Middle Ages To Renaissance

Middle Ages to Renaissance

The Middle Ages and the Renaissance have their vast differences and similarities. They are both key elements to having music in today's world. They are very important to understand where music came from.

Starting with the Middle Ages, they covered almost one thousand years. That being from the year 476 to the year 1450. During this time the Christian church and the state were the centers of authority during this time. Music was very important in the cultures of Greece, Rome, the Judaic humanity and many other places.

Many cultures around the world at this point used a chant or a monophonic melody in their worship. The music of the premature Christian church, called Gregorian chant, features monophonic, nonmetric melodies placed in one of the church modes, or scale outlines. The melodies fell into three classes on how many notes are located to each text syllable. Those three being syllabic, neumatic, and melismatic. Some chants are song alternating a soloist and chorus in a responsorial performance. Preexistent chants produced the foundation for early polyphony, including organum and the motet, the latter a structure that featured numerous texts.

Secular music occurred in courts and was executed by aristocratic troubadours and trouveres in France and by Minnesingers in Germany. In cities it was performed by nomadic minstrels, and women also took part in this music production as well. The poetry of secular songs frequently focused on idealized love and the principles of chivalry. Secular songs were sung monophonically, with improvised instrumental accompaniment. Instrumental music was usually improvised, performed by ensembles of soft or loud instruments, classified by their use. That was determined by whether they were used inside or outside.

Dance music was one of the chief instrumental genres at the time, and featured improvised musical decorations of easy tunes.

The religious wars and medieval explorations allowed the swap of musical instruments as well as hypothetical ideas about music with Middle Eastern and Far Eastern cultures. This leads us to the Renaissance.

The Renaissance was an era of searching, scientific questioning, and imaginative awakening and marked the passing from a highly religious