July 23, 2013
Describe music life in The Middle Ages; I would a discussion based on the development of sacred and secular music throughout this time period. Please identity key genres that developed composers of the time and civic life that surrounded the music of this time. Music in The Middle Ages made great advancement through the centuries which many are still evidence. The Christian church affected the development of music greatly during the middle ages. People used music for different things as entertainment, in the church and through their lifetime. The main form of music during The Middle Ages was the Gregorian Chant, named for Pope Gregory I. This music was used in the Catholic Church to enhance services. It knew as sacred music of Latin text, sung by monks without instrumentation. The Chant is sung in a monophonic texture, which means there is only one line of music. It has a flowing rhythm with little or no set beat. At the end of The Middle Ages, about 12th and 13th centuries, music began to move outside of the church. French nobles called troubadours or trovers were the first to have written secular songs. Music of this time was contained among the nobility, with court ministers performing for them. The monophonic melodies of these musicians to which may have added improvised accompaniments were often rhythmically lively. Secular song text focused on idealized love in all manifestations of joy and pain. Composers of The Middle Ages were rarely identify by name, however as polyphony developed were credited for their innovations. Gillerme de Machaut was the most important French composer of the late Middle Ages. He compose the missa Notre Dame which is historically important because was the first polyphonic setting of the entire mass ordinary. Hildegard of Bingen from Germany is noted for her expressive chants and hymns. Leonin and Perotin from France worker in the Notre Dame Cathedral and are noted for developing and