Music from the Middle Ages

     For today's blog post we are going to be discussing one of the oldest forms of written music, Gregorian Chant. During the middle ages, which ran from approximately 500 to 1400 AD, Christianity was on the rise making sacred and religious music the most prevalent. Early Christian churches pulled the ideas for their music from previously existing Jewish and Byzantine religious chants. All music during this time was simply monophonic, meaning that it is purely comprised of a single melody without any form of accompaniment or harmonic support. The melodies created during this time used Latin liturgical texts for the words and had no set rhythm, time signature or tempo. This form of music received its name from Pope Gregory I who reigned from 590-604 because it is said that he was the one to establish consistent use of this type of music throughout the Western Catholic Church. Fun fact, the majority of liturgical text from this period was set to chant: readings, prayers, dialogs, Mass propers, Mass ordinaries, hymns, psalms, and so forth. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the name "Gregorian Chant" is often seen as a synonym with "plain chant." However, stemming from this form of music were many other more complex structures and melodies. Gregorian Chant was the beginning of notating and creating scales, notes, and so forth. Well, that is all folks, catch you next blog.

To hear an example of what the "Middle Ages" music sounded like, check out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BI7ujlo6BM