Music after WWII (1945-present)

"Style is no longer merely an inheritance from one's immediate predecessors but rather a response to a vast if not unlimited range of historical and geographical stimuli available via modern communications media; and the validity of styles is something audiences, not historians, decide."

This idea by Scott Johnson describes many composers' thinking of music during the second half of the twentieth century. Styles still within "classical" music that dominated during this time were:

1. Total Control: an extension of the serial technique, which governed different elements of music, which was often related to mathematical formulas.
1. Structures I by Pierre Boulez is an example of this type of music. A formula was created and each aspect of music was put into the formula, creating the music. It sounds very random to the audience, but in fact, is well thought-out by the composer. This kind of music is hard to understand without diving head first into the score for analysis. 


2.  Extended Technique: This was when composers used traditional instruments in non-traditional ways. They pushed the boundaries of what sounds could be created. By using traditional technique for string instruments (ie: plucking, playing over the fingerboard or bridge) and non-traditional technique (ie: playing in between the bridge and tail piece, on the tail piece, and striking the body of the instrument) composers such as Penderecki created a whole new sound world with a string orchestra in his piece Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima. Another technique that I find very cool is speaking into a piano while holding down the damper pedal. This was done by George Crumb in his piece Ancient Voices of Children. Composers were pushing the boundaries of sound even more to describe different ideas in their music.
3. Indeterminacy: This music is often also called "chance music" or "aleatory music". Composers writing in this style only specify certain aspects of the music and leave the rest up to the performer. Of course we all know Cage's piece 4'33". To me, the idea of this piece is more of a statement of how Cage felt about music. Was it really notes from instruments arranged in certain ways, or just the sound or silence that one hears at any time? 
4. Minimalism: Out of the three previously discussed types of music, minimalism seems to be one that is still often composed. Perhaps it is because Philip Glass continues to lead the way in its composition. However, minimalism is not a new concept. The romantic composer Anton Bruckner was quite minimalist within the structures of his time. Motives and phrases often repeated many times in a row in his music. Perhaps minimalism of the twentieth century is simply a revival of Bruckner's ways. 

One must not forget that there were always, of course, other styles of music. As we talked about in class last week, perhaps none of these were considered until notation of 'popular' music began. Jazz and Pop music definitely have their roots in classical music, but they most likely just did not materialize out of nothing in the early 20's. 

From this course I have realized that when writing about each 'period' of music history, a few things are always the same. There was never a clear cut end time of one style and start time of the next. Everything built on what came before. Composers were always affected by political and worldly happenings, which also affected style in music. They were also always looking to push boundaries, whether it was in texture, tonality, sound, technique, appeal, and emotion. However, during this process of discovery, there was often distaste for it and a want for simplicity and ways of the past. The saying that "history repeats itself" seems very appropriate for my leanings form this course. It is important to understand that while history and music are always moving forward, they would not be able to do so without always looking back into the ways and styles of the past.

Early Modernism (1895-1945)

By the twentieth century, there was a sort of exhaustion from the Wagner revolution. And so, almost predictably, composers wrote music in reaction to that era. The most easily seen contrast is in the music of Claude Debussy. He reacted against the density of Wagner's music and also to tonality. He was part of the impressionist movement, during which the painter Claude Monet lived. The characteristics of impressionism can easily be heard and understood when listening to the music of Debussy and viewing the paintings of Monet.

Impression: Sunrise by Claude Monet

In his piece "Nuages" from Nocturnes, Debussy essentially paints with sound the images of clouds.

  

 

Characteristics:

1. sensual impression, rather than every detail
2. depicting of scenes, especially in nature
3. pleasure to the senses
4. timbre became important, led to advances in instrumentation and effects (ie. muted strings)
5. un-metered rhythms and long meandering melodic lines, similar to French poetry of the time

During 'early modernism' there was a renewed fascination with primitivism.  The most noteworthy instance was Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. Here he collaborated with Diaghilev and Nijinsky to create a ballet that wasn't very well received at its premier. His aim was not to appeal to those who wished to hear about 'fairy tales and human joy and grief', but rather to express the 'sublime uprising of Nature renewing herself' using a Pagan ritual. Perhaps this was not so well-received by the audience because this subject was one that was often hushed in public. While this period was short lived, perhaps Stravinsky wanted to prove the point that music doesn't always have to be "beautiful" to have worth.

