The Moldau
Bedrich Smetana, 1879, Symphonic poem
Dance of the young girls
Stravinsky, ballet, 1913
Piano Sonata #40
Mozart, 1788
Moonlight
Beethoven, 1801
Spring
Vivaldi, 1725
Piano from Gulio Cesare
Handel, opera aria, 1724
Sicut Cervus
Giovanni De Palestrina, 1584, motet
Viderunt omnes Organum
anon, 12th century
viderunt omnes plainchant
anon, middle ages precise unknown
How old is music?
at least 35,000 years old
Why does plainchant lack rhythm and instrumental accompaniment?
the church wanted to avoid any association with roman paganism
the calm and focus of plainchant reflects:
the monastery’s island of peace following the chaos of the fall of rome
A melismatic plainchant has:
many notes per syllable of text
Why is viderunt omnes so melismatic?
it was sung just before the gospel reading on Christmas day
in the polyphonic version of viderunt omnes, which voice sings the original chant?
the tenor, which acts as a drone
the polyphonic version of viderunt omnes reflects what cultural context?
a yearning by everyday city dwellers for a sense of beauty and spirituality
the polyphonic version of viderunt omnes was first heard at:
Notre Dame
The polyphonic version of viderunt omnes used this strict rhythmic pattern:
rythmic diminution
medieval harmony is based on
4ths, 5ths, and octaves
medievals called these intervals:
perfect consonances
the ancient greeks believed that harmonies such as the fifth reflected:
musica universalis, the harmony i.e. order and perfection of the universe
what did pythagoras discover about octaves?
it is based on a 2:1 ratio, such that a string cut in half sounds an eve higher