2.7 Chapter Summary

In this chapter, we have studied music that dates back almost 1500 years from today. In some ways, it differs greatly from our music today, though some continuous threads exist. Individuals in the Middle Ages used music for worship and entertainment, just as occurs today. They wrote sacred music for worship and also used sacred ideas in entertainment music. Music for entertainment included songs about love, religion, and current events as well as music that might be danced to. Though the style and form of their music is quite different from ours in many ways, some aspects of musical style have not changed. Conjunct music with a relatively narrow range is still a typical choice in folk and pop music, owing to the fact that it is easy for even the amateur to sing. Songs in strophic form and songs with a refrain and contrasting verses also still appear in today's pop music. As we continue on to study music of the Renaissance, keep in mind these categories of music that remain to the present day.

2.8 Glossary

A cappella

vocal music without instrumental accompaniment

Cadence

the ending of a musical phrase providing a sense of closure, often through the use of one chord that resolves to another

Chant

text set to a melody written in monophonic texture with un-notated rhythms typically used in religious worship

Courtly Love

love for a beloved, without any concern for whether or not the love will be returned, called "courtly" because it was praised by those participating in medieval courts

Drone

a sustained pitch or pitches often found in music of the middle ages or earlier and in folk music

Hymn

religious song most generally having multiple strophes of the same number and length of lines and using strophic form

Mass

Catholic celebratin of the Eucharist consisting of liturgical texts set to music by composers starting in the middle ages

Melisma

multiple pitches sung to one syllable of text

Polyphony

musical texture that simultaneously features two or more relatively independent and important melodic lines

Refrain

a repeating musical section, generally also with repeated text; sometimes called a "chorus"

Rhythm According to the Text

rhythm that follows the rhythm of the text and is not notated

Song

a composition sung by voice(s)

Strophe

section of a poem or lyric text generally of a set number of lines and line length; a text may have multiple strophes

Strophic

musical form in which all verses or strophes of a song are sung to the same music

Syllabic

music in which each syllable of a text is set to one musical note

Verse and Refrain Form

a musical form (sometimes referred to as verse and chorus) in which one section of music is sung to all the verses and a different section of music is sung to the repeating refrain or chorus