MUSIC OF THE

MEDIEVAL PERIOD
- Lasted from the 5th to the 15th century.
- The Catholic Church became the most
powerful institution of the medieval
period.
- Both men and women played a role in
preserving the knowledge and cultivated
music for the church.
MUSICAL FORMS
A. SACRED MUSIC
Music of the Christian church shaped in
part by Greek, Hebrew and Syrian influences.

-
GREGORIAN CHANT
- Was the official music of the Roman Catholic church
for many years.
- Also known as plainchant or plainsong, Roman chant
and was named after Pope Gregory the Great (Patron
of Choir Boys and Singers)
Characteristics of the Gregorian Chants:
• Monophonic
• Free meter
• Modal
• Usually based on Latin liturgy
• Use of Neume notation
 B. SECULAR
MUSIC
Arose in courts and castles performed by
minstrels, jongleurs, troubadours and
minnisingers.
MINSTRELS
- Meaning mini servant
- Lowly musicians who wandered among the courts and towns and regaled
their audience with gossip and news.
JONGLEURS
- Versatile entertainers who played musical instruments, sang and danced,
juggled and show tricks and performed with animal acts.
TROUBADOURS
- Travelling poets and musicians who flourished in the various courts of
Europe.
- They either sang their music and poetry themselves or entrusted its
performance to other musicians.
MINNISINGERS
- Singers of courtly love
TROUBADOUR MUSIC
Characteristics of the Troubadour Music:
• Usually monophonic
• Sometimes with improvised accompaniment
• Tells of chivalry and courtly love
• Originated in France
• Written in the French language
CANSO
- A simple love song, generally admiring the beauty and virtue of a
woman.
ALBA
- Refers to a morning song for lovers.
CANSO DE CROZADAS
- Political in content about the Crusades and generally in support of
their ventures.
TENSO
- Sung as a two – voiced debate generally over political or ethical
matters.
 TYPES OF
TROUBADOUR
COMPOSITIONS
1. TROBAR LEU
- The simplest and most accessible to people with varying levels
of education.
2. TROBAR CLUS
- Contains such complex metaphors and difficult vocabularies that
only selected audiences understand.
3. TROBAR RIC
- Between the leu and clus styles.
- It is more sophisticated in its use of vocabulary and metaphors
although trobac ric songs could still be
understood by a reasonably wide audience.