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Early Polyphony

early polyphony

prelude

  • increase in trading and commerce throughout western europe as cities began to be built

  • first crusade united Christian ruling families from all over europe in a successful campaign to drive the turks out of jerusalem

  • 1050-1300: economic growth, cultural revival in europe - universities, romanesque churches, new monasteries and convents, scholasticism, gothic architecture

  • polyphony was born - voices sing together in independent parts, began as improvisation to make chants seem more grand

    • wasn't the actual birth of polyphony but it was a polyphonic revolution

  • early counterpoint was born

  • music started to be written down - created counterpoint, harmony, centrality of notation, composition as distinct from performance

  • organum polyphony - polyphonic elaboration of plainchant

early organum

  • elaboration on plainchant - only used in really decorative liturgies

  • musica enchiriadis - anonymous treatise to figure out how to treat dissonance

parallel organum:

  • plainchant melody in principal voice duplicated a fourth or fifth below by an organal voice

  • either voice or both may be further duplicated at the octave

  • so many tritones

oblique organum:

  • not strictly parallel - came from adjustments to get rid of all the tritones

  • added part melodically different from plainchant and a wider variety of intervals used

contrary and oblique motion:

  • predominated over parallel motion and polyphonic voices grew increasingly independent and more like equal partners

  • organal voice shifted to a position above the chant, where it gained more rhythmic and melodic prominence

  • mostly consonant intervals

  • polyphony was applied mainly to the mass ordinary, certain parts of the proper, and responsories of the office and mass

early polyphony

prelude

  • increase in trading and commerce throughout western europe as cities began to be built

  • first crusade united Christian ruling families from all over europe in a successful campaign to drive the turks out of jerusalem

  • 1050-1300: economic growth, cultural revival in europe - universities, romanesque churches, new monasteries and convents, scholasticism, gothic architecture

  • polyphony was born - voices sing together in independent parts, began as improvisation to make chants seem more grand

    • wasn't the actual birth of polyphony but it was a polyphonic revolution

  • early counterpoint was born

  • music started to be written down - created counterpoint, harmony, centrality of notation, composition as distinct from performance

  • organum polyphony - polyphonic elaboration of plainchant

early organum

  • elaboration on plainchant - only used in really decorative liturgies

  • musica enchiriadis - anonymous treatise to figure out how to treat dissonance

parallel organum:

  • plainchant melody in principal voice duplicated a fourth or fifth below by an organal voice

  • either voice or both may be further duplicated at the octave

  • so many tritones

oblique organum:

  • not strictly parallel - came from adjustments to get rid of all the tritones

  • added part melodically different from plainchant and a wider variety of intervals used

contrary and oblique motion:

  • predominated over parallel motion and polyphonic voices grew increasingly independent and more like equal partners

  • organal voice shifted to a position above the chant, where it gained more rhythmic and melodic prominence

  • mostly consonant intervals

  • polyphony was applied mainly to the mass ordinary, certain parts of the proper, and responsories of the office and mass