How The Church Influenced Music.
"With seemingly little control over their own destiny, people turned to an outside agent (God) for help. And they did so mainly through organized religion - the Roman Catholic Church, the dominant spiritual and administrative force in medieval Europe."
- Craig Wright
Introduction
During the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church controlled many things. It was one of the only and best places for people in a community to gather, and therefore was able to control the types of things people believed: who, what, when, where, why, and how. Take music for example. The Roman Catholic Church could influence what people believed about music: who is allowed to perform music? What style of music is allowed to be performed? When is it appropriate to perform music? Where is it appropriate to perform music? Why do we perform music? How do we perform music? The Roman Catholic Church had unsurprising answers for all of those questions. Who: devout christian monks and nuns are allowed to perform music, but never at the same time. What: Gregorian chants or select works from select composers. When: music is appropriate during mass. Where: music is appropriate in chapels. Why: music is performed in order to create an ethereal atmosphere in order to be closer to God. How: Music is to be sung by a choir or performed by an organ. The Roman Catholic Church influenced how people thought about music and consequently, shaped music as we know it today.
Machaut's Influence on Music and the
Church
Indeed, we have seen that the church had influence on many many things, and we are still seeing and experiencing the effect of the church today. Similarly, a churchman from Paris in the 14th century had an incredible influence on the music of his time, and our time as well. We can still easily see the effects of Guillaume Machaut through our present day music. Craig Wright states, “Machaut’s Messe de Nostre Dame (Mass of Our Lady) is deservedly the best-known work in the entire repertoire of medieval music” (Wright 52-53). Machaut set what’s called the “Ordinary of the Mass,” which are five sung portions of the mass. The Ordinary of the Mass starts with the Kyrie, then goes to the Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and ends with Agnus Dei. Not only did Machaut set the precedent for mass, but he also named the voices of the choir. We get the name “tenor” from the latin word tenere, and French tenir, meaning “to hold.” This is because Machaut would give the tenor voice a chant using long notes to hold out. The tenor was the foundational voice, upon which Machaut named three new voice lines that he called superius (meaning “superior”) contratenor altus (meaning high countertenor, a high voice that is against the tenor), and contratenor bassus (meaning low countertenor, or low voice that is against the tenor) which is where we get our soprano, alto, and bass. Machaut was such an incredible musician and composer that he standardized the SATB (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass) choir for centuries. Machaut would not have been able to influence the standard of music on this scale if it had not been for the church.
French Influence on Music & Evolution of the Church
This week’s chapter posed a lot of interesting questions in my mind, such as “what was the difference between the Monastery and the Cathedral?”, “why did French music notation/style have such a major influence over the Roman Catholic Church in England?”, and “how did the evolutionary changes in the music/worship of the english Church affect the people of the renaissance?”. For my portion of the essay, I decided to take a look at the spiritual and humanistic significance of having music in the church. First let’s look at Monasticism: giving up worldly desires and possessions in order to embrace Christ’s example in full. This way of life had extreme power and influence over the people of the renaissance because although it was a rigorous and all-consuming practice, Monasticism offered spiritual purpose and hope for salvation. That last part was especially important because these people were coming out of the dark times of the Middle Ages, and they needed a hopeful center in their lives; directions and orders to follow and cling onto desperately. One example of the music that was acceptable for worship in the Monastery was the Gregorian Chant: a tune sung by appointed church officials in unison with a lack of regular meter/rhythm. This was the traditionally accepted form of worship in the Roman Catholic Church, and it was only to be sung by the leaders of the Monastery, and not sung by the people. Here is a video link to a Gregorian Chant called “Invitatorium: Deum Verum”: Gregorian chant - Deum verum. What makes a chant Gregorian is its monophonic texture, and the unique practice of singing in unison for the during mass. As time went on, more and more cathedrals were being built in the French, Gothic style, meaning that they were very richly constructed both in aesthetics and noble money. Abbot Suger was the mastermind behind these haunting buildings of worship, all the way back in 12th-century Paris, which was when he designed the very first cathedral, Basilica of Saint-Denis. Suger’s ideals and structures inspired the well-known Parisian Cathedral we know today as Notre Dame, which was initiated by Maurice de Sully, French Bishop. With these cathedrals came new music, and new forms of worship. Such as Mensural Notation, which is the French musical system used to specify rhythm and pitch, Motet, which was a structure that introduced polyphony into the church, Imitation, which was a succession of voices entering in and duplicating the notes of a melody, and A Cappella music, the non-instrumental style that was first used in the Sistine Chapel. All of these new ideas of music, along with Martin Luther’s “rebellious” church reforms, were too much for the officials of the Catholic Church, and they thought that this new expression of Humanism was somewhat blasphemous. It was a truly shocking integration of Humanism into a dominantly spiritual structure.
Martin Luther and Music
“Josquin is master of the notes, which must express what he desires; other composers can only write what the notes dictate.”