In reaction to impressionism, expressionism was created as a last onset of Romanticism. This was a  period when composers wrote music that expressed the stream of consciousness. What they thought of or experienced, they wrote as it happened. This can be heard in movements from Schoenberg's Five Pieces for Orchestra.

There is no real development of a melodic idea or form to the movements. Rather than creating music to 'paint' a certain idea or setting, there are simply just a string of sounds and ideas....similar to how thoughts float through our minds....through Schoenberg's mind. As expected, audiences didn't know quite what to make of this music. There was plenty of rioting and fighting at some of Schoenberg's premiers, as listeners were puzzled at what they were hearing.

Throughout these time periods in music, one thing remains the same: creating art based on the human experience. Whether it be emotional affect, thoughts, or how one relates to nature, musical creations continued to be centered around the experiences of its creators....not just preexisting drama or poetry.

The New German School and Late Romanticism (1850-1900)

Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner founded The New German School and attached to it the slogan "the music of the future".  It was at this time in music history that composers created the belief that music and beauty could be created without the academic rules and conventions of the preceding periods. Building from Berlioz's idea of a program symphony, composers such as Liszt wrote pieces in which the musical structure was created by events in said 'program' (the story off which the piece was composed) rather than by an abstract form (ie. sonata form).  However, this wasn't always the case. Liszt composed Les Preludes before pairing it with a poetic meditation by Lamartine. All in all, composers were relating specific poetry and stories to their music, compared to, say, the Third Symphony of Beethoven, that was inspired by ideals and liberties.

Richard Wagner (1813-1883) insisted that art arose from nature instead of convention. He expressed that 'art of the future' should express the 'essence of people from which it comes'. He aimed for his 'art' to include more than just music. It should include staging, singing, many emotions, and long extended passages where a single idea or emotion is expressed.

"The highest collective artwork is the drama; it can only be present in its greatest possible completeness when each type of art in its greatest completeness, is present in it"

These words sum up Wagner's thoughts on music and art. It is quite clear to us his viewpoints when we look at the massive works he composed...works of 5 hours, dense orchestral passages and never-ending emotional drive. To him, this was the music of the future...even more limitless than the music of Beethoven, which during his time was sometimes considered too long and demanding for the audience. His music was to serve the drama...not to 'please the public', as he claimed Mozart's opera did. "Music serves as a means to carry out the dramatic purpose."

I have come to realize that while music history progresses because of innovations in harmony, rhythm, tonality, and the like, it also progressed and developed because of the reactions composers had to the music preceding theirs. And so for Wagner, his music was a reaction to Beethoven's music-he believed the next place music had to progress from was Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

Some composers of the late romantic period opposed the ideas of the New German School and continued to compose and expand upon the ideas in the classical tradition. That is to say, they expanded tonally the music of their predecessors (Beethoven, Schubert) but remained more in line with the four movement sonata plan and other classical forms. If Beethoven had lived longer, would it be possible to say that his music would have been similar to Brahms'? It is very interesting to compare the music of Brahms and Wagner and realize that they were composing in in the same time.

In Wagner's Prelude to Tristan und Isolde, the constant sense of longing and unresolved desire can be contrasted with the opening of the fourth movement of Brahms' Fourth Symphony. While there may well be a sense of longing in Brahms' music, there are also points of arrival-something that doesn't really happen in Wagner's music until the end of the 4 hour work! This shows how different the composers' interpretations of art and the expression of emotion were. The intense outpouring of emotion into the music of late Romanticism is very starkly contrasted in the next period - impressionism - which proved to be a reaction to the German style that dominated during the time of Wagner, Brahms, and their contemporaries.

Romanticism (1800-1850)

The romantic era rings a lot of bells with me. When reading about the 'romantic' artist, I was drawn to their way of thinking and the style in which they created art. A few quotes and points that distinguished the thinkers of this era from the classical era preceding it:

"I am not made like any of those whom I have ever seen; I dare to believe that I am not made like any who exist." -Rouseau

-The feudal class was done away with and people were no longer seen as units, rather, as individuals.

