Lesson 2

Early Polyphony (1000-1500)

The transition from monophonic to polyphonic music.

Further Sources

Chapter 3 of A History of Western Music offers an excellent history of early polyphony. If you are looking for more in-depth information on classical music, here are some great sources: The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection: The 350 Essential Works by Ted Libbey, The Vintage Guide to Classical Music by Jan Swafford, and Classical Music for Dummies by David Pogue and Scott Speck.

Dark Ages or Middle Ages?

The previous lesson provided a brief overview of the earliest forms of music in the Western world. In this lesson, we focus on the era in which music transformed from a monophonic to polyphonic form.

One Man’s Middle Is Another Man’s Medieval

Before you begin reading about organum and other long-ago musical developments, consider the following overlapping terms that describe historical periods referenced in this lesson.

• Middle Ages refers to a period in Europe from roughly 400 A.D. to 1400 A.D; a period, that is, between the fall of the Roman Empire and the early years of the Renaissance.
• Medieval is from a Latin phrase meaning “medium age,” and is simply another way of referring to the Middle Ages.
• Dark Ages refers to the period between the fall of the Roman Empire and the concentration of power and influence by the Roman Catholic Church in Europe around 1000 A.D. During the Dark Ages, Europe was a patchwork of cutthroat fiefdoms ruled by sword and superstition, during which — by most accounts — life was fairly nasty, brutish, and short.

Organum

Not quite plainsong, not quite polyphony.

Organum

While the troubadours and jongleurs in Europe and England were creating the modern beginnings of the music business and monks were adding layers of complexity and sophistication to their sacred chants, music was moving away from the idea of a single, solitary melody. The plainsong style gradually gave way to something new called polyphony: two voices, either vocal or instrumental, providing two different but related melodies.

The speed of musical change, however, was restricted by the painfully slow modes of transportation and of communication in Medieval Europe. Musicians, after all, couldn’t share their ideas or inspirations faster than a horse could travel from town to town, and Gutenberg’s printing press was not in wide-scale use until 1480.

Before polyphony matured, there was a transitional period of several hundred years in which composers experimented with adding melodies to chants. The musical style that resulted is called organum. In early organum, the added voice simply paralleled the chant melody, but was sung a fourth or fifth above it. As the style matured, second or third voices were often added, some of them in melodic counterpoint to the original chant melody.

Music of this style thrived at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris during the 12th and 13th centuries, and was eventually called Ars Antiqua, or the “old art.”

To listen to a contemporary interpretation of the organum style of composition, listen to Organum by England’s Peter Michael Hamel. I recommend that you listen to Part 1, though each of the four parts is worthy of your attention.

Organum
Peter Michael Hamel

Catalog Number: 11074
UPC: 13711107425
Format: CD
Release Date: Jan 23 1992
Label: KUCK KUCK RECORDS

Motet

A motet is a choral composition in which each voice sings a different melody and text. Machaut was a master of this form, though many consider the six motets of J. S. Bach the epitome of the genre. The secular counterpart of the motet is the madrigal.

Ars Nova: We’re from France

Out with the Antiqua, in with the Nova

Toward the end of the 13th century, polyphonic innovations had progressed so dramatically that the new style was dubbed Ars Nova (Latin for “new art”) in 1320 by the French composer-bishop Phillipe de Vitry. Ars Nova compositions were more complex than those of the organum, and more flexible. The style’s appeal is due in large part to its use of rhythm patterns that are more natural than those associated with earlier polyphonic music.

Reinventing the Ordinary

Another significant contribution of the Ars Nova style was its reinvention of the music for the Ordinary of the Catholic Mass (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei). In the organum, or Ars Antiqua, each section of the Ordinary was composed separately. Beginning with the Ars Nova, as led by the French poet and musician Guillaume de Machaut, the Ordinary was treated as one musically integrated section of the Mass.

Guillaume de Machaut

The Ars Nova period of music development is also the first period in which composers wrote both sacred and secular music. Foremost among those composers was the Frenchman Guillaume de Machaut (1300 – 1377). Widely known and admired in the early Renaissance, he is probably best known for La Messe de Nostre Dame, his composition of an Ordinary of the Mass, but he also wrote many influential secular compositions, most of which explore the subject of courtly love. His work survives in 32 manuscripts, including 23 motets, 41 rondeaux, and 42 ballades. Many of his compositions have been recorded and are still performed.

Listen to “Biaute paree de valour,” a sample of the Machaut style of Ars Nova (selection 1):

Remede de Fortune

Catalog Number: 68
UPC: 22551006829
Format: CD
Release Date: May 16 1994
Label: NEW ALBION RECORDS

The Flemish Influence

Italy’s most important musical posts were filled with (mostly) Flemish musicians, due in large part to the immense popularity of music developed in the Netherlands at the time. The Italians, impressed with the new music, hired the brightest and best composers for prestigious positions in Italy.

Italy: Prelude to Greatness

Francesco Landini

The Ars Nova label has been applied to Italian compositions of the early Renaissance. During this time (the 14th and 15th centuries), Italian music was dominated by foreign masters from France and the Netherlands, but Italian musicians soon learned their lessons and became masters in their own right, perhaps best represented by Florence’s blind composer Francesco Landini (1335-1397) and by the madrigal, a musical form of vocal music that originated in Northern Italy and was rediscovered in the 16th century. Landini, who was blinded by smallpox in his youth, was a composer, performer, and virtuoso instrumentalist. He’s probably best known, however, for his elegantly complex three-part balata — a polyphonic form traditionally interpreted as having either one part for voice and two parts for instrumental accompaniment or three parts for voices.

Listen to “Nessun Ponga Speranca,” a three-part balata by Landini (selection 5):

The Garden Of Zephirus

Catalog Number: 66144
UPC: 34571161440
Format: CD
Release Date: Oct 28 1992
Label: HYPERION

Timeline Info

John Dunstable was in the service of the Duke of Bedford, who was regent of France from 1422 to 1435 and a military opponent of Joan of Arc.

They Must Be Giants

Two other musical superstars made important contributions to the Renaissance in music.

John Dunstable

This humble Englishman followed in the footsteps of the great French and Italian composers, becoming a master of his art, who was well known throughout Europe. Possibly the greatest English composer of the 15th century, Dunstable was responsible for the English influence in European music. His compositions were highly regarded and sought after by musicians in other countries, and as a result the bulk of his work survived in repositories in various Italian cities. (These compositions were found in the late 19th century.) All of his surviving work has been frequently recorded and is widely available.

Listen to Dunstable’s “Agincourt Hymn” (selection 1):

The Great Organ At The Cathedral Of St. John The Devine

Catalog Number: 80169
UPC: 89408016929
Format: CD
Release Date: Oct 25 1990
Label: TELARC

Guillaume Dufay

Considered one of the greatest European composers of the century, Guillaume Dufay (1400-1474) was the most influential musician from the Flemish school. Dufay traveled widely throughout Europe, spending considerable time in Italy, France, and Belgium, and earning a reputation on the continent as a masterful composer of sacred and secular music.

Moving Forward

In this lesson we’ve examined the origins and first major composers of polyphonic music and Ars Nova. Next time, we’ll move on to the development of polyphony during the 16th century via the music of the madrigal. But for now, be sure to check your assignment and complete this lesson’s quiz. Also be sure to go to the message board to discuss the music you’ve heard in this lesson.

Assignment: Early Polyphony (1000-1500)

1. Listen to at least one complete composition from one of the composers listed in this lesson. Visit the message board and discuss your impressions with your instructor.
2. For a more in-depth understanding of the topics discussed in this chapter, read Chapters 3 and 4 of The History of Western Music.