Quote from Martin Luther, referring to Josquin Desprez, and his music style compared to others.
Martin Luther is very famous for the Protestant Reformation against the catholic church, but he is also famous for some things that are less known. He wanted people to sing in congregation, rather than having someone just talk about scripture to them. He wanted the congregation to take a step into the liturgy of the Christian faith. Adding a variety of songs that fit the language of the people in the congregation was Martin Luther’s goal. The songs he added were to be sung at three specific spots in the worship service. One included Gradual (meaning step in Latin), one person on an ambo (elevated structure) singing in the monophonic style. The congregation would respond with “Alleluia” or a verse from the psalm itself. The second, being the Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy). This would be sung when the priest is saying the eucharistic prayer. The congregation would respond with “Hosanna excelsis” (Hosanna in the highest). The third and final section where the congregation would sing is the Angus Dei (an invocation beginning with Lamb of God). It is based off the saying from John the Baptist, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
The Protestant Reformation | National Geographic
The Church and the Organ
“Is the organ a sacred instrument?.”
-Mixtuur
This question is still asked to this day as musicians ponder everywhere why an organ was more acceptable than violins and trumpets in church music. As Wright states in Listening To Music “the principal musical instrument of the monastery and cathedral was the large pipe organ,” (Wright 55). The modern pipe organ has been around since 1500 and originated in the Rhineland. Musicians that wrote for the church picked up this accepted instrument and started to add it to many works of music. This modern pipe organ was seen as a staple of any religious ceremony, see video of organ playing hymnals, and is said to lift the souls of church goers as they listen. Instruments that could be carried around, like horns and string instruments, gave a bad reputation to church music for those instruments were mainly played only for money and fame. Only a musician of great talent could play the organ, giving it a more sophisticated stature than troubadours and their instruments. Pipe organs were put into church music for the idea of it having more stature and godliness than lesser instruments that could be carried.
Humanism and Evolution of Church Music
The renaissance changed how the church viewed music, and music in general. It caused a rebirth of the arts including music, writing, painting, etc. The template for how these arts were made changed, and it helped people come to a better understanding of music. The idea of free will from the Renaissance changed the way music was used in church. Before the Renaissance, most music in church were monophonic chants and sung by clergymen. Polyphony was eventually introduced to sacred music around 1000, but sadly the names of the composers have been lost. These monk composers did not write their names on manuscripts because they credited god for their work. They did not believe they determined their own actions, they believed god told them to write it. Furthermore, the renaissance changed the way people viewed beauty, creation, and art because of humanism. Humanism is the belief that people are not just God's puppets, but beings capable of creating and shaping beauty. Once people began to take credit for their work, the recognition became a source of inspiration. This greatly influenced secular music, as well as sacred. Both types of music began to influence one another, which brought about more variety in sacred music in range, rhythm, harmony, and form. Church music has radically evolved from monophonic chant to a diverse types of music from polyphonic to monophonic.
Credits
Introduction paragraph, Machaut paragraph, and creating/posting blog - Aidan Hille
French influence paragraph - Hannah McVay
Martin Luther paragraph - Carl Reese
Organ paragraph - Ryan Lelli
Humanism paragraph - Jake Kesling
Works Cited
Byer, Glenn. “Sanctus: Holy, Holy, Holy.” Oregon Catholic Press, 1 Feb. 2018, www.ocp.org/en-us/blog/entry/sanctus-holy-holy-holy. Accessed 27 Sept. 2021.
Church Times. “Origins of the Term ‘Gradual.’” Www.churchtimes.co.uk, 8 Dec. 2017, www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2017/8-december/regulars/out-of-the-question/origins-of-the-term-gradual. Accessed 27 Sept. 2021.
“Early Music.” Wmich.edu, 2020, wmich.edu/mus-gened/mus150/1500%20webbook%202011%20EarlyMusic.htm.
Gregorian chant - Deum verum. “Gregorian Chant - Deum Verum.” YouTube, 4 Feb. 2010, youtu.be/kK5AohCMX0U.
Knight, Jonothan T. Conservative Radical: Martin Luther’s Influence on Congregational Singing. 2010, digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1015&context=musicalofferings#:~:text=Luther%20clearly%20desired%20for%20congregations,Gradual%2C%20Sanctus%20and%20Agnus%20Dei..
Mixtuur. “Why Is an Organ Used in Churches?” Mixtuur, www.mixtuur.com/en/why-is-an-organ-used-in-churches/. Accessed 27 Sept. 2021.
Smith, Hillary. “Gothic Cathedrals: Architecture & Divine Light.” World History Encyclopedia, 8 Dec. 2020, www.worldhistory.org/article/1649/gothic-cathedrals-architecture--divine-light/.
Sorabella, Jean. “Monasticism in Western Midieval Europe.” Metmuseum.org, 2019, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mona/hd_mona.htm.
Wright, Craig M. The Essential Listening to Music. Australia, Wadsworth, 2016.
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