Medieval and Renaissance Music

Life in Middle Ages Life was tough in Middle Ages. Usually many people shared small homes that were cold, damp, and very dark. People used fires to heat their homes. There were few good medicines, and people did not eat healthy foods. Bread and water were often all a poor family had to eat.

Society was divided into those who had land, power, and money and those who served them. Everything in life depended on which level society a person belonged to. Rich people including Kings and Nobility wore clothes made out of expensive fabric and traveled in carriages. Poor people made clothes of course fabric and walked.

Medieval Music The medieval period lasted nearly 1000 years so there were many changes in musical styles. The music written in the 500s is quite different than of the 1300s. In the beginning of the Middle Ages, music was performed mostly at church services. Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, France completed in 1345 was built by peasants who dragged the stones one by one to the site.

Gregorian Chants Early church music was called plainchant which had a single melody line. Everyone sang the same notes. No instruments played as accompaniment. Pope Gregory I and his assistants compiled chants used for church services and this music became known as Gregorian Chant.

The Organ The organ, a keyboard instrument in which bellows force air through pipes to produce sound, was the primary instrument played in churches. Some organs were very large and many men were needed to push the bellows together to force enough air through the enormous pipes to create music.

Troubadours Secular (non-religious) music was developing during the Middle Ages as well. In the 11 th century musicians call troubadours began to travel from town to town. They usually played instruments to accompany their singing.

Chivalry Many stories and songs were written about chivalry and love. Knights wrote poems about their love for beautiful ladies and promised to perform great deeds in their honor. The music of the troubadours was based on these ideas.

The Black Death was one of the deadliest pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and It is widely thought to have been an outbreak of bubonic plague. The Black Death is estimated to have killed 30% to 60% of Europe's population, reducing the world's population from an estimated 450 million to between 350 and 375 million in It took 150 years for Europe's population to recover. The plague returned at various times, resulting in a larger number of deaths, until it left Europe in the 19th century.

Life in the Renaissance The Renaissance was an explosion of new ideas and advancements in art, architecture, science and philosophy. The word “Renaissance” is French for rebirth. Dome of St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome 1506

Renaissance Life People started to earn more money and become richer and Christopher Columbus sailed to America. During the Renaissance music notation became more standardized like the notation we use today. Johannes Guttenberg invented the printing press which meant that books and music could be distributed throughout Europe.

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare, English poet, dramatist, and actor, often called the English national poet, is widely considered the greatest dramatist of all time. Some of his famous plays are Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew and A Midsummer’s Night Dream.

Leonardo Da Vinci Leonardo Da Vinci was a great artist, but he became famous because he was able to do so many other things, too. He was an architect, a musician, sculptor, scientist, inventor and mathematician.

Mona Lisa Leonardo’s most famous painting is the Mona Lisa. People have been talking about the mysterious look in the lady has--especially her smile. No matter where you stand the Mona Lisa is always looking right in your eyes.

Michelangelo Buonarroti Michelangelo was a master of architecture, painting, and poetry. His favorite art was making statues of people. When he was about 16 he went to study at a new school that was only for sculptors. His most famous sculpture is David, ready to fight Goliath.

Sistine Chapel Pope Julius asked Michelangelo to paint the large ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. He painted many scenes from the Bible. After four years he finished the ceiling. It turned out to be one of the most wonderful paintings in the history of art.

Renaissance Music Music with many voices (this means different lines of music) was very popular. During the Renaissance composers began writing more music for instruments and for the first time wrote pieces for instruments alone.

Polyphony Music in which there are two different melodies that are played or sung at the same time. Both lines are equally important—one is not just the accompaniment for the other Gloria by Josquin is an example of polyphonic music of the Renaissance which could be very complex and intricate, often obscuring the words and the meaning of the text.

Lute During the Renaissance the lute held the highest respect of all musical instruments. The repertoire for this courtly instrument is vast. The lute was an ideal accompaniment for voice and other soft instruments, and the most eloquent of all solo instruments.

Dulcimer The dulcimer had a trapizoidal soundbox and was played by striking the strings with hammers.

Recorder The recorder is an actual instrument that has been around for more than 400 hundred years. The recorder that we play is based on the recorder from this period in time. These instruments were considered the sophisticated flutes of the time, but were made out of wood. By the 1400's, there were eight sizes recorders - great bass, quint bass, bass, tenor, alto, soprano, sopranino. Recorders are members of the woodwind family. Like the flute, recorders don't have a reed.