Music has been a great influence in the
lives of many people through
lyrics and rhythm. There are many
different styles that can be performed by either a male or female.
Music has been around for many years and is constantly changing. Music
has been divided into six periods: Medieval, Renaissance,
Baroque,
Classical, and Twentieth Century. Music is written in symbols that
represent musical sounds. The system of written symbols is called
Musical Notation. "The primary requirement of any notation is that it
be suited to the music it represents (Gerboth)." The simplest
texture of music is monophonic or single voiced texture. Gregorian chant is an
example of monophonic texture. “All music up to about a thousand years
ago, of which we have any knowledge, was monophonic (Machlis 295).” Its
melody is heard with out a harmonic accompaniment or other vocal lines
and attention is focused on the single line (Machlis 295). “To this day
the music of the Oriental world - of China, Japan, India, Java, Bali,
and the Arab nations -is largely monophonic (Machlis 295).” Polyphonic
or many-voiced texture is when two or more melodic lines are combined.
Most Medieval polyphonic music is anonymous, though some
composers were
so important that their name was preserved along with their music
("Historical"). The polyphonic texture is based on counterpoint: the
art and science of combining in a single texture two or more
simultaneous melodic lines, each with a rhythmic life of its own
(Machlis 295-96). The development of counterpoint took place at a time
when composers were mainly occupied with religious choral music, which
was by its nature, many-voiced (Machlis 296). Polyphony had to be
written in a way that would indicate the rhythm and pitch precisely. It
brought the emergence of regular meters that enabled different voices
to stay together. Polychoral music is music for several chiors singing
in answer to each other across the huge resesses of the church (Frowler
122). Homophonic texture is a single-melody with chords (Machlis 296).
Homophonic means "same" or similar sounding. Its texture is based
mainly on harmony. This texture dominated the Classical style. The
Medieval period was the longest and most distant period of musical
history and consists of almost a millennium’s worth of music
(“Historical”). One of the difficulties in studying Medieval music is
that a system for notating music developed only gradually
("Historical"). A musical notation system was started in the 12th or
13th century. Notation in music, for several centuries, only indicated
what pitch (or note) to sing. The Renaissance (1400-1600) began in 14th
century Italy (Kirshner) and its name means rebirth. A cultural break
with Medieval tradition was the Renaissance idea of humanism. “The
Renaissance was a time of brilliant accomplishments in literature,
science, and the arts (Frowler 445).” During the Renaissance there is
an increase in individualism that is reflected by the changing role of
the composer (“Historical”). In late Renaissance instrumental music
went toward an independence from vocal music (Ulrich). Most of the
popular songs were played on the lute. The Renaissance, in the arts,
was on of the most innovative and active periods in the history of
Western man, based partly on the philosophic movement called humanism
(Ulrich). The Baroque period (or Middle Ages) (1600-1750) is divided
into three fifty-year periods, early, middle, and late Baroque. Music
of the Baroque era was characterized by the vastness of proportion,
rich counterpoint, great splender and a highly ornamented melodic line
(Mautz). Baroque music is often highly ornate, colorful and richly
textured when compared with its predecessors ("Historical"). The term
Baroque came from a French word for an imperfect or irregular pearl
(Frowler 448-49). “The early baroque was a time of intense
experimentation, led in large part by Italian composer Claudio
Monteverdi (“Historical”)." Many aspects of the Baroque art were
determined by religion (Sullavin). "The intensity and immediacy of
Baroque art and its individualism and detail - observed in such things
as the convincing rendering of cloth and skin textures - make it one of
the most compelling periods of Western Art (Sullavin)." Major events of
the early 17th century were related to the invention of a new method of
composition called monodic style. Monodic style music was for one
singer with an instrumental accompaniment. It was achieved by a group
of Florentene writers, artists, and musicians known as the Camerata, a
name derived from the Italian word for “salon” (Machlis 354). Opera was
born around 1600, the beginning of the Baroque era. Opera was
considered by many to be the single most important achievement of the
Baroque period (Machlis 354). The first great opera was Orfeo,
("Historical"), by Claudio Monterverdi and was first performed in 1607.
The Classical period (1750-1825) centers about the achievements of the
four masters of the Viennese school – Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and
Schubert (Machlis 228). Vienna was the most important center of the
classical period. The growth of the public concert was one of the most
important developments of the classical period (“Historical”). Writing
music was much more simpler than it was in the Baroque period
("Historical"). Composers were now able to survive with out being the
employee of one person or family and concerts were no longer limited to
place drawing rooms. Composers also started organizing concerts that
featured their own music. This would often attract large audiences. The
size of the orchestra was gradually expanded, by composers, to
accommodate the expanded musical version. "Although chamber music and
solo works were played in the home or other intimate settings,
orchestral concerts seemed to be naturally designed for big public
spaces ("Historical")." The popularity of the public concert had a
strong impact on the growth of the orchestra. During the Romantic
period (1825-1900) typical symphony’s were extended from thirty minutes
to well over an hour (Ulrich). Gifted performers - particularly
pianists, violinists, and singers - became enormously popular. In
addition to seeking the sights and sounds of other places, composers
began exploring the music of their native countries. When nationalism
became a driving force in the late Romantic period composers wanted
their music to express their cultural identity ("Historical").
More summaries about the The History of Music