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Jongleurs: singers of chanson de geste were jongleurs or ménestrels professional musicians from about the 10th century traveled alone or in small groups and performed for aristocracy social outcasts and often denied sacraments of the Church by 11-12th c. with feudal economy growing in Europe they gained some respect Eventually organized themselves into guilds, brotherhoods that trained professional musicians (precursors to the conservatory). sang played and danced to songs composed by others sometimes altering them this performance tradition eventually gave rise to the songs of the troubadours and trouvères

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Elaboration in Monophonic Church Music TROPES AND SEQUENCES

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Additions to the Authorized Chants Musicians continued to add to the repertoire even after standardization in the eighth and ninth centuries. When new feast days were added to the calendar, musicians created new chants or adapted old ones. New genres: tropes, sequences, and liturgical dramas Trope Expansion on an existing chant in order to increase its solemnity Adding new words and music before the chant and often between phrases The most common type of trope

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Additions to the Authorized Chants Added to Introits and Glorias The new words often explained or expanded on the original text (e.g., NAWM 3a and NAWM 5). Adding melody by extending a melisma or creating new ones Adding text (called prosula or “prose”) to existing melismas Style was usually neumatic, sometimes borrowing motives from the original chant. Soloists usually sang the tropes.

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Trope composition flourished in the tenth and eleventh centuries, declined during the twelfth, and was banned in the sixteenth century by the Council of Trent (see HWM Chapter 10). Sequence (Victimae pascali laudes) Development began in the ninth century. The name derives from an earlier practice called sequentia, meaning something that follows. Connection to the Alleluia Melodies may have originated as melismas that replaced the jubilus of the Alleluia, and some sequences draw melodic material from the Alleluia.

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IX. Additions to the Authorized Chants (Contd.) One form of sequence was an extended melisma on “Alleluia.” Scholars used to believe that the sequence originated as texts added to Alleluia melodies, but now they believe only previous sequence melodies received new texts. Notker Balbulus (“The Stammerer,” ca. 840–914) is the most famous early writer of sequence texts (see HWM Source Reading, page 67).

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IX. Additions to the Authorized Chants Form Series of paired verses, except for the first and last, which are single Each new pair has a new syllable count and musical stanza. There is no standard number of stanzas. The resulting form is A BB CC . . . N By the twelfth century, many sequences (such as those by Adam of St. Victor, d. 1146) lacked the unpaired first and last phrases and stanza lengths were more even.

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IX. Additions to the Authorized Chants The mode is usually clear, with most phrases ending on the final. The Council of Trent banned all but four sequences. Those not banned include Victimae pascale laudes (for Easter) and Dies irae (for the Requiem, or Mass for the Dead). Liturgical drama Although not part of the liturgy, plays that were linked to the liturgy are called liturgical dramas.

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Tropes in dialogue form introduced important feast days. Quem queritis in sepulchro (“Whom do you seek in the tomb”), which precedes the Easter Introit, portrays an angel and the three Marys who went to Jesus’ tomb. Quem queritis in presepe (“Whom do you seek in the manger”) precedes the Christmas Introit and is in the same mode. Liturgical dramas preceding Introits may have been performed outside the church. Other plays depict Biblical events, such as The Slaughter of the Innocents. All parts were usually sung by male clergy, even the women’s roles.

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Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179) Women were excluded from religious music-making everywhere but in convents. Convent life As in monasteries, convent life revolved around the eight daily Office services and Mass. Women could perform all duties of their convent except officiating at Mass. Unlike women in other spheres of society, nuns had access to intellectual pursuits, including reading Latin and composing music.

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Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179) Hildegard’s accomplishments (see HWM Figure 3.6 and biography, page 69) She was prioress and abbess of her own convent (near Bingen). She had visions and became famous for her prophecies. She preached throughout Germany. She wrote prose works on science and healing. Scivias (“Know the Ways,” 1141–51), is a book about her visions.

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Hildegard’s Music Hildegard’s music By the 1140s, she had begun to set her poems to music. Two manuscripts, organized in a liturgical cycle, preserve her songs. The style varies from syllabic hymns and sequences to highly melismatic responsories. Her style includes wide ranges, exceeding an octave by a fourth or fifth. A few distinctive melodic figures appear in many of her works. A rising fifth followed by a stepwise descent

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Hildegard of Bingen Circling around a cadential note Successive leaps spanning an octave or more Some words or syllables received special treatment to bring out the meaning (e.g., NAWM 6, “oculus tuus” and “ad Patrem”). She claimed that her songs were divinely inspired, a claim that buttressed her credibility in a time when nuns were restricted to activities within their convent. Her writings were published in the nineteenth century.

