Medieval Period

900-1450 CE
Main Innovations Leading to Polyphonic Choral Music

1. Staff notation rather than neumes

2. Standardization of Catholic Chant (Gregorian)
3. Secular monophonic songs that were
artistic/elevated/notated
4. Development of multiple voice parts
5. Musical polyphonic genres of motet and mass
movement
 Innovation #1: Staff Notation Rather than Neumes

Before 900, music was suggested by neumes, symbols that

only suggested general pitch and rhythm.
By the end of the 9th century, manuscripts contain a staff
to determine the relative position of pitch.
By the end of the 10th century, rhythms were also notated
By the 11th century a relatively standard system of notation has been
developed.
By the 12th century, musical genres and individual composers emerge
 Innovation #2: Gregorian Chant

Gregorian chant is the sung portions of the liturgy in Roman Catholic services.
These services included the Mass, where communion was offered, and the
Offices, which were performed in monasteries and convents every 3 hours. In the
Mass, some texts stayed the same each week (called the Ordinary) and some
texts changed based on time of year (called the Proper). The Ordinary texts
became VERY prominent in classical choral music, being set by many composers.
Pope Gregory (590-604 CE) standardized the chant used throughout Italy and
France (as best he could). There were other traditions (Old Roman in Italy,
Mozarabic in Spain, Ambrozian in Milan, Gallican in France).
He was credited with writing some of the melodies. Most chants that became
standardized were actually notated or composed in the 11th and 12th centuries.
 Innovation #2: Gregorian Chant (cont.)

In 1903, monks in a French monastery were commissioned to print the Liber

Usualis, leading finally to a complete standardization of Gregorian Chant.

Page 2 in our book has a list of the most popular chants, which, by
extension, became the most popular texts to set as polyphonic choral pieces
later on.

Most chants are mostly syllabic (one note per syllable) and through-
composed (no melodic repetition). That said, some do have repeated or
similar melodic phrases (so a “form”) based on corresponding text patterns.
 Innovation #3: Secular Monophonic Songs

There was a rich tradition of secular (not about god) monophonic

songs that were written by specific composers (so not folk songs)
for the noble class. The composers were called troubadours and
trouveres, and the songs were often in very strict forms
(called formes fixes) named ballades, virelai, and rondeaux.

This elevated type of courtly music was a cultural phenomenon

that paved the way for future art music.
 Innovation #4: Development of Multiple Voice Parts

Below are four types of early polyphony in order of their

chronological development.
1. Organum duplum: a slow portion of a chant melody was sung
in the lowest voice, and a second line with faster rhythms and a
different texts in the upper voice.
2. Discant: this was a style of 2-part music with similar motion in
both voice parts (so no slow lower part and fast upper part)
 Innovation #5: Musical Polyphonic Genres of
Motet and Mass Movement

3. Isorythmic Motets: these used the same slow lower voice

and faster upper voices as organum duplum but organized the
slow lower voice with a pattern of repeated pitches (color) and
rhythms (talae). Each voice sung a different text.
4. Motets and Mass Movements: These grew from the
isorhythmic motets, but eventually the voices became more
similar in rhythmic pacing. These genres were paramount
during the Renaissance.
 Medieval Compositional Eras

1. Saint Martial (1100-1180): 2-voiced discant and organum duplum

2. Notre Dame (1180-1260): a large body of repertoire written for the Notre Dame
Cathedral by Leonin (1180-1190) and Perotin (around 1200). Leonin’s polyphony is 2-
part organum duplum, and Perotin added 3 and 4 voices in is organum (triplum and
quadruplum)
3. Ars Antiqua (1260-1320): 3-part motets, separate French texts and different
rhythmic pacing were used in the upper 2 voices, and either a slower chant or secular
tune used in the lower voice.
4. Ars Nova (1320-1450): 3-part motets organized by isorythmic principles. At the
beginning of the period, the upper parts moved more quickly than the lowest voice,
but by the end of the period, composers moved toward more equal rhythmic pacing
in all voices.
 Most important Medieval Composers

1. Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179): German, woman, monophonic works

