middle ages unit years 500-1400 ad. day 1 sacred music (religious music) written down by monks and...
TRANSCRIPT
Middle Ages Unit
Years 500-1400 AD
Day 1
Sacred Music(religious music)
• Written down by monks and priests• Very simple– Plainsong- 1 melody
• Gregorian Chant– No fixed rhythm– Unaccompanied– Latin words– Named after Pope Gregory I
http://youtu.be/VqZ3kwdqtVY
Sacred Music continued
• Performance– A capella– Started with 2 singers and moved into
using 2 choirs– Added acting to help the understanding
of the words
Neums
Secular Music(“pop” music)
• Troubadours– Usually played the lute– Entertainers– Name from France– Poets and composers
• Jonglers– Traveled around – Played instruments– Singers/performers
Secular Music continued
• Minnesingers– German- 12th-14th Centuries– Means “singers of love songs”– Wrote religious and political music
• Goliards– Monk dropouts– Wrote Goliard Songs
• Latin text
– 11th-12th Centuries– Wrote songs about satire and life
http://youtu.be/-Ho_2e6DT1g
Secular Music continued(“pop” music)
• Love Songs– Early popular music– Joy and pain of love
• Chanson de geste (song of gestures)– Epic narrative poem/song
• About national heroes• About heroic deeds and events
– Used simple melodies– Sung by Jonglers– “Song of Roland”
• National epic from France
http://youtu.be/3x9knD4_R40
Composers of the Middle Ages
• Guillaume de Machaut– Lived from 1300-1377– Composer that had royal employment
• Philippe de Vitry– Lived from 1291-1361–Wrote secular music– “Ars Nova”• Means “New Art”• 4 part music- Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass
Some extras• Code of Chivalry– Behavior that began to govern how
people acted
• Church– Source of culture– Church year determined the melody of
the chant
Day 2
Black Plague
• Wiped out entire villages• People died within days• Clergy died helping people• Skin turned purple; led to the name• Songs– “Scarborough Fair”– “Ring Around the Rosey”
http://youtu.be/XEhAXQ5QQzs
Black Plague continued
• Transmitted to humans by infected fleas and rats
• Victim suffered from fever, chills, fatigue, and painfully swollen lymph nodes
• Caused the beginning of the Middle Class
• If you have a weak stomach, don’t look at the next slide!!!!!
Day 3
Instruments of the Middle Ages
• Lute–Troubadours typically played the lute–Early guitar–Ideal for accompaniment and solo performance
Instruments continued
• Harp http://youtu.be/Ki6Mzh6aeGI
–Very ancient–Strings made from twisted animal
gut
• Psaltry http://youtu.be/oyRWbUre20w
–Plucked strings–Was used to accompany songs from
the Bible book of Psalms
Instruments continued
• Drums–Another name is “tabor”–Earliest instruments–Hollow tree trunks with animal skin–Used all over the world
Drums (tabor)
http://youtu.be/HPZUiZwb-TE
Instruments continued
• Dulcimer–Greek for “sweet sound”–Multiple pitches by striking strings
on either side of bridge
Instruments continued
• Bagpipe–Made from reed pipe and goat or
sheep skin–Used all throughout Europe
Instruments continued• Crumhorn–German for “curved horn”–Curve is decorative–Buzzing sound like a kazoo
Instruments continued
• Recorder–Many different types and sizes
http://youtu.be/e2swX39yKUk
Instruments continued
• Organ–2 types of organs• Portative
– carried around the neck– portable
• Positive– larger; has to be set down to be played– need 2 people
Instruments continued
• Pipe and Tabor–Pipe and drum- “one man band”–Pipe has 3 melody holes–Left hand plays pipe while right
hand plays the drum (tabor)
Instruments continued
• Gemshorn–Made from animal horn– Shepherds used it to calm animals
http://youtu.be/gi-wRi5V8ak
Instruments continued
• Rebec–Early form of the violin–Used bow on strings- attempt to
make and instrument imitate the voice– Instrument of lower class–3-5 strings
Instruments continued
• Gamba (viol da gamba; viol)–Has 6 strings–Held between the legs while seated–Early form of the cello
Instruments continued• Hurdy Gurdy• 1st stringed instrument to be played
by the keyboard• Ideal for dance music
Instruments continued
• Lizard (tenor cornet)–Curved shape like a flattened letter
“s”–Blends well with voices
Instruments continued
• Serpent (bass cornet)–Ancestor to the tuba–Used in sacred music to reinforce
men’s voices–Used as a military band instrument
after the Middle Ages
Instruments continued
• Sacbut–Ancestor to the trombone
http://youtu.be/ODRbUuy2iRI
Instruments continued
• Bladder Pipe–Reed enclosed by an animal
bladder–Blow into the bladder through a
wooden pipe–Loud instrument
Dances
• Thread the Needle- line dance• Estampie- line dance– Stomp 1 foot
• L’Escargot- circle dance– Snail
• Brawl- circle dance• Dances in the Middle Ages usually
had a circle shape