History MediaNotes / MedievalMusic

The TropeMaker for the OminousLatinChanting. It began with monks chanting the mass, and melodies corresponding to the different parts of mass, all in Latin, of course. But the ''Gregorian'' tradition had to take shape first, and behind this were a number of local styles. Thus, the Christian principalities in Spain used the Bessarabian style, based on the Gothic mass performance from before the Moor conquest. The French had their Galician style, based on early clerical traditions before the Franks took hold in the area. The Italians had their own Romanesque singing, based on the performance in Milan and coined by St. Ambrose, and the British Isles had several unique ones, with an honorable mentioning of the Celtic church in Ireland.

Medieval music is the vocal and instrumental music written and performed during TheMiddleAges in UsefulNotes/{{Europe}}, from the [[TheLowMiddleAges 6th]] to [[TheHighMiddleAges 15th]] centuries. That would mean all music written in notation and song lyrics preserved in the period before UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance began. Because the modes of writing music were just being invented in this period, sources are scarce before the ninth century. Before that, we have some treatises, some debates on how music ''should'' be performed, and paintings of people singing and playing, but little notation of what people ''actually'' played and sang.

Medieval music is the vocal and instrumental music written and performed during TheMiddleAges in UsefulNotes/{{Europe}}, from the 6th to 15th centuries. That would mean all music written in notation and song lyrics preserved in the period before UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance began. Because the modes of writing music were just being invented in this period, sources are scarce before the ninth century. Before that, we have some treatises, some debates on how music ''should'' be performed, and paintings of people singing and playing, but little notation of what people ''actually'' played and sang.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/5b0c065ae8c5e34f19ac123eef8c23de.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Detail from the St. Louis Bible, Paris, France, ca. 1244-1254.]]

The line between the end of the medieval era and the start of the Renaissance era is blurry. The 15th century music is transitional, since it mixes Middle Ages approaches (polyphonic music with highly differentiated lines), and Renaissance styles (for example the new Franco-Flemish sound and more equal polyphonic parts). The sweet-sounding interval of the third was more prominent, which is a mark of the shift to the Renaissance musical style.

%%[[caption-width-right:350:Detail from the St. Louis Bible, Paris, France, ca. 1244-1254.]]

''Medieval music'' is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin vocal and instrumental music written and performed during the medieval period]], from the 6th to 15th centuries. That would mean all music written in notation and song lyrics preserved in the period before UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance began. Because the modes of writing music were just being invented in this period, sources are scarce before the ninth century. Before that, we have some treatises, some debates on how music ''should'' be performed, and paintings of people singing and playing, but little notation of what people ''actually'' played and sang.

The TropeMaker for the OminousLatinChanting. It began with monks chanting the mass, and melodies corresponding to the different parts of mass, all in Latin, of course. But the ''Gregorian'' tradition had to take shape first, and behind this were a number of local styles. Thus, the Christian principalities in Spain used the Bessarabian style, based on the Gothic mass performance from before the Moor conquest. The French had their Galician style, based on early clerical traditions before the franks took hold in the area. The Italians had their own Romanesque singing, based on the performance in Milan and coined by St. Ambrose, and the British Isles had several unique ones, with an honorable mentioning of the Celtic church in Ireland.

UsefulNotes/ThePope wished for some sort of clerical unity. This unity was provided by the Franks when Charles the Great, or Charlemagne made a number of conquest, molded Europe more into one state for the time being, and put the Pope squarely on his side. His cultural transition is named the ''Carolingian Renaissance'' because of a sincere wish to make the old Roman ways standard again. In this time, the ''standard repertoire'' of music was born, and every church had to comply with it. The older styles were discarded.

''Polyphony'' which is independent interweavinh melodies, developed gradually, and this is also connected to the troping. From the beginning, people sang in octaves, then in fifths. When we reach the 12th century, improvisation became common, and over the next century the first polyphonic (two or more independent melodies at once) style arose: ''Ars Antiqua'' or the "Notre Dame School", because the composers, whose names are remembered today, were clerics at the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. Priests who also wrote music were a staple in this era, and continued to be for another century and a half. The style is also called ''Organum'' because the original holy mass melody was sung very slowly over one, two or three different, probably improvised voices.

''Medieval music'' is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin vocal and instrumental music written and performed during the medieval period]] from the 6th to 15th centuries. That would mean all music written in notation and song lyrics preserved in the period before UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance began. Because the modes of writing music were just being invented in this period, sources are scarce before the ninth century. Before that, we have some treatises, some debates on how music ''should'' be performed, but little notation of what people actually played and sang.