-The idea that individuals could rise from a low position to a position of prominence was born.

-The romantics concentrated on emotional conflict and climax and taking the audience through an entire range of emotional reactions.

-Romantic art generally inclines to the sublime rather than the beautiful. Its aesthetic aim is not pleasurable satisfaction, but emotional stimulation.

-There were five major themes in Romantic art: love, death, mystical religion, politics, and nature. Composers of the romantic era frequently incorporated these into their works.

Portrait of Beethoven by Arthur Paunzen

It goes without saying that Beethoven is probably the greatest musical figure in Classical music to this day. He fully embodied the persona of a romantic artist. Instead of writing music with clarity and transparency in the structure like composers of the classical era, Beethoven was writing music based on heroism and political events of the time (he was especially inspired by the French Revolution and the ideals of liberty and equality). He was truly 'pouring his feelings' into his work. Faced with the 'fate' of losing his hearing, he rose up against that and asserted a heroic attitude towards life. Through his music, we can understand the different events and things Beethoven went through during his life. A few points about romantic composers:

1. Their music was appreciated during their lifetime more than music had been in previous eras
2. They were not supported as much by the patronage system and worked more as private entrepreneurs. This way, they could express their own thoughts in new ways, but still had to appeal to the 'marketplace'.
3. There were generally three kinds of composers in the Romantic era:
1. ones with great artistic imaginations and support from serious critics, but found themselves subject to financial insecurity
2. ones who succeeded by making brilliant impressions on the public and had much financial success
3. ones who appealed to the mass market, writing popular works but rarely masterpieces
4. Overall, the need to appeal to the public was very important to Romantic composers.

Another notable event during this period was the rise of the modern music conservatory. The downfall of the aristocracy after the French Revolution brought the end of the patronage system and threatened to make a musical crisis. The Paris Conservatory was created to educate new musicians, since the private apprenticeship style training no longer existed.  To this day, the Paris Conservatory is a prime school in the classical music world.

Composers were also writing music inspired by their own feelings or events that took place in their lives. This was the beginning of program music, music that renders a musical narrative. Symphonie Fantastique by Hector Berlioz was exactly could be classified in this category. Using many of the themes of Romantic art, mainly love, death, and mysticism, he told the story of an artist with a lively imagination who poisons himself with opium in the depths of despair (most Romantic artists) because of hopeless love (sound familiar?). Here is a summary of the story:

Okay, so it's a little more complicated than that, but I got a good laugh when I saw this picture circulating a few months ago on my newsfeed.

The fourth movement "March to the Scaffold" depicts the part of the story that is unfolding. Because the artist is so desperately and hopelessly in love with the woman of his dreams who returns no feelings, he poisons himself with opium which, instead of killing him, sends him into a deep sleep with crazy dreams. In these dreams, he kills his beloved and then is condemned to death and watches his own execution. In the fifth movement, Berlioz goes so far as to write a passage in the strings marked 'col legno' (with the stick of the bow) that represents the sound of bones falling.

Here's a recording of March to the Scaffold. It is one of my favorite pieces ever. (Please note the epic pedal notes in the bass trombone throughout.)

 The following tidbit is awesome:

"Leonard Bernstein described the symphony as the first musical expedition into psychedelia because of its hallucinatory and dream-like nature, and because history suggests Berlioz composed at least a portion of it under the influence of opium. According to Bernstein, 'Berlioz tells it like it is. You take a trip, you wind up screaming at your own funeral.'"

 What a looker.

In summary, composers during the Romantic Era were leaving no stones unturned. They allowed many aesthetic factors to influence their music and created works that took audiences through an array of emotions. This paved the way for the next era, where all of these things were magnified and expanded, making music the most popular ways for anyone to tell stories, share emotions, and even communicate.

Alert!

A friend just posted this on Facebook:

http://io9.com/listen-to-2-500-year-old-music-brought-back-to-life-1450701727

It's so relevant to this course!

