The Ars Nova (c.1300 - c.1400) - Session 3

The Ars Nova (c.1300 - c.1400)

We cannot start talking about Ars Nova without going through the development of the Motet in the thirteenth-century. The Motet is one of the most important forms of polyphonic music that changes greatly with each historical period about 1220 to 1750. Originally, motet was Roman Catholic Church music with Latin biblical text sung in two parts, one of which was taken from Gregorian Chant. After that parisian composers of the early 13th century experimented with the addition of newly written texts (secular) to the most progressive melismatic polyphony, including the caudas of conductus and the melismas of organum. This is when the Motet came to exist, witch was basically an application of a poetic text to the duplum of a clausula, in other terms it was essentially ‘troped discant passages’ or ‘troped clausulas” with many as three as three different secular texts simultaneously and even a refrain.

Example of Mensuration Notation

Near 1400, a new musical revolution called the Ars Nova (New Art) brought the Motet an increasing use of a single text and a treble-dominated style with one principal melody and two supporting parts. The concept of Ars Nova is based on the enormous new range of musical expression made possible by the notational techniques explained in Philippe de Vitry's treatise Ars Nova (c1322). Characteristics of this style include the reject of the preeminence of triple rhythm (that gave origin to the new rhythmic notation called mensuration), an increasing tendency to view music as an autonomous realm rather than a reflection of spiritual or philosophical ideas, the complexities of the isorhythm were explored more in depth (talea an color), although the tradition to write about courtly love with secular texts was kept by many composers of the fourteenth century. A good example of these love songs is Guillaume de Machaut’s Rose, liz, printemps, verdure:

Guillaume de Machaut (ca. 1300 - 1377)

In this composition Machaut’s used the fixed form Rondeau, since in the new movement of Ars Nova the composers did not use cantus firmi but freely composed all the voices they had to develop some structural procedures, know as forms fixes. The form of the Rondeau was AB aA ab AB. Another peculiar thing about this composition is the extensive use of syncopation, probably to give it a more dance-like feel, even though you can still feel the duple meter but the syncopes give you a ambiguous sense of rhythm.The motivic figures caught my attention, because they are felt in the old triple meter, could it be an symbolic allusion to the divine perfection on the middle of a love song? Another symbolic possibility I found in this piece, the adjectives that Machaut uses for his "beautiful lady" are always seven, with a pause on the sixth adjective to reinforce the seventh one. I could be going on a totally wrong direction here, but isn't the number seven the Egyptian symbol for perfection? For my surprise the last word of the music has seven letters  After thinking about these two symbolic possibilities I counted the numbers of measures, and guess what? The answer is 37 ... Machaut was a renowned poet, which had a relationship with a young girl named Peronne (seven words), it could be also an allusion to her instead. Hmm...

References:
Seaton, Douglass. Ideas and Styles in the Western Musical Tradition. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Pub., 1991. Print.
Latham, Alison. The Oxford Dictionary of Musical Terms. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2004. Print.
Burkholder, James Peter, and Claude V. Palisca. Norton Anthology of Western Music.Vol. 1. New York: W. W. Norton, 2006. Print.

Early Polyphony (c.900 - c.1300) - Session 2

The Development of Polyphony (c.900)

The development of counterpoint was one of the most important musical accomplishments of the 9th to the 13th centuries. It was when the polyphony emerged in the Western Music giving more possibilities for the composers to create more complex musical pieces. 

The Polyphonic music, musical texture in two or more relatively independent parts, was long in growing.

The first step towards it was during the Carolingian period (800 – 1000) by doubling the chant in octaves. They realised that men and boys would sing the chant in parallel octaves, and then the practice of adding doubling in the fourth and fifth started to grown as well. This style is known as parallel organum, which wasn’t so effective in terms of independency of voices.