The TropeMaker for the OminousLatinChanting. It began with monks chanting the mass, and melodies corresponding to the different parts of mass, all in Latin, of course. But the ''Gregorian'' tradition had to take shape first, and behind this were a number of local styles. Thus, the Christian principalities in Spain used the Bessarabian style, based on the Gothic mass performance from before the Moor conquest. The French had their Galician style, based on early clerical traditions before the franks took hold in the area. The Italians had their own romanesque singing, based on the performance in Milan and coined by St. Ambrose, and the British isles had several unique ones, with an honorable mentioning of the Celtic church in Ireland. UsefulNotes/ThePope, wished for some sort of clerical unity.

Then came the Franks, and with them Charles the Great, or Charlemagne. He made a number of conquests, molded Europe more into one state for the time being, and put the pope squarely on his side. His cultural transition is named the ''Carolingian Renaissance'' because of a sincere wish to make the old Roman ways standard again. In this time, the ''standard repertoire'' was born, and every church had to comply with it. The older styles were discarded.

Some of this music was holy, and the holiest music was the melodies connected to the fixed parts of mass. They were not to be used or tampered with. Second came the hymns, some of which were centuries old already. Third on the list was the sequences, developed during this period and later. After AD 1000, this development prospered when the singers developed a habit of singing at the end of the phrase (like singing more on the last syllable of a ''Hallelujah''). This new part of the singing was called ''a trope'' (This is actually the original "troping", by the way). From the tropes sprang the sequence, and thus a new genre of church music was born.

Inside the church, music became more and more diverse. One of the first "tropers" in this respect may be Notker Balbulus, a monk who put new words to the trope and made a sequence out of it.

The troubadours sung in Occitan (nowadays the language of Catalan) and the trouvères sung in Old French. They wandered around as traveling bards, entertaining at aristocratic manors and castles. They sang about bravery in battle, being chivalrous and noble, but most of all, they sang about CourtlyLove. When a troubadour or trouvere was at an inn and they got a huge crush on the barmaid, that's regular everyday attraction. CourtlyLove is when the singer has fallen in love with a distant (or even unobtainable) princess, who they woo from afar. The singer then professes his love for her in a polite, respectful, and poetic fashion.

Much of this was written down, because the centuries had brought about a notational system of four lines, enough for the singers to interpret music from, or for composer to write in.

By the turn of the fourteenth century, western music already had a polyphonic tradition and a music theory, but by this time, some Italian and French spoilsports had to break this system apart. A traditional period, ''Ars Nova'', emerged, creating the need for new notation and a ''vastly'' more experimental music. It also laid the groundwork for a secular written tradition, taking it to new artistic levels. When this style died out, UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance was already on its way.

The line between the end of the medieval era and the start of the Renaissance era is blurry. The 15th century music is transitional, since it mixes Middle Ages approaches (polyphonic music with highly differentiated lines), and Renaissance styles (for example the new Franco-Flemish sound and more equal polyphonic parts). The interval of the third was more prominent , which is a mark of the shift to the Renaissance.

!!'''Polyphony

By the turn of the fourteenth century, western music already had a polyphonic tradition and a music theory, but by this time, some Italian and French spoilsports had to break this system apart. A traditional period, ''Ars Nova'', emerged, creating the need for new notation and a ''vastly'' more experimental music. It also laid the groundwork for a secular written tradition, taking it to new artistic levels. When this style died out, UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance was already on its way.

The troubadours sung in Occitan (nowadays the language of Catalan) and the trouvères sung in Old French. They wandered around as traveling bards, entertaining at aristocratic manors and castles. They sang about bravery in battle, being chivalrous and noble, but most of all, they sang about CourtlyLove. When a troubadour or trouvere was at an inn and they got a huge crush on the barmaid, that's regular everyday attraction. CourtlyLove is when the singer has fallen in love with a distant (or even unobtainable) princess, who they woo from afar. The singer then professes jis love for her in a polite, respectful, and poetic fashion.

''Medieval music'' is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin vocal and instrumental music written and performed during the medieval period]] from the 6th to 15th centuries. That would mean all music written in notation and song lyrics preserved in the period before UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance began. Because the modes of writing music were jysy being invented in this period, sources are scarce before the ninth century. Before that, we have some treatises, some debates on how music ''should'' be performed, but little notation of what people actually played and sang.