The Classical Period

Some characteristics of the classical period included:
-changing musical audience, more middle class
-more flexible, varied approach to the single piece or movement
-increased desired for clarity and transparency in structure, partly as a reflection of a less sophisticated audience.
-extreme development of tonality and harmony and the way it governed melody and phrasing

During this time, the tonal system was firmly established and began to dictate the form of a piece. Harmony was also being expanded beyond the previous simple terms of consonance and dissonance.  Jean-Philippe Rameau wrote a treatise on functional harmony and gave names to things we study regularly today such as: tonic, dominant, sub dominant, and modulation. This was a huge development in music. Composers had unlocked the door into the realms of complex harmony and melodic writing. The thought that "melody should be derived from harmony" gave way to a whole new means of expression. Until this realization, the vertical element in music was primarily conceived as the product of simultaneous tones in horizontal melodic lines. This idea became weaker, while the idea of triads and emphasis on a more instrumental skipping motion grew.

The patronage system continued to support most musicians and many musical centers and courts were born throughout Europe. The symphony replaced the concerto grosso and orchestral suite. The string quartet replaced the trio sonata and was the chamber music genre of the classical period. Out of the Baroque concerto grosso and sinfonia concertantae grew the solo concerto, which was basically a three movement version of the sonata form. A new type of work, divertimento, was composed for less formal entertainment, in noble households rather than for concert halls or courts.

 The model for expression in the classical period was drama. Opera was developed and expanded upon, and contained musical dialogue and lots of drama. Different kinds of opera arose, such as opera buffe, a comedic genre. Another dramatic aspect is created in this music when events come together in a meaningful way. For instance, tonal instability is often highlighted by motivic fragmentation or brilliant passage work, while tonal arrivals are given significance by the simultaneous arrivals of themes, change in dynamics, texture and scoring.

Franz Joseph Haydn is called the 'father of the string quartet. He set the standards on which quartets developed during the classical period and beyond and wrote over 90 quartets. In his Quartet Op. 33 No. 2 (The Joke), he plays with the listener's expectations. The music is filled with humor and an uncalled for ending.  By this time, the form and harmonic "flow" of music had been established, so that listeners had certain expectations for where the music was 'going'. Haydn's music sometimes took his audiences by surprise. This is the continued development of emotional expression and affect in music. Composers could let their creativity soar, within the boundaries of harmony at this point of course, and the music created during this period covered every affect and emotion one could think of. Just think about the music created only 300 years earlier. That's a short time in the history of music and a huge jump in the means by which composers could be expressive. The time period between the Baroque and Late-Romantic (about 250 years) showed such a fast rate of development in music compared to the rate of development during the early years of history (music from the 10th-15th centuries). It just shows how quickly history progresses when certain technologies are introduced.

The Early 18th Century, 1680-1750

 The culmination of developments in harmony, instruments combining with voices, and elaborate expressions of text have all come together this week, bringing us some of my favorite music ever....Baroque music! Okay, so I may be bias about this because Baroque music makes up a good chunk of the repertoire I play most often, but aside from that, this music truly is spectacular.

With increased use of instruments, structures arose that created balance, unity, and coherence. These ideals carried through the Baroque and gave its music the characteristics that set it apart from music of the past. Pieces were written in movements, and those movements each had a dominating affect, creating a unifying idea throughout the piece. There were also single musical ideas that were given focus in each of these movements, and were expanded on to create interest in the piece. Key areas were developed and harmonic structure became very clean cut, with specific ways to write in certain genres or styles. (These later became the rules we know today for counterpoint.)

 I would like to focus on J.S. Bach. A composer who was so influential to, not only this time period in music, but to the entirety of music history itself. It is impossible to appropriately say and learn all there is to know about Bach during a few minutes in class- and even impossible in one semester. I graduated from Baldwin Wallace Conservatory from my undergrad. This music school is very special in that we have the oldest collegiate Bach Festival in the nation. Each year in March and April, the orchestra and choir prepares one of Bach's four main works: "The Christmas Oratorio, The St. John Passion, The B Minor Mass, and The St. Matthew Passion". Professional soloists join the orchestra for a weekend filled with performances of the main work, cantatas and instrumental works by Bach and other works by Bach's contemporaries. I was fortunate enough to perform in three of the main works as well as numerous cantatas by Bach. It was so great being taught how to play in the style in which his music was written. I feel so fortunate to have had that training. It is rare in music schools these days. I also was able to take a semester-long seminar on Bach during my senior year. BW has an extensive Bach Library with a full copy of the Bach Journal and even manuscripts with Bach's original handwriting on them. If you are ever near Cleveland, I highly suggest stopping by campus to see this.

