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Monophonic Texture
- "Mono" means one
- Music consisting of a single line of melody (referred to as a voice)
- No harmony or accompaniment
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polyphonic texture
- "poly" means many
- two or more indepedent melodic lines (or voices) heard simultaneously
- referred to as contrapuntal texture
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modes
- scale patterns distinguished by their own unique order of tones and semitones
- used in the music of Ancient Greece
- served as the source for melodies in the Middle Ages and Renaissance
- generally referred to by their original Greel names (Dorian, Phrygian, etc)
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Neumes
- the earliest form of notation in Western art music
- small notational symbols: originally indicating the direction of the melodic line
- later in the shape of squares or diamonds positioned on a staff and representing specific pitches
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A cappella
- Latin for "in the chapel"
- vocal music without instrumental accompaniment
- characteristic feature of music in Middle Ages and Renaissance
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plainchant
- sometimes called "plainsong"
- roots in Judaic tradition
- monophonic texture
- modal melodies
- relatively narrow melodic range
- unmeasured prose rhythm
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Gregorian chant
- a form of plainchant
- modal, monophonic melodies with unmeasured rhythm
- named after Pope Gregory the Great (ca 590 - 604) who is associated with organizing the chant repertory and standardizing liturgy
- sacred, liturgical music of Roman Catholic Church
- Latin texts
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Syllabic text setting
- one note for each syllable of text
- text can be heard very clearly
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neumatic text setting
several notes (2 - 4) for each syllable of text
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melismatic text setting
- many notes for each syllable of text
- the most elaborate and florid form of text setting
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responsorial singing
- a method of performance
- solo voice alternates with chorus
- solo passages referred to as "verse"
- choral passages referred to as "respond"
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gradual
- the fouth section of the Mass Proper (variable texts)
- texts of the gradual derive primarily from the Psalms (poetic texts from the Old Testament)
- chants sung during the portion of the Mass were generally melismatic and performed in a responsorial style
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organum
- a general term for polyphony based on plainchant; used from 9th to 13th centuries
- vocal music in which new melodic line(s) are added to an existing Gregorian chant (cantus firmus)
- early styles maintained primary intervals between voices (perfect 4th, 5th and octave)
- later styles featured more independent melodic parts, and a greater variety of intervals
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cantus firmus
- Latin for "fixed song"
- borrowed material. often from a Gregorian chant
- serves as structural skeleton for a new polyphonic composition
- originally found in the lowest voice
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tenor
- from Latin tenere, "to hold"
- in a polyphonic composition from the Middle Ages, it refers to the voice that contains the cantus firmus (borrowed material)
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organal style
- a style of free organum in which the newly composed upper voice uses faster note valuesnotes from the original chant are sung by the lower voice in very long notes
- sometimes called "sustained-note organum" or florid style
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discant style
- sections of organum in which the original chant has faster rhythmic values
- rhythmic movement of original chant is closely related to the upper voice than in the organal style
- sometimes features "note-against-note" movement between the voices
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clausula
- clearly defined section within discant-style organum
- based on a single word or syllable
- often highly melismatic
- new versions, or "substitue clausulae" were sometimes composed, replacing existing clausulae (ex: Perotin composed new clausulae for Leonin's two-part setting of the mass)
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rhythmic modes
- rhythmic patterns of long and short notes
- an early step in the development of rhythmic notation; provided rhythmic structure in the absence of note-values and meter
- related to poetic meters
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Leonin
- first composer of polyphony known to us by name
- active in Paris in the late 12th century
- he produced two-part organum, using organal and discant style
- wrote Magnus Liber Organi, (Great book of Organum)
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Perotin
- active at Notre Dame Cathedral in the 13th century
- expanded polyphonic technique by composing three-and four-part polyphony
- composed "substitute clausulae" to replace organum originally composed by Leonin
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motet
- vocal composition with or without instrumental accompaniment
- can be sacred or secular
- usually anonymous and often polytextual in the 13th century
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polytextual motet
