Medieval/ Renaissance (476-1430-1600)

Fall of Rome

476

Very slow changes in life and culture. DISSEMINATION of knowledge. Very large territory crumbled, hard to keep such a large land claim intact, territory was divided into several smaller successor polities. Historians generally agree the Fall of Rome began when Odocer became the king of Italy and forced Rome's last emperor, Augustulus to give up his crown.

Masses

476

Ordinary vs. Proper

Medieval Period

Period: 476 to 1430

"Middle Ages". Begins with the Fall of Rome in 476. Most extant music from this time is considered sacred. The Church played a large part in the creation and "understanding" of music. Composers at this time had knowledge of Greek theory and older ideas surrounding music, but had no extant examples as we now have.

Gregorian Chant

715

The Roman Dialect of Chant, organized and cataloged by Pope Gregory, which ruled from around 715 to pproximately 731.

Guido d'Arezzo

991

(991-1033) Italian credited with inventing the staff. Suggested a red line for F and a yellow line for C.
Advocated for sight-singing using syllables and Diastematic notation. Wrote one of the earliest treatise on usical composition and polyphony.

Hildegard von Bingen

1098

(1098-1179) Composed first morality play (Sybil of the Rhine). Writer, composer, theologian. Made 77 meldies.

Bernart de Ventadorn

1130

(1130-1200) Possibly finest of the troubadour pets, important because more music of his survives than any other 12th-Century poet. 44 songs (18 with complete melodies)

Leonin (Leininus)

1135

(1135-1201) Master of Organum purum at Cathedral of Notre Dame. Magnus Liber

Walter von der Vogelweide

1170

(1170-1230) Poet, worked at Viennese court. Wrote earliest surviving minnesinger melody. Contemporaries of his time considered him the leading composer and poet among Minnesinger

Perotin (Perotinus)

1180

(1180-1238) Master of discant organum at the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Wrote 3 and 4 voice organum.

Peire Vidal

1183

(1183-1205) Troubadour with wide ranging melodies.

Medieval Motet

1200

Secular, Nobility, Non-nobility. French, Latin, or both. More text than chant. Instrumental inclusion. 6 rhythmic modes.

Rise of Polyphony

1200

Earliest harmonization of the chant. In the beginning of the 13th century, based tenor was becoming altered, fragmented, and hidden beneath secular tunes.

Comtessa Beatriz de Dia

1212

Only female troubadour to have a surviving melody.

Moniot d'Arras

1213

(1213-1239) Trouvere who wrote in many genres and forms. Also a monk at Arras. 23 poems with 13 surviving melodies

Adam de la Halle

1245

(1245-1285) one of the last trouveres, wrote in/with polyphony. 7 motets, and unknown chansons and musical plays

Phillippe de Vitry

1291

(1291-1361) "Inventor of new art". French composer, poet, theorist, bishop, introduced mensural notation. Ars Nova (1322-1323). Motets (some were isorhythmic!)

Guillaume de Machaut

1300

(1300-1377) Leading composer of Ars Nova. Importance and Innovations cannot be overstated. Mass of Notre Dame with over 400 poems, 23 motets, and 42 ballades to his name.

Francesco Landini

1397

(?-1397) Most famous Italian composer, popular because of his improvements in instrumental music. Was blind!

Guillaume Dufay

1397

(1397-1474) First important Renaissance composer. Utilized older medieval cadences. Contributed many motets and chansons (90 and 87, respectively).

Johannes Ockeghem

1410

(1410-1497) Bass singer born in Northeastern France that served three kings. 13 masses, around 5 motets.

The Renaissance

Period: 1430 to 1600

"Rebirth." Europe's cultural and Artistic revolution that brought them out of the Middle Ages. Long-standing cultural achievements such as works and inventions by Leonardo Da Vinci, sonnets and plays by William Shakespeare, and art by Michelangelo. This period f European history was driven by art and artists, but was kick-started by an almost instantaneous shift in rights for the every man, with events such as the Protestant Reformation and Martin Luther's 95 Theses paving the way.

Invention of the Printing Press

1439

The inventing of the printing press greatly increased the rate at which literature could be produced and reproduced. It also allowed for items such as The Holy Bible to be transcribed in languages they were not previously available in. This, in turn, took the power of the word of the good book out of the hands of the powerful men of the church, and let the common person read and make their own assumptions of the Christian religion and its lessons, leading to found many new sects of Christianity.

