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-Mr. B.

The Baroque Dance Suite

One of the important musical formats of the Baroque Period (circa 1670 thru circa 1750) was the dance suite. The dance suite consisted of several short dance movements of varying tempos and meters. The most common sequence is as follows:

1. Prelude
2. Allemande
3. Courante
4. Sarabande
5. Intermezzi (might contain 2 or more of the following short dances): Minuet, Bouree,
Polonaise, or Gavotte.
6. Gigue

It should be noted that there were many different dances that could be substituted throughout the suite. Dance forms were regional and went through phases of popularity just as social dances do today. Two commonly used forms not mentioned above include the Florane and the Passepied.

Although originally a practical work that was used for social dancing suites were sometimes written performed as concert literature. One example of the suite as concert literature is Johann Sebastian Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C-Major BVW 1066. Listen to then the entire piece (it makes great background music for studying) and answer the three questions that follow.

Video 1: I. Overture (Prelude)



Video 2: Courante, Gavotte 1, Gavotte 2, Florane


Video 3: Minuet 1, Minuet 2, Bouree 1, Bouree 2, Passepied 1, Passepied 2


1. Research and briefly define what the "BVW 1066" in the title means.

2. Define the following:
a. Prelude
b. Allemande
c. Courante
d. Sarabande
e. Minuet
f. Bouree
g. Polonaise
h. Gavotte
i. Gigue

3. What is a bass continuo and is there a complete one in this piece?

Problems!!!

Technical Problems....Post Will Be Late

The Rennaissance

We will cover all the listening examples for the Renaissance in class. For now, answer the following questions:

1. What was the Renaissance? When did it happen, where did it happen, and why?

2. What was the First Council of Trent? When did it happen and why?

3. What happened in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31st, 1517?

Picturing the Crusades

Music History Kids:

I cannot take the time to teach you the history of the crusades, but I would like you to take the time to view some images from that time. Remember that the artists that crafted these were REAL PEOPLE documenting REAL EVENTS in the same manner that a modern person might cellphone video Ted Kennedy's funeral procession or the protests in Iran. Click to enlarge.

A Map of the World from circa 1200 CE
Jerusalem is located in the CENTER

Frederick Barbarossa
One of the Key Leaders of the Crusading Movement
Pictured with Sons

Barbarossa (more primitive)

Bernard of Clairvaux
One of the Priests that Advocated for the Crusades

Crusader Attack on Jerusalem in 1099

Crusaders Defeat Turks at Antioch

Music of the Middles Ages

BACKGROUND

During the Early middle ages (800 CE - late 1400s) many changes in Western Europe:

1. Governments slowly began to centralize. Fighting was still common, but it frequently took place between large kingdoms instead of small, local warlords.

2. The economy began to expand. A slightly warming climate allowed for greater crop yields. A slightly higher standard of living was possible, especially for nobles.

3. The combination of better government and economy gave rise to a larger noble class. These "lords" were landowners and frequently educated by the church.

4. The church and monastic orders (monks) are still the best educated class and politically powerful. The Pope may be thought of as being an equal to the most powerful kings.

5. Travel routes began to open up. More communications with East were possible.

6. The Crusading movement begins in 1095 CE and brings thousands of European soldiers into contact with Eastern music, art, etc.

NOT SO PLAIN....CHANT

The chant of the church became more complicated in the middle ages. Two composers in particular, Leonin (1150 - 1201 CE) and Perotin (1180-1238 CE), were very original in their compositions. Both lived and worked in the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Both composed organum, a type of chant with two or more parts instead of a single melody. Organum duplum = 2 parts. Organum triplum = 3 parts. Organum Quadruplum = 4 parts. These types of works are not monophonic. They are polyphonic.

Organum Duplum


Note: THE ART WORK HERE IS SOMEWHAT 3D. IT SHOWS MORE DETAIL THEN THE TWO-DIMENSIONAL ART OF THE DARK AGES. JUST AS ART WAS SHOWING GREATER DEPTH, SO TOO WAS MUSIC!!!
Link:

Organum Quadruplum

MUSIC AT COURT

As stated above, the courts or Europe began to be more educated. They hired court musicians that composed music about courtly love and music to dance to. The following links are some examples of the great variety of secular music in medieval Europe.