2. Philippe de Vitry (1291-1361): French, Isorhythmic motets
3. Guillaume de Machaut (1300-1377): French, famous poet as well, polyphonic
secular pieces (for soloist and instruments) and a complete mass ordinary
cycle. This genre became paramount for centuries to follow.
4. John Dunstable (1390-1453): wrote mass cycles, mass movements,
motets, and secular pieces. In his mass movements he used past models but his
lowest voice moves more quickly and is frequently texted. 1/3 of his motets are
isorhythmic. A few are in discant style where all parts moving together. This
motet style, containing more 3rds and 6ths, influenced other composers and
contributed to the more pleasant polyphony of the Renaissance.
 Renaissance
1450-1600 CE
 Attributes of Early Renaissance Polyphony

1. The polyphony had single texts, with the same text in all voices (as
opposed to medieval motets that had separate texts on the different
lines).
2. It used long phrases of text
3. Scored for SATB (later Renaissance music had more voices)
4. It integrated the musical materials throughout the voices (motives
distributed in all voices, but not strictly imitated whole
melodies/themes like happened in the later Renaissance).
5. Imitative textures were found in duets (not found in all voice parts like
later in the Renaissance).
 Attributes of Middle Renaissance Polyphony

1. Single texts in each piece continued like in the early

Renaissance.
2. Short phrases of text were used within musical
phrases/sections of the piece.
3. Textures of the piece were unified by pervasive imitation in all
parts. Complete melodic ideas were imitated in all parts, not
just use of shorter motives in the voice parts like in the early
Renaissance.
 Attributes of Late Renaissance Polyphony

1. Compositional traits were more varied than in early and middle Ren.
2. Short phrases of text were used within musical phrases/sections of the
piece, together with short musical motives (shorter than in the
middle Renaissance).
3. Homophony became more common. Sacred pieces alternated
between imitative polyphony and homophonic sections.
4. Homophonic writing was prominent in protestant music and lighter
secular styles other than the madrigal (ie. villanela, cansoneta,
balleto, villancico, lied)
 Attributes of Late Renaissance Polyphony

5. Rhythmic variation was used to better express textual meaning, so

less slow spinning out of musical material and more quick
declamation of text when it better expressed the words.
6. Changes in sacred music were driven by the Council of Trent, a
Catholic reform movement that included music reform directives
that, among other things, required composers to write in a way that
the text could be better understood. This meant composers should
write less complex polyphony that obscured hearing the text
because singers sang the words all at different times.
 Where Were Composers Trained?

1. In the early Renaissance, Flanders (Belgium and northern France)

was the center of compositional instruction. These composers were
employed throughout Europe (ex. Dufay, Josquin)
2. In the Middle Renaissance, Italian composers (born and trained in
Italy) were the most prominent (ex. Willaert, Palestrina, Gabrieli)
3. By the end of the Renaissance, there was no center of
compositional training, with composers from throughout the West
(ex. Vittoria in Spain, Hassler and Franck in Germany, Byrd and
Morley in England)
 New Renaissance Genres

(The Mass, motet, and Magnificat all carried over from medieval)
1. New Renaissance genres that have been written ever since (all sacred)
1. French Calvanist Psalm Settings
2. Lutheran Chorales
3. Chorale Motets
4. English Anthems
2. Genres that went away then came back in the 20th century (all secular)
1. Madrigal
2. Chanson
 Mass compositional techniques

1. Almost all masses were based on preexisting materials, either quoting chant/chanson in
one or more voices or being built from the musical materials/polyphonic structure of
existing madrigals, motets or masses.
2. Several ways of using this preexisting material to build the music
a. Sing a preexisting tune (a chant or secular song) in the tenor voice in longer note
values, with other parts in polyphony. A tune used this way was called a cantus firmus.
This tune could be sung backward (retrograde), sung with flipped intervals, going up
when you went down (inversion), or both backward and flipped (retrograde inversion).
b. Sing a preexisting tune (usually in the soprano), but elaborate/modify it, with other
parts in polyphony
c. Model the mass movement on a preexisting polyphonic work (madrigal, chanson, or
motet)
 Motet compositional techniques

