Main COMPOSERS of the Middle Ages

When we think of old music We often underestimate its value because it may seem outdated to us. However, we must consider that many of the people who were in charge of creating music in such distant times were essential pioneers to open a gap to the rest of the musicians who will come to contribute their own creativity in the future. In this lesson from a TEACHER we will talk about these innovative people, the composers of the Middle Ages whose history lies written so that we know it, despite being ancient.

The Middle Ages encompasses a vast period in history, as we speak since the year 476, when the Roman Empire fell, until the early Renaissance in the 15th century, around the year 1450.

During this time, power lay in the hands of the nobility and religion, so much of the music was put at the service of one of these institutions, in the court or in the church. This is how we can define that the vast majority of the works of the music in the Middle Ages they were religious court.

Of medieval music highlights the Gregorian singing which had texts in Latin and took place at masses and solemn feasts. Many elements of musical theory are due to Gregorian chant, which would evolve through the ages to what we know today, as is the case of the notation system (musical writing).

The other category in terms of works would be that of profane music (non-sacred, religious), which was propagated by the so-called "Menestrelli". The menestrelli were itinerant minstrels and minstrels whose main purpose was social entertainment. His works were lyrical and narrative in nature, poems recited and accompanied by some instrument of easy transport. The themes of secular music: epic, love stories, political and moral issues.

We are going to talk about the composers of the Middle Ages to know the most prominent names of this historical period. The most important artists for this early music stage are as follows:

Hildegard von Bingen (Germany)

It was a german nun who composed a great variety of sacred music during the 12th century. Despite the fact that religious music at that time had to follow very strict rules of composition, von Bingen managed to make room for creativity by adopting innovative techniques. Many of his works are melismatic solos (melisma is the singing technique when the pitch is changed in the same vowel syllable) and hymns, both with a great melodic quality. The quality of his compositions endure and survive to this day.

Moniot d’Arras (France)

Moniot is another of the composers of the Middle Ages. He is named after him from the place of "Arras" in northern France, and was one of the most important traditional troubadours from the thirteenth century. In addition to being a priest there, he managed to make a name for himself as a musician and composer. Most of his works are songs of monophonic technique with themes including love and stories of knights, to a lesser extent, he wrote sacred music. Many of his compositions still exist.

Leonin and Perotin (France)

Leonin and Perotin are often mentioned together, since they belonged to the music school of the Notre Dame Cathedral, noted for its compositional innovations in sacred music. Perotin was a student of Leinin. Both stood out in the course of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The contributions of both composers would become the foundations for the rest of medieval music to come.

Leonin was in charge of introducing a second voice parallel to the traditional song, since the tradition was monophonic in nature (a single voice or melodic line). It is this modality that is called organum, and it was one of the most characteristic qualities of the works of the Middle Ages. By extension, Perotin went a bit further, introducing 3- and 4-voice compositions and their vocal effects.

Adam de la Halle (France)

He is another of the leading composers of the Middle Ages. It comes from the troubadour tradition and he was born in the middle of the thirteenth century. In addition to being a composer, he was a notable musician and poet. Adam de la Halle created a name for himself, moving away from sacred music and establishing the foundations of independent secular music. He composed monophonic as well as polyphonic music, which was unusual as he excelled in both styles. Perhaps his most transcendent work is the "Jeu de Robin et da Marion", a series of dramatic compositions.

Guillaum de Machaut (France)

Machaut lived a long life, dating from approximately 1300 to 1377. This allowed him to be one of the composers greatest of the late medieval period, entering various territories of the creative area, composing both sacred and profane music. Compositional forms of it include the motet, la ballata, el rondo, virelay and lay, among others. One of his most notable works is the “Messe de Nanother Dame ”, Mass that stands out for being composed solely by one author, which was unusual at the time. Machaut is recognized as one of the first figures of the movement Ars nova in France.

Francesco Landini (Italy)

Considered the best composer in Italy and one of the best in all of Europe during the fourteenth century. He is a key figure for the Italian artistic trend "Trecento". To this day all of his extant works are of the profane category, with little evidence of having written sacred music. Many of the pieces of him were in the form of ballata and of madrigal. The kind of cadence "Landini" It bears his name from the frequent use he made of it in his compositions.

Guillaume Dugay (France)

He one of the most important composers of the 15th century. He composed both sacred and profane music, of the latter style, in the form of ballata, rondo and virelay. In his repertoire there are works of mass and a lament that stands out for the theme of the fall of Constantinople under the regime of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey).

With the knowledge you have just acquired, you will be able to verify that regardless of the historical context or the time in history, there is always room for the merit of innovation.