I definitely was taught the importance of Bach simply by attending BW. I had a very large appreciation for Bach before my undergrad, but now it is a full out love affair. Every musician, no matter what genre they specialize in, should learn about Bach and his genius.

Bach held many church jobs during his lifetime and the majority of his music was mainly sacred music. There has always been a debate over whether or not Bach was truly a spiritual person...or if he was in fact just writing music for his employers. My favorite quote (not only by Bach, but by anyone) is:

“The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.”
-J.S. Bach


I don't know if someone would have said that if it weren't part of their beliefs. I'll just settle on the idea that Bach was extremely fortunate to write music in praise of God and also to make money doing so. I'd be content.

He perfected the styles of the time in his music. (Except opera-but his choral/orchestra works are so magnificent that I don't think anyone is whining that he didn't write opera.) His music is pleasing aesthetically, spiritually, analytically, and technically; so that even if one who studies his music is not religious, they can still relate and find unity with it. That was definitely a development of music in itself during music history.

There is so much music of Bach's that I could just go on and on about. I will share some of my favorite movements here. I hope you can find the same joy and excitement in this music as I do. Even simply the feeling it gives me when listening is enough to justify my love for it.

This first piece relates very directly to our studies thus far in class. It is Bach's cantata BWV 80 "Ein Feste Burg". Sound familiar? Yup, it's written based on Luther's chorale tune from 1529.

Enjoy the first movement: (ps: Phillipe Herreweghe's interpretation of Bach is AWESOME...in my opinion..!)

Another piece I absolutely love is his Magnificat BWV 243. I performed this with a Bach Festival in Cochabamba, Bolivia in 2010. It was a great experience to say the least. Here's a picture from that. (I'm in the back left corner....the only blonde...easy to spot....)

Here's a link to the sixth movement....an aria between the tenor and alto.

The text is "et misericordia eius in progenies et progenies timentibus eum." which translates to and "his mercy [continues ] from generation to generation for those who fear him". Note the affect of this movement and how it represents the text. Also, pay attention to the bass line. Note how much it has developed (and also just how plain epic it is. Good speakers are recommended.)

Finally, I want to share an arrangement of a fugue. I first heard this piece when I was a wee child playing an old computer game on my cool Windows 95 computer. It was called Sim Tunes. You basically placed little pixels on a blank screen and assigned different "bugs" to run over them and make different sounds. Does anyone know this game? It was so fun. This fugue was one of the pre-made songs on the game. I had a field day when I realized it was Bach I had been hearing all that time!

Leonard Slatkin – Bach - Fugue a la gigue in G major (arr. of BWV 577)

One last thing. We all know how great the Messiah is and I am glad we were able to discuss it in class. Just wanted to share another one of my favorite albums (another being the Sting John Dowland album). This is an album that I heard during the entirety of my childhood. My parents played it all the time and I have very vivid memories of my siblings and me dancing insanely around my living room to the first piece on the album. The album is entitled "Handel's Messiah: A Soulful Celebration". It was performed by black musicians and the first movement (the equivalent of the Sinfonia) is entitled "Overture: A partial history of black music". Take a listen!

It's so great.

Also, listen to the first minuet of this:

And then listen to this:

And with that, welcome back to the 90's. Handel and Bach...they live on.

Thanks for reading! 

1600-1700

The biggest development in music history from this time period was that of the 'seconda practica', the idea that the forbidden dissonances from the earlier style are justified by the affections in the text. Galilei (a member of the Florentine Camerata) believed that music should "move the affect of the soul". This could not be achieved completely if composers were to continue in the old style. Because of the revival of Greek ideas of rhetoric, they began composing more freely, in terms of consonances and dissonances, to represent the text in the way they felt proper. Here we see the continued development of text painting. During 1600-1700, it began to develop into the technique we know today.

