Medieval Music
Music in the Middle Ages was composed and performed for either sacred (religious) or secular (non-religious) purposes. The earliest form of sacred music was called plainchant or plainsong. This is a single melody written for unison voices, with words in Latin. Pope Gregory I and his assistants compiled chants used for church services and wrote the music on four-line staves using square notes called neumes. Plainchant is often referred to as Gregorian Chant, in honor of Pope Gregory I. Important composers of the Middle Ages include Hildegard von Bingen, Perotin, Guillaume de Machaut.
Plainchant, the predominant type of sacred music of the Middle Ages, consisted of single unaccompanied melodies sung in unison. This type of music is called monophonic music. Plainchant was written without a fixed rhythm or meter. There were also no tempo markings or dynamic noted on the music, and it was not composed in major or minor keys, but in modes - a unique system of half and whole steps.
By year 1000, a second melody was sometimes performed simultaneously with the plainchant melody. This form of church music was called organum, and over time it was embellished with more and more melodies and voices. Organum represents the beginning of polyphonic music in Western Europe. Polyphony is the combination of two or more melodies at the same time.
1.Name at least two composers from the Middle Ages?
2. What challenges did peasants in the Middle Ages face?
3. What advantages did the nobility have over the peasants?