1. Early Renaissance: Composers used a cantus firmus chant tune.

2. Middle Renaissance: Composers used a chant tune but it was broken
up into separate phrases which were each used as a “point of
imitation,” with all voices singing that small portion of the tune
imitatively.
3. Late Renaissance: Composers wrote more freely in both melodic
content and structure, so not based on a chant tune and not in strict
imitation.
 Use of Instruments in Renaissance Vocal Music

1. Virtually all the Renaissance genres were composed for voices without
specified instrumental accompaniment.
2. BUT… instruments were commonly used to double the voices,
especially in the later Renaissance.
3. The serpent doubled the bass voice.
4. Consorts (groups of similar instruments of unified timbre… ie.
recorders, viols, sackbuts) were used to double voice parts. This
doubling is called colla parte and would be employed for an entire
piece or autonomous section of a piece.
 France

1. Many composers in the early Renaissance were from the region of northern France
and western Belgium. These composers are called “Franco-Flemish”
2. In the first part of the Renaissance, this was the center of compositional instruction
3. 11 “French” composers were born in the Franco-Flemish region (ex. Dufay,
Ockeghem, Josquin Desprez)
4. 12 were born in other French speaking areas: 6 were born in Paris (ex. de Sermissy,
le Jeune, Costeley) and 4 in other French cities (Mouton, Janequin). Only 2 were
born in any other region than those listed above (Sweelinck in the Netherlands and
Phillips in London).
5. The center of composition shifted from the Franco-Flemish region to Paris by the
mid to late Renaissance.
 Where did the French composers work?

1. Half worked in the French king’s court. France had a very

centralized government, something Italy and Germany didn’t have.
2. The other half worked in other smaller courts or for cathedrals,
chapels, or churches
3. All 15th century composers only wrote music for the Catholic
church (pre-protestant revolution)
4. All 16th century composers except 2 wrote music for both the
Catholic church and Protestant churches
 Genres of French Renaissance music

1. Catholic (sacred): mass cycles, mass movements, Latin motets, and

Magnificats (which alternated between solo chant and choral polyphony)
2. Protestant (sacred): polyphonic psalm settings and sacred chansons (all in
French, not Latin)
3. Secular: Chanson (you see this name used again in future eras)
4. Generally, early music quoted a cantus firmus, middle era music used point
of imitation built from the cantus firmus broken into separate phrases, and
the later era was more freely composed, with more focus on word
expression. This freedom and focus on text expression led to Baroque
techniques.
 French Psalm Settings

1. These began in simple homophonic settings

2. Later composers wrote in 3 styles (note, these somewhat
parallel the 3 types of mass composition techniques discussed
above)
a. hymn-like, with the tune often in the tenor
b. Slightly adorned with tune in the soprano and imitation in
other parts
c. Motet-like with imitative phrases in all parts
 Chanson

1. These are secular pieces. “Chanson” simply means “song”

2. Early Ren. composers wrote these in the formes fixes of the medieval era
3. Later composers wrote them in motet-like polyphony
4. Parisian composers in the mid 16th century popularized a homophonic style
(you can think of this as parallel with the Italian development of the more
homophonic villanela, canzoneta, and balleto in the mid to late Renaissance)
5. Late Renaissance composers wrote in the “Programmatic Style” that told
evocative stories (ex. Janequin)
6. Le Jeune wrote pieces in the late Ren. that used word stress to determine
long and short rhythms, a technique called musique mesuree.
 Important French Composers

Early: Guillaume Dufay (1397-1474); Jean de Ockeghem (1410-

1497); Josquin Desprez (1450-1521)
Middle: Clement Janequin (1485-1558); Claudin de Sermisy (1490-
1562); Jacobus Clemens non Papa (1510-1556)
Late: Claude Le Jeune (1528-1600)
 Italy

