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

Lute

://youtu.be/lwHZxlFkhsk

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

Dulcimer

http://youtu.be/QCNuZ6CmczU

Instruments continued

• Bagpipe–Made from reed pipe and goat or

sheep skin–Used all throughout Europe

Bagpipe

http://youtu.be/OPD9-s8CVHA

Instruments continued• Crumhorn–German for “curved horn”–Curve is decorative–Buzzing sound like a kazoo

Crumhornhttp://youtu.be/UI30-9TsafQ

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

Organs

http://youtu.be/ID-69ynpqdE

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)

Pipe and Tabor

http://youtu.be/4URAOhbb7sI

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

Rebec

http://youtu.be/zNvPJ2Fuzns

Instruments continued

• Gamba (viol da gamba; viol)–Has 6 strings–Held between the legs while seated–Early form of the cello

Viol da Gamba

http://youtu.be/rgbA-JPjHTk

Instruments continued• Hurdy Gurdy• 1st stringed instrument to be played

by the keyboard• Ideal for dance music

Hurdy Gurdy

http://youtu.be/r4y7HNW972M

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

Serpent

http://youtu.be/kVxuYXLAVsM

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

Bladder Pipe

http://youtu.be/RMbaIEWVZ08

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