Music History - Research Paper Example

?Part I Chapter 6 Discuss the role of music in ancient Greek society, concentrating on public religious festivals, music in the theater, and private festivals. Greek life was infused with music. Music and dance were seen as part of a satisfying and good life. It was especially important for religious ceremonies, sacrifices and feasts. The music was not always happy, as there are many “laments” gloomy warnings or pessimistic reflections of characters or choruses in ancient Greek play, of which music was always a part. It was usually a part of mourning also, except in cases, such as, when Admetus while mourning his wife, ordered that “neither lyre nor pipe is to be heard in the town for twelve months." (West 14). Often religious festivals or ceremonies would begin with a procession with music, such as chorale accompanied by the pipes and/or the lyre. The people might be dancing or have dancers with them. Processionals are thought to be the oldest form of Greek music. It is believed that the earliest recorded occasion was a procession from Messina to sacrifice on Delos (West 15). Every part of Greek life had some kind of music that was traditionally used. Following is a description of the most well known types: Hymns were sung by a chorus to the gods, except Apollo and Dionysus, which had their own special songs, the paean, a song of joy, and the dithyramb, a choral song of prayer or supplication. The Dithyramb eventually became secularized and metamorphosed into the drama form tragedy. The Hyporcheme was a song and a dance. The Prosodion was used for processionals to altars and temples at the beginning and ending of festivals. Enkomion was a song of praise for men, as was the Epinikion used to honor the winner of athletic competition. A Skolion was sung by guests at a banquet. An Erotikon was an erotic song or poem for gods and goddesses and also men and women. The Hymenaios was used for weddings during the processional, at the banquet and in front of the bridal suite. The Threnos was a funeral dirge, sung by a chorus solemnly in either very low or very high pitch. Maidens would sing a Partheneion . Many of these have echoes in current church and classical music ("Lyric Genres."). 2. Describe the evolution of notation from the concept of neumes to the development of the staff and the idea of nota. Music likely dates back to the earliest civilizations, even hunter gatherer populations , but it was not until the Greeks created a form of musical notation that we have any records of written musical notation. There is a piece of music carved on a tombstone called the Seikilos Epitaph, found in Turkey, and may be from the 1st century AD. This is evidence that ancient Greeks used music notation since the 3rd or 4th centuries BC. Boethius (c.AD 470–AD 525) applied the first 15 letters of the alphabet to the notes in use at the end of the Roman period in the five textbooks he wrote on ancient music while in prison. A system called neumes, using Greek language symbols, was used in about the 6th century AD to record the Gregorian chants. This system only reminded a singer or musician of the “shape “ of a memorized song. It was not until the tenth century that Heightened Neumes were arranged above and below a line to indicate rising and falling pitch. In the twelfth century, Guido D’Arezzo placed letters on lines to indicate pitch. The staves developed over the next four centuries with different numbers of lines, but in the sixteenth century the five line staff became standard. Early music was all written down by the church and aristocracy, as paper and quills were expensive and most people could not read words either ("History of Music Notation - evolution, printing, specialisation and computers."). There was no system for tempo and measure until about the seventeenth century. It was not until the legitimization of polyphonic music, forbidden at first by Pope John XXII in 1322 (See Appendix A for his writings.), that other parts of our modern notation developed to fulfil its needs ("Polyphony Is No Sin."). Franco of Cologne developed a system of measurement of length by selecting certain neumes to represent length in his Ars cantus mensurabilis (c.1280). However, in the fourteenth century, Philippe de Vitry, author of Ars nova, expanded this system to a more codified system using either 2:1 or 3:1 ratios, indicated by colour. The fifteenth century saw the development of fractional notation and after this the measure lines, tempo words in Italian and bars appeared in the seventeenth century. Part I-2: Chapter 7-13 and Musical Interludes 1 1. Write a definition of the early motet (pre-Ars nova). Cover the genre’s origin, the number of voices (and their names), and aspects of the text. The motet is a group with a tenor lead and a quartet of higher voices singing harmony and counterpoint, but varying the text. It was a new form of the organum in the eleventh century, and was the most popular for polyphonic music for two centuries. The motet began with three voices: a liturgical tenor and two higher parts as a conductus, with triplum (highest voice), and motetus singing a trope based on the words of the tenor "conductus" (Rothenberg 49). Sometimes the two higher texts are identical, at other times they vary a little or completely. Where the two higher texts vary, this is called a 'double motet' (Hughes 354). Two more voices were added: the dessus or superius, and their parts were the most complex. By the thirteenth century this quartet was standard for a motet. The