1. The first generation of Italian composers were actually Franco-Flemish

in training but worked in Italy and helped develop specifically Italian
styles: Verdelot, Willaert, Arcadelt, de Rore, de Mont, and de Wert.
2. All later composers were Italian born and trained. Only five composers
of this group worked outside of Italy.
3. The two largest compositional centers were Rome (Papal court… ex.
Arcadelt, Palestrina, Allegri) and Venice (St. Mark’s Cathedral…
Willaert, de Rore, Gabrieli). Ferrara (de Rore, Gesualdo) and Mantua
(Wert, Gastoldi, Viadana) were important centers of madrigal
composition.
 Italian Sacred Works

Early masses were written in the style of the Franco-Flemish composers,

often using a cantus firmus in the tenor and based on preexisting chants,
chansons, and motets.
Mid Renaissance masses were also based on preexisting models, now
including madrigals, but they were composed in imitative polyphony.
Late Renaissance masses were influenced by reforms dictated by the
Council of Trent, which required the intelligibility of text in all sacred music,
thus promoting a more declamatory style and syllabic text setting. This led
to the used of word painting, polyphony based on short motif-like subjects
alternating with passages of homophony.
 Italian Sacred Works (cont.)

Motets mirrored the development of the Mass.

The polychoral motet (for more than one choir) became prominent in the
later Renaissance. These motets were for 8 or more voices. St. Marks
Cathedral in Venice was particularly known for these, and Giovanni Gabrieli
is the most well-known composer of this style. One of his motets has 19
voices, and one of his Magnificats is for 30 voices. Wow!
Note: English composer Thomas Tallis’s motet Spem in Alium is very
famously scored for 40 voices, 8 5-voice choirs. It was reportedly inspired
by the Italian composer Alessandro Striggio’s 40-voice motet Tallis heard
when Striggio visited England.
 The Madrigal

1. The madrigal was the main secular genre in Italy.

2. All composers but Allegri wrote them.
3. Arcadelt, 200; Wert, 225; Marenzio, 425; Monte, 1,100
4. It was a serious art form, related to the motet in compositional style
5. Three periods:
a. Early were mostly 4 voices with uncomplicated polyphony and
homophony, and the rhythmic values had little variation.
b. Many were settings of the famous 14th century poet Petrarch
 Madrigal (cont.)

a. The Middle period had a number of traits. The last 4 were all means to better express the text.
 Composers used a variety of rhythmic values that expanded beyond whole and half notes and
included quarter and 8th notes
 There were 5-6 voice parts (no longer only 4 parts)
 They used less Petrarch poetry, shifting to more contemporary poetry and less serious subject
matter.
 There was more homophony and less polyphony to better express the text
 Composers used short motives as opposed to long phrases, again to more specifically express
text meaning of each poetic line.
 There was occasional chromaticism for expressive purposes (again, depicting text meaning)
 Word painting (more text expression) – melodic passages that depict specific textual
characteristics
 Madrigal (pt. 3)

c. Late madrigals
 were focused on text and were expressive and declamatory
 Had even more rhythmic variety, chromaticism, and word painting to heighten
expression
 3 genres of lighter secular works emerged (not madrigals, but we often call
them madrigals today)
• The villanella – 3 voices written for play-like entertainment, and often
mocked the madrigal's conventions
• Canzonet – similar to the villanella but less rustic
• Balleto – dance songs usually for 5 voices, AABB form, and fa la la refrains
 Important Italian Composers

1. Early: Philippe Verdelot (1480-1532)

2. Middle: Adrian Willaert (1490-1562); Jaques Arcadelt (1507-
1568); Cipriano de Rore (1515-1565)
3. Late: Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594); Giovanni
Gabrieli (1555-1612); Carlo Gesualdo (1566-1613)
 Spain and the New World

Spain was different from France and Italy in several ways.

