Medieval Terms Flashcards
Ars Nova
(New art) was a new polyphonic musical style developed in the 14th century in France and later in Italy. Transformed music composition from religious to secular. Marked by greater variety of rhythm, duple instead of triple time, expressive melodies, and more independently moving voice parts.
Eg. Puis qu’en oubli
Ballade
French fixed poetic form and chanson type of the Middle Ages and Renaissance with courtly love texts
Cantus Firmus
a “fixed melody”, usually of very long notes and based on a Gregorian Chant that served as the basis for a polyphonic composition (such as mass or motet)
Eg. O mitissima/Virgo/Haec Dies OR Haec dies
Chanson
French secular song, especially of Middle Ages and Renaissance, sets to courtly or popular poetry. Can be monophonic or polyphonic in texture, with or without instrumental accompaniment
Eg. Ce fut en mai OR puis qu’en oubli
Clausula
Short Medieval composition in discant style sung to 1 or 2 words or a single syllable, based on a fragment of Gregorian Chant
Eg. Haec Dies
Discant Style
Type of Medieval polyphony (organum) in which all voices move at approximately the same fast speed; the movement of the lower voice (fixed Gregorian chant) parallels the fast movement of the newly composed upper voice
Eg. Haec Dies
Drone
Sustained sounding of 1 or several tones, usually in the bass, for harmonic support (a pedal point), a common feature of some folk music
Dulcimer
Medieval folk instrument that resembles the psaltery; strings are struck with hammers instead of being plucked
Eg. Ce fut en mai
Duplum
The 2nd (middle) voice of a polyphonic work, especially the Medieval motet Eg. O mitissima/Virgo/Haec dies
Embellishment
Melodic decoration, whether improvised or indicated through ornamentation signs in the music
Eg. Royal estampie No. 4
Estampie
A stately dance in the Middle Ages, probably for couples, characterized by elaborate body
Eg. Royal Estampie No. 4
Gradual
4th item of the Mass Proper, sung in a melismatic style, monophonic in texture. preformed in a responsorial manner, as a series of exchanges between soloist and chorus in which one answers the other. Solo passage known as verse, choral answer is response. Therefore involves the contrast between 2 dissimilar bodies of sound
Eg. Haec Dies
Gregorian Chant
Official music of the services of the Roman Catholic Church in the Middle Ages. Consists of a monophonic melody with a freely flowing, unmeasured vocal line, and with no wide leaps and dynamic contrasts
Eg. Royal Estampie No. 4
Improvisation
Creation of musical composition while it’s being performed, seen in Medieval and especially Baroque players
Eg. Royal Estampie No. 4
Mass
Most solemn service of the Roman Catholic Church. Constitutes a re-enactment of the sacrifice of Christ. Falls into 2 categories: Ordinary (texts that remain same in every mass) and Proper (texts that vary depending on holiday) There are different movements in both Masses
Eg. Haec dies
Melismatic style
Plainchant melodic style with many notes sung on 1 syllable, different from syllabic (one note sung to each syllable) and neumatic (2-4 notes set to each syllable)
Eg. Haec Dies
Modes
Form of scale used as the basis for a composition. Major and minor scale are modes. In middle ages there were 8 different sequences of steps and half steps, or modes, other than those of the major and minor scales. Modal scales refer to those Medieval church modes
Eg. Haec Dies
Monophonic texture
Single line of melody without accompaniment, such as Gregorian chant. All western music before emergence of polyphony was monophonic
Eg. Haec dies OR Ce fut en mai
Motet
Most important form of early polyphonic vocal music. Medieval motet is a polytextual (more than one text) vocal composition usually in 3 voices, either sacred or secular, which may or may not have had instrumental accompaniment.
Eg. O mitissima/Virgo/Haec dies
Musica Enchiriadis
Latin treaty of the 10th century, is the 1st detailed account of notated polyphony. Best known for its examples of parallel organum
Eg. Musica enchiriadis
Neumatic style
Plainchant melodic style with 2-4 notes set to each syllable, different from syllabic (1 notes sung to each syllable) and mellismatic (many notes sung to 1 syllable)
Eg. Haec dies
Neumes
Early musical notation signs in Middle Ages that consisted of little ascending and descending signs written above the words to suggest the contour of the melody, later developed into square notes on a 4 line staff
Eg. Haec dies
Organal style
Type of Medieval organum in which the lower voice (tenor) sings the fixed melody (Gregorian chant) in very long notes while the upper voice sings a freely composed part that moved rapidly above it
Eg. Haec dies
Organum
Earliest kind of polyphonic music in which a 2nd voice is added above the Gregorian melody (fixed melody), running parallel to it at the interval of a 5h or 4th. Soon the individual voices moved with even greater independence, not only in parallel but also in contrary motion
Eg. Haec dies