Another great development was the use of voices and instruments together. Composers were interested in combining different timbres rather than using homogenous sounds. Gabrileli was a leader in this technique with his many early concerted works. These pieces were often performed in giant churches with choirs stationed on all sides of the balconies and on the main floor. Here's an example.

http://youtu.be/EjoAKIxlT5A

We also see the beginning of early opera during this time. Because of the ability composers had to express texts (seconda practica), they began to write music in a new way. The leader in this development was Guilio Caccini. He coined the idea of "speaking musically" which became known as "recitative". Here composers would imitate speech in their music...another Greek ideal. Writing arias, composers could overload the music with representation of the affections, in turn, moving the audience's own affections during performance. This was one of the main ideals in the Baroque Era (ornamented, eccentric).

An example of Caccini arias: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar-VSZxQllY

All of these new ideas lead to the music we know today. The journey continues...!

The Reformation, Counter-Reformation, and Late Humanism

Change continued throughout music during the 1500s. The use of instruments became more popular and many new genres of secular music came to be across different parts of Europe.

Some major events that happened during this time were:

• The advent of music printing and publishing
• Breaking away from the Catholic church
• Shift from Latin to vernacular
• Shift from symbolism to early 'text painting'

 Breaking away from the church and shifting to the vernacular were inevitable, I think. It would have happened no matter what point of the development of music composition was in. I would like to focus on the compositional style of this period instead. It is of most interest to me and seems like the most important outcome of this century when looking at the entire scope of the history of music. I also think the style was affected by the points listed above. It's all related.

It is exciting to finally see (and hear) the development of text painting as we know it today. Composers began to choose more emotional texts so that they could use striking melodies and harmonies. Gesualdo was especially known for this. Marenzio's use of chromaticism is especially striking. Acradelt's subtleties to represent certain words in the text are the beginnings of text painting.

Madrigals gained increasing popularity, as they gave composers to write music that was very secular and satirical. Because of the newness of printing music, these pieces could be spread to different parts of Europe and performed by anyone-no matter how professional or amateur.

Regarding the religion during this time, I see it as:

• The splitting from the Catholic Church
• The start of different denominations, which came with different liturgies and music to go along with them
• ie: Lutheranism and Calvinism
• This initiated the use of the vernacular so that all people could worship regardless of their knowledge of Latin. Many of these aspects still remain in different denominations of Christianity.  (ie: the liturgy created by Luther and hymn settings from Calvinism are still used)

All in all, this century began the transition from music that we today see as "strange" or "ancient" to the music that we accept today as being "normal" (so to speak!)


Random tidbit: my dad wrote a great arrangement years ago of "A Mighty Fortress" for our church. I will try and find a recording to post....definitely one of those tunes you should have burned in your brain as a musician...no matter if you do church music or not!

Humanism and its Musical Superstars

Dunstable....Dufay...des Prez...their names in lights....

Well, sort of...if there were 'lights' back then.

These are the people we study during the development of music in 1400-1500s. Why? Well, they must have done something important if we still talk about them. 

The following developments were made in polyphony during this time:

• equality of voices
• free structure based on text
• sensitivity to text declamation
• persuasive consonance
• variety in sonority and rhythm
• strong tonal center

Humanism was the freeing of the imagination from authority. This meant that the church was losing it's grip on people...but this isn't always a bad thing. This allowed composers to begin composing freely...the way we think of composers today. Thinking was challenged and there was a revival of pre-Christian civilization ideas (ie: the Greeks).

The way I see it is that artists, composers, philosophers, and the like were able to express themselves more easily and .. well, freely. They still composed mass movements, but they no longer used the same conventions of the past.

des Prez's Kyrie (from Missa L’homme armé Sexti toni) uses the new developments listed above. I think the most important development from this period was the use of a specific cantus. In this case it is the L'homme arme cantus. I think this was the beginning of the concept of motives and having one idea to unify a piece between its different movements. It will be cool to see how the idea is developed further during the next period. 