• Unlike France and Italy (at least in the early Renaissance), the majority
of significant Spanish composers were born in Spain (not Franco-Flemish).
• Unlike France and Italy, Spanish composers worked throughout the country,
not just confined to a few important centers (ex. Paris, Venice, Rome,
Ferrara, and Mantua). Only one major composer worked in Madrid, and
none worked in the major cities of Valencia or Barcelona.
• Lastly, few worked in the royal or major noble courts.
4 majors composers studied or worked for a period of time in Rome (including
Morales and Victoria)
 Mexico

Spanish colonization of the New World led to establishment of large cities

with large Catholic cathedrals (ex. Mexico City).
Music was imported from Spain to be sung in these churches, and music
was used as a tool to convert indigenous people. New world composers
also wrote music for these cathedrals.
 Spanish Sacred Music

Spain was a Catholic country, so they had Latin masses, motets, and
Magnificats. (Victoria only composed sacred music, unusual for the time.)
Mass development paralleled Italy, with cantus firmus construction in the
early era, followed by more imitative structures later in the era. Like in
Italy, masses were based on preexisting chants, secular tunes, and motets of
the time
Motets were either in point of imitation style of Roman composers or in the
polychoral style of Venice. They didn't adopt the Council of Trent mandates
or the seconda prattica of the Baroque era, so there is little homophony in
the motets and no basso continuo (bass line played by an instrument).
 Spanish Villancico

The villancico was the Spanish secular work of choice (so parallel to the Italian
madrigal and French chansons).
It started in the early 16th century as a lighthearted secular form but was
quickly adopted to use for sacred purposes, especially at Christmas.
The texture is basically homophonic, strophic form, with verses (coplas) and
refrains (estribillo). In the late Renaissance the verses could be sung by soloists
accompanied by basso continuo.
 Important Spanish Composers

1. Early: Juan del Encina (1468-1529)

2. Middle: Christobal de Morales (1500-1553)
3. Late: Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599); Tomas Luis de Victoria
(1548-1611)
 Germany and Austria

Unlike France, Italy, Spain, and England, German composers were born in many
different countries.
German/Austrian born composers, like those in Spain, were from varied
geographical areas scattered throughout the region (9 born in northern
Germany, 4 in the south, 2 in Austria)
Where they worked varied: 5 served the Imperial court in Vienna, only 2 in the
German courts of Dresden and Munich, and others were in various cities.
Three basic genre categories: Latin works for Catholic services, Latin and
German works for Lutheran services, and secular works for courts and public
entertainments.
 German Catholic Works

These works closely resembled Italian genres

The masses followed Italian development and were almost entirely point of
imitation style based on preexisting chants, motets, and chansons.
Motets in the early years were in polyphonic point of imitation style.
Motets became sectional in the middle years, with different voicings for
various sections.
In the later years they had more syllabic settings of text, exchanges of short
motifs, and expressive word painting, again, mimicking Italian development.
Polychoral motets (associated with the compositional techniques of Venice and
St. Marks) were common in the later years.
 Lutheran Church Music

Genres: chorales, chorale motets, and sacred lieder in German; Latin

motets, Latin Passions, German historiae, and Magnificats containing
both Latin and German.
Chorales were the most distinctive genre. These were an outgrowth of
Lutheran reforms to provide music to be sung by congregations. These
were originally monophonic songs in AAB form (called bar form), with
"A" being called the stollen and "B" being called the abgesang.
These tunes became so widespread that they were used as the basis
for polyphonic music, much like Gregorian chant.
 Lutheran Church Music (cont.)

Lieder were hymn-like settings similar to the chorale, but with the tune in the
tenor, characterized by mostly homophony with some simple polyphony. They
were used for private devotion.
Latin was still used in parts of the Lutheran church service, so Lutheran
composers still wrote Latin motets.
Latin Passions used text from the 4 gospels to tell the story of Jesus Christ's
final week of life and his crucifixion, while German historiae focused on his
resurrection. Both genres had two types: polyphonic choral (choir only) and
responsorial, which had soloists on recitation tones (repeated chant notes) or
monody (solo voice with instrumental accompaniment) and the crowd (turba)
set polyphonically.
 German Secular Music: The Lied

Don't confuse this Renaissance "lied" with the Romantic era "lied,"
which is for solo singer and piano.
The lied was a strophic, homophonic piece with repeated sections
that set folk-like love poetry.
German composers also wrote French chansons and Italian
madrigals.
 Most Important German Composers

Early: Heinrich Issac (1450-1517)