''Medieval music'' is in [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin vocal and instrumental music written and performed during the medieval period]] from the 6th to 15th centuries. That would mean all music written in notation and song lyrics preserved in the period before UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance began. Because the modes of writing music were jysy being invented in this period, sources are scarce before the ninth century. Before that, we have some treatises, some debates on how music ''should'' be performed, but little notation of what people actually played and sang.

''Medieval music'' is in short [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin music written and performed during the medieval period]], from the 6th to 15th centuries. That would mean all music recorded in notation and preserved in the period before UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance began. Because the modes of writing music were invented in this period, sources are scarce before the ninth century. Before that, we have some treatises, some debates on how music ''should'' be performed, but little notation of what people actually played and sang.

The troubadours and trouvères sang about their undying, noble love for a beautiful lady. They probably strummed lutes (a guitar-like instrument) to accompany themselves and they may have had what was in effect a "backup band" of instrumentalists. They were usually as good at crafting poetty as they were at singing and playing.

The troubadours sung in Occitan (nowadays the language of Catalan) and the trouvères sung in Old French. They wandered around as traveling bards, entertaining at aristocratic manors and castles. They sang about bravery in battle, being chivalrous and noble, but most of all, they sang about courtly love. When a troubadour or trouvere was at an inn and they got a huge crush on the barmaid, that's regular attraction.
Courtly love is when the singer has fallenin love with a distant (or even unobtainable) princess, who they woo from afar. The singer then professes jis love for her in a polite, respectful, and poetic fashion.

The troubadours and trouvères sang about their undying, noble love for a beautiful lady. They probably strummed lutez to accompany themselves and they may have had what was in effect a "backup band" of instrumentalists. They were usually as good at crafting poetty as they were at singing and playing. The troubadours sung in Occitan (nowadays the language of Catalan) and the trouvères sung in Old French. They wandered around as traveling bards, entertaining at aristocratic manors and castles. They sang about bravery in battle, being chivalrous and noble, but most of all, they sang about courtly love. When a troubadour or trouvere was at an inn and they got a huge crush on the barmaid, that's regular attraction.

The troubadours and trouvères sang about their undying, noble love for a beautiful lady. They probably strummed lutez to accompany themselves and they may have had what was in effect a "backup band" of instrumentalists. They were usually as good at crafting poetty as they were at singing and playing. The troubadours sung in Occitan (nowadays the language of Catalan) and the trouvères sung in Old French. They wandered around as traveling bards, entertaining at aristocratic manors and castles. They samg about bravery in battle, being chivalrous and noble, but most of all, they sang about courtly love. When a troubadour or trouvere was at an inn and they got a huge crush on the barmaid, that's regular attraction.
Courtly love is when the singer has fallenin love with a distant (or even unobtainable) princess. The singer then professes jis love for her in a polite, respectful, and poetic fashion.

''Polyphony'' developed gradually, and this is also connected to the troping. From the beginning, people sang in octaves, then in fifths. When we reach the 12th century, improvisation became common, and over the next century the first polyphonic (two or more independent melodies at once) style arose: ''Ars Antiqua'' or the "Notre Dame School", because the composers, whose names are remembered today, were clerics at the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. Priests who also wrote music were a staple in this era, and continued to be for another century and a half. The style is also called ''Organum'' because the original holy mass melody was sung very slowly over one, two or three different, probably improvised voices. Much of this was written down, because the centuries had brought about a notational system of four lines, enough for the singers to interpret music from, or for composer to write in.

''Medieval music'' is in short [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin music written and performed during the medieval period]]. That would mean all music recorded in notation and preserved in the period before UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance began. Because the modes of writing music were invented in this period, sources are scarce before the ninth century. Before that, we have some treatises, some debates on how music ''should'' be performed, but little notation of what people actually played and sang.

''Medieval music'' is in short [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin music written and performed during the medieval period]]. That would mean all music recorded and preserved in the period before UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance began. Because the modes of writing music were invented in this period, sources become scarce when we pass a certain moment in time, and that moment is usually set to be sometime in the ninth century. Before that, we have some treatises, some debates on how music ''should'' be performed, but little of what people actually played.

The term "medieval music" is wide in itself, because it spans a lot of genres and national styles, and several hundred years. Thus, a long list of sub-genres may be produced. Because most of the theoretical attention was given to church music, it is a natural place to begin. From there, we may proceed to secular music and national styles, and the difficult topic of musical theory. Usually, medieval church music is reckoned to be the starting point of western ClassicalMusic, because of the emergence of musical notation.

