07:700:131 Chapter Notes - Chapter Module 5, part 1: Cantus Firmus, John Dunstaple, Consonance And Dissonance
Document Summary
From the music of the medieval church to heavy metal: a single concept in organizing music. Cantus firmus is a technique where the composer uses pre- existing melody in a lower voice as a scaffold. Oldest in western music where organizing music is concerned where there are multiple simultaneous melodies. Composer created a second melody for a higher voice where the notes were the same as the lower voice melody except for beginning and end. Preferred melody lines that were natural and not artificial to the human voice. John dunstable is the most prominent english composer in the french court. Dufay was one of the first continental composers to incorporate english consonances. Breaks apart from using a chant and official music liturgy. Medieval music used dimensions like the pythagorean ratios to control their meter, note duration, and tempo. Example of using symbolism: using physical dimensions of a cathedral to determine the number of measures in each section.
