FIRST QUARTER – MUSIC 9

LESSON 1 - Vocal and Instrumental Music of Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Periods
MUSIC OF THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD (700-1400)
The Medieval period was also known as Middle Ages or “Dark Ages” 476 A.D which started with the
fall of the Roman Empire. During this era, the Christian Church was greatly influenced by Europe’s culture and
political affairs.
A monophonic plainchant known as Gregorian Chant was named after Pope Gregory I, who made this
an approved music of the Catholic Church. Pope Gregory’s action made these monophonic plainchants popular
during the period
MUSIC OF THE RENAISSANCE PERIOD (1400 – 1600)

The term Renaissance came from the word renaitre which means “rebirth”,“revival”, and
“rediscovery”.
With the emergence of the bourgeois class, renaissance music became more popular as
entertainment and activity for amateurs and the educated.
Though sacred music was still of great importance, secular music became more popular
in this period. Renaissance period was also known as the “golden age” of a capella choral music.
MUSIC OF THE BAROQUE PERIOD (1685 – 1750)
Composers during this period were George Friedrich Handel, Johann Sebastian Bach, Claudio
Monteverdi, and Antonio Vivaldi.
During this time, the arts highlighted grandiose and elaborate ornamentation which were
clearly seen in the musical compositions created by Baroque composers.
New instrumental techniques, changes in musical notation and the major and minor tonality
were also applied in this era. A lot of the musical terms and concepts that evolved in this era are still used in
music of today
Musical Elements of Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Periods
MEDIEVAL PERIOD

GREGORIAN CHANTS (Sacred Music) TROUBADOUR MUSIC (Secular Music)

MONOPHONIC USUALLY MONOPHONIC
FREE METER SOMETIMES WITH IMPROVISED
ACCOMPANIMENT
MODAL TELLS OF CHIVALRY AND COURTLY
LOVE
USUALLY BASED ON LATIN LITURGY ORIGINATED IN FRANCE
USE OF NEUME NOTATION WRITTEN IN FRENCH LANGUAGE

RENAISSANCE PERIOD
Characteristics of Renaissance Music:
 Mostly polyphonic
 Imitation among voices is common
 Use of word painting in texts and music
 Melodic lines move in a flowing manner
 Melodies are easier to perform because they move along a scale with a few large leaps
 MADRIGAL – a secular vocal polyphonic music composition which originated in Italy and sung
during courtly social gatherings. It is the most important secular form during the Renaissance period.
Characteristics of the Madrgial:
 Polyphonic
 Sung a cappella
 through-composed\
 Frequently in 3 to 6 voices

BAROQUE PERIOD
Characteristics of Baroque Music:
 Melodies sound elaborate or ornamental and are not easy to sing or remember\
 Primarily contrapuntal textures with some homophony\
 Dynamic contrast – alternation between loud and soft\
 Orchestra consists of strings and continuo, harpsichord and organ are the keyboard instruments that are
commonly used
Performance Practices of Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Periods
MEDIEVAL PERIOD
SACRED MUSIC
 Often accompanied by instruments and its rhythmic character was marked but the sung prayers were
often unaccompanied.
 Exclusion of women, elevation of unison singing and exclusion of instruments served to establish a clear
differentiation between the musical performance on the synagogue and that of the street.
 Choir – group of singers, composed solely of men and boys who assumed the musical role of answering
and contrasting the solo singing of the pries
SECULAR MUSIC
 Several groups of Medieval performers developed literary and musical genres based on vernacular texts
(Jongleurs)
 Travelling performers in Western Europe sang, did tricks and danced to earn their living
 Troubadours in the south of France, Trouvere in the North and Minnesingers (a class of Artist-Knights) sang
love songs with religious fervour.
RENAISSANCE PERIOD
 Invention of Music Printing helped in the concept improvisation within the performance practice
 Printed descriptions of instruments and their discussions of tuning and technique supplied the needs
of professional and non-professional musicians
 Instrumental, vocal and combined performance both on Sacred and Secular Music
 Dissemination of Chansons, Motets and Masses of polyphonic practice into the fluid style
 Churches and aristocratic courts hired musicians as composers, performers and teachers
 Composers found ways to make vocal music more expressive of the texts they were setting
 Secular music absorbed techniques from Sacred music and vice versa
BAROQUE PERIOD
 Common-practice tonality (Harmony, Rhythm and Duration)
 Composers experimented with finding a fuller sound for each instrumental part (Orchestra)
 Orchestra consists of Strings, Woodwinds, Brass, Keyboards and Percussions (Harpsichord, Organ,
Recorder, Cello, Cornett, Timpani, Tambourine, etc
Other Art Forms of Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Music
There are other art forms that would relate to Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Music and its History. When
you think about the arts, we can directly say or incorporate them with painting, sculpture, architecture, dance
and literature to name a few.
Medieval Arts were represented by the Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic Era. Byzantine art made to
glorify the Christian Religion and to express its mystery. It was filled with spiritual symbolism and illustrated a
love of splendour. It was a combination of Eastern (decorative art forms) and Classical Western Art (naturalistic
art). Romanesque art was characterized by its very vigorous style in painting and sculpture, lavishly decorated
manuscripts and retained many basic features of Roman Architectural styles. It was greatly influenced by
Byzantine Art with a highly innovative and coherent style. Gothic Art reinforced symbolic meaning.
Renaissance Arts covered artworks produced during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries in Europe. It
pertains to arts, particularly in Italy, such as sculptures, paintings, music, architecture and literature. The
common subject of this period is human philosophy. Renaissance art was characterized by accurate anatomy,
scientific perspective and deeper landscape.
Baroque was a period of artistic styles in exaggerated motion, drama, tension and grandeur. Paintings
illustrated key elements of Catholic dogma, either directly in Biblical works or indirectly in imaginary or
symbolic work. Sculptures were typically larger than life size and was marked by a similar sense of dynamic
movement along with an active use of space. Architecture was designed to create spectacle and illusion, thus, the
straight lines of the Renaissance were replaced with flowing curves. Dance Suite, a collection of dance music,
was introduced and made popular in this period such as Minuet, Polonaise, Overture, Bourree, Gavotte. Gigue,
Reigaudon and many others.

MEDIEVAL PERIOD RENAISSANCE PERIOD BAROQUE PERIOD

MONOPHONIC MASS FUGUE

LATIN LITURGY MADRIGAL ORATORIO

NEUME NOTATION MOSTLY POLYPHONIC CONCERTO GROSSO

TROUBADOUR MUSIC IMITATION AMONG CHORALE

VOICES

WRITTEN IN SYLLABIC / NEUMATIC / DYNAMIC CONTRAST

FRENCH LANGUAGE MELISMATIC