texts of the higher parts are based upon that of the tenor, commenting, contradiction paraphrasing. This became really useful as secular influence pushed an innovation that added a contrast of the tenor singing liturgical text while the two high parts sang in the vernacular ("End of Europe's Middle Ages - The Development of the Motet."). With experimentation some very interesting results were found. Using the religious text for the tenor in Latin, with three different texts for the now trio rounding out the quartet: one sung a moral maxim that fit with the religious text, one sang a love song, and the last sang a drinking song. The results are quite entertaining. It comes out like a “Baby It’s Cold Outside” with comments from parents, a love song from a rival and a drinking song from a critic all woven together in a complex harmony and a conversation with five voices (Loesser, Susan 79-81 ). It must have been quite entertaining at the time. Part II: Chapter 14-19 1. Write a short essay explaining contents of the Old Hall Manuscript and why this collection of music is important in the history of Western music. The Old Hall Manuscript is an almost complete collection of polyphony that was stored in the Library of St. Edmund's College, is the nearest to complete of all such manuscripts. It was created for the Chapel of the royal family of Henry IV ( 1399- 1413) (Harrison 82-106). It consists mostly of the music for the Ordinary of the Mass, but there are antiphons and motets in the body. There is a Gloria and a Sanctus by Roy Henry. Most of the manuscript is from the reign of Henry V (1413-22), but the largest layer was written between 1411-1430 and the first layer originated in 1400 or earlier(Hughes and Abraham iii). It was found in the library of St. Edmund's College, where it survived the reformation (Bukofzer 165-213). It includes almost a full year of manuscript for masses with changes according to the day with 148 compositions, 77 of which are written in score (Bent, Margaret). The mass celebrated then included a Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. The Kyrie was sung in plainsong, with tropes . Therefore. English polyphonic Masses do not contain a Kyrie, except in the Votive Mass of the Virgin, a weekly or daily mass. The descant settings of the Sanctus and Agnus Dei in this manuscript are plainsong written in liturgical calendar order (Harrison 82-106). Part III-1 (Chapter 20-23 and Musical Interludes 2-4) 1. Discuss the ways in which Josquin’s Missa Hercules Dux Ferrarie is symbolic of its name, both in its composition and its performance. The story of Josquin’s Missa Hercules Dux Ferrarie is very interesting. It appears that there were two Josquins, a composer and a singer. They possibly even worked together during composition as some composers like to hear their work performed as they write. Josquin was given patronage by Ercole Ferrarie in 1503 and was delighted to have his family name enshrined forever in an important manuscript, such this mass published in 1505 in Josquin’s Second Book of Masses, just a few months before Ercole’s death (Gangwere, Blanche M 298). This manuscript was copied into expensive books for the affluent families, one copy of which was the Hapsburg-Burgundian source for Philip the Fair in 1510 as Missa Philippus Rex Castiliae. Another copy from a German source was made for Frederick the Wise as Missa Fridericus Dux Saxoniae in 1525. Each time a new manuscript was created the syllables for Ecole’s name were changed to suit the new purchaser of the copy. The composition of this mass was also very different, even from Josquin’s usual. It was composed mostly for four voices, but since the tenor voice is only used half the time, it was effectively for three voices until the end, where it suddenly is sung by six voices for power. (Lockwood, Lewis) The cantus firmus is repeated three times in almost each part, and it begins on the final d and moves to an a and then to the final d one octave higher. The Kyrie is sung in soprano in the Sanctus one and twice in alto in the last section of the Agnus Dei (Gangwere 296). Part III-2: Chapter 24-28 1. Write a brief essay describing the effects of the Counter-Reformation on art, liturgy, and music during the late Renaissance. The liturgy had been changed by the Reformation to conform to the taste of the protestants, and this included the removal of certain symbols and practices sacred to the Catholic Church. Seminaries were established to counter the problem of the lack of education of rural priests. The Jesuits began to educate young men and the Ursuline nuns educated girls. While this may seem a small thing, the people they were educating were the future artists, composers and writers of the time. One of the major changes to the liturgy was the elimination of the public confession and penance and the establishment of the confessional as a private sacrament. Devotion to Mary was added to the liturgy and the Apostles Creed was performed in its then current state. The musical liturgy underwent the most changes from the Council of Trent, where reformers pushed to remove any hint of the secular in an attempt to restore the sacredness of the mass (Birely). Nuns were prohibited from using and organ in mass and polyphonic singing was forbidden (Hauser 192). The actual liturgy of the mass was mostly unchanged, but solidified with the distribution of new and copies of older spiritual works and actual texts for the celebration of the mass (Harper 22). Some of the greatest spiritual paintings of all time