HMU111H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Ite, Missa Est, Gregorian Chant, Responsory
1 Apr 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Secular monody (poem mourning death): courty and elite, or popular traditional. Origins of written tradition for baroque, renaissance composers. Often sung throughout the day in monasteries. In latin, not for entertainment, used for communication with god. Passed down orally (meant to be memorized: any notation of music was used as a memory aid. Gregorian chant: sacred music sung as single vocal line in free rhythm and restricted scale (plainsong), in style developed for medieval latin liturgy. Everything was dark in the middle ages, everything happy in renaissance: not really true, renaissance art had realistic elements, medieval arts did not. Music progressed from plainsong to more complicated: not true, music accomplishes different purposes. Church controlled everyone"s lives, students wrote home for money. Oral transmission: use of modal formulas and memorization techniques help remember. Written transmission: used written exemplars to aid in the memorization of new chants.
