History of Western Music (Music 330A)

Frequently Asked Questions

Midterm Exam No. 1 (Fall Semester 2004)

(Update for Thursday, September 23):

Question: Could you explain what a psalm tone is, how it works, and what it was used for?

Answer: A "psalm tone" is a melodic formula that is used to chant entire psalms and other biblical passages such as the "Magnificat." Aspects of it also find their way into the verses of other chants. Examples of "psalm tones" can be found in NAWM 4c, e, g, i, and n. A "psalm tone" begins with an "initium," those first three notes that allow the singer to arrive at the "tenor," or "reciting tone," which is repeated as much as necessary to sing all the syllables of the first part of the verse (all the verses are numbered in the text and translation found on each page in NAWM). To mark the end of the first part of the verse, there is the "mediant," usually a movement a step up and down. For the second part of the verse, the "tenor" picks up again until the "terminatio," a three, four, or more note formula that brings the verse to an end. The "psalm tone" (minus the "initium") is then repeated as often as needed to sing all the verses, including the "lesser doxology." Note that each verse has a different number of syllables, hence the need for flexibility -- the number of times the "reciting tone" is repeated. The use of the "psalm tone" is most clear in NAWM 4e, where the music is written out for all the verses. For an example of the way the melodic content of a "psalm tone" can find its way into other chants, see NAWM 4a and also the verse (marked "Ps.") of NAWM 3a.

(Update for Wednesday, September 22):

Question: In the form for "virelai," why is there a lower case "b" rather than "B." For "ballade," why is there no "A" or "B."

Answer: The letters for all of the "formes fixes" represent musical phrases (or sections), and whether lower case or upper case, "a" and "A" represent the same music. The difference is that an upper case letter always indicates that the same text is used and in musical terms represents a refrain (same words and music). In a "virelai," the "b" musical phrase is always set to different words, but the "a" phrase varies in this respect, sometimes receiving new text, other times acting as a refrain. It is similar for the "ballade." The music on p. 5 of the Anthology Supplement always receives different text, as does the music on p. 6 up through m. 47. From m. 48 to the end, the text is the same throughout all three verses (see the last line of each verse on page 9) and is therefore a refrain. Remember, these are songs, and the form grows out of the combination of poetry and music -- do not try to find a logic to these pieces that is strictly musical.

(Update for Monday, September 20):

Laura will conduct review sessions for the class at the following times: Wednesday, 5:30-6:30 p.m. (room 202), and Thursday, 9:00-9:50 a.m. (room 121).

(Questions from Friday, September 17):

Question: How detailed do you want our knowledge of the listening to be?

Answer: The listening that you will need to know for identfication is: NAWM 5-11, 13-24, and "Douce dame" and "De toutes flours" from the Anthology Supplement. I will not play selections from NAWM 3 and 4, but studying these chants with the recordings will help you answer questions pertaining to the Mass and Vespers services. For the listening portion of the exam, you will need to identify the piece by composer (if there is one), title of work (spelling does not have to be perfect, but the word does have to be recognizable), and date of the work. There will also be questions related to musical aspects, as discussed in class, so know these pieces well.

Question: Tell me the date of these compositions (NAWM 3 and NAWM 4).

Answer: These chants cannot be dated with any certainty except in a few cases (for example, see NAWM 3b, where "XIII. C" indicates 13th Century). I will only expect general dates for the Mass (for example, that it was in place by ca. 600) and Vespers (as outlined in the Rule of St. Benedict, ca. 520).

Question: Explain the proper and ordinary parts of the "Office of Second Vespers."

Answer: The "ordinary" parts of the Vespers service are the "Deus in adjutorium" (the first item) and the "Magnificat." Everything else is proper (including the antiphon that accompanies the "Magnificat").

Question: What is the difference between "trope" and "clausula"?

Answer: A "trope" is usually applied to monophonic chant. It is an addition of text, music, or both, attached to the original chant and performed with it (see NAWM 7, which is also an example of "liturgical drama"). A "clausula" is always polyphonic, although it has in common with the trope that text can be added to the preexistent music.