were created during this period by such artists as Rubens, Pulzone, Michaelangelo, El Greco and many more. This was a time for the greatest works of religious art to flourish, and secular subjects crept in as ordinary people were represented along with spiritual subjects. Paintings and sculpture was becoming more realistic, including nudity and anatomically correct representations (Viladesau, Richard). Churches everywhere commissioned works of art to adorn God’s house. The church promoted all forms of spiritual art and music and was unsuccessful in controlling it, thus directly leading up to the Renaissance (Freedberg). Polyphonic music entered its golden age, as evidenced by the works of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, 1525-1594, Thomas Tallis, 1505-1585 and William Byrd, 1540-1623 whose compositions reached a complexity apex ("Polyphony Is No Sin."). These changes applied to both sacred and secular music. The Counterreformation was a period leading up to the European Renaissance, and was a time of great change in art and music. The Catholic Liturgy changed little, but the music became polyphonic. Churches were decorated with works of art by some of the greatest artist of all time in paintings, sculpture and stained glass. Writings were commissioned, some written by women, to help solidify the traditions retained and educate the populace and the rural priests. Art, music and writing flourished, leading into the European Rennaissance. Part IV–1: Chapters 29–36 1. Discuss the various manifestations of dance music (types of genres based on dance music) during the Baroque period. Cite composers and works appropriate for each genre. The Baroque period was a time of great proliferation of music and dance, and many dances were invented during this time, particularly in Italy and France. Many of the early dances were quite stylized and formal, such as in the minuet. The beginnings of ballet can be found here as Catherine DeMedici brought them to France in the sixteenth century. The nobles of the court of Louis XIV performed amateur ballet developed from popular dances of the time, but as the dance became more complicated and demanding, professionals began to appear. Louis XIV established the Academie de Dance in 1661 to improve the quality of dance in France (Bland). Some of the genres of the time follow below: Bourree Canarie Chaconne (French) courante Entree grave Forlane Gavotte Gigue Loure Menuet Musette Passacaille Passepied Rigaudon Sarabande This was a time for the invention of many court dances, such as the minuet, the ronda, the gavotte and noted composers wrote music for them. Mozart, Bach and Beethoven all composed many of the popular forms, especially the minuet. The actual list of Baroque dance composers is very long and cannot be discussed here ("Major Baroque Composers | About the “Baroque” Period | Music of the Baroque."). Frescobaldi composed toccatas, canzonas, ricercars and capriccios, and influenced future composers, especially Bach who bought his collection of organ works for the mass: Fiori musicali (1635). Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757) borrowed from Spanish folk tunes and dances for his sonatas. Johann Hermann Schein (1586–1630) composed many dances that influenced Bach’s early work. Most of the dances of the Baroque period eventually made their way into Opera and Ballet. This influenced composers, such as Handel, Tellemann and Bach to add these to their repertoire. The list is long. Part IV-2: Chapters 37–40 and Musical Interlude 5 1. Describe the genre of opera seria. Discuss the standard plot, scenery, use of recitative and aria, and the types of singers that were required. Opera seria, replaced the comic opera, beginning in Italy and spreading across Europe in the eighteenth century. The word “seria” means serious, and it was. Comic relief was relegated to the libretto, which advanced in style to become thematic and standardized . Scarlotti and others around him began with what was called Neopolitan Opera, and it became the standard form Warrack, John and West, Ewan. (1992). The popular chorus was mostly replaced by the solo voice and selected duets, and was written in the style of bel canto, a very florid vocal style. The chorus and orchestra were secondary to the individual performers, with the orchestra being used for transitions and the chorus mainly used at the ending. High voices were especially popular and eunichs (called castrati) were often used in addition to female sopranos. In addition, tenors, altos, and baritones were used. Mostly there was a need for strong colourful voices. Speech rhythms were used for singing the dialogue, and only special songs deviated, such as arias, which could be very dramatic and emotional. The music always advanced the plot, not simply accompanying it ("opera seria"). Some of the most successful opera serias are Rinaldo (1711), by George Frideric Handel, Demofoonte (1764), by Niccolo Jommelli, Didone abbandonata (1725; Dido Abandoned), by Nicola Porpora, and Artaserse (1730), by Johann Adolf Hasse, plus more by Leonardo Vinci, Nicola Porpora, Tomasso Traetta, Josef Myslivecek, Gluck, and Mozart McClymonds, Marita P. and Daniel Heartz. Gluck is credited with contributing to the maturation of Opera Seria with his innovative styles, careful attention to the role of the chorus and new melodies. The stage was usually decorated to mimic the aristocratic style of palaces and the royal court and these were well lit. Of course, the French Revolution virtually destroyed this genre