Music Jongleur - Essay Example

Music – Jongleur Jongleurs were wandering entertainers who lived in medieval France and entertained their audience by using a variety of skills likesinging and reciting. In addition to that jongleurs made jokes and sing that make the audience laugh (The Birth of the Jongleur). Not much is known about the musical instruments used by Jongleurs in those periods. Although we are aware of the music composed and performed by the Troubadours and Trouveres in the early period, we are not aware of the musicians.

Jongleurs also entertain by depicting the lifestyle of people who lived in early days.This also involves the love of the people living in France towards their religion in the early 12th and 13th centuries. During the 9th century, the song “Veni creator spiritus” has been utilised in various kinds of religious observances. Apart from the Religious observances which commonly haunted the music in medieval periods, there also exists some place for the love songs which dominated spiritual music.

The composer has composed the love songs in his native language where he lived (usually in Old Occitan or Latin or Old French).One of the best example of love song is “Sic Mea Fata” which was written in latin and was seen in a manuscript from the abbey of St.Martial in Limoges. Jongleurs usually perform their work along with some dance. One of them is ‘estampie’. The above mentioned form consists of two successive melodies which was given a name as ‘puncta’ of which the first part ends with an unclosed ending and the second part ends with a concluded ending.

Therefore ‘La Uitime Estampie Real’ meaning ‘The Eighth Royal Estampie’ was one among those French dances which was performed by the Jongleurs in the early period. ‘Souvent Souspire’ is also one of the famous French dance song performed by Jongleurs. Also earlier Jongleurs commonly came across ‘hurdy-gurdy’ type of music supplemented with dance. ‘Quant je voi yver returner’ meaning ‘when I see winter return’ is a short song accompanied with dance that was found in their collection of songs.

Sometimes the music also includes some historical events that happen during the period. ‘Ja nuns hons pris’ is one among them which relates to Richard, the Lionheart and his imprisonment by Duke of Austria. The other one ‘Reis glorios’ is a composition that still acts as a famous example of the dawn song One of the haunting piece composed was ‘A vous, Amours’. This piece has a speciality for using the technique called ‘fretting’ used at two sharper points in the melody. Unfortunately, this technique can only be found in the manuscript containing this piece.

These two sharper points gives the audience a painful feeling since it depicts the death of a lover. Coming to the musical instruments, Jongleurs of olden times generally used pipes accompanied with string drum and tabor which is even now continued in different parts of the France. In the early middle ages there existed Arabic culture along with the Christians in several parts of the France. The Arabic culture promoted its own typical music. Therefore the musical instruments used by them directly produced an effect on western music of those days.

Not only the instruments, their performance and their musical structure also continue to exist. Jongleurs are considered to be one of the worlds best comedy performers.They took over the first place in entertaining people and continues to hold a leading place among comedy clubs in the Europe (Given reference). Works cited The Birth of the Jongleur. Available: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1997/prose-en.html. Accessed on December 12, 2008 Given reference