2. Gothic: Polyphony in the Heroic age Flashcards
What was the next revolution after the birth of pitch notation?
The invention of rhythmic notation. Also called mensural or mensurated (measured) notation.
When did polyphony start to come around?
At the same time as the birth of notation but was advanced when mensural notation emerged.
When is the earliest known evidence for polyphonic singing in the west?
A pair of musical treatises written in Frankish territory in the 9th Century, so the same time Carolingian musicians were first starting to use neumes.
What do we find in 11th century England?
Anglo-Saxon England provides the first polyphonic book of written down polyphony.
What do we see in late 12th century Paris?
The first feasible rhythmic notation. This started an explosion of activity such as new repertories and increasingly complex rhythmic notation. The early 14th century marked the culmination of a sustained phase of development.
How did the Notre Dame come about in Paris?
In 1160, the ‘Bishop Maurice Sully’ was consecrated and the name was then changed in 1163 to ‘Notre Dame’, meaning ‘Our Lady’, a dedication to the Virgin Mary. Over the following 70 years it received a lot of development and grew in size.
How was the Notre Dame a political enhancement?
The rebuilding of it was part of a wider dynastic programme of centralisation, Louis VII of the Capet dynasty established Paris as the undisputed centre of their kingdom. The cathedral school of Notre Dame grew into the University of Paris.
What is the ‘age of the cathedrals’ (also known as ‘the heroic age)?
Northern France in the 12th and 13th centuries was at the epicentre of architectural developments. Lots of gothic buildings which were very ambitious in terms of engineering and attempted to recreate the kingdom of heaven on earth.
Who were the three crucial figures of the Notre Dame school?
Léonin (the master of Organum), Pérotin (the master of discant), and Philip the Chancellor (pioneer of the clausal motet)
What was the ‘clausul motet’?
A piece created by taking an extract out of a larger original organum and under laying new text in the upper voice parts.
What was the magnus liber?
An anthology of organa.
What were the two rhythmical modes and when were they established?
In the early 13th century, lunga meant ‘long note’ and brevis meant ‘short note’.
How did the rhythmical modes work?
The basic elements of mensural notation is seen by 1200 which differentiates between long and short note values and organises them into 6 different combinations.
What is a ligature?
The main indicator of a rhythmic mode.
Who first recognised semibreves and when?
Franco of Cologne in the 1270s.