as it was closely identified with the nobility. APPENDIX A The Writing of Pope John XXII Pope John XXII in 1322 wrote:    “…there are certain disciples of the new school who, devoting all their attention to measuring time, apply themselves to the making of notes in a different fashion. They prefer to compose their own songs rather than to sing the old ones, and divide the church pieces into whole and half notes; they chop up the chant with notes of short values, truncate the melodies with hockets, pollute the melodies with descants and go as far as to muffle the upper voice in the vulgar tongue. Thus they ignore the principles of the antiphonal and the gradual, ignore the tones, which they no longer distinguish and even mingle together; under this avalanche of notes the chaste ascensions and discreet closes of the plainsong, by which the tones themselves are distinguished become unrecognizable.” ("Polyphony Is No Sin.") Works Cited "End of Europe's Middle Ages - The Development of the Motet."Web. 12/5/2013 . "History of Music Notation - evolution, printing, specialisation and computers."Web. 12/5/2013 . "Lyric Genres."Web. 12/5/2013 . "Major Baroque Composers | About the “Baroque” Period | Music of the Baroque."Web. 12/6/2013 . "opera seria". Encyclop?dia Britannica. Encyclop?dia Britannica Online. Encyclop?dia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 06 Dec. 2013 . "Polyphony Is No Sin."Web. 12/5/2013 . ---. "XI: The Motet and Allied Forms." Early Medieval Music, up to 1300. Ed. Dom Anselm Hughes. London: Geoffrey Cumberlege; Oxford UP, 1954. 353-404. Questia. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. Bent, Margaret ."Old Hall MS"; "Sources, Medieval, England"; The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1980. Print. Birely, Robert. The Refashioning of Catholicism, 1450-1700
      . Washington D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1999. Print. Bland, Alexander. A History of Ballet and Dance in the Western World. New York: Praeger Publishers.1999. Print. Bukofzer, Manfred F. "Vi English Church Music of the Fifteenth Century." Ars Nova and the Renaissance, 1300-1540. Ed. Dom Anselm Hughes and Gerald Abraham. London: Oxford UP, 1960. 165-213. Questia. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. ---, comp. Companion to Baroque Music. Ed. Julie Anne Sadie. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998. Questia. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. Freedberg, David ."Painting and the Counter-Reformation", from the catalogue to The Age of Rubens, 1993, Boston/Toledo, Ohio. https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:bLkFlBoGaT8J:www.columbia.edu/cu/arthistory/faculty/Freedberg/Painting-and-Counter-Reformation.pdf+&hl=en&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShIVkFMhpzW9reV2B2yVw4kTaETRm-Lwcm1_lsYcY-7BLopE38RyFHVFqGGTTeYMAD7IoOV6GI3Yo_QLFG2YGiDlWjcGyNDBIJcjBUiDDXF6tbgTYHB0qnTZfSABY7951UOigAs&sig=AHIEtbQ3HJ2Ypat9-3ShJSpI5-9Yl4TuYw Gangwere, Blanche M. Music History during the Renaissance Period, 1425-1520: A Documented Chronology. New York: Greenwood, 1991. Questia. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. Harper, John. The Forms and Orders of Western Liturgy from the Tenth to the Eighteenth Century: A Historical Introduction and Guide for Students and Musicians. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1991. Questia. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. Harrison, Frank Ll. "Iii English Church Music in the Fourteenth Century." Ars Nova and the Renaissance, 1300-1540. Ed. Dom Anselm Hughes and Gerald Abraham. London: Oxford UP, 1960. 82-106. Questia. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. Hauser, Arnold. Social History of Art, Volume 2: Renaissance, Mannerism, Baroque. Psychology Press. 1999. p. 192. Hughes, Dom Anselm, and Gerald Abraham, eds. Ars Nova and the Renaissance, 1300-1540. London: Oxford UP, 1960. Questia. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. Hughes, Dom Anselm. "XI: The Motet and Allied Forms." Early Medieval Music, up to 1300. Ed. Dom Anselm Hughes. London: Geoffrey Cumberlege; Oxford UP, 1954. 353-404. Questia. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. ---. "Iii English Church Music in the Fourteenth Century." Ars Nova and the Renaissance, 1300-1540. Ed. Dom Anselm Hughes and Gerald Abraham. London: Oxford UP, 1960. 82-106. Questia. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. Lockwood, Lewis . “Soggetto cavato,” The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians . London: Macmillan.2001. Print. Loesser, Susan. A Most Remarkable Fella: Frank Loesser and the Guys and Dolls in His Life; A Portrait by His Daughter. Hal Leonard. 1993. pp. 79–81. McClymonds, Marita P. and Daniel Heartz. "Opera seria", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy. 2013. Rothenberg, David J. The Flower of Paradise: Marian Devotion and Secular Song in Medieval and Renaissance Music. New York: Oxford UP, 2011. Questia. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. Sadie, Julie Anne, comp. Companion to Baroque Music. Ed. Julie Anne Sadie. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998. Questia. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. Viladesau, Richard. The Triumph of the Cross: The Passion of Christ in Theology and the Arts, from the Renaissance to the Counter-Reformation. New York: Oxford UP, 2008. Questia. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. Warrack, John and West, Ewan. The Oxford Dictionary of Opera. 1992. Print   Read More