Tuesday, September 6, 2016

MUHL 186 Lecture 1

Medieval Music
I. Key Features

A. Idea of writing down music

B. Polyphony - more than one voice at a time

I. Chant - Music for Worship

A. Gregorian Chant - middle ages, worshipers, priests and monks

B. Monasteries/Monks:

1. Monks = Literate

2. Transcribed History

3. Transmitters of Culture

I. Liturgy - Way of worshiping, content and form of Christian Worship

II. Major Festivals of Liturgical Year

A. Christmas (Fixed Date)

1. Proceeded by Advent (4 Sundays before)

2. Christmastide (lasts 12 days, starting at Christmas)

3. Epiphany (12 days after Christmas, January 6th)

B. Easter (Movable Date)

1. Proceeded by Lent (40 Days before, starting on Ash Wednesday)

2. Followed by Eastertide (50 days)

3. Pentecost (the 50th day after Easter)

I. The Mass - The Major Celebration Everyday (since 1000)

A. Has a Prescribed Set of Activities

1. Two Parts

a) Fore-Mass (teaching) {Kinds of Chats}

1
 Tuesday, September 6, 2016
(1) Introit

(a) Psalm verse formed by antiphon

(2) KYRIE

(a) Lord Have Mercy

(3) GLORIA

(a) Glory to God in the Highest

(4) Collect

(a) Prayer of the day

(5) Epistle
Melisma - Many notes to one text or syllable
(a) reading

(6) Gradual

(a) Most Melismatic

(7) Alleluia

(a) Most Melismatic

(8) Sequence

(9) Gospel

(a) reading

(10)CREDO

(a) Nicene

b) Eucharist (mystical, partake in the blood & body of Christ) {Holy

Communion}

(1) Offertory Psalm

(a) Presentation of bread and wine

(2) Eucharistic Prayers

(3) SANCTUS

(a) Holy Holy Holy

2
 Tuesday, September 6, 2016
(4) Canon

(5) Pater Noste

(a) The Lords Prayer

(6) AGNUS DEI

(a) Lamb of God

(7) Communion Psalm

(a) During the Supper

(8) Post Communion

(a) Prayer

(9) Ite Missa Est

(a) dismissal

2. Two Types

a) Proper (Changes Day - To - Day)

(1) Anything that is not Ordinary

b) Ordinary (Is the SAME Day - To - Day)

(1) KYRIE

(2) GLORIA

(3) CREDO

(4) SANCTUS

(5) AGNUS DEI

3. Two Types of Performance

a) Spoken or intoned (rapid declaration of text)

b) Sung

I. Musical Style of Chant

A. Scoring - a capella male voices

1. direct (see and sing)

3
 Tuesday, September 6, 2016
2. responsorial (small group in large group)

3. antiphonal (split half and half)

B. Dynamics

1. follow phrase/contour/text

2. no written dynamics

C. Rhythm

1. unmeasured, free flowing

2. no bar lines
Authentic (Odd Modes)
D. Melody - Dominant is a 5th above the starting pitch

1. Recitation Tones Plagal (Even Modes)

- Dominant is a 3rd above the starting pitch
2. Psalm Tones

3. Free Chant

I. Notation

A. Developed to give everyone the same music

1. Efficient way to homogenize an empire

B. Gregorian Neumes

1. notation for Gregorian Chant

I. Modes

A. Dorian (1, 2)

1. D to D (all white keys)

How Modes Came To Be:
B. Phrygian (3, 4)
Pitch Collection > Syntax > Treatises > Modes
1. E to E (all white keys)

C. Lydian (5, 6) Aeolian Mode

- A to A (all white keys)
1. F to F (all white keys) Locrian Mode
- B to B (all white keys)
D. Mixolydian (7, 8)

1. G to G (all white keys)