Early Polyphony In The Medieval Era
Early Polyphony in the Medieval Era
Young J. Kim
Music 386: History of the Medieval through the Baroque Eras
November 17, 2015
Music in the Medieval Ages was considered to be one of the longest periods in musical history, which consisted of almost of a thousand years of European musical development. From 500 to 1450 A.D., social and religious developments played an important role in the way music was composed and played. Music in the early medieval period was divided into two categories: sacred and secular music. Christianity was a pivotal role in medieval culture in which an entire musical style was developed to support the religion. Medieval hierarchy influenced in the development in secular music, which …show more content…
Sacred music was developed as an offering to God, while secular music was used solely for entertainment purposes. Troubadours, Trouvère and Minnesingers throughout Europe helped develop secular music and passed them down orally because of their lack of proper music training. Musicians of the church on the other hand, had the ability to write down their compositions through proper musical training either through a university or other formal musical education programs. Because of the domination of the early Christian church during this period, sacred music was the most prevalent. At the time, the Christian church was a very powerful social institution. Although writings about the Medieval Ages gave us little information about the history, the preservation of church music helped us understand the styles that were developed in the Medieval Ages like Polyphony. Polyphony is a texture in music, in which two or more lines of independent melodies are produced simultaneously. Compared to monophony, two …show more content…
Although the Western Empire collapsed in 476, the Eastern Empire flourished for almost a millennium until the Turks invaded in 1453. Throughout the years, Christianity became diversified throughout the Byzantine Empire. Each region had a standardized calendar, rite and liturgy. Plainchants were body of chants that were used in the liturgies of a service. Plainchants were derived from existing Jewish and Byzantine chants. One of the most distinct features of a plainchant was that it was monophonic. It was made up of a single melody without any harmony, resulting in one musical part. This eventually developed into the Gregorian
Young J. Kim
Music 386: History of the Medieval through the Baroque Eras
November 17, 2015
Music in the Medieval Ages was considered to be one of the longest periods in musical history, which consisted of almost of a thousand years of European musical development. From 500 to 1450 A.D., social and religious developments played an important role in the way music was composed and played. Music in the early medieval period was divided into two categories: sacred and secular music. Christianity was a pivotal role in medieval culture in which an entire musical style was developed to support the religion. Medieval hierarchy influenced in the development in secular music, which …show more content…
Sacred music was developed as an offering to God, while secular music was used solely for entertainment purposes. Troubadours, Trouvère and Minnesingers throughout Europe helped develop secular music and passed them down orally because of their lack of proper music training. Musicians of the church on the other hand, had the ability to write down their compositions through proper musical training either through a university or other formal musical education programs. Because of the domination of the early Christian church during this period, sacred music was the most prevalent. At the time, the Christian church was a very powerful social institution. Although writings about the Medieval Ages gave us little information about the history, the preservation of church music helped us understand the styles that were developed in the Medieval Ages like Polyphony. Polyphony is a texture in music, in which two or more lines of independent melodies are produced simultaneously. Compared to monophony, two …show more content…
Although the Western Empire collapsed in 476, the Eastern Empire flourished for almost a millennium until the Turks invaded in 1453. Throughout the years, Christianity became diversified throughout the Byzantine Empire. Each region had a standardized calendar, rite and liturgy. Plainchants were body of chants that were used in the liturgies of a service. Plainchants were derived from existing Jewish and Byzantine chants. One of the most distinct features of a plainchant was that it was monophonic. It was made up of a single melody without any harmony, resulting in one musical part. This eventually developed into the Gregorian