Early Music

The Mass

The ordinary of the mass (consisting of the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Benedictus, Agnus Dei, and in some medieval masses also the “Ite, missa est”) has been a focal point of choral music for more than 600 years. The earliest masses, such as the four-part setting by the 14th-century French composer Guillaume de Machaut, were intended for soloists; remarkable both in musical texture and structure, they are often performed chorally today. 

Hundreds of composers wrote settings of the ordinary of the mass at this time.  In the 16th-17th century Venetian School added instrumental elements to choral foundation of the mass.  

 They also occasionally employed two or more choirs to create massive antiphonal effects. Further development of the orchestral mass occurred in the 17th century in the works of the Italian composers.  

 In the 18th century, Haydn's early masses, notably the Missa Sanctae Caeciliae, lean toward Italian models. His choral writing is robust and sonorous, even though four-part writing is the norm. His later masses emphasize soloists and orchestra but without diminishing the interest of the choral writing. Mozart's early masses tend to be brief. In contrast his later masses explore huge developments such as the Mass in C Major K. 317 (1779; Coronation Mass). The unfinished Mass in C Minor, K. 427, is magnificent choral music. 

 Beethoven’s Mass in C Major, Opus 86 (1807), and Missa Solemnis Opus 123 (1823), written in the maturity of the Classical era, are not liturgical, yet they stem from an inner need to carry on a great tradition and to set to music a text of central importance. The role of the choir is central to the work. The composer uses it to produce effects ranging from beautiful single lines to grandiose texture. The masses of the 19th-century Austrian composers Franz Schubert and Anton Bruckner worthily continue the same tradition in their individual ways. The Petite Messe solennelle (Little Solemn Mass; 1864) of Italian composer Gioacchino Rossini was originally written for soloists, chorus, and an accompaniment of two pianos and harmonium, but it was later scored for full orchestra. 

 Outstanding among 20th-century masses are those of the English composer Ralph Vaughn Williams, the Czech composer Leos Janacek (Glagolitic Mass, setting an Orthodox text in Old Slavonic), and the Russo-American composer Igor Stravinsky, who is said to have derived his inspiration from Mozart, although some of the effects created by the mixed chorus and wind instruments are more reminiscent of medieval music. 

Motet and Characteristics

 A motet can be defined as an unaccompanied choral composition based on a sacred Latin text. There have been some exceptions, such as motets with secular text or the occasional instrumental accompaniment, but we'll focus on the most common one here. In general, motets used religious texts not used in the mass, since by this time, the mass already had standardized music. Motets were often polyphonic, meaning there were various vocal parts sung at the same time. Though motets started being written in the late Medieval period, they developed greatly in and are most associated with the Renaissance period, which lasted from approximately 1450-1600. 

The motet was based on the work of Leonin and Perotin, two medieval French composers from the Notre Dame Church in France. Around the 1200s, they added multiple vocal parts to what was previously a single line of church chant. The motet was even more complex, with additional vocal parts being sung along with previously existing chant. These additional vocal parts started as short repeating patterns.

Over time, the rhythms became longer and more complex. The text of the motet also became more and more complex. Along with the original chant, Latin or French text was added. Near the end of the period, this included both sacred and secular text.

Anthems

• Originally, anthems were devotional verses sung as a response during a religious service. One of the first songs identified as a "national anthem" is Great Britain's "God Save the King." By the 16th century, anthems consisted of psalms, hymns, or prayers sung responsively by two separated choirs. 

Cantata and Oratorio

• The cantata, as developed in northern Germany in the 17th century, often relied only upon soloists and a small group of instruments, although the role of the chorus gradually became more important. In more than 200 church cantatas written by J.S. Bach, the chorus often occupies a prominent place and is given music of challenging complexity—frequently on a par with the music of the accompanying instrumental forces. The cantatas use the chorus again in the closing chorale, which is usually a special setting of a hymn tune with orchestral doubling or accompaniment.

Occasional Music

• In addition to sacred and secular works, a very considerable number of compositions, many of them choral, were written for great occasions of state. These include motets and cantatas based on special texts, suitable for performance in a palace, outdoors on a platform or rampart, in a private chapel, or wherever the occasion demanded. The signing of a peace treaty, a royal marriage, ducal obsequies, consecration, election of a doge—all these and many similar events called for music written to order; since composers have always been happy to receive a commission, the number of occasional works is virtually incalculable. 

Secular Music 

• Since the vast majority of secular vocal works of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance were written with soloists in mind rather than a chorus, this repertory will be dealt with in a later section 

Madrigal 

• Madrigal is a vocal music form that flourished in the Renaissance, originating in Italy. The madrigal is generally written for four to six voices that may or may not be accompanied (in modern performance madrigals are usually presented a cappella). Madrigals are usually set to short love poems, though the words are occasionally about death, war, etc.; they were extremely popular in England and Italy, and also produced in France, Germany, and a few in Spain. The madrigal is characterized
  by word painting and harmonic and rhythmic contrast. In the madrigal, each line has its own tune, rather than the entire composition having a single tune with harmonic accompaniment. 

French Chansons

Chansons (French for "song") refers to any song with French words, but more specifically classic, lyric-driven French songs, European songs in the cabaret style, or a diverse range of songs interpreted in this style. A singer specializing in chansons is known as a chansonnier; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.

In a more specialized usage, the word 'chanson' refers to a polyphonic French song of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. Early chansons tended to be in one of the formes fixes, ballade, rondeau or virelai, though some composers later set popular poetry in a variety of forms.

The earliest chansons were for two, three or four voices, with first three becoming the norm, expanding to four voices by the sixteenth century. Sometimes, the singers were accompanied by instruments.

English Madrigal and Characteristics

The English Madrigal School was the brief but intense flowering of the musical madrigal in England, mostly from 1588 to 1627, along with the composers who produced them. The English madrigals were a cappella, predominantly light in style, and generally began as either copies or direct translations of Italian models. Most were for three to six voices. 

 While Italian madrigals developed towards professionalism, English madrigals remained for amateurs. Despite the fact, the influence of madrigal is deep. For example, Byrd’s consort songs are heavily influenced by madrigals and some Dowland’s four-part ayres are more of madrigal style than that of ayre. Generally, English madrigals is different to that of Italian madrigals in three ways: less polyphonic, less chromatic and more rhythmic.