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Medieval Music

11th, 12th and 13th Centuries

Medieval Music

• Music was an important part of people’s lives from the very earliest times – ritual, worship, entertainment etc

• Very few pieces of entertainment music (songs and dances) have come down to us as they were never written down.

• The first people to write down music were the Monks of medieval times.

Medieval Church Music

• Most music that survived from those times was for the various services of the Church.

• Early church music was known as plainsong/plainchant.

What do you need to know?

• Plainsong/Plainchant

• Church Music

• Medieval Songs

• Medieval Dance Music – Estampie and Saltarello

• Medieval Instruments

• Monophonic Texture, Call and Response, Modes, a capella

Plainsong/Plainchant• Sung without accompaniment (a capella)• Special system of scales called MODES were

used.• Two most common: Aeolian and Dorian modes.• Sung in unison.• Monophonic Texture – one line of

unaccompanied singing.• No fixed rhythm – follows the natural stresses of

words. • Call and Response• Melody moves mainly in steps.

Medieval Songs

• The earliest songs were composed by troubadours and minstrels.

• They were wandering musicians who entertained and spread the news in their songs.

• Simple, monophonic, often with accompaniment from a pipe and tabor or tambourine.

Medieval Dance Music

• The most popular medieval dances were the Estampie (a stamping dance) and the Saltarello (a jumping dance).

• Dances may be played by one or two instruments or by a larger group.

There are two groups of instruments:• Loud/Outdoor Instruments – for

performance of music in halls and churches, processions and dances in the open air.

• Soft/Indoor Instruments – for performance of music in the home; dancing, song accompaniments and background music.

“Loud” Instruments

• These include instruments such as:

- the shawm

- the pipe and tabor

- the nakers

- the bagpipes

- the cornett

The Shawm

• The shawm was the most important double reed instrument of the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

The Pipe and Tabor• The pipe is a simple

instrument like a recorder but usually having only three melody holes (index finger, middle finger, and thumb).

• The drum is held with a strap or thong around the arm which holds the pipe. Thus one performer accompanies himself, making an ideal combination for dance music of a rustic nature, or to supply background music for jugglers or performing animals.

The Nakers

• Nakers consist of metal or wood dome-shaped bodies with goatskin drumheads, and are played by striking them with the hands or with sticks. They are typically played in pairs, often in a sling or harness.

The Bagpipes• The origins of the

bagpipe can be traced back to the most ancient civilizations. The bagpipe probably originated as a rustic instrument in many cultures because a herdsman had the necessary materials at hand: a goat or sheep skin and a reed pipe.

The Cornett• The most versatile wind

instrument; between 1500 and 1650 the cornett was used indoors and out, in serious music, dance music, town bands, rural households, at church, and court.

• It has a very small acorn cup mouthpiece (played on the side of the mouth where the lips are thinner) is attached to a hollowed out piece of curved wood or ivory.  Six finger holes and a thumb hole are drilled in the body and it is fingered in much the same manner as a recorder.

“Soft” Instruments

• These include instruments such as:

- the medieval harp

- the psaltery

- the rebec

- the hurdy-gurdy

- the lute

The Medieval Harp• The harp is one of the

most ancient types of stringed instruments.

• Harps use open strings exclusively, thus the range of each is determined by the number of strings.

• In the Middle Ages strings were made from twisted animal gut (usually from sheep), although horse hair and even silk were used as well.

The Psaltery

• The psaltery is an ancient instrument seen in many forms.

• Early versions were simply a wooden board with gut strings stretched between pegs. The strings were plucked with fingers or by plectra.

• Later instruments included the hollow box or soundboard with soundholes and metal strings.

• The player performed with the instrument on the lap or on a table, or in front of the chest held with a strap around his neck if movement was needed.

The Rebec

• Bowing gave stringed instruments the sustaining power necessary to play a continuous melodic line.

• The status of these bowed instruments and their players remained low. The rebec was definitely an instrument of the lower classes, not the court.

The Hurdy-Gurdy• The hurdy-gurdy is the

first stringed instrument to which the keyboard principle was applied.

• The bowing action of the fiddle is replaced by a wheel cranked by a handle. The outer rim of the wooden wheel is coated with resin.

• When the crank is spun, the wheel turns and the gut strings vibrate.

The Lute• During the Renaissance

the lute held the highest respect of all musical instruments.

• The lute was an ideal accompaniment for voice and other soft instruments, and the most eloquent of all solo instruments.

• In paintings and other art works the lute is often associated with Apollo, angels, or Orpheus, and it is often mentioned at climactic points in tragedies.