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Her music was rediscovered in the late twentieth century. She is now the best-known and most recorded composer of sacred monophony. Ordo virtutum (The Virtues, ca. 1151) Hildegard’s most extended musical work A sacred music drama comprising eighty-two songs The text is a morality play, with allegorical and human characters. Three souls: Happy, Unhappy and Penitent Prophets

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X. Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179) (Contd.) Virtues The Devil (the only spoken part) The final chorus of the Virtues Functions as an epilogue Incorporates Hildegard’s characteristic melodic motives, such as a rising fifth from e–b' The play ends with a prose speech by Christ followed by a short prayer.

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The continuing presence of chant From the ninth through the thirteenth centuries, polyphonic music was based on chant. Chant was reformed twice: once in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, and again in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Until the Second Vatican Council (1962–65) chant continued to be the basis of Catholic worship. After the Second Vatican Council, chant was performed only in monasteries and concert halls. The Benedictine monks of Santo Domingo de Silos in Spain released a CD called “Chant,” which was a best-selling CD in Europe and the United States in 1994.

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European Society, 800–1300 Society in western Europe 1. The economy was largely agricultural. Most people lived in rural areas. There were three broad classes (see HWM Figure 4.2). Nobility, including knights, controlled the land and fought wars. Clergy, including priests, monks, and nuns, were devoted to a religious life. Peasants, the majority of the population, worked the land and served the nobles.

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European Society, 800–1300 The growth of cities By 1300, several cities had populations over 100,000 (small by today’s standards). Paris had about 200,000 residents. Venice, Milan, and Florence had about 100,000 each. London had a population of about 70,000. Artisans in cities organized themselves into groups called guilds to regulate their crafts and protect their interests.

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Doctors, lawyers, merchants, and artisans formed the new middle class. Learning and the arts thrived. Schools Cathedral schools were established throughout Europe from 1050–1300. After 1200, independent schools for laymen spread as well. Universities were founded in Bologna, Paris, Oxford, and other cities. Achievements Works of Aristotle and other writers were translated from Greek and Arabic into Latin (the language of scholarship). Developments in science and philosophy Poems in Latin and vernacular languages, many of which were sung, diverged from ancient models.

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Latin and Vernacular Song Songs in Latin Versus (pl. versus) Sacred song, sometimes attached to the liturgy Rhymed poetry, usually with a regular pattern of accents Monophonic versus appeared in Aquitaine in southwestern France in the eleventh century. The music was newly composed, not adapted from chant.

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Latin and Vernacular Song Conductus (pl. conductus) Similar to versus, with original music and rhymed, rhythmical texts in Latin Originated in the twelfth century Original function was to “conduct” a celebrant or a liturgical book from one location to another during the liturgy The term was later used for any serious Latin song with a rhymed, rhythmical text regardless of the subject.

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Goliard songs (from Bishop Golias) : 11th-12th centuries: footloose clerics: in the days before resident universities criticized by regular folk songs about wine, women, satire some delicate songs and some profane (Carmina Burana) While the texts survive little of the music does...most of it is staffless neumes modern transcriptions are guesses at best Songs in vernacular languages (i.e., languages other than Latin in Europe) There are almost no descriptions or examples of the music of the peasants.

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Only a few street cries and folk songs have been preserved, through their quotation in music intended for educated audiences. Epic poems in vernacular languages have been written down, but not the music. Chanson de geste (“song of deeds”) Epics in northern French vernacular Topics celebrated deeds of national heroes The most famous chanson de geste is Song of Roland (ca. 1100), about a battle between Charlemagne’s army and Muslims in Spain. Epics from other countries include England’s Beowulf (eighth century), the Norse Eddas (ca. 800–1200), and the German Song of the Nibelungs (thirteenth century).

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Latin and Vernacular Song Professional musicians Few records survive to document the professional musicians of the Middle Ages. Bards in Celtic lands sang epics at banquets, accompanying themselves on harp or fiddle. Jongleurs Traveling entertainers who told stories and performed tricks in addition to performing music The word jongleur comes from the same root as the English word “juggler.”

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Minstrel (from the Latin minister, “servant”) By the thirteenth century, the term meant any specialized musician. Many were highly paid, unlike the jongleurs. They were on the payrolls of courts and cities. They came from many economic backgrounds.

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Troubadour and Trouvère Song French aristocrats cultivated courtly song by poet-composers who composed in two vernacular languages (see HWM Figure 4.4). In the southern region, the language was Occitan and the poet-composers were called troubadours. In the northern region, the language was Old French and the poet-composers were called trouvères. The two languages were also named for their words for “yes.” Occitan was langue d’oc, the language of “oc” for yes.

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Troubadour and Trouvère Song Old French was langue d’oïl, in which “yes” was oïl (pronounced like present-day oui). The root words trobar and trover meant “to compose a song,” and later “to invent” or “to find.” Female troubadours were called trobairitz Troubadours and trouvères came from many backgrounds. Their biographies, called vidas, were written down, and many vidas survive.

