Instrumental music

Instrumental music

Medieval music was generally written for voices, which is why so many medieval melodies have survived until today. They have been handed down through the years and, to a lesser or greater extent, have preserved their integrity; but there is plenty of instrumental music as well, mainly associated with secular (or non-church) performances.

Instrumental forms include estampie dances which might be performed on instruments like the fidel, the organistrum, the shawm, crumhorn and a range of loud and boisterous percussion.

Medieval crumhorn (modern player!)

Polyphony – many voices

Despite the importance of medieval instrumental music, in the 13th century it was vocal music that gave rise to the appearance of polyphony.

One way of using a single melody is to repeat it (as in a 'round'). The melody could also be played or sung by a seperate musician at the same time as the rest of the group, four or five notes higher up the scale than the original tune. This creates 'harmony'. When that happens, the resulting 'musical texture' is called "organum' (a specific term for medieval polyphony).

Eventually, parallel (or simultaneous!) organum developed into music with more depth and where that happens the musical 'texture' is called polyphony or "many voices'.

Medieval fidel

Motet

It was at Notre Dame in Paris that composers such as Leonin and Perotin perfected the art of polyphony and the main form for such compositions was the motet.

Motets were composed around a repeated melody (often plain-chant) known as a "cantus firmus'.

From the viewpoint of the 14th century certain music was regarded as being outmoded – "early music' as it were.

The term "ars antiqua' ("the old art') was used to compare the up-to-date trends of the "ars nova' ("the new art').

The most significant composer of the ars nova was Guillaume de Machaut (1304 – 1377).

One of Machaut's works – La Messe de Nostre Dame – is the first known setting of the 'Ordinary of the Mass'.

Development of Musical Instruments

The development of early instruments and the increase in musical potential that their development created will be found in a future section.

For now, let it suffice to say that the development of new instruments heralded the start of a period of great change in the way people viewed music.

New musical styles became possible and many techniques were developed that still survive today.

Instrumental music, 2.0 out of 10 based on 3 ratings