Parallel Organum

Leonin

Organum is the earliest form of polyphony, it was based on adding other voices to accompany the chant  as cantus firmus. Organum may be parallel, free (admitting oblique and contrary motion), melismatic (the upper part containing many notes against one tenor –chant line- note) or measured (with motion in both voices according to the rhythmic modes). The first significant composer of polyphony, know to music history was Leónin (French, c. 1135 – c.1201), considered the greatest master of organum.

The next outstanding composer of polyphony is Pérotin (French, c. 1160/70 -c.1205/25). His organa in three or four voices written about the year 1200 are considered a landmark in Western Music. And it is one of his Organum Quadruplum, dated from c. 1198, named Viderunt omnes, that we will take a look today.

Perótin - Viderunt Omnes - Original Manuscript

The Chant Viderunt omnes was borrowed, from the Mass for Christmas Day and it was added text and music, this process was known as Trope. It was typical during this period that only the solo portions are in polyphony (alternating between organum and discant), with the choral portions remaining in plainchant and the polyphony. One of the peculiarities of Perótin Virerunt omnes setting is the expansion from the organum duplum to organum quadruplum, that was made possible because of the rhythmic modes. Another peculiarity that really differs from Leónin's setting is the use of strong cadences throughout the music, giving his version a better sense of musical phrases since he always finishes them with a consonance.

You can hear Perótin's setting on the Youtube link bellow:

References

Seaton, Douglass. Ideas and Styles in the Western Musical Tradition. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Pub., 1991. Print.

Latham, Alison. The Oxford Dictionary of Musical Terms. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2004. Print.

Burkholder, James Peter, and Claude V. Palisca. Norton Anthology of Western Music.Vol. 1. New York: W. W. Norton, 2006. Print.

Antiquity to Medieval Music (c.500 - c.1400 A.D.) - Session 1

Medieval Music (c.500 - c.1400 A.D.) 

Introit: puer natus est nobis

In the Middle Ages, a time of poverty, feudalism, wars, strong power of the Catholic Church, Greeks and Roman ancient world, Plato and Aristotle, the Music had essential importance. In Philosophy it was seen as science, believing that music could actually affect human character and behavior according to which harmonia (modes) one's listen to. In sacred liturgy,  it played a major role and served a functional purpose in worship, in the form of monophonic Chants. Music also served as recreation and artistic creativity for the society as a whole. 

The Medieval Catholic Church for sure played a major role in the development of music at that time, but today I'd like to go further from the sacred music and talk about the secular chansons, focusing in the music of Comtessa de Dia (late twelfth century).

Troubadours

Chanson in the french word for song. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance is associated with the French polyphonic songs performed by poet-musicians known as troubadours. The most common types of Chanson were the Canso, which was the Troubadour name for a strophic song having courtly love as its main theme, more specifically about a lovers' complaint. It is very unfortunate that not a lot of their music have survived.

A Chantar

For me, "A Chantar" by Comtessa de Dia is one of the most significant Canso out of all because is written by the only Trobairitz (female troubadour) known to have her music survived. Its was written around 1175. On this Canso the role of the person in love is now inverted, because in this Canso the person in love is a woman who sings about a man. In my opinion her lyrics are vivid, and gives me an idea of a more realistic love rather than regular Cansos written by men where the love is idealized. The poem is written in the Occitan language, which it was spoken in where is the Southern part of France nowadays, and it is strophic. 

Comtessa de Dia

The form of the music is quite simple, AAB, but she decided to include last musical phrase of the A section at the very end of the song, which gives a strong sense of definition to the end of the song. The melody is quite simple and syllabic. The instrumental accompaniment flows with the singing part, not distracting the listener from its main melody and lyrics. Since the music notation of that time does not indicate rhythm, performing it today is quite a challenge. Below you can ear this amazing song performed by Clemencic Consort with English lyrics.

References

Seaton, Douglass. Ideas and Styles in the Western Musical Tradition. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Pub., 1991. Print.

Latham, Alison. The Oxford Dictionary of Musical Terms. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2004. Print.

Burkholder, James Peter, and Claude V. Palisca. Norton Anthology of Western Music.Vol. 1. New York: W. W. Norton, 2006. Print.