- two or more texts heard simultaneously
- as a result, the words can sometimes be hard to distinuish
- characteristic feature of 13th-century motet
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ostinato
- Italian for "ostinate"or "persistent"
- a rhythmic or melodic pattern repeated for an extended period
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countertenor
- high male voice with a strong, pure tone
- often heard in performances of early music
- falsetto singing (out of normal male range)
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monophonic chanson
- flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries
- composed by aristocratic poet-musicians known as trouveres and troubadours
- recorded in song books called chansonniers
- monophonic texture
- modal melodies
- usually in strophic form
- instrumental accompaniments were often improvised
- texts often reflected courtly love in the age of chivalry
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strophic
- a song structure where the same music is performed for each verse of the poem
- as a result, little connection can be achieved between the words and the music
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trouvere
- French for "finder" or "inventor"
- aristocratic poet-musician
- composed and performed original poems and songs
- sang of courtly love
- lived and worked in northern France
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troubadour
- aristocratic poet-musicians
- composed and performed original poems and songs
- lived and worked in southern France
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jongleurs
- multi-talented Medieval entertainers (not composers)
- from lower social classes
- functioned as court jesters, musicians, storytellers, and carriers of gossip
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minnesinger
- German for "singers of love"
- German counterpart of the Medieval troubadours and trouveres
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psaltery
- popular Medieval string instrument
- consisted of a trapezoidal wooden soundbox with gut strings
- strings plucked with fingers or with a plectrum
- generally played indoors
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dulcimer
- a popular Medieval stringer instrument consisting of a wooden soundbox and gut strings
- strings are struck with small hammers/mallets
- generally played indoors
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vielle
- Medieval ancestor of the violin
- the body of the instrument had a figure-eight shape
- played with a bow
- generally played indoors
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drone
- sustained pitch or long held note(s)
- provides harmonic support
- common feature in folk music
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Ars Nova
- Latin for "new art"
- title of a famous 14th-century treatise by composer Philippe de Vitry
- the term is also used by historians when referring to music in 14th century France
- as a result, the previous era became known as Ars antiqua ("old art")
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rondeau
- a popular fixed poetic form used in the polyphonic chansons of the Ars nova consists of four verses with a refrain
- the text of the first stanza was repeated partially in the second verse and repeated fully in the fourth verse
- can be represented as: AB aA ab AB
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musica ficta
- Latin for "false music"
- performance practice applied in modal music of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance
- performers raised or lowered pitches by chromatic semitones to avoid undesirable intervals
- much like modern-day accidentals
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isorhythm
- a compositional device developed in the Ars nova
- literally, "equal rhythm"
- combines melodic patterns (colour) with rhythm patterns (talea)
- colour and talea are typically not the same length, overlapping rather than coinciding
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hocket
- from French word hoquet meaning "hiccup"
- a melodic line is split between two voices
- each voice alternates between notes and rests
- frequently employed in Ars Nova
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bas
- French for "low" indicating a low level of volume (soft)
- Medieval designation for indoor intruments
- includes dulcimer, lute, psaltery, rebec, recorder, vielle
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haut
- French for "high" indicating a high level of volume (loud)
- Medieval designation for outdoor instruments
- includes cornetto, crumhorn, sackbut, shawm
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lute
- ancestor of guitar
- middle-Eastern origin
- plucked, fretted, string instrument
- frequently used to accompany singers
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rebec
- Medieval indoor instrument
- pear-shaped, bowed, string instrument
- has 3 strings
- played on the arm or under the chin
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recorder
- Medieval indoor instrument
- end-blown wind instrument; came in different lengths
- had finger holes
- remained popular into Baroque period
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cornetto
- ancestor of the trumpet
- developed from cow-horn, later made of wood
- outdoor instrument
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crumhorn
- double-reed wind instrument
- sound produced by blowing into enclosed double reed
- usually j-shaped
- outdoor instrument
