Medieval and Baroque Music: Styles, Features, and Evolution

Medieval Music: Monody, Polyphony & Early Forms

Medieval music encompasses both monophonic and polyphonic forms, reflecting the diverse cultural landscape of the era.

Monophony in Medieval Music

• Religious Music: Gregorian chant (Mass, hymns)
• Secular Music: Troubadour songs, dance music

Polyphony in Medieval Music

• Religious Music: Organum, Conductus
• Secular Music: Motet, ballads, canon

Characteristics of Gregorian Chant

• Texture: Monody, a single vocal line.
• Timbre: Vocal, a cappella (no instruments).
• Text: Latin.
• Composer: Anonymous, unsigned due to humility.
• Movement: Slow, unhurried, with no marked pulsation.
• Rhythm: Free, dependent on the text, no fixed meter.
• Melody: Long, often extending over syllables or vowel prolongations.
• Character: Contemplative, relaxing.

Features of Troubadour Singing

• Texture: Monody, a single vocal line.
• Timbre: Vocal, with instrumental accompaniment.
• Text: In various vernacular languages.
• Composer: Troubadours and Trovairitz, focusing on human themes.
• Movement: Varied, according to the nature of the song.
• Rhythm: Marked, with a clear meter.
• Melody/Character: Sensual, expressing emotions.

Medieval Dance Music

Dance was an essential element in the entertainment of the court and medieval society. It was present in all types of social settings, performed in noble courts and public town squares alike.

How to Recognize Medieval Music

Given the extensive period, these features primarily apply to a portion of the 800 years relevant to musical development. However, the first six characteristics are generalizable across the entire period:

1. Predominance of vocal music.
2. Religious music written in Latin.
3. Emergence of secular works in vernacular languages.
4. Development and refinement of musical notation.
5. Modal melodies.
6. Richness and variety of instruments, primarily used to accompany and color the vocal line.
7. Monody gradually displaced by polyphony.
8. Early polyphony: basic, often with parallel fifths and fourths.
9. By the 14th century, polyphony entered secular music, gaining rhythmic complexity and variety.

Baroque Music: 17th to Mid-18th Century

The Baroque era, spanning the 17th century to the first half of the 18th century, brought significant changes to musical expression.

Key Characteristics of Baroque Music

• Music no longer merely serves the word, but aims to surpass it.
• A harmonic system emerges; voices have differing importance, with a prominent melody supported by a basso continuo.
• Frequent use of dissonance for emotional effect.
• Features a well-marked rhythm.
• Instrumental music becomes distinct from vocal music.

Periods of Baroque Music

• Early Baroque (1580-1630): Emphasis on dissonance and dramatic expression.
• Middle Baroque (1630-1680): Era of opera and bel canto, with a focus on vocal virtuosity.
• Late Baroque (1680-1750): Concert style flourishes, marked by complex counterpoint and established forms.