Lesson 3 - Music in the 14th Century
Part I France: The Ars Nova
"Ars Nova" translates to "New Art" Meaning that composers consciously knew the music they were composing was completely different than what had been happening prior. There was a devotion particularly to the following:
- An increased use of the minim and semiminim
- The legitimization of duple meter as fully equal to triple
- Imperfection by notes of more remote values instead of notes of the next shorter value.
- the use of red ink. (for example, a note in red ink was understood as having two-thirds the duration of a note of the same value written in black ink
Part II - Polyphonic settings of the Mass Ordinary
There was a shift in the 14th Century from composing full settings of the Mass Ordinary to composing only single movements, or pairs of movements.
Part III - Secular song
By the middle of the 14th Century, the Formes Fixes--Literally "fixed formes," or structural patterns had established themselves as the most important varieties of secular song in France. These forms are:
- The Ballade
- The Virelai
- The Rondeau
First the Ballade consists of seven or eight strophes (or lines) of text, the last of which is a refrain.
Second, the Virelai follows this pattern: abbaA. The refrain is sung at the beginning and at the end of each line.
Lastly, the rondeau consists of eight lines of text set to the following scheme: ABaAabAB
Part IV - Secular song in Italy
The Trecento was the Italian equivalent of the French Ars Nova. All of the same song styles manifested in Italy as did in France.
•The Ballata is equivalent to the French virelai (Structurally these two forms are exactly the same)
•The Ritornello is a form that consists of two strophes each of three lines with a two line ritornello at the end of each line. Meaning that the same two lines appeared ad the end of each stroph of text. A refrain, if you will.
•The caccia takes its name from its root word meaning chase. This form deals with hunting, running, chasing, and the like.