Adam de la Halle (trouvere)

Dances on Vielle (middle ages fiddle)

Hurdy Gurdy Demonstration (England)

QUESTIONS

1. What does polyphonic mean?

2. What is a troubador?

3. What is a trouvere?

4. What was the Holy Roman Empire? Who was its greatest ruler?

5. Where is the Cathedral of Notre Dame?

6. Why was Western Europe so concerned about the Holy Land that they went to war in 1095 CE (crusades)?

7. What does secular mean?

Just for Laughs

Hello Everyone:

This is a follow-up to the Dark Ages post. These clips are just for fun.

Monty Python: This is a clip making fun of plainchant.





And this is just plain tacky. I watched the entire clip waiting for the punchline, and it never happened. These people are serious. I have sat through a lot of pretty horrific stuff (30 minutes of radio static passed off as "modern music", 3 hours of romantic piano without a stretch break), but this one might just take the cake. Enjoy!

The Fall of Rome, The Church, and Music In the Dark Ages

Historians think that music continued in a similar style to the Epitaph of Seikilos throughout the time of the Roman Empire.

After years of decline, the Western portion of the Roman Empire (Europe), fell in 476 AD when the Visigoths defeated Romulus Augustulus, the last of the Western Roman Emperors. Note: The Eastern Empire, with its capital in Constantinople, survived until 1453 AD.

The time period from the fall of Rome until about 800 AD is referred to as the Dark Ages. During this time, much of the knowledge of the Ancient Greeks and Romans was lost in Europe. The officials of the Roman Catholic Church were the only large group of educated people in Europe. They kept some of the knowledge of the Greeks and Romans, including music, alive.

The style of music used in church services during the dark ages is known as plainchant. Plainchant continued to be refined and developed slowly throughout the dark ages and well into the Middle Ages (circa 1100 to 1453 AD). Plainchant is still sung today be religious orders. We will study plainchant and the role of the dark age church in greater detail during class. For now, listen to the examples below, and answer the following questions in your blog responses:

1. Is this music monophonic?

2. What language do you think they are singing in?

3. Have you ever been to a service at a church or synagogue that used plainchant? If so, tell us about it in few sentences.

4. In what grade did you study the dark ages in history/social studies class?

5. Does this music sound religious or spiritual to you? (Yes or No) Why?

More Ancient Greek Music

The following posts are extra examples of music in Ancient Greece. They are not homework.

Extra #1: Lament

The Oldest Known Western Music

Western music as we understand it today, began in Ancient Greece. There is much evidence supporting the idea that music was important throughout Ancient Europe, but it is only in the ruins of Ancient Greece that we find fully notated examples that we can recreate and study. Written accounts and opinions of music in Ancient Greece can be found in the works of Plato (d. circa 347 BC), Aristotle (d. circa 322 BC), and Pythagoras (d. circa 490 BC) among others. Unfortunately, melodies were not notated prior to the first century AD. As a result, much of what we know about Ancient Greek music is in the form of theory rather than practice (the figured out the math of intonation, scales, etc.). What we can perform and listen to is comparatively modern: Approximately as much time passed between the death of the Plato and the earliest examples of notated music as has passed between the voyages of Columbus and the present day. Keep the limitations of our knowledge in mind as we explore this music. Posted here are two versions of the Epitaph of Seikilos, the oldest surviving and fully-notated example of ancient Greek music still in existence. View each, consider the facts below, and answer the questions in a single comment post. Note: The second example is a link to a youtube video.

Here are the facts:

1. It is for solo voice with lyre accompaniment, other instruments are added at the musician's discretion.

2. It is monophonic.

3. It is an epitaph.

4. It was written in the 1st century AD.

5. It is entitled Epitaph of Seikilos.

6. The Ancient Greeks laid the foundation (scales, theory, etc.) that all subsequent Western music is based upon. This is why such simple songs as these are an important part of the greater music history picture.

Each of you answer the following questions in your comment posting:

1. What does the term "monophonic" mean?

2. What is a lyre?

3. What is an epitaph?

4. What does the fact that the ONLY known preserved piece of Ancient Greek music is an epitaph tell us about the place of music in our culture?

5. Name some historically significant events that occurred in the first century AD.

6. The lyrics are in the second example (youtube link). Re-write them in your own words.








Click This Link for Second Version.