WESTERN MUSIC

M i d d l e A ge s
 •MUSIC IN THE MIDDLE AGES (450-1450)

A. MUSIC IN THE MIDDLE AGES (450-1450)

 Gregorian chant
• consists of melody set to sacred Latin
texts and sung without accompaniment.
•The chant is monophonic in texture.
•Melodies of Gregorian chant were
meant to enhance specific parts of
religious services.
MUSIC IN THE MIDDLE AGES (450-1450)

Church Modes
•the basic scales of western
music during the middle
ages and Renaissance
• were used in secular as
well as sacred music.
 Secular Music in the Middle Ages

• music outside the church( 12th and 13th

centuries )by French nobles- called the
troubadours and trouveres.
•The songs were usually performed by
court minstrels, and most of them deal
with love; but there are also songs about
the Crusades, dance songs, and spinning
songs.
 Composers: during the Middle Ages
Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) –
composer of “O Successores” (You
successors) was one of the most creative
and many-sided personalities of the
middle ages.
 
Guillaume de Machaut (1300-1377) -
famous both as a musician and a poet
Period
B. MUSIC IN THE RENAISSANCE (1450-1600)

Characteristics of Renaissance Music:

• The texture is polyphonic (a texture consisting of
two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody
 
•Typical choral piece has 4, 5 or 6 voice parts
of nearly equal melodic interest.
 
•Imitation among the voices is common:
each presents the same melodic idea in turn,
as in a round.
B. MUSIC IN THE RENAISSANCE (1450-1600)
•Homophonic texture, with successions of chords,
is also used, especially in light music, like dances.
 
•Renaissance music sounds fuller than medieval
music.
 
•The bass register was used for the first time,
expanding the pitch range to more than 4 octaves.
 
•Period of “golden age” of unaccompanied – a
capella – choral music.
 •Sacred Music

Sacred Music
Motet – is a polyphonic choral work set to
sacred Latin text other than the ordinary
of the mass.
 
Mass – is a polyphonic choral
composition made up of five sections:
Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Agnus
Dei.
 Sacred Music
Secular Vocal Music: Madrigal – a piece for several
solo voices set to a short poem, usually about love. A
madrigal like a motet, combines homophonic and
polyphonic textures.
 
Secular Instrumental Music: Dance Forms – the
development of independent instrumental music
grew out of two sources: the use of instruments to
double or replace parts of a vocal composition and
the use of instruments for dance music.
 Composers: during the Renaissance
Josquin Desprez (1440-1521) – master of Renaissance music.
Composed music for masses, motets and secular vocal pieces.
“Ave Maria…virgo serena” is the outstanding choral work.
 
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594) – devoted himself
to Catholic Church music that includes 104 masses and some 450
other sacred works.
•“Pope Marcellus Mass” is the famous mass by Palestrina written
for a capella choir of six voice parts: soprano, alto, two tenors
and two basses.
 
Thomas Weelkes (1575-1623) – an organist and church
composer.
C. MUSIC IN THE BAROQUE (1600-1750)

•Baroque pieces usually express one basic

mood: what begins joyfully will remain joyful
throughout
•Rhythmic patterns heard at the beginning of
a piece are repeated throughout .
•Baroque melody creates a feeling of
continuity.
•Polyphonic in texture.
•Chords became increasingly important
during the baroque period.
•Early Baroque (1600-1640) – composers’ favored homophonic texture over the polyphonic texture typical of Renaissance music.
•Middle Baroque (1640-1680) – the church modes scales governed music for centuries gradually gave way to major and minor scales.

3 Periods
1. Early Baroque (1600-1640) –
composers’ favored homophonic texture
over the polyphonic texture typical of
Renaissance music.
 
