Classical music can trace its beginnings all the way back to the Middle Ages and the fall of the Roman Empire. From that time until around the middle of the Fifteenth Century was a period of music called Medieval Music. Unfortunately, much of medieval music was never written down and therefore has been lost to us now. Indeed much of the pre-12th-century music has been lost altogether.
Few people knew how to read and write at the time and it was expensive in both time and money to create written manuscripts. The only places that generally had the resources to do such a thing were churches and other religious institutions thus most of the surviving music is of secular nature and popular music of the time has been mostly lost.
Looking back at the music we find that in the beginning it was mostly monophonic and homorhythmic as it was simply sung text with little or usually no instrumental accompaniment. Later in the period musical notations begin to develop that denote polyphonic and generally accepted practices come into use that demonstrate this. Harmony in fifths and later fourths appear in the latter half of the period as do other more complex notations including multiple lines of repeated vocals, multiple texts and notation for instruments.
Many of today's Classical music instruments can trace their origins back to this early period of music as well. While they may have changed their form or the way they were played they are still very similar. Instruments such as the flute were then made of wood, while today they are generally made of metal. Generally they were played straight on where now they are played in a sideways fashion. Other instruments such as pan pipes and the recorder have not changed at all. Early version of instruments such as the trombone, organ and fiddle were also developed at this time.
Stringed instruments also gained in popularity. Most were plucked at the time but bowed instruments also started showing up. The most notable plucked strings were the lute, mandora and psaltery. The Byzantine lyra, the oldest bowed instrument we know of, was also in use during the era. One of the stranger instruments used then and now was the hurdy-gurdy which has a mechanical crank and a rosined bow.
Surviving music from this time includes a wide variety of Gregorian Chant, Ambrosian Chant, Musica Enchiriadis, Codex Calixtinus of Santiago de Compostela, and the Winchester Troper. While much of the music was anonymous it is believed that several poets and lyricists lent their talents to this endeavor and include names like Pope Gregory I, St. Godric, Tutilo and Hucbald. Later in the period (after 1150) Notre Dame required a large amount of music to be created and Paris became a center for the creation of that music which became known as Ars antiqua of which surviving pieces include Codex Montpellier and Codex Bamberg with authors including Leonin, Perotin and Petrus de Cruce. Another form of music that survived is the troubadours, who sang about romantic love, war and chivalry and the Trouveres singing of similar themes but at a slightly later period (12th into the 13th centuries).
The closing of the period saw the Ars Nova era which began around 1310 with the Roman de Fauvel a satire of medieval church abuses and has contributions from Philippe de Vitry. During this era secular music developed rapidly and began to take on polyphonic facets formerly only found in sacred music. While much of the music of Ars Nova was French there is also some which came from Italy and Germany.
The end of the period is still under some debate. It is generally agreed that the Renaissance ended the period but as it took some time to spread from Italy to England there is a body of music that is transitional in nature and so does not properly fit into either era. Generally it is agreed that the medieval music period ended around 1400-1450.
Few people knew how to read and write at the time and it was expensive in both time and money to create written manuscripts. The only places that generally had the resources to do such a thing were churches and other religious institutions thus most of the surviving music is of secular nature and popular music of the time has been mostly lost.
Looking back at the music we find that in the beginning it was mostly monophonic and homorhythmic as it was simply sung text with little or usually no instrumental accompaniment. Later in the period musical notations begin to develop that denote polyphonic and generally accepted practices come into use that demonstrate this. Harmony in fifths and later fourths appear in the latter half of the period as do other more complex notations including multiple lines of repeated vocals, multiple texts and notation for instruments.
Many of today's Classical music instruments can trace their origins back to this early period of music as well. While they may have changed their form or the way they were played they are still very similar. Instruments such as the flute were then made of wood, while today they are generally made of metal. Generally they were played straight on where now they are played in a sideways fashion. Other instruments such as pan pipes and the recorder have not changed at all. Early version of instruments such as the trombone, organ and fiddle were also developed at this time.
Stringed instruments also gained in popularity. Most were plucked at the time but bowed instruments also started showing up. The most notable plucked strings were the lute, mandora and psaltery. The Byzantine lyra, the oldest bowed instrument we know of, was also in use during the era. One of the stranger instruments used then and now was the hurdy-gurdy which has a mechanical crank and a rosined bow.
Surviving music from this time includes a wide variety of Gregorian Chant, Ambrosian Chant, Musica Enchiriadis, Codex Calixtinus of Santiago de Compostela, and the Winchester Troper. While much of the music was anonymous it is believed that several poets and lyricists lent their talents to this endeavor and include names like Pope Gregory I, St. Godric, Tutilo and Hucbald. Later in the period (after 1150) Notre Dame required a large amount of music to be created and Paris became a center for the creation of that music which became known as Ars antiqua of which surviving pieces include Codex Montpellier and Codex Bamberg with authors including Leonin, Perotin and Petrus de Cruce. Another form of music that survived is the troubadours, who sang about romantic love, war and chivalry and the Trouveres singing of similar themes but at a slightly later period (12th into the 13th centuries).
The closing of the period saw the Ars Nova era which began around 1310 with the Roman de Fauvel a satire of medieval church abuses and has contributions from Philippe de Vitry. During this era secular music developed rapidly and began to take on polyphonic facets formerly only found in sacred music. While much of the music of Ars Nova was French there is also some which came from Italy and Germany.
The end of the period is still under some debate. It is generally agreed that the Renaissance ended the period but as it took some time to spread from Italy to England there is a body of music that is transitional in nature and so does not properly fit into either era. Generally it is agreed that the medieval music period ended around 1400-1450.
About the Author:
P.G. Wordhouse writes on a variety of topics including music, technology, electronics and travel. The Classical Music series of historical articles was inspired while listening to music at Classicalconnect.com, a free classical music site.
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