Medieval Music: Polyphony and the Motet

2. Chapter 8 Medieval Music Begins on page 65

3. Medieval Times • Lasted from about 1100 to 1450 • Scholasticism • Chivalry • Founding of universities • Building of cathedrals

4. Polyphony • Began as a parallel line to a line of Gregorian chant • Music notation began to be developed • Notre Dame school of composers

5. Léonin and Pérotin • Important composers at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. • Léonin composed for two voices • Pérotin composed for three or four voices, something that had almost never been done before.

6. The Medieval Motet • Polyphonic vocal composition with several different melodic lines • One line (cantus firmus) used phrase from Gregorian chant • Lines above cantus firmus were different and sometimes in a secular language • Music often contained complex musical techniques

7. Music in Europe • Medieval motet largely French • Guillaume de Machaut • Italy – Francesco Landini • England – John Dunstable

8. Secular Music • Seldom preserved • In vernacular languages • Troubadours • Dance music

9. Summary • Medieval Times • Polyphony • Léonin and Pérotin • The Medieval Motet • Music in Europe • Secular Music