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The Medieval Period of music history lasted over 900 years, ending in 1450.
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The Micrologus is known for the innovation of the "Guidonian hand" which teaches solmization through joints in the hand. Made learning the now-known "solfege" easier for singers at the time. -
Hildegard of Bingen was born in 1098. -
Philippe de Vitry created the Ars Nova Treatise and it had the earliest known use of a musically unifying device called isorhythm. Translates to "equal rhythm." -
The Renaissance Period of music history begins with the end of the Medieval Period in 1450.
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Luther's best-known composition was written in 1529 during the time of the Reformation. -
The madrigal Il bianco e dolce cigno was created around 1538 by Jacques Arcadelt. -
The Pope Marcellus Mass was released in a collection called the "Second Book of Masses" by Palestrina in 1567. There's a legend behind this work that it saved polyphony from being condemned by the Council of Trent during the Counter-Reformation in Europe. -
Tomás Luis de Victoria wrote the parody mass Missa O magnum mysterium in 1592. -
Gabrieli's piece, Sonata pian'e forte, was written in 1597 in St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice. It was known for it's specifications of volume, such as pian (also called piano, which means quiet) or forte (loud), in certain passages on print. It was also known for using divided choirs (cori spezzati) like some of his other pieces. -
Some characteristics of Baroque music appeared before 1600, but the general concise chronological range is 1600-1750. -
Monteverdi composed the dramatic opera L'Orfeo in 1607. -
The first series of public concerts held in London were advertised in the London Gazette in 1672. -
J.S. Bach was born in 1685 and lived until 1750. -
Vivaldi's Op. 3, L'estro armonico, also called Harmonic Inspiration, was written in 1711. His collection of concertos were some of the first to be printed and they were known to be very progressive towards musical traditions of the time. -
The Traité de l’harmonie, translated to "Treatise on Harmony," was published in 1722 and it became one of the most influential theoretical works ever written. It quickly won Rameau renown as a theorist as he observed harmonic practices and described/codified them into his writings. -
Das wohltemperierte Clavier, translated to "The Well-Tempered Keyboard (Clavier)," had two volumes, Books I and II, published in 1722 and 1740 respectfully. These are a collection of his best known works for harpsichord where each piece assigns the player to a technical task, functioning as an etude. -
Franz Joseph Haydn was born in 1732 and died in 1809. -
Handel's work Messiah was a new oratorio that premiered in Dublin, Ireland in 1741. -
The Viennese Classical Period began around the 1740s with a collection of different cultures pouring into the pot and ending around the middle of the 19th century. -
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in 1756 and lived a short life until he was 35 and died in 1791. -
Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges was music director of the Concerts des Amateurs from 1773-1781. -
Mozart's Don Giovanni was an Italian comic opera produced in 1787. It also has a name of "Don Juan." -
Symphony No. 94 by Franz Joseph Haydn was given the nickname "Surprise" and was premiered in London on March 23, 1792.