Medieval/Renaissance (476 CE-1600)

The Fall of Rome (476 CE)

476

The fall of Rome happened after political power/control was lost in the Western Roman Empire.

The Medieval Period

Period: 476 to 1430

The time period between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance.

Musical Characteristics of the Medieval Period

Period: 476 to 1430

Melodies of the Medieval period were mainly conjunct and were based on the eight church modes. What was also common were the melismas that were in multiple genres. The rhythms used during this time were what is known as the six Medieval rhythmic modes and these were used from the twelfth to the thirteenth century. Most of the music from this era was monophonic but by the end of the Medieval period, polyphonic textures were becoming more common.

Organum (800s CE)

800

A plainchant "melody" with an added melody. It was officially described around 900 CE and then notated around 1000 CE.

Neumes (c. 800)

800

Neumes are what we know as notes today, though they didn't function as notes do now. Still, they were used for musical notation before the creation of the staff.

Guido of Arezzo (ca. 991-after 1033)

991

A music theorist who's credited with creating the staff, using a red line for F and a yellow line for C.

Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)

1098

The founder and abbess of the convent located in Rupertsburg, Germany and is most famous for her visions. She wrote liturgical dramas as well as religious poetry. Her style of music was more elaborate than Gregorian chant as it was more expressive, had wider range, used interesting leaps, and it used poetic texts.

Bernart de Ventadorn (ca. 1130-40-ca. 1190-1200)

1130

A famous troubadour and considered one of the finest troubadour poets. He's important due to his musics' survival more than any other poet from the twelfth century.

Leonin (fl. 1150 CE-c. 1201 CE)

1150

First composer of polyphonic music whose name that we now know and has been credited with creating Magnus liber orgnani (c. 1170).

Raimbaut de Vaqueiras (c. 1155-1207)

1155

A troubadour from southern France and served the court in Montferrat, which is in northern Italy. He wrote at least 35 poems, 7 of them surviving with music.

Walther von der Vogelweide (ca. 1170-1230)

1170

A poet and Minnesinger who worked at the Viennese court and wrote the earliest surviving minnesinger melody. He was considered by his contemporaries that he was a leading composer and poet among Minnesinger.

Perotin (fl. c. 1200 CE)

1200

A master of discant organum at the Cathedral of Notre Dame. He is also a supposed student of Leonin.

Comtessa Beatriz de Dia (d. ca. 1212)

1212

A famous female troubadour who has left the only surviving melody by a female troubadour.

Moniot d'Arras (fl. 1213-39)

1213

A trouvere that wrote in several genres and forms and was also a monk at Arras.

Adam de la Halle (ca. 1245-50-ca. 1285-8)

1245

One of the last trouveres and he wrote polyphony. He also studied in Paris.

Philippe de Vitry (1291-1361)

1291

The first composer of the Ars Nova.

Guillaume de Machaut (c. 1300-1377)

1300

The most famous composer and poet of this time. His works include more than twenty extant motets, several extant chansons, and one of the first polyphonic mass cycles.

Francesco Landini (ca. 1325-97)

1325

A music theorist, poet, composer, and organist who's famous for being blind. He is also considered to be the most famous composer of the fourteenth century.

The Black Death (1347)

1347

A bubonic plague pandemic that killed anywhere from twenty-five to two-hundred million people. It's the most fatal pandemic in history.

John Dunstable (ca. 1390-1453)

1390

The leading English composer during the Renaissance and was a huge influence for the musical style in Europe. His musics' "English quality" impressed many composers. He has about fifty compositions that are extant, though there are probably more. However, his works were not published until 1953.

Guillaume Dufay (ca. 1397-1474)

1397

The first Renaissance composer who used older medieval cadences.

Johannes Ockeghem (ca. 1420-97)

1420

A bass singer who was very respected and prolific. He also served three kings and was an important teacher.

Genres of the Renaissance

1430

The genres of music during the Renaissance include sacred and secular music. Sacred music included masses, motets, and separate pieces by liturgical titles while secular music had frottola, madrigals, chansons, and other types of poetic pieces for music.

Instruments of the Renaissance

1430

The following instruments are ones used during this time period: the shawm, crumhorns, vielle, lute, dulcimer, psaltery, rebec, and the theorbo.

Musical Characteristics of the Renaissance

Period: 1430 to 1600

When it came down to melody, Renaissance music was flowing and melismatic. Wider leaps were used for expression of text but the melodies were still more conjunct. Rhythm no longer had a complexity and was instead simple in music during this era. For harmony, 3rd and 6th progressions became the focus and this resulted in complete triads. Consonance was also preferred over dissonance. Renaissance music still had the basis of church modes.

The Renaissance (1430-1600)

Period: 1430 to 1600

A period in history in which the culture, art, music, economy, and politics in Europe were reborn after the Medieval Era.

Johannes Tinctoris (c. 1435-1511)

1435

A composer and a music theorist who wrote about contemporary music and wrote "Diffinitorum musices."

The Printing Press (1440)

1440

Invented by Johann Gutenberg, the printing press was a revolutionary invention that made literature more accessible to everyone, which resulted in an increase of knowledge and learning to those who didn't have access to education.

Josquin des Prez (c. 1450-1521)

1450

The most revered Renaissance composer especially by Martin Luther. He was considered by Luther to be the "best composer of our time" and "the master of notes."

Heinrich Isaac (ca. 1450-1517)

1450

A Franco-Flemish, prolific composer who influenced German music.

Adrian Willaert (ca. 1490-1562)

1490

The father of text expression and advocated for textual expression.

Thomas Tallis (1505-85)

1505

An English composer who wrote a forty-voice part motet.

Philippe de Monte (1521-1603)

1521

One of the most prolific composers of the Renaissance.

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-94)

1525

The most famous composer from the Renaissance.

Orlando di Lasso (1532-94)

1532

One of the most versatile and prolic composers in the sixteenth century with over two-thousand compositions in all languages.

Willam Byrd (1543-1623)

1543

An important Catholic English composer who worked in Protestant England.

Tomas Luis de Victoria (1548-1611)

1548

A sacred music composer known to be the greatest Spanish composer in the Renaissance. He continues to carry Palestrina's style as he worked in Spain.

Giovanni Gabrieli (ca. 1557-1612)

1557

A leading composer in instrumental ensemble music and polychoral works duing the Renaissance.