Music in the Middle Ages
The middle ages, (450- 1450), after the Roman empire fell this was a time of great change through chaos. The later part of the middle ages brought a period of growth with religious structures and universities. Most of society in the beginning of this era was influenced by the Roman Catholic church. During the middle ages the Roman Catholic church's official music was the Gregorian chant, named after Pope Gregory I. This music was sung without instruments, set to sacred Latin texts. It w
as without meter, and a little sense of beat. Music outside the church also greatly attributed to this era. A chant used as a basis for polyphony is known as a cantus firmus (fixed melody). A new system of musical notations had emerged, and a composer could specify any rhythmic pattern. Most of these compositions were about love, the crusades, dance songs, and spinning songs. Monks in monastery choirs began to add a second melodic line to the Gregorian chant. Now beats could be divided and sometimes use syncopation. In the middle ages music was mostly monophonic, however, between 700- 900 the first steps were taken to transform music. These songs were usually preformed on court minstrels. The sound of this chant resulted in the unfamiliar scale also called, church mode. The middle ages are not all that different from any other era. Between 900- 1200, organum became polyphonic, and the melody added to the chant became more independent. In this time secular music held more importance than sacred music.
Common topics in this essay:
Pope Gregory,
War Bubonic,
Notre Dame,
,
Roman Catholic,
middle ages,
gregorian chant,
roman catholic,
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