2. Middle Baroque (1640-1680) – the
church modes scales governed music for
centuries gradually gave way to major and
minor scales.
3. Late Baroque Period (1680-1750) –
many aspects of harmony – including an
emphasis on the attraction of the
dominant chord to the tonic – arose in
this period. Instrumental music became
as important as vocal music for the first
time. Late baroque composers gloried in
polyphony.
  Single Vocal Forms
•Recitative – is a free form for solo voice with
accompaniment in which the vocal melody
approximates the natural rhythm and pitch
inflection of the text.
•Aria – is a song for solo and accompaniment
in which the vocal part is written in a fairly
complex style, often with several notes to
each syllable of the text.
•Chorale – sung in unison or in four-part block
chord style.
 Multi-movement Vocal Forms

Opera – is a drama sung with instrumental

accompaniment and presented with appropriate
scenery, costumes and staging.
Cantata – is a composite vocal form in several
movements for solo voice and instrumental
accompaniment or for solo voices, chorus and
instrumental accompaniment.
Oratorio – is a composite vocal work for soloists,
chorus and orchestra based on a sacred or
secular text.
 •Single Movement Instrumental Forms

Single Movement Instrumental Forms

Sectional Dance Form – dances written in

rounded binary form.
Orchestral Overture – an instrumental
composition which serves as an introductory
movement for an opera, oratorio or cantata or
as the first movement of a composite
instrumental piece.
Fugue – is a composition based on polyphonic
imitative treatment of a short theme known as
the subject.
 •Multi-Movement Instrumental Forms

Multi-Movement Instrumental Forms

Sonata da chiesa (Italian: church sonata) –

written for solo instruments
Sonata da camera (Italian: chamber sonata) – is
a composite instrumental work based on dance
forms.
Suite – an important Baroque instrumental form
for solo harpsichord, clavichord or orchestral
instruments. It is also a dance movement:
allemande, courante, sarabande and gigue.
 •Composers:

Johanne Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

 
A German composer, organist,
harpsichordist, violist and violinist
whose sacred and secular works for
choir, orchestra, and solo
instruments drew together the
strands of Baroque period and
brought it to its ultimate maturity.
Works: “Branderburg Concerto,” “Air
on G-String,” “Toccata and Fugue in
D minor,” “Organ Mass” and “The
Magnificat.”
 •Composers:

Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)

He is one of the most important

composers in early baroque era.
Created the earliest operatic
masterpiece “Orfeo”. The last
opera by Monteverdi is
“L’incoronazione di Poppea (The
Coronation of Poppea).”
 •Composers:

Henry Purcell (1659-1695)

He is an English organist and
Baroque composer of secular
and sacred music. Works:
“Dido and Aeneas,” “The
Fairy Queen” (an adaptation
of Shakespeare’s A
Midsummer Night’s Dream),
“King Arthur”, and “Jubilate
Deo”.
 •Composers:

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)

Italian composer, priest, and
virtuoso violinist and known for
composing instrumental
concertos, especially for the
violin, as well as sacred choral
works and over 40 operas.
Works: “The Four Seasons,”
“Twelve sonatas for two violins
and basso continuo (opus 1),”
“La Stravaganza for twelve
violin concertos.”
 •Composers:

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)

He is a master of Italian
opera, English oratorios,
anthems and organ
concertos. Works: “Messiah,”
“Water Music,” “Music for
the Royal Fireworks,” “For
unto Us a Child Is Born.”
 •MUSIC OF CLASSICAL PERIOD (1750-1820)

MUSIC OF CLASSICAL PERIOD (1750-1820)

 

Characteristics of Classical Music:

 
Emphasis on beauty, elegance and balance.
Homophonic Texture
Classical melodies are among the most tuneful and
easiest to remember.
Sonata form was the most important design.
The orchestra increases in size and range. The
harpsichord falls out of use. The woodwind becomes a
self-contained section.
Single Movement Instrumental Forms
Binary Form – form of
movement with two principal
themes or two distinct
sections.
Ternary Form – form of
movement with three
principal themes or three
sections.
Rondo Form – a typical
pattern which letters
representing thematic sections
(ABACABA) there are five and
seven part rondo forms.
Variation Forms – One of a set
of series of transformations of
a theme by means of
harmonic, rhythmic, and
melodic changes and
embellishments.
Sonatina Form – in essence, a
miniature version of sonata-
allegro form, but with shorter
themes, an abbreviated or
occasionally omitted
development section, and a
generally lighter character.
Multi - Movement Instrumental Forms