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sackbut
- ancestor of the trombone
- from the Old French, "pull-push"
- outdoor instrument
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shawm
- ancestor of oboe
- middle-Eastern origin
- double reed instrument
- produces shrill nasal tone
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guitarra
- guitar of Moorish (North African) origins
- strummed
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Medieval pipe
- ancestor of flute
- wind instrument with 3 holes
- blown through mouthpiece
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nakers
- Medieval percussion instruments
- middle-Eastern origin
- played in pairs
- resemble small kettledrums
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tabor
- Medieval percussion instrument
- large cylindrical drum
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tambourine
- percussion instrument
- wooden frame with small metal disks inserted
- may or may not have a drum skin
- played by striking or shaking
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portative organ
- Medieval portable keyboard instrument
- small keyboard activates high-pitched pipes
- sound genertaed through pumping bellows
- sometimes called organetto
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positive organ
- originated in 14th century, but remained popular through the Renaissance
- slightly larger than portative organ, but still portable, like a piece of furniture
- had one keyboard, no pedals, and small pipes
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regal
- 14th-century portable organ
- ancestor of modern harmonium
- had small keyboard and reeds instead of pipes
- like the portative organ, it could be carried by means of a strap around the neck allowing the player to pump the bellows with the left hand while playing on the keyboard with the right hand
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estampie
- one of the earliest Medieval dances
- stately character
- involves elaborate body movements
- danced by couples
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heterophonic texture
- simultaneously variation; the same melody is played in more than one way at the same time
- involves two or more voices, one playing the original melody while another plays an ornamented or embellished version
- added voices are often improvised
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Pope Gregory I
- leader of Roman Catholic Church from 590 - 604
- not the composer of the chants
- helped to organize and codify the chants that had accumulated; led to the establishment of a uniform liturgical service
- oversaw the expansion of schools to train singers in performance of sacred repertoire (schola cantorum)
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Liber usualis
- contains the music and texts of many of the chants in the Roman Catholic services
- Latin for " Book of Common Use"
- a late 19th-century book with almost 2,000 pages containing many settings of the ordinary and the most frequently used texts and chants for specific rituals including baptism, matrimony, ordination, and funeral rites
- prepared by the monks of the benedictine Abbey of Solesmes (France)
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Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)
- founded religious order in Rupertsberg (Germany)
- famous for scientific writings, visions and prophecies; distant rulers and clergy sought her counsel
- wrote music and poetry
- her morality play Ordo birtutum (the Play of Virtues) was written to teach rightrous Christian values to an illiterate audience
- her monophonic melodies resembled plainsong but were newly composed
- melodies were often based on repeated motives
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musica enchiriadis
- Latin for "music handbook"
- anonymous 9th-century treatise
- contains the earliest examples of notated polyphony in Western art music
- includes parallel organum, with new melodic lines added above or below the original chant
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Notre Dame School
- The use of the word "school" denotes a common style represented by the collective work of such groups of individuals
- The Notre Dame school composers in the 12th and 13th centuries formed one of the earliest examples of a compositional school.
- Leading composers of this school: Leonin and Perotin
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Philippe de Vitry (1291-1361)
- author of the treatise Ars nova (1322)
- innovator in the notation of rhythm, including the "imperfect" division of notes into two equal units (a move away from the division of notes into three equal units considered "perfect"
- broke free from older patterns and rhythmic modes
- used isorhythm, the repetition of an extended pattern, in which melodic patterns and rhythmic segments of different leangths combined
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Messe de Nostre Dame
- Latin for "Mass of Our Lady"
- among the earliest complete polyphonic settings of the Mass Ordinary by a single composer
- for four voices
- employs isorhythm
- musical unity is created through the use of recurring motives
- among the longest extant works from the Middle Ages
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Chansonnier du Roy
- one of the earliest examples of notated dance music
- French for "songbook of the King"
- anonymous 13th-century French manuscript
- contains troubadour and trouvere songs as well as 8 monophonic dances including "Royal Estampie No. 4"
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