Paper Topic:
Classical music
CLASSICAL MUSIC Although it is difficult to explain why I prefer some classical pieces of music to others , pieces such as Vivaldi 's The Four Seasons Beethoven 's Moonlight Sonata , or Mozart 's Requiem Mass have a tremendous effect on me . They often help me escape for a while the trivialities of today 's fast-moving world and steep myself in the eternal beauty of music The history of Classical music can be divided into six distinctive periods : Medieval , Renaissance , Baroque , Classical , Romantic , and Modern (Classical Music History The Medieval period (800-1400
p Western Classical music has its origins in the plainsong liturgical music of the early Christian era (Zychowicz . Pope Gregory (590-640 organized a repertoire of chants that had developed before 800 and which became known under the term of Gregorian Chant . Early Medieval musical notation used neumes and consisted of the pitch or note to be sung Monophonic Gregorian Chant was characterized by one melodic line with no accompaniment , serenity , and pure shapes of melody (Classical Music History
Later Medieval music (around 1200s ) had two and more melodic lines heard simultaneously and called polyphony . Compared to the monophonic chant the polyphonic chant was more difficult for composers to produce because of multiple melodic lines that had to be combined in a way pleasing to listeners (Classical Music History
Medieval secular music stems from troubadours (virelais , ballades estampies , etc . It was monophonic with regular rhythms and short rhythmic patterns and it favored minor (Aeolian ) and major (Ionian modes (Classical Music History History of Classical Music
Medieval polyphonic music was mainly anonymous however the names of some composers were preserved along with the music they composed Guillaume Dufay , Philippe de Vitry , the author of the prominent and influential Ars Nova music theory , Guillaume de Machaut , the author of Mass of Notre Dame (Classical Music History
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It is known that various instruments were used in medieval music . The vielles , the rebec , the tromba marina were the most important bowed instruments during this time period . The most popular of the wind instruments were recs , the shawm , various kinds of trumpets , and horns . Portative organs were also in use and later larger organs with up to 2 ,500 pipes began to appear in European churches . Percussion instruments such as drums of various shapes and sizes (kettledrums cylindrical drums , bells and cymbals were also used in medieval music It is important to note that medieval composers never indicated how their music was to be performed and what instruments would play their pieces (Classical Music History
The Renaissance period (1400-1600
Pieces of music that composers produced during the Renaissance era were characterized by more individualism and artistic freedom . Due to the availability of new printing techniques , music could be preserved and distributed to other people . Musical sounds had an imitative , smooth polyphonic style . Although sacred music was still very important secular music became common , too , and the polyphonic style was also used in secular madrigals . During the Renaissance period composers still devoted their energy to...
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