Josquin des Prez

1450

(1450-1521) Martin Luther considered him one of the best composer of his time. French. 18 masses, 50+ motets, 65 chansons.

Heinrich Issac

1450

(1450-1517) Fraco-Flemish composer who influenced German music. Court composer to Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. 36 Masses. Choralis Cinstantinus.

Pierre de la Rue

1452

(1452-1518) Leading composer of Burgundian court. 31 masses, 25 motets, Requiem.

Jacob Obrecht

1457

(1457-1505) Dutch composer that made important contributions to large-scaled form. Important composer of masses in Europe. 26 masses, 32 motets, 30 secular works.

Ottaviano Petrucci

1466

(1466-1539) First music printer and publisher. Preserved the music we know today as Renaissance music.

Adrian Willaert

1490

(1490-1562) complex, continuous polyphony.

Thomas Tallis

1505

(1505-1585) English organist who taught Byrd. Wrote for Latin and reformed English liturgies. 30 motets, 3 masses

Jacques Arcadelt

1507

(1507-1568) Dutchman who worked in Rome and Paris, famous for early madrigals and 3-7 voice masses. Chansons and masses.

The Lute

1511

Popularized around 1580. Utilized newly invented strings known as catlines along with rope/pulley technology to adjust tuning of the instrument, allowing it to play lower notes.

Cipriano de Rore

1515

(1515-1565) Flemish who worked in Ferrara and Parma. 65 motets, 3 masses.

Protestant Reformation

Period: 1517 to 1648

Religious, political, and cultural shift that would splinter a Catholic Europe, and check the power of overly ambitious religious leaders who were taking part in acts such as selling Indulgences to Christians (basically a get-out-of-Hell Free Card). Initially, the Protestant Reformation was only supposed to reform the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church, but it snowballed into so much more.

Martin Luther's 95 Theses

Oct 31, 1517

In a attempt to to rail against the hypocrisy and corruption of the Roman Catholic Church, Martin Luther wrote the,"Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences", more popularly known today as his 95 Theses. It is said he nailed this to the Castle Church door for all to see. This was a large part of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.

Phillippe de Monte

1521

(1521-1603) Franco-Flemish at Viennese and Prague. mixed polyphony and homophony. One of the most prolific composers of the Renaissance. 38 masses, 319 motets, 45 chansons.

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

1525

(1525-1594) Icon of Renaissance music for future generations. Roman style. Reformed Catholic church music. 104 masses, 375 motets.

Orlando di Lasso

1532

(1532-1594) widely traveled, over 2000 compositions in all language. One of the most versatile composers. 60 masses, 520 motets

Andrea Gebrieli

1532

(1532-1585) Italian organist, composer, teacher. masses, motets, psalms.

Count Giovanni Bardi

1534

(1534-1612) Italian. Leader of Florentine Camerata.

Gianches de Wert

1535

(1535-1596) Served the Dukes of Mauta and Parma. Influenced Monteverdi.

William Byrd

1540

(1540-1623) English Catholic composer. greatest English composer. 3 masses 175 motets.

Tomas Luis de Victoria

1548

(1548-1611) Spanish composer, continued Palestrina's Roman style in Spain. 20 masses, motets.

Luca Marenzio

1553

(1553-1599) Leading madrigal composer of the last 16th century. 75 motets.

Thomas Morley

1557

(1557-1602) Englishman contributed to the development of the English madrigal, important for musical publication and printing. "Triumphs of Oriana"

Carlo Gesualdo

1561

(1561-1613) Cromaticism. Neapolitan. Fascinated Stravinsky. 2 books of motets. keyboard works.

William Shakespeare

1564

(1564-1616) William Shakespeare, also known as,"The Bard" was an English poet, playwright, and inventor of the Shakespearean sonnet. His works silently envelope the entire culture of story-telling today. A plethora of books, films, and other fictional stories are in some way or another a (usually unnoticed) recreation of one of Shakespeare's plays. Shakespeare basically perfected the craft of fictional storytelling.

Claudio Monteverdi

1567

(1567-1643) Ahead of his time took music to new style.

Thoas Weelkes

1576

(1576-1623) English organist. madrigals and anthems.