Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/96

MUSIC established new ecclesiastical keys, founded and encouraged a system of musical training at Rome, wrote many hymns, and finally was the father of the Gregorian chant, upon the broad foundation of which the music of the church rested for several centuries. But as yet har- mony, the most important element of music, did not exist. In chanting, the performers all sang the melody. The system of musical nota- tion was also exceedingly, imperfect, certain signs called numce being used to designate the pitch and duration of notes, the lines and spaces of the staff not yet being invented. It was not until the discovery of harmony, and the invention of the staff and of a proper no- menclature for the notes of the scale, that the art of music began to free itself from its fet- ters. During the 7th, 8th, and 9th centuries there is little to be recorded in the way of mu- sical progress. At the close of the 9th century Hucbald, a Flemish monk, wrote a treatise on harmony, which had already begun to be prac- tised after a rude fashion, the octave, fourth, and fifth only being used, and the parts pro- gressing together. The following example, harsh enough to modern ears, will serve better than any description to show the condition of the science of harmony in those days : Nos qui vi - vi-mus be- ne - di - ci-mus Do-mi - num ex hoc mine et UB - que in sse - cu - lum. The notation is modern, for it was not till more than a century later that Guido Aretino, also a monk, added two lines to the staff, then consist- ing of two only, and originated the system of solmization on which his reputation rests. At the same time that progress was made in harmo- ny within the church, the love of music, innate in human nature, found expression through the songs of the people. There is scarcely any na- tion whose traditions do not furnish examples of folk songs of a remote antiquity. The Celts made great progress in this direction; their bards were famous for their skill in poetry and song. They also possessed an instrument known as the crowth, which had several strings of different pitch ; and many writers on music have asserted their belief that the secrets of harmony were known to them before they were to the Italians. The French also had their chansons, the Italians their canzonetti, and the Germans their Vollcslieder. Nothing was more common than for the church com- posers to adopt some well known popular air as a theme for their masses. Indeed, the mass- es were not infrequently named after the song which served as their basis, so that we find the mass " Farewell, my loves," that of " The Armed Man," that of " The Pale-faced Man," that of "The Red Noses," and many others similarly named. The minstrels, jongleurs, minnesingers, and troubadours played a very important part in the development of the music of the middle ages. From the close of the llth to the commencement of the 14th century these musicians exercised a wide in- fluence. Minstrelsy and warlike deeds were closely associated ; many of the knights were also minstrels. Among those nobles who were distinguished troubadours were Thibaut, king of Navarre, the chevalier Raoul de Coucy, and William IX., count of Poitou. Pierre Vidal of Toulouse accompanied Richard of England as minstrel on the third crusade. The trouba- dours cultivated various kinds of lyric compo- sitions, such as the chanson or love song, the sirvente or satire, the tenson or lyric contest, the lalada or ballad, and the serena or sere- nade. On their return from the crusades they brought home various new musical forms caught in the East, which served to enlarge the domain of melody. In the beginning of the 14th century the troubadours as a class disap- peared ; but in that century music received a fresh impetus from the Netherlander, who suddenly took the lead of all European natipns in the cultivation of the art, which supremacy they held for a century and a half, sending their musicians as teachers, leaders, and composers into all countries. The Netherlands at this time were rich and prosperous; their cities were in a condition almost of republican free- dom ; the government under the house of Bur- gundy was liberal, and fostered with especial care the arts of painting and music. Counter- point received great attention during the peri- od of the Dutch supremacy, and in the course of the 15th century the Netherlander became the most learned contrapuntists in Europe. The first of their composers who came into no- tice was Guillaume Dufay, born in Hainaut, in the latter part of the 14th century. His mass- es, which are to be found in manuscript in the papal chapel, are the oldest known in contra- puntal form. Dufay is credited with having emancipated music from the harsh succession of fourths, fifths, octaves, and unisons, which constituted the harmony of preceding compo- sers. The next Flemish composer of eminence was Jan Okeghem, who exerted great influence not only as a composer, but also as a teacher. Among his pupils was Josquin des Pres (died about 1530), the most famous composer of his day. He did not strive, as did many of his time, to construct impossible fugues and ingenious contrapuntal puzzles, written simply to display his technical knowledge, but sought to infuse intelligence and soul into all the parts, and to give sympathy and expression to music. His influence was felt in Italy, where for a time he was attached to the pontifical choir of Sixtus