The Relationship Of Text And Music During The Period From The Early Middle Ages Essay Example for Free

The Relationship Of Text And Music During The Period From The Early Middle Ages Essay In the middle ages, the music was both sacred and secular. Its relationship to text can be inferred from the overwhelming evidence of the manuscripts. Right from the middle ages, music never failed to echo the meaning of text. The composers of the middle ages were more likely to see the relation between text and music as one of abstract architecture, grammatical and syntactic structure,and perhaps even of acoustical properties rather than directly one of meaning. The relationship between text and music was not one of measuring, then there was no reason for one kind of music to be appropriate for one kind of text. Since the words and the music were not related in any semantic or emotional way, a monophonic dance-song, a polyphonic spring-song based on it, a song of praise or a lament song may be indistinguishable in musical style. Renaissance describes the development of civilization that marked the transition from mediaval to modern times. The Renaissance composers used their music to communicate with their audiences. there was a set of shared aural expectations between composers and listeners that governed the relationship between text and music. there was a close relationship between music and poetry and music was capable enough to stir the listeners emotions. Inspired by the classical world, Renaissance composers fit words and music together in an increasingly dramatic fashion which is very much evident in the manuscripts of the Renaissance period. In the Baroque era, music was considered to be a divine art. This idea implied that music was not considered on its merits alone, but a path to divinity. music was understood as a general principle of divine creations. Thus music of the Baroque era related to text as an image, an imitation or an anticipation of the heavenly life or the abode of The Omnipresent. At the end of the Baroque era the relationship of the text and music was as meaningful as the relationship of God with mankind.