen bars! The drone was not just a part of antiquity though, it is still used today, for example, in rock and heavy metal music as well as New Age meditative music.
The Dukes of Burgundy
From left to right –Philip the Bold (16th Century), John the Fearless (16th Century), Philip the Good (c. 1450), Charles the Bold (c. 1454).
The Middle Renaissance (1470-1530)
The Middle Renaissance, saw the creation of various ‘schools’ of composition, which produced countless composers, whose influence spread across Europe. The most well-known being the Burgundian School, of the Franco-Flemish region. These were not physical schools as such, as in the modern sense of the word, but were more styles, disciplines, or practices that emerged and flourished from within a particular region.
From the 11th to the 15th Centuries, the Kingdom of Burgundy was one of the most powerful in Europe. Located in central France, at times it stretched north to the coast and northeast, as far as the Netherlands.
Ruled by the Dukes of Burgundy, a succession of some of the wealthiest and most powerful princes in Europe, at times, rivalling the King of France and the crown itself. It was a focal point for Christianity, monastic life, and home to seven popes before the papacy moved to Rome. For centuries, Burgundy set the trends for Royal Courts across Europe, as regards culture, fashion, food, wine, the arts, the sciences, and of course, music.
Burgundy was therefore a powerful and influential place, The Dukes of Burgundy, were power hungry and brutal, wars were fought and won, expanding their lands and conquests. Yet at the same time, the arts also flourished, the Dukes were not just patrons of music and the arts, but were also players and composers themselves.
The Dukes were well-versed on numerous subjects, and having travelled extensively, were influenced by music from across Europe. As a result, they also encouraged the composition of secular music, not just music for the church. This move to secular music went on to define the Burgundian School and the Renaissance itself.<
‘Burgundy, as dark with power as with wine…greedy, rich Flanders. These are the same lands in which the splendour of painting, sculpture, and music flower.’
Johan Huizinga, The Autumn of the Middle Ages, 1919
The most popular secular forms of music composed by the Burgundians were the rondeau, the ballade, the virelai, and the bergerette, all were considered chansons (French songs). Of the four, the rondeau was by far the most popular. Most of the rondeaux were in three voices, where the uppermost voice (the ‘superius’) was in the form of text, while the other ‘voices’ were most likely played by various instruments.
Not only were the chansons extremely popular, but sacred music continued in the form of masses, motets, hymns, and Magnificats (Songs of Mary), in addition instrumental dance music also came to the fore. Dance music composed by the Burgundians was mainly in the form of the slower basse danses and the quicker tordions. These dance tunes typically included the louder instruments such as trumpets, horns, drums, and bagpipes, particular favourites of the influential Dukes!
Regardless of which style of music, a characteristic of all the Burgundian music, was their polyphonic nature. The most famous, and highly respected composer emerging from the Burgundian School was Guilliaume Defay, whose works include every polyphonic genre of music known at the time. Dufay (or Du Fay), travelled widely and spent time in Italy, as musician for the highly prestigious Papal choir. It was in Italy that he composed his most admired work, Nuper Rosarum Flores, as well as a number of masses.
As the Renaissance Era began to emerge, music and the skills of the musicians advanced, and more and more flourishes were added. The music of the Renaissance (c.1300 to 1600), compared to the Medieval Period, was more rhythmical and elaborate.
The High Renaissance (1530-1600)
The High Renaissance was an extraordinary time for artistic endeavours, with some of the greatest works of art, music, and sculpture created during this time. This was a time when the Italian Schools of music and composition flourished. The two main Schools were the Venetian (centred in and around Venice), and the Roman School, heavily influenced by the church. The Venetian School was ‘free-er’ in its approach to music, while the Roman School continued to focus on church-based music.
In England the English Madrigal School emerged in 1588 continuing its influence well into the Baroque Period.
Renaissance musicians weren’t just creating new music and new styles of playing, they were also inventing new musical laws, new musical instruments, and new techniques in order to play them! In addition, they also were also building on and perfecting musical notation – the visual or written representation of sound or music.
Basic musical notation had been in existence for hundreds of years before the Renaissance began. Although early examples of written melodies were found throughout Babylonia (now Iraq) as early as 1400 BCE, most musical notation was discovered between 600 BCE to 400 BCE in Ancient Greece, Rome, and both the Near and Far East.
These early examples though only depicted the melody. This was the same in Europe and the Western World. Monks from the Early Medieval Period (7th Century), had created a way to write down the Gregorian chants, so they could be sung the same way in every mass, but a way of writing down rhythm had yet to be invented.
As the Renaissance continued, a system of writing down the pitch and duration of notes emerged, which meant rhythm could also be transcribed and shared with others. The further introduction of dotted and flagged notes, ties, clefs and rests enabled more and more complex music to be preserved. Prior to notation, music relied solely on live performances and memory.
However, another form of musical notation was also invented in the Renaissance – musical tablature – which still to this day is the most popular notation for all fretted instruments. Tablature basically showed which note to play on which string in which fret. This was far easier than other forms of notation, allowing even beginners to easily learn how to play.
Secular folk music may have brought much enjoyment to the masses during the week, but on Sundays music was sacred, and the only focus was God. Church was the place the everyday folk had the opportunity to overcome their suffering and come in contact with the Presence of God.
Music and musicians were found at every level of society. There were the highly paid, highly trained, and highly skilled Court musicians. There were a variety of professional and semi-professional musicians, together with the self-taught amateurs found in just about every household.
Ensembles were extremely popular during the Renaissance. Ensembles (or consorts as they were called in England), were made up of two to eight musicians, but most commonly three to five. Ensembles featuring instruments from the same family e.g. wind or strings, were considered ‘whole consorts’. Ensembles featuring a mix of instruments were known as ‘broken consorts’. Both were equally popular.
Other musical groups included the town musicians which were known as waites (or waits). Waites existed throughout the Medieval period and the Renaissance. It was their role to compose and perform original music, for the pleasure of those attending various public events and ceremonies.
Street musicians or travelling minstrels were once commonplace throughout Britain and Europe. Playing traditional favourites everyone knew and loved, they attracted crowds whenever they went. Their music was lively and fun and performed at markets and fairs with viols, lutes, recorders, and percussion instruments.
The minstrels didn’t just play music and provide entertainment in the form of song and dance, but they also brought news from place to place, and introduced folk to the latest trends. However, they quickly earned themselves a reputation as common thieves, and it wasn’t long before they fell out of style completely.
A wide range of musical styles and genres, both sacred and secular, flourished during the Renaissance period. These included masses, motets, madrigals, chansons, accompanied songs, instrumental dances, and many others.
During the Renaissance music became the perfect vehicle for self-expression. The power the church had over music during the Middle Ages was far less in the Renaissance, which meant more and more variety appeared in musical rhythm, harmony, form, and notation.
Sacred music became much ‘free-er’ as it absorbed techniques from the various secular styles, and the ancient techniques of sacred music were also utilised by secular musicians. Folk music became extremely popular with the wealthy elite and even royal households. The church therefore had no choice but to accept it!
Instruments were not just modified, but also invented, to accommodate these wonderful new ideas. New wind, brass, and stringed instruments appeared, extending the range and colour of existing ensembles. These new instruments presented all sorts of possibilities for composers and performers alike and became the basis for the modern instruments we’re so familiar with today. There were viols (the early violin), the viola da gamba (the early cello), double stringed citterns (similar to the twelve-string guitar of today), many other stringed instruments, as well as simple flutes, horns, trumpets, and numerous drums and percussion instruments.
‘If music be the food of love, play on!’
Act 1 Scene 1 From William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night
for the love of the Renaissance
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