Sacred Medieval Music
Music is an integral part of our society and always has been. One of the most important eras of musical development is the Medieval Period. There is little documentation of this time as there was no way to notate music. The best we have of the common folk music often sung, is only what has been passed down through generations. However, the sacred music of the time, especially Gregorian Chant, has also been passed through the generations and developed.
Plainchant
The earliest known music of the Medieval Period is Plainchant. It was sung slowly in unison, without harmony and following the natural rhythm of the words. Plainchant, or Plainsong, was sung to sacred texts only and was quite simple to learn. It is said to be influenced by the Jewish style of singing psalms. It became part of the liturgies with each region developing their own style of Plainchant. One of the most famous composers of Liturgical music was Hildegard Von Bingen (1098-1179). Although her compositions were not of the traditional practice used in the time, her efforts were respected by many, including the Pope. She wrote antiphons, which are poetic texts accompanied by exuberant and rhapsodic melodies, sequences and also a musical play, Ordo Virtutum, for the nuns at her convent. Text still remained an important part of all music in this era. Although the musical styles had not developed much, all songs were emphasized on the text rather than the music. As their techniques developed with Gregorian Chant and Organum, the text stayed mostly the same.
Gregorian Chant
Gregorian Chant was a development of Plainchant. It is also a continuous melody sung without accompaniment to sacred Latin texts and is of monophonic texture. Gregorian Chant differs from Plainchant in that it is much more complex melody wise. It is named after Pope Gregory I after he reorganized the Catholic Liturgy. Although Pope Gregory is credited with creating Gregorian Chant, it had been evolving for many years. At first the Gregorian Chants were learned by ear and passed through generations that way, but as they slowly grew more complex, they began to be notated so sacred chants were not altered through each region. These chants were not sung in a major or minor key, rather they were sung in church modes. The church modes are made up of seven different tones with the eighth note of the mode being an octave higher than the first. An example of a well-known folk tune of the Middle Ages is 'What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor?'. This piece is in the mode called Dorian. The folk songs were sung as an everyday activity, while people were working, or for entertainment at night time. Most of this was improvisation and the singers were depended upon to devise new and entertaining lyrics. The text remained the most important part in sacred music, however. The lack of rhythmic structure and major or minor tonalities all emphasized the text. Melodic developments soon came which introduced the use of harmonies.
Organum
Organum was a technique created to again emphasize the text and reinforce the main singers. Instead, it began the use of harmony. The first type of was Parallel Organum. The main melody line was the feature with a second vocal line in parallel motion a perfect fourth or fifth below (usually a fourth). All early music in the Middle Ages was monophonic. However, this began to develop polyphonic textures, although it was not intended to. The extra vocal lines were meant to emphasize the main melody line with instruments and vocalists doubling either the main melody or the harmony. Organum continued to develop into harmony and was remained significant in many ways for the next several centuries. Florid Organum is considered the most significant development. In this style of Organum, the original melody would be sung with long notes while the second line would accompany with many notes to each of the long notes, most often elaborately, while emphasizing the perfect consonances (4ths, 5ths and 8ves). Another type of Organum is Notre Dame Organum. This type of Organum is fairly strict rhythmically, with three different distinctive styles. One is Organum Purum, where the upper and lower voices move freely without a specific rhythm. The second style is Copula, where the upper part moves in a strict rhythm while the second part moves freely and the third style is Discant. In Discant, both parts move in a strict rhythm, however, in all three styles, the lower voice moves a little slower than the main voice. Although the Organum styles developed slowly and did not have any system in chordal structures, they added greatly to the development of music for centuries to come, both rhythmically and harmonically.
Conclusion
Sacred music remained a crucial part of society for centuries after these major developments. Most towns were governed by the church and its rules, therefore leaving us today well-documented and beautiful pieces. Organum and Chants were imperative in the growth of music, sacred music and all other forms of music to come.
Reference List:
Books
Kamien, R., (1984), "Music An Apreciation: Third Edition", United States of America, McGraw-Hill Book Company
Seay, A., (1975), "Music in the Medieval World: Second Edition", New Jersey, Englewood Cliffs, Prentice-Hall Inc.
Internet Sources
http://www.medieval.org/emfaq/beginlst/chant.htm
http://www.medievalwriting.50megs.com/word/music.htm
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/~cyrus/ORB/orbmusic.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organum
http://www.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/medieval/polyphony.html