Middle: Ludwig Senfl (1486-1543)
Late: Orlando di Lasso (1532-1594) and Jacob Handl (1550-1591)
Early 17th century (technically Baroque dates): Hans Leo Hassler
(1564-1612), Michael Praetorius (1571-1621), and Melchior
Franck (1579-1639)
 England

Unlike France, Italy, Spain, and Germany, England had little

influence from other countries. (The importing of Italian madrigals
in the late Renaissance is the one big exception.)
For this reason, the Renaissance started late (early 16th century
composers were still writing in medieval styles) and continued well
into the 17th century when other countries were then using
seconda prattica Baroque techniques.
The Renaissance started around 1540 in England (not 1450) and
continued until 1650 (not 1610)
 About English Composers

Very little was recorded about the lives of English composers. It

just wasn't part of their culture to write it down.
Formal education was important to them: 20 of the 41 English
composers were educated either at Oxford or Cambridge.
England, like France, had a centralized monarchy that focused
musical activity in the royal court. 13 composers were employed
at the Chapel Royal (the king's church) and others worked for the
monarchy.
 English Sacred Music

The Anglican Church (Church of England) was established in 1534.

Throughout the 1500's, England's monarchs flipped back and forth
between being Anglican or Catholic. Therefore, English
Renaissance sacred music was written both in Latin (Catholic) and
English (Anglican) depending on the reigning monarch.
The sacred music in English retained the Latin titles but were
written in English. Don't let that confuse you!
Catholic genres: masses, motets, and Magnificats
 English Sacred Music (cont.)

The main Anglican genres were the multi-movement Service (like a

Latin Mass or Office) and the Anthem (like a Latin motet).
The Services were multi-movement works that were written for 3
different church services. “Holy Communion” services
corresponded to the Catholic Mass. They have the five Ordinary
movements, but in a different order and translated into English.
Morning Prayer and Evensong correspond to parts of the Office
and include English translations of 5 sacred texts (including the
Magnificat).
 English Sacred Music (pt. 3)

There are two types of English anthems from the Renaissance.

Full anthems are written only for choir and are in one movement.
There are simpler homophonic anthems for 4-5 voices, or large-
scale motet-like pieces with points of imitation
Verse anthems are written for soloists, chorus, and organ or viol
accompaniment.
Most sacred music was for SSATB, with boy sopranos singing the
SS parts and male altos singing the A part. This tradition remains
today and is a huge part of the English choral sound.
 English Secular Music

Partsongs are short, homophonic, strophic works that were

written in the earlier part of the Renaissance.
From 1580-1650, secular genres were based on the Italian
madrigal, canzonet, and balleto.
Books of Italian madrigals were imported and published starting in
the 1580's. At first, English translations were written to
Italian works, but then English composers started writing original
works modelled after Italian pieces. The English madrigal is a huge
body of amazing works that are great for high school choirs.
 English Secular Music (cont.)

The "Triumphs of Oriana" is a very famous book of English madrigals

published by Thomas Morley. Each madrigal ends with "Long live fair
Oriana," a tribute to Queen Elizabeth.
English madrigals were similar to Italian madrigals in their imitative
polyphony with word painting. The were also different in several ways. They
were more tonal, less rhythmically diverse, and had more obvious word
painting (so generally, a bit less sophisticated or progressive).
The ballet was the most popular genre and had fa la la refrains like the
balleto. The canzonet was more song-like, with the soprano having the
melody and other voices accompanying.
 English Secular Music (pt. 3)

The air emerged from canzonet writing and was at first a piece for
solo voice and lute (called a lute song), but then became a piece
for vocal ensemble. Composers would write the same piece in
these two formats: for soloist/lute and for choral ensemble. John
Dowland is the most famous lute song composer (and Sting made
an album of his music).
 Most Important English Composers

Early: John Taverner (1490-1545)

Middle: Christopher Tye (1505-1573); Thomas Tallis (1505-1585)
Late: William Byrd (1540-1623); Thomas Morley (1557-1602);
John Dowland (1563-1626); Thomas Tomkins (1572-1656);
Thomas Weelkes (1576-1623); Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625)