Music History thru the Middle Ages, Rennisance, Baroque,...

Music has evolved too many different forms that we recognize today. We trace this development throughout time. Beginning in the middle ages, we have seen advancement from the Gregorian chant all the way to the Jazz of the 20th century. The current events, politics, religion, technology and composers can shape musical eras during time. Here I will look at the middle ages, renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic and twentieth century periods. I hope that a better understanding can be reached to why, when, where and who are the reasons for musical evolution. Middle Ages Beginning with fall of Rome in 476a.d. the first half of this millennium is referred to as the â€Å"dark ages†. In society, all power flowed from the king with the approval of†¦show more content†¦In the world, the age saw many explorers in search of a faster trade route to China, which led to the discovery of North America. Musicians in the Renaissance society are now professionals and were supported by the church, city and state as well as the royal and aristocratic courts. The rise of the merchant class brought new fans to music professionals. With the advent of cheaper printing, music books became available and affordable making musical literacy spread dramatically. The musical style of the renaissance can be noted in the vocal forms by smoothly gliding melodies. This became regarded as the golden age of cappella style, which is music without instrumental accompaniment. Polyphony in renaissance style was based on continuous imitation. This offered many possibilities such as cantus firmus. Sacred music played a prominent part in ritual of the church. Motets and hymns became a part of Mass. The motet became a sacred form with a single Latin text. Motets in praise of the Virgin Mary were extremely popular because of the many religious groups devoted to Marian worship. Josquin Desprez, a popular master of the motet and influencer of many composers, composed more than a hundred motets and numerous secular pieces. Baroque The Baroque period stretched across half of European history. It began shortly before 1600 and ended with the death of Bach in 1750. During this time, there were change and