MUS 211 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Guillaume Du Fay, Contenance Angloise, John Dunstaple
Document Summary
England and france in the early 15th century. Black death killed half of european population. Hundred years war (1337-1453) between french and english houses. William of normandy took england from king harold in the battle of hastings (1066) Ruling class of england was also the ruling class of normandy and other lands in france. In 1337 edward iii of england declared himself the rightful king of france. All nobles were closely intermarried and succession could be very confusing. 14th century (trecento) might be considered the worst century in european history. English quality admired by continental audiences during cultural contact of the. Emphasized parallel imperfect consonances, deprioritized perfect intervals and generally eschewed dissonance. Continental notions of voice leading, parallelisms, and dissonance use. This musical generation sounds more natural to modern ears than medieval music. Part of the retinue of the duke of bedford. His work is characterized by the use of triadic harmony (3rds and 6ths)
