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Period: 800 BCE to 146 BCE
Greek music
The foundations of western music come from the ancient Greek civilisation. Music was closely linked to many things like poetry or theatrical performances -
100
Seikilos epitaph
The Seikilos epitaph is an Ancient Greek inscription that preserves the oldest surviving complete musical composition, including musical notation. -
Period: 476 to 1453
The Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages, music was strongly linked with religion and was performed by the clergy. Musical notation arose in the Middle ages with the "neumes", to help monks remember the melody. Neumes consisted of straight and curved lines that outlined the melodic design of the composition.
Through the Middle Ages, neumes evolved into clearer, square-shaped signs that indicated the pitch of sounds. -
750
Gregorian chant
The Gregorian chant was a religous monody.
The purpose of the song was to teach the word of God to the faithful. The rhythm of the song is free, since it depends on the text. -
1025
Guizo d'Arezzo
He established a name for each note of the scale, based on the first syllable of each verse of the hymn dedicated to Saint John the Baptist.
He originated the current musical writing establishing the position of each note in four horizontal parallel lines, that make the tetragram. -
Period: 1101 to 1300
Ars Antiqua
Ars antiqua is a term used by modern scholars to refer to the Medieval music of Europe during the High Middle Ages. During the Ars Antiqua, the first polyphonic form was developed: the organum. It's main composers, from the Notre Dame school, were Leonin and Perotin.
Other forms of Ars Antiqua were the conductus and the motet. -
Period: 1135 to 1201
Léonin
Léonin was the first known significant composer of polyphonic organum. He was the earliest member of the Notre Dame school of polyphony and the ars antiqua style who is known by name. -
Period: 1155 to 1230
Pérotin
Pérotin was a composer associated with the Notre Dame school of polyphony in Paris and the broader ars antiqua musical style of high medieval music. -
Period: 1301 to 1400
Ars Nova
In the Ars Nova, polyphony is perfected and acquires greater rhythmic and melodic complexity.
The most widely used form is the motet, but now it's more complex, both at a rhythmic and melodic level and, in many cases, simultaneously uses religious and secular texts. Other forms of Ars Nova were the canon, the ballad or the chanson.