The TropeMaker for the OminousLatinChanting. It began with the mass, and melodies corresponding to the different parts of mass, all in Latin, of course. But the ''Gregorian'' tradition had to take shape first, and behind this were a number of local styles. Thus, the Christian principalities in Spain used the Bessarabian style, based on the Gothic mass performance from before the Moor conquest. The French had their Galician style, based on early clerical traditions before the franks took hold in the area. The Italians had their own romanesque singing, based on the performance in Milan and coined by St. Ambrose, and the British isles had several unique ones, with an honorable mentioning of the Celtic church in Ireland. UsefulNotes/ThePope, wishing some sort of clerical unity, had none.

Then came the Franks, and with them Charles the Great, or Charlemagne. He made a number of conquests, molded Europe more into one state for the time being, and put the pope squarely on his side. His cultural transition is named the ''Carolingian Renaissance'' because of a sincere wish to make the old Roman ways standard again. In this time, the ''standard repertoire'' was born, and every church had to comply to it. The older styles were discarded. At the same time, notation arose, but the earliest experiments were not like anything we know of today. It was called ''daseian'', and was borrowed from the byzantine court. It was later replaced with the neume system.

Some of this music was holy, and the holiest music was the melodies connected to the fixed parts of mass. They were not to be used or tampered with. Second came the hymns, some of which were centuries old already. Third on the list was the sequences, developed during this period and later. After AD 1000, this development prospered when the singers developed a habit of singing at the end of the phrase (like singing more on the last syllable of a ''Hallelujah''). This new part of the singing was called ''a trope'' (This is actually the original "troping", by the way). From the tropes sprang the sequence, and thus a new genre of church music was born. Inside the church, music became more and more diverse. One of the first "tropers" in this respect may be Notker Balbulus, a monk who put new words to the trope and made a sequence out of it.

''Polyphony'' developed gradually, and this is also connected to the troping. From the beginning, people sang in octaves, then in fifths. When we reach the 12th century, improvisation became common, and over the next century the first polyphonic style arose: ''Ars Antiqua'' or the "Notre Dame School", because the composers, whose names are remembered today, were clerics at the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. Priests who also wrote music were a staple in this era, and continued to be for another century and a half. The style is also called ''Organum'' because the original holy mass melody was sung very slowly over one, two or three different, probably improvised voices. Much of this was written down, because the centuries had brought about a notational system of four lines, enough for the singers to interpret music from, or for composer to write in.

A note on theory: The neumatic system was developed in the eleventh century, and also a new way of singing, courtesy of the reformer ''Guido of Arezzo''. From this point, two traditions arose, who never came to terms on how to sing. But Guido had papal support, and the other fraction grudgingly accepted. From the Guidonic tradition, we have the ''ut, re, mi, fa sol'' tradition, from the others, the monochord fraction, we have the note names: A, B, C, D, E, G.

''Medieval music'' is in short [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Music written and performed during the medieval period]]. That would mean all music recorded and preserved in the period before UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance began. Because the modes of writing music were invented in this period, sources become scarce when we pass a certain moment in time, and that moment is usually set to be sometime in the ninth century. Before that, we have some treatises, some debates on how music ''should'' be performed, but little of what people actually played.

By the turn of the fourteenth century, western music already had a polyphonic tradition and a music theory, but by this time, some Italian and French spoilsports had to break this system apart. A traditional period, ''Ars Nova'', emerged, creating the need for new notation and a ''vastly'' more experimental music. It also laid the groundwork for a secular written tradition, taking it to new artistic levels. When this style died out, TheRenaissance was already on its way.

''Medieval music'' is in short [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Music written and performed during the medieval period]]. That would mean all music recorded and preserved in the period before TheRenaissance began. Because the modes of writing music were invented in this period, sources become scarce when we pass a certain moment in time, and that moment is usually set to be sometime in the ninth century. Before that, we have some treatises, some debates on how music ''should'' be performed, but little of what people actually played.

The TropeMaker for the OminousLatinChanting. It began with the mass, and melodies corresponding to the different parts of mass, all in Latin, of course. But the ''Gregorian'' tradition had to take shape first, and behind this were a number of local styles. Thus, the Christian principalities in Spain used the Bessarabian style, based on the Gothic mass performance from before the Moor conquest. The French had their Galician style, based on early clerical traditions before the franks took hold in the area. The Italians had their own romanesque singing, based on the performance in Milan and coined by St. Ambrose, and the British isles had several unique ones, with an honorable mentioning of the Celtic church in Ireland. ThePope, wishing some sort of clerical unity, had none.