Musical Characteristics
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Plainsong
- Monophonic
- Modal (based on the church modes)
- Normally a
cappella
- Non-metric
- Used free and flexible prose
rhythms
- Conjunct
- Limited range
- Sung in Latin
- Uses a special neumatic
notation
- Largest and oldest genre of Christian music
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Secular
- Monophonic (may have included some improvised instrumental
accompaniment)
- Metrical (mostly in triple meter)
- Stronger, more regular rhythm than plainsong
- Used short recurrent rhythmic patterns
- Clear phrase and sectional structure with repeated sections and
refrains
- Modal (favored Aeolian and Ionian)
- Syllabic
- In the Vernacular
- Wider range of subjects than plainsong
- Found mostly in France and Germany
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Genre and Forms
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Theorists, Treatises and Collections
- Boethius
(ca 480-524) Greek philosopher and mathematician; related
music of his time to theories of the Greek philosophers; De
Institutione
- Isidore
of Seville (ca 560-636) Spanish encyclopedist and
historian; Archbishop of Seville; made contributions to chronology
and historiography; Etymologiarum sive originum libri xx
(622-33)
- Cassiodorus
(ca 485 - ca 580)
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Composers and Major Works
Virtually all historical records of music during this time concerns
sacred music.
There are no major composers or works of a secular nature
from this period. |
Hymnology
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