Sonata Form – refers to the Concerto – an extended

form of a single movement composition for a solo
and consists of three main instrument and orchestra,
sections: the exposition, frequently in a sonata form.
where the themes are
presented; the development,
where themes are treated in
new ways; and the
recapitulation, where the
themes return. The three main
sections are often followed by
a concluding section, the coda.
These sections are all within
one movement.
 
Single-Movement Vocal Forms

Recitative
Aria
Song
Chorus
Multi-Movement Vocal Forms

COMPOSERS
Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827)
He represents the highest level
of musical genius. He opened
new realms of musical
expression and profoundly
influenced composers
throughout the 19th century.
Works: “Symphony No. 5 in c
minor,” “Piano Sonata in C
minor Op.13,” “Moonlight
Sonata.”
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
He is one of the most amazing
child prodigies, prolific and
influential composer in the
history of classical music. Works:
“Eine Kleine Nachtmusik,” “Don
Giovanni,” “Symphony No.40 in
g minor,” “The Marriage of
Figaro.”
 
 Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
He is the first master
of Viennese Classicism
and the Father of
Symphony. Works:
“The Creation,” “The
Seasons,” “Surprise
Symphony,” “Trumpet
Concerto in E Flat
Major.”
Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840)

He is a composer,
guitarist and
virtuoso violinist.
Works: “Caprice
No. 24 in A minor,”
“Tarantella,” “God
Save the King.”
Characteristics of Romantic Music(1820-1900) :
Describe as subjectivity, emotionalism, longing
exuberance, imbalance, fantasy.
Emphasis on self-expression and individuality of
style.
Expressive aims and subjects
Nationalism and Exoticism
Program music
Expressive tone color
Colorful harmony
Expanded range of dynamics, pitch and tempo
 Forms of Orchestral Music:

 
Program Symphony – is a composition in several
movements as its name implies, a symphony with a
program. Usually, each movement has a descriptive
title.
 
Concert Overture – has one movement, usually in
sonata form. The romantic concert overture was
modeled after the opera overture, a one movement
composition that establishes the mood of an opera.
Symphonic poem or tone poem – is also in one
movement. Symphonic poems take many
traditional forms – sonata form, rondo, or theme
and variations – as well as irregular forms.
 
Incidental music – is music to be performed before
and during a play. It is “incidental” to the staged
drama, but it sets the mood for certain scenes.
Interludes, background music, marches, and
dances are all incidental music.
Art Song – a composition for solo voice and piano. Poetry and music
are intimately fused in the art song.
 
Strophic Form – repeating the same music for each stanza of the
poem. Strophic form makes a song easy to remember and is used in
almost all folk songs.
 
Through-Composed Form – writing new music for each stanza.
Through-composed form allows music to reflect a poem’s changing
moods.
 
Song Cycle – a cycle may be unified by a story line that runs through
the poems or by musical ideas linking the songs.
 Composers: Romantic Period
 
Franz Schubert (1797-1828) – earliest
master of the romantic art song wrote
some 600 lieder, nine symphonies,
liturgical music, operas, some
incidental music, and large body of
chamber and solo piano music. Works:
“Unfinished Symphony,” “Serenade,”
“Symphony No.8 in B minor.”
 
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) –
composer, pianist and conductor.
Works: “A Midsummer Night’s
Dream,” “Italian Symphony,”
“Hebrides Overture.”
 
Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)
– composer, genius of the
piano who created a unique
romantic style of keyboard
music. Works: “Nocturne in E
flat Major,” “Etude in C
minor,” “Polonaise in A flat
Major.”
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-
1893) – was one of the most loved
of Russian composers. His music is
famous for its strong emotion, and
his technical skill and strict work
habits helped guarantee its lasting
appeal. Works: “Nutcracker Suite,”
“Romeo and Juliet,” “Sleeping
Beauty,” “Swan Lake.”
Giuseppe Verdi (1813-
1901) – the most popular
of all opera composers.
Works: “Rigoletto,” “La
Donna e Mobile,” “Aida,”
“La Traviata.”
 C e nt ur y
2o th
 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY MUSIC AND BEYOND

Characteristics of 20th century music:

 
•Tone color became more important of music than ever before.
•Many techniques considered uncommon before were being used
during this time.
•Many composers used noiselike and percussive instruments.
•Glissando, a rapid slide up or down the scales.
•Percussion instruments became a major part of 20th century music.
•Dissonant chords were becoming just as common as consonant
chords.
•Many emphasized irregularity and unpredictability.
•The time signature would often change in the middle of piece.
Impressionism – musical style that stresses tone color, atmosphere and
fluidity, typical of Debussy.
 
Expressionism – musical style stressing intense, subjective emotion and
harsh dissonance, typical of German and Austrian music of the early
20th century.
 
Neoclassicism – musical style marked by emotional restraint, balance
and clarity, inspired by the forms and stylistic features of 18th century
music.
 
Nationalism – Inclusion of folksongs, dances, legends, and other
national material in a composition to associate it with the composer’s
homeland; characteristic of romantic music.
Minimalist music – is characterized by steady pulse,
clear tonality, and insistent repetition of short melodic
patterns; its dynamic level, texture, and harmony tend to
stay constant for fairly long stretches of time, creating a
trancelike or hypnotic effect.
 
Electronic instrument – whose sound is produced,
modified or amplified by electronic means.
 
Free Jazz – jazz style that departs from traditional jazz is
not being based on regular forms and established chord
patterns.
Jazz – music rooted in improvisation and characterized by syncopated rhythm,
a steady beat, and distinctive tone colors and performance techniques. Jazz
was developed in the United States predominantly by African American
musicians and gained popularity in the early twentieth century.
 
Jazz Rock (fusion) – style that combines the jazz musician’s improvisatory
approach with rock rhythms and tone colors.
 
Ragtime – style of composed piano music, generally in duple meter with a
moderate march tempo, in which the pianist’s right hand plays a highly
syncopated melody while the left hand maintains the beat with an “oom-pah”
accompaniment.
 
Popular Music – belongs to any of a number of musical genres “having wide
appeal” and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music
industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music.
 Composers: 20th Century
Arnold Schoenberg (Austrian, 1874-1951)
– composer and theorist whose
intransigent method of organizing music
according to twelve equal notes
profoundly influenced the direction of
20th century music. Works: “Pierrot
Lunaire,” “A Survivor from Warsaw,”
 
Claude Debussy (French, 1862-1918) –
composer, originator of musical
Impressionism. Works: “Clair de Lune,”
“String Quartet in G minor,” “Nocturne,”
“Fantaisie for piano and orchestra.”
 
Bela Bartok (Hungarian, 1881-1945) – a
composer whose style was intimately
welded to his pioneering folk music
research. Work: “Concerto for Orchestra,”
“Third Piano Concerto,” “Violin Concerto.”

Sergei Rachmaninoff (Russian, 1873-1943)

– composer, pianist and conductor. Work:
“Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini,”
“Prelude in C sharp minor,” “Symphonic
Dances.”
Aaron Copland (American, 1900-1990) –
greatly distinguished and exceptionally
gifted composer. Work: “Appalachian
Spring,” “The Cat and the Mouse for
piano,” “Sonata in G major for piano.”
 
John Cage (American, 1912-1992) –
writer, philosopher, and visual artist of
the experimental school, who radically
changed the course of 20th century
music. Work: “Sonatas and Interludes,”
“Dream,” “Water Music.”
 
Miles Davis (American,
1926-1991) – outstanding
black American jazz
trumpeter and bandleader.
Work: “Miles Runs the
Voodoo Dow,” “Miles Davis
Quintet.”
end