On another note, here is L'homme arme by Karl Jenkins (living composer). It's the full performance, so it's over an hour long.... but it's so cool to hear another composers way of using L'homme arme. 

http://youtu.be/nBLTngmUgWQ

Week Three

The Ars Nova

The fourteenth century was filled with events that tested the strength the Western world. The church was threatened by monarchs and secular culture. The Black Plague wiped out virtually the entire population at the time. The traditions of music were challenged and progress was made, especially in the development of measuring musical time. The liberal-arts educated theorist Philippe de Vitry led this movement with the writings in his treatise Ars nova (that subsequently gave a name to the whole movement). However, none of this happened without opposition (as is the human way). The music of this century was called Ars antiqua.

A large topic in the Ars nova was the dividing notes into two or three equal parts. The system of mensuration notation led to the development of a new musical style and technique with complex rhythmic combinations. The concept of numerical importance produced isorhythm, the organization of a line into repetitions of a fixed series of rhythmic values. Talea were the rhythmic groupings and the colors were the melodic grouping.

In de Vitry's motet In arboris/Tuba sacre fidei/Virgo sum, every time the breve was divided into two equal semibreves, the second was always twice as long as the first to maintain the number three- the 'perfect' division in music because of it's significance to the Trinity. Duple divisions were actually called 'imperfect' divisions. The piece is constructed based on the tenor (as were most pieces at this time), which consisted of two colors of the same chant phrase. Each of the chant is divided into taleae. This is only one of many examples of the numerical complexity in the music of the fourteenth century.

It was a time where intellectual thought began to challenge the long-standing traditions and beliefs of the church. This gave rise to the composition of more music being composed for pleasure, rather than only for the church.  One example of this is Machaut's composition Rose, liz, primtemps, verdue. Apparently this piece was a love song composed specifically for his young 'crush'. It is in four parts, but the triplum part is basically a decoration rather than a functional part in the piece, like had been common previously. While function was still a part of most music being composed at the time, Machaut leads the beginning of composing music for the sake of composing music. It will be interesting to see how it all unfolds!

Week Two

Comparing Two and Four Part Organum

The more I listen to Viderunt omnes, the more beautiful it becomes to me. I never thought I would say that about organum when I first learned about it during my undergrad. I am glad perception can change based on knowledge...in music and other things.

Leonin's setting of Viderunt Omnes

I enjoy the simple, resonant sound of organum duplum. It puts me in a trance more than the organum duplum. Less rhythmic motion, simpler texture, more time between syllables to ponder God...

The plainchant choir sections 'unify' the listener (or performers), as if to remind them of the function the chant holds...simply for worship.

Perotin's setting of Viderunt Omnes

The overall sound of the organum quadruplum is so dissonant in the beginning. It's eerie! The sound of organum quadruplum is much more complex than duplum....obviously because there are more parts. The resonant sound of organum duplum is now filled in with interesting harmonies. The sound of music is gradually changing and it is cool to see the large difference in such a short period of time between Leonin and Peortin's settings.

When the plainchant sections are sung, the unison sounds more poignant in the quadruplum than in the duplum. I imagine the effect it carried during services of the day was really awesome in those huge churches.


Ave Virgo Virginium

I think of conductus as the first instance of musical poetry (a concept we are very familiar with today). Rhymed, metrical, and rhythmic, they are sort of equivalent to pop songs today, right?! ...except they would be sacred pop songs....hm...

Conducti have newly composed tenors, a trait that sets them apart from clausulae. Could they be breaking away from the traditions?!! If so, this is one of many times this happens (and will infinitely continue to happen) in music history. 


De ma dame vient/Dieus, comment parroie/Omnes

At first, I hardly noticed the instrument playing along in this recording. I like the way it almost blends perfectly with the voices. These early motets are cool. When I listen to this piece, I imagine three people standing in a room telling three different accounts of the same event all at once. It could be a long shot, but could this be considered a building block for later "modern" compositional techniques such as bi tonality, poly meter, and the like? Just a thought. 

The different musical elements de la Halle borrowed for this piece (such as melisma from 'omnes' from Viderun omnes and a refrain from one of de la Halle's own rondeuas) shows how composers began to have an interest in creating music from more than one source. I am beginning to get nerdily excited about how all of this stuff builds on what preceded it. Sweet.