Question: On the sample midterm the terms "estampie" and "virelai" appear. What are these?

Answer: The "estampie" is a type of dance, not covered in class (see Grout & Palisca, p. 64 -- you do not have to know the example in NAWM 12). We will cover "virelai" in Monday's class (September 20), but you can read about it on p. 102. Also remember the "Glossary" in the back of Grout & Palisca (pp. 789-805), which also includes pages in the text where the terms are discussed in greater detail.

Question: Do we have to know the "rhythmic modes" by memory?

Answer: No -- only know that there were six of them and they were limited to divisions of the beat by three (our 6/8 time).

Question: I am confused on what "organum" is.

Answer: "Organum" is the generic term used in the medieval period for music in two or more parts ("polyphonic" as opposed to "monophonic" music). The composer always started with chant as the basis, and, in the earliest examples, the second part was improvised against it (see NAWM 13). As organum began to be written out, the chant remained as the basis (called the "tenor" -- nothing to do with the voice type), and new types of organum were developed. In "organum duplum" (or "purum"), the chant is in the lower voice in long-held notes, and the upper voice has a florid, melismatic passage above it (see NAWM 15b). The other main type, "discant," tends to be more note against note (see NAWM 14, as well as the "discant clausula" in NAWM 15e-f on p. 60).

Question: Several questions on "clausula," "substitute clausula," "conductus," and "motet" -- what are they, how are they used, why were they used?

Answer: The earliest examples of "Notre Dame" polyphony alternate "organum duplum" with "discant" (see above answer for these terms). A "clausula" is defined as a closed section in discant style. It is "closed" because it has a clear beginning and end such that it can be detached from the organum and become a separate piece (see NAWM 15c). In addition, the same segment of chant used for the clausula (remember all organum uses plainchant for the lower voice) can have a new upper part composed for it and, because it is a "closed" form, be substituted easily for the original clausula (hence the term "substitute clausula" -- see NAWM 15e). The Notre Dame manuscripts have many of these "substitute clausulas" -- they were a very popular form of composition. Finally, these clausulas can have new text written for the upper part. When that happens, the piece becomes a motet (see NAWM 15d and 15f). "Conductus" has elements in common with organum as well as aspects that set it apart. First of all, the genre of "conductus" goes back to monophonic chant, where it designated a piece that was used to "conduct" the clergy from one point to another. These pieces were not liturgical and were not based on preexistent music -- they were original works with original music and words. The polyphonic versions also represent pieces with original text and music, although musically they tend to be in discant style, with all parts moving in the same rhythm in one of the rhythmic modes (see NAWM 17). As the motet becomes more popular, the writing of conductus tends to fall off.

Question: How does "isorhythm" work? It's a little confusing.

Answer: The term means "same rhythm" and refers to a compositional technique devised by composers in the early fourteenth century. In an isorhythmic motet, the chant segment (it is only a portion of the complete chant) is once again in the lowest line of the score (the "tenor"). Our example is NAWM 19. Here the composer has chosen a chant segment of twenty-four notes (the melody is labeled the "color"), and he has decided to set it to a rhythm that contains eight (the rhythm is labeled the "talea"). Thus in this piece it will take three statements of the "same rhythm" ("talea") to cover the twenty-four notes of the melody ("color") (see NAWM, p. 82). These numbers are up to the composer -- we will see different lengths of the "color" and "talea" in NAWM 21. Once this lowest line is in place, the composer writes other musical parts freely above it.

The grading of the first written assignment:

As stated in the syllabus, this first assignment is worth 10% of the grade for the semester. Each paper has two grades, one for the essay and one for the transcription of the chant. The essay will therefore count as 60% and the transcription 40% for a total of 100% (or put another way, 6% and 4% of the grade for the semester). Note that because the grades are letter grades with approximate numerical equivalents, I will be flexible when caluclating the grades at the end of the semester (for example, an 89% average for the semester will still receive an "A" fo the course). One other detail. Many papers mistakenly labeled the chant a "motet by Adrian Willaert." The motet is the next piece in the anthology, and there was no deduction taken off the grade.