Intellimation
Music History
| Medieval - 500 - 1420 As Europe began to emerge from the Dark Ages, just as the Christian Church dominated other aspects of life and culture, the Church was a major influence on Music. It is generally thought that Pope Gregory I collected and codified what is now termed the "Gregorian Chants". This music was the approved music of the Church. Later in Paris, a genre called organum was created. The troubadours and trouveres of France travelled throught Europe, singing secular music. Hildegardegard von Bingen was the 10th child in a noble family. It was clear even when she was a young child that she would devote her life to religion. She learned to read and write from a relatively uneducated woman and yet as a grown woman she corresponded with both Church and Secular leaders, as well as people of all walks of lives. She was a visionary, poet, composer, naturalist, healer, theologian, exorcist, and convent founder. Further Reading: Midieval Instruments [musical] history of the Gregorian Chant History of the Gregorian Chant Tutorial I Tutorial II Tutorial III Listen to Gregorian Chants Perotin and Notre Dame Organum Hildegard von Bingen (1098 - 1179) Hildegard von Bingen (Traces of H. in today's Bingen) Hildegard von Bingen Lyrics Symphony of the Kindgom of Heaven Hildegard von Bingen - Historical Sites Hildegard - Books and Illuminations Hildegard Medicine and Galangal (Ginger Family) treatment of heart symptoms Chronology including life of Hildegard von Bingen Chronology including life of Perotin Perotin and the Notre Dame Organum Organum explaned with a sound file example (and music notation) for a Perotin Organum Perotine - biography Secular Music - troubadours Troubadours and Trouveres Troubadours (atmosphere created by) Troubadours and Courtly Love Guillaume de Mauchaut 1300-1377 Guillaume de Mauchaut - works and biography Guillaume de Mauchaut - complete lyrics Mauchaut sound clips Please see image of Mauchaut manuscript Johannes Ciconia 1335-1411 Johannes Ciconia is thought to be a main inaugerator of the Renaissance period for Music. His vast output covered all the genres of music of his time. |
The Renaissance - 1420 - 1600 The Renaissance, or rebirth, saw the rise of Humanism in Europe. Sacred music was produced outside as well as inside the Church. Polyphony was applied to secular music. Guillaume Dufay 1400-1474 Polyphony - Josquin des Prez Giovanni da Palestrina Orlando di Lasso (1532? - 1594) Orlando di Lasso - sound files Secular music, both instrumental and dance, became more widespread, was not always written down. In England of the late Renaissance, the Madrigal became popular. 16th Century Balads Madrigal (Monteverdi Madrigals - sound files ) John Dowland 1563-1626 William Byrd, 1539-1623 William Byrd (2) Thomas Morley and the English Madrigal Thomas Morely 1557-1602 (Biography) |
| Baroque Period 1600-1750 During what is now called the Baroque period, the monarchies of Europe were very competitive with each other regarding the ornateness of their buildings and their musical production and ceremony. It was very common for a court to employ musicians to compose and perform music. These composers and musicians were servants of their employers. But even under these circumstances, composers of the time broke with the old and develop a completely new type of music. The Baroque period saw Johann Sebastian Bach and the birth of opera. General Explanation of Baroque Music The early Baroque period. Characteristics of Baroque Music The Early Opera Opera in Venice 1637-1678 Claudio Monteverdi 1576-1643 Claudio Monteverdi midi archive Antonio Vivaldi 1678-1741 Vivaldi midi files Vivaldi Four Seasons sound files George Friederich Handel. 1685-1759 George Friederich Handel Handel sound files Domenico Scarlatti 1685 - 1757- Biography and 2 operas and Oratorios Handel's Messiah Henry Purcell (1659 - 1695) Purcell sound files Giovanni Battista Pergolesi sound files (1710 - 1736) |
| The Classical Period - 1750 to
1820 European culture embraced the lines and values of Classical Greece. Aristocracy was replacing, giving a new source of patronage to artists, musicians and architects. Minuet, Gavotte, serenades, divertimenti. Vienna became the musical capital of the Classical period, and acted as a magnet for composers from all over Europe. Musical forms were formalized and standardized. Chrisstoph von Gluck 1714 - 1787 - reform of Baroque opera tradition Johann Stamitz - orchestral music Johann Stamitz (2) Symphonies, sonatas, string quartets of Franz Joseph Haydn 1732-1809 Antonio Salieri 1750 -1825 Wofgang Amadeus Mozart 1756 - 1791 Mozart sound files Ludwig van Beethoven. 1770 - 1827 Beethoven (2) Gioacchino Rossini 1792-1868 Romantic music - Franz Schubert 1797-1828 |
| Romantic Era 1820 - 1900 Parelleling the social and political revolutions of the time, composers of this time added new personal and emotional dimensions to the basis of classical music of the time. The word "Romanticism" comes from the long poems about heroes, chilvary, and idealized love from the Middle Ages, referred to as the Romances. The Romantic artists were the first in history to give themselves their historic name, thus we can say that the Romantic artists were part of a movement. Felix Mendelssohn 1809-1847 Felix Mendelssohn Felix Mendelssohn midi files (warning immediate sound!) Robert Schumann Symphonies 1-4 - Short Sound Files Frédéric Chopin (1810 - 1849) Franz Liszt (1811-1886) Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) There were two sources for operas of the early 19th century. One was old folk stories and the other was contemporary literature. Carl Maria von Weber 1786-1826 - German folk stories Italians - contemporary literature - Bel Canto Opera Giuseppe Verdi 1813- 1901 [Chronology] Richard Wagner. 19th century also saw the rise of nationalistic music (reflecting national political movements). Much nationalist music turns to ancient legends and local history, popular folk melodies and dances for inspiration and underlying character. Developed individualized harmonic styles also tended to give nationalist music -- music not representing the Austro-Hungarian empire -- distinctive character. Instrument Development of the Romantic Era. Orchrestra Development of the Romantic Area. The new instrument development and the expansions of the orchrestras gave the Romantic Era composers the chance to develop symphonies, ballets and concertos which took advantage of these developments. Johannes Brahms 1833-1897 Brahms (2) Peter Ilyich Tchaikovksy 1840-1893 |
| The Twentieth-Century Looking for new modes of expression marks the 20th Century. Arnold Schoenberg 1874 - 1951 Claude Debussy - Impressionism. Béla Bartók 1881-1945- Nationalist - peasant music in 20th century form. Bela Bartok 2 [midi files] Avante Guarde - Edgard Varèse 1883-1965 Edgard Varese works and quotes Gustav Mahler 1860-1911 [Gustave Mahler (2)] [works] Honneger 1892-1955 Sergei S. Prokofiev 1891-1953 Dmitri Shostakovich 1906 - 1975 Igor Stravinsky 1882 - 1971 John Cage |
