Key Terms
TIME PERIOD
Ca. 450-1450 CE
Two institutions defined Middle Ages music
The Catholic Church and the aristocratic courts.
Chant
Monophonic, a cappella music; the earliest music of Catholic Christianity; sung in Latin for worship.
Monophony
One melodic line (single or multiple singers on the same line). Polyphony: Two or more independent melodic lines simulta
Rhythm in chant
Notation for rhythm had not yet developed; chant rhythms followed the natural rhythms of the words (text-driven rhythm).
MASS ORDINARY
Five chants sung at every Mass regardless of the date in the church calendar. 1.
Vespers
An evening worship service; hymns were sung.
Strophic form
Each verse (strophe) of text sung to the same music.
Conjunct melody
A melody that moves in small, stepwise intervals. Common in chant and easy to sing.
Syllabic
One note per syllable. Melismatic: Multiple notes on one syllable.
Melisma (plural
Melismas): Multiple pitches sung on a single syllable of text.
Drone
A pitch or group of pitches sustained while the rest of the ensemble sings the melodic line.
Polyphony
Two or more independent melodic lines simultaneously. Pythagoras (died ca.
Organum
First term for polyphonic liturgical music; emerged in Paris, late 12th-13th centuries.
Perfect intervals
Fourths, fifths, and octaves.