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III. Troubadour and Trouvère Song (Contd.) Some were members of the nobility, e.g., Guillaume IX, duke of Aquitaine (1071–1126) and the Countess of Dia (fl. late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries). Some were born to servants at court, e.g., Bernart de Ventadorn (ca. 1130–ca. 1200) Others were accepted into aristocratic circles because of their accomplishments and demeanor, despite their middle-class roots. Some performed their own music; others entrusted their music to a jongleur or minstrel.

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Troubadour and Trouvère Surviving songs The songs were preserved in chansonniers (songbooks). Troubadour songs About 2,600 survive. Only one-tenth survive with melodies. Trouvère songs About 2,100 survive. Two-thirds survive with melodies.

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When songs were copied into more than one chansonnier, there are differences, indicating oral transmission before the songs were written down The central theme was fin’ amors (Occitan) or fine amour (French) Translated as “courtly love” or, more precisely, “refined love” Idealized love that refined the lover Love from a distance, with respect and humility The object was a real woman, usually another man’s wife.

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III. Troubadour and Trouvère Song (Contd.) The woman was unattainable, making unrewarded yearning a major theme (e.g., NAWM 8, Can vei la lauzeta mover by Bernart de Ventadorn). When women wrote poetry, they focused on the woman’s point of view (e.g., HWM Example 4.1 and NAWM 9, A chantar by the Countess of Dia). The artistry of the poems demonstrates the poets’ refinement and eloquence.

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Troubadour and Trouvère Song Melodies Strophic, with every stanza being set to the same melody Text-setting is syllabic with occasional groups of notes, especially on a line’s penultimate syllable. Range is narrow, within a ninth. Modal theory was not part of the composers’ thinking, yet most melodies fit the theory, with the first and seventh modes being most common. Melodies move primarily stepwise.

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Form Most troubadour melodies have new music for each phrase. AAB form is common in trouvère melodies and was used by some troubadours as well (e.g., A chantar). The form of A chantar incorporates musical rhyme. Seven-line stanzas The form is AAB, with each section ending with the same melody (a musical rhyme). At the level of the phrase, the form is ab ab cdb, with “b” being the musical rhyme.

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Rhythm is usually not notated. Some scholars believe melodies were sung with each syllable receiving the same duration. Other scholars believe the songs were sung with a meter corresponding to the meter of the poetry. Dance songs were most likely sung metrically, and elevated love songs may have been sung more freely, but modern editions will vary because of competing views.

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Musical plays Musical plays were built around narrative pastoral songs. The most famous was Jeu de Robin et de Marion (The Play of Robin and Marion, ca. 1284) by Adam de la Halle (NAWM 10). Adam de la Halle (ca. 1240–1288) The last great trouvère His complete works were collected into a manuscript, which indicates he was held in high esteem.

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Robin m’aime (NAWM 10) is a rondeau. Dance song with a refrain Form is AbaabAB. Capital letters indicate the refrain (same music, same text). Lower case letters indicate new text for A or B. Another setting is polyphonic and notated in precise durations, indicating a metrical rhythm.

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III. Troubadour and Trouvère Song (Contd.) Rise and fall of troubadour tradition Its origins include three possible genres. Arabic songs Versus Secular Latin songs Albigensian Crusade, declared by Pope Innocent III in 1208, destroyed the culture and courts of southern France. Troubadours dispersed, spreading their influence to neighboring lands.

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IV. Song in Other Lands England French was the language of kings and nobility in England because of the Norman Conquest of 1066. The lower classes spoke Middle English. A few songs in Middle English survive with melodies. Most surviving poems in Middle English were probably meant to be sung.

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IV. Song in Other Lands (Contd.) Minnesinger Knightly poet-musicians who wrote in Middle High German They were modeled on the troubadours. Flourished between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries They sang Minnelieder (love songs) emphasizing faithfulness, duty, and service in the knightly tradition.

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IV. Song in Other Lands The songs are strophic, with the bar form (AAB) the most common. A Called Stollen Each has the same poetic meter, rhyme scheme, and melody. B Called Abgesang Usually longer than the Stollen The ending may quote part or all of the ending of the Stollen.

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IV. Song in Other Lands Crusade songs were a new genre with the Minnesingers. Songs about experiences of crusaders who renounced worldly comforts to travel on Crusades. Example: NAWM 11, by Walther von der Vogelweide (ca. 1170–1230) Cantigas de Santa Maria Over four hundred songs in Gallican-Portuguese in honor of the Virgin Mary King Alfonso el Sabio (The Wise) of Castile and Léon in northwest Spain directed the compilation of these songs in about 1270–1290.

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Four beautifully illuminated manuscripts preserve these songs. Most songs described miracles performed by the Virgin. Mary had been venerated since the twelfth century. NAWM 12 describes how Mary caused a piece of stolen meat to jump about, revealing where it was hidden. The songs all have refrains. In performance, a group singing the refrains could have alternated with a soloist singing the verses. Songs with refrains were often associated with dancing, as shown in some of the illustrations in the Cantigas manuscripts.

Summary: Mononphony/Western

Tags: secular monophony

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