History of Music I Timeline

By mellyb2.0
  • Period: 500 to 1450

    Medieval Period

  • 1030

    Guido of Arezzo's Micrologus

    The Micrologus is a treatise written by Guido of Arezzo and dedicated to the Bishop of Arezzo. The Micrologus provides guidelines for the singing and teaching of Gregorian chant as well as the composition of polyphonic music. In his work, Guido of Arezzo discusses approaching unison in music by contrary or oblique motion, which is still used in music theory today.
  • 1098

    Birth of Hildegard of Bingen

  • 1179

    Death of Hildegard of Bingen

  • 1323

    Ars Nova Treatise

    Philippe de Vitry is credited with writing the Ars Nova Treatise, which represents the changes in musical rhythm characteristic of the Ars Nova (new art) style as opposed to the Ars Antiqua (old art) style. During the time of the Ars Nova, composers developed a new way to notate rhythms, thus enabling them to write more complex rhythms using smaller note values.
  • Period: 1450 to

    Renaissance Period

  • 1485

    Josquin's "Ave Maria ... virgo serena"

  • 1529

    Martin Luther Chorale "Ein feste burg"

  • 1538

    Arcadelt Madrigal "Il bianco e dolce cigno"

  • 1567

    Palestrina Pope Marcellus Mass

    Legend has it that Palestrina saved polyphony from being banned by the Council of Trent, where it was argued that sacred text in polyphonic music was unintelligible, by composing a polyphonic song in six voices with intelligible words: the Pope Marcellus Mass.

  • Victoria "Missa O Magnum Mysterium"

  • Gabrieli "Sonata pian' e forte"

    This piece is important for two reasons. First, it is one of the first pieces to assign certain parts to certain instruments. Before, there would simply be different clefs and any instrument with the right range would play the part. The second reason for the importance of this piece is that Gabrieli wrote dynamics into the music, which was a new concept at the time.
  • Period: to

    Baroque Period

  • Monteverdi's L'Orfeo

  • First Public Concerts in England

  • Birth of J.S. Bach

  • Antonio Vivaldi's L’Estro Armonico

    The structure of Vivaldi's concertos became the foundation for the Mature Baroque concerto. L'Estro Armonico led to the great popularity of Italian concertos in Europe. It is one of the most influential musical works of the early 1700s.

  • Rameau's Traité de l’harmonie

    Rameau's Traité de l’harmonie is a foundational theoretical work that summarized and laid out basic music theory guidelines that are still taught today.

  • Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier volume 1

    The Well-Tempered Clavier, volume 1, contains 24 Preludes and Fugues, one in each key signature.
  • Period: to

    PreClassical Period

  • Birth of Franz Joseph Haydn

  • Handel's Messiah

    Premiered in Dublin, 1742
  • Period: to

    Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges as director of Concerts des Amateurs

    Joseph Bologne Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges was the son of a French colonial official and an African slave. He was a virtuoso violinist as well as an accomplished swordsman. He is one of the best French composers and violinists.

  • Death of J.S. Bach

  • Birth of W.A. Mozart

  • Period: to

    Viennese Classical Period

  • Mozart's Don Giovanni

  • Death of W.A. Mozart

  • Haydn's Symphony No. 94 "Surprise"

  • Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C minor

  • Death of Franz Joseph Haydn

  • Schubert's Erlkönig

  • Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia

  • Nicolo Paganini's 24 Caprices for Violin, Op. 1

  • Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique

  • Period: to

    Frederic Chopin's Mazurkas, Op.7

  • Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel's Das Jahr

  • Period: to

    Louis Moreau Gottschalk's Souvenir de Porto Rico

  • Musorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition

  • Bizet's Carmen

  • Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen

  • Brahms' Symphony No. 4

  • Mahler's Symphony No. 1

  • Claude Debussy “Voiles” from Préludes Book 1

  • Arnold Schönberg "Pierrot Lunaire"

  • Igor Stravinsky "The Rite of Spring" (premiere)

  • Manuel de Falla "Homenaje" (Homage)

  • George and Ira Gershwin “I Got Rhythm"

  • Margaret Bonds “The Negro Speaks of Rivers"

  • Dimitri Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 premiere

  • Duke Ellington "Cottontail"

  • Aaron Copland "Appalachian Spring"

  • John Cage "Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano"

  • Miles Davis "Kind of Blue"

  • George Crumb "Ancient Voices of Children"

  • John Adams "Short Ride in a Fast Machine"