Week One

Tecum principum from Vespers for Christmas Day

This example is antiphonal, led by one singer and joined by the congregation. The first part that is sung by one voice has more large interval jumps than the part sung by the congregation. It is sort of like a 'call' to the others to join the singing of the Antiphon before continuing to the Psalm.

Gradual: Viderunt omnes

This chant is more melismatic than the one preceding. Perhaps to exemplify the important words in the scripture. There is more of a presence of the (what we call today) major triad pattern. It sounds like it has more tonality than the Tecum principum. It is overall much more ornate as well. While it is one single line, there are multiple voices singing, but no introduction by a solo voice.

Kyrie Eleison from Christmas Mass

The first time through each section, the text is sung by a small group of cantors who are joined by the rest of the ensemble in the repeats. This is still antiphonal in a sense that more voices join after the cantor(s) introduce the chant.

Dies irae

Again, antiphonal where a small group of cantors sing one 'verse' and are joined by more singers on the second 'verse'. However, this trading continues for each verse. One being sung by the small group and the next being sung by the 'congregation'. While there is rhythm in the sense of note values, most of the rhythm comes from the rhyme in the text.

Can vei la lauzeta mover by Bernart de Ventadorn (troubadour song)

I just have to say that I love the first recording on the Spotify listening list for this piece. The introduction played by the vielle (not sure exactly what instrument it is) is beautiful and sets up a perfect atmosphere for the vocalist to sing the text to. I also really enjoy the space between the introduction and the entrance of the vocalist. That silence also helps set the mood. The lute interludes that accompany the vocalist give the piece a bit of spice, but in the context of the emotion of loss the singer is experiencing.

In the next recording, it is interesting to sense the difference in overall affect of this version of the piece. Because of the hurdy-gurdy (I think) that drones during the instrumental introduction, there is more of a sense of uncertainty, whereas the first recording sounds sad and mournful to me. The drone is then taken over by voices which is just chilling! The ornamentation in the vocalists part adds that same type of spiciness, but again, because of the drone, this version sounds foreboding.  The finger cymbals also add spice. Hopefully me using 'spice' makes some sense...

Each verse in the instrumental version (solo pipe/flute instrument) is more ornamented than the previous.

The next version with voice and lute is fairly simple. No introduction by the lute, rather, an interlude between verses. The last few verses are very ornamented in both the lute and vocal part.

The final version of this piece on the listening list uses a larger group of instruments than any of the previous recordings-both plucked and bow stringed instruments-and solo voice. The hammer dulcimer sometimes adds a percussive sound, which is new to my ears.

I found another version of this piece on YouTube that I also like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfCkmiQ0nDs

This recording uses actual drums for percussion as well as vielles, flutes, hammer dulcimer, and voice. The drums add a whole new layer and realm to the piece. The vocalists' take on the text in this version definitely has an urgent and dramatic flair. I personally think this is how the text is interpreted the best. If someone were to speak the text as poetry, I think they would speak it in the way this vocalist sings-with urgency and broken hearted furor.

 "When I see the lark beating its wings joyfully against the sun's rays,
which then swoons and swoops down because of the joy in its heart,
oh! I feel such jealousy for all those who have the joy of love,
that I am astonished that my heart does not immediately melt with desire!"

Just one more observation- I think all of the recordings of this piece we have heard use female vocalists, while the text refers to the subject of the lover's lament as a 'lady'. Maybe the Occitan can be translated either way.

A chantar by Comtessa de Dia (troubadour song)

A simple voice and lute song with verses. The vocalist adds drama in her voice in corresponding parts of the text. There is musical rhyme between the text in the verses.

Robins m'aime by Adam de la Halle

The simplicity of the music in this piece reflects the simple concept of the text-joy that Robin loves. The tuneful melody is catchy and happy. The added bells are a nice effect, something we haven't heard yet in takes on troubadour songs.

The second recording begins quite plain with one voice singing the simple melodic line. However, it is joined by a few more voices (3 or 4?) who sing a very modal accompaniment. This reminds me of the chant we have been listening to.