The Standardization of Western Music - Essay Example

Early fathers were vehemently opposing the association of musical instruments in church music the reason why sacred music was very prevalent during these times. However, the music during this period combined sacred and secular forms. Most of the songs sung during this time were mostly monotonic which were used for hymns and praise songs but later developed into polyphonic forms after the inclusion of instruments and the advent of musical notation system and musical theories.

There was an immense alteration in the repertory during this period because of the incrementing efforts of incorporating manifold compositions of melodies and different tones. Eventually, despite the alleged defiance of the early fathers on the inclusion of musical instruments in church chants, there was an acceptance of the use of a musical instrument in a church setting, initially, to support choristers in singing. The first instrument accepted to be used in church services was the organ. Secular music proliferated through the help of the French people and because of the aid of the music genius Guillaume de Machaut. Subsequently, songwriting also became famous.

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Some other forms of art were also observed to have a close relation to music and were found to conform with the development of musical art. Several primitive artworks were recovered in some parts of the world, especially in Egypt where olden drawings on caves showing musical instruments, hieroglyphs, and some passages coming from the Bible were discovered. These forms of art are proofs or cues that predicate the existence of musical art before the Middle Ages, in fact, some claims that this could be traced back to the time of Pythagoras who, through Mathematics, helped in the establishment of music: “the first study of music as an art form dates from around 500 B.C. when Pythagoras experimented with acoustics and the mathematical relationships of tones.”

Many great composers came out during the middle ages. Some of the most famous and talented composers lived during this time. Guillaume Dufay was a medieval composer whose musical artworks were made from the latter part of the medieval period up to the early Renaissance Period. His music was mostly serene and with perspicuous uniqueness. He also started to invent the four-voice texture which is a very popular, important theme for polyphonic music today. Philippe De Vitry (1291-1361), was considered to be one of the most important composers during this era. He was the proponent of the famous musical theory Ars Nova ¬and was one of the premier figures who developed the motet. Further, he also discovered isorhythm: “a single rhythmic figure continually repeated by a voice.”1 Guillaume de Machaut who lived between 1300 and 1377 was the composer who made the famous Mass of Notre Dame. He was direly romantic and most of his compositions and poems were seen to have romantic impressions. In addition, he was also recurrently involved in royalty and political gatherings.