Ancient Greek and Medieval Music: History and Characteristics

Ancient Greek Music

Time passed, and Mediterranean culture became dominant in the ancient world, particularly in Greece. Greek mathematicians and scientists discovered patterns and created formulae to define them. This explains how Greeks approached music, from a very mathematical perspective, but also a religious one.

• Apollo

  Music was originated from the god Apollo. Music influenced human actions and thoughts. It was believed that music could cure illnesses and modify behaviors.

• Discoveries

  Pythagoras discovered some basic intervals. Later on, they discovered different effects on the listener. The Greek world agreed that music should be an important part of education.

• Orpheus and Eurydice

  Orpheus was a poet and musician, a great master of the lyre, without any rival. Orpheus married Eurydice, they were very in love, but Eurydice died because of the bite of a viper. With the help of his singing and his lyre...

Characteristics: The concept of music encompassed music, poetry, and dance.

• Music system based on modal scales. Four basic modal scales which are organized in descending order and receive their name depending on the first note.

• Monodic texture with just one melodic line, heterophonic accompaniment.

• Alphabetic notation for the pitch of sound, and the rhythm was related to the verses of the text, combining long and short sounds.

Instruments: lyre (string), aulos (wind), salpinx (wind), pipes (wind), flutes (wind)

Instruments: lyre (string), aulos (wind), salpinx (wind), pipes (wind), flutes (wind)

Medieval Music

Middle Ages: 476 AD. Music was religious and secular. Gregorian Chant: Since the emperor Constantine granted freedom of religious worship for Christians (313), Christians began to expand and organize their liturgy, in which singing was an essential element.

• Characteristics of Gregorian Chant

  Destined for liturgy, use of Latin, monodic texture, single melody without instrumental accompaniment, special notations (neumes), free rhythm determined by the text. Three styles: syllabic (1 note per syllable), ornamented (1-2 notes per syllable), melismatic (more than 3 notes per syllable).

• Neumatic Notation

  Symbols whose writing derived from the movement of the hand when conducting the singing, started to be used in the 8th century.

• Modal Scales

  Eight modal scales derived from the Greek modes with a different distribution of tones and semitones.

Secular Vocal Music: Troubadours: In 11th century France, poet musicians of noble birth. Minstrels: Traveling musicians who went over castles and villages entertaining with their songs.

Characteristics: Songs in vernacular languages of each area, courtly love, and knightly spirit of the heroes from the crusades. Monodic texture, instrumental accompaniment. Instruments improvised, double voices.

Goliards: Secular songs in Latin, were students and vagabonds that performed satirical, political, or religious critiques, and carnal love songs. 13th-century songbook called Carmina Burana.

Instruments: To accompany songs and performances dances, the string (harp, lyre, psaltery, qanun, lute, hurdy-gurdy), wind (horn, trumpet, dulzaina, flutes, organ), percussion (hand drums, cymbals, bells, rattles).

Polyphony: Different melodic lines at the same time, 9th century, marked the development of posterior music.

• Primitive Polyphony

  Improvising. Organum: Adding a parallel voice of 4th and 5th below the Gregorian chant. Melismatic: The Gregorian melody is developed in long values over which the vox organalis sings melismas.

• Ars Antiqua

  Music abandoned the Gregorian free rhythm and began to measure it due to the need of synchronizing the different voices of the polyphony. Notre Dame in Paris is the most important music center.

• Ars Nova

  Started liberating itself from the Gregorian chant in order to find a type of music closer to humanity.

• Polyphonic Song

  Canon, ballad, chanson.

• Composers

  Philippe de Vitry, Guillaume de Machaut, and Francesco Landini.