Music · Lesson 11

Chant, polyphony, Renaissance masters, opera, oratorio, Corelli, Vivaldi, Bach, Handel

JAMBWAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

JAMB: Medieval 800–1400, Renaissance 1400–1600, Baroque 1600–1750; composers Palestrina, Monteverdi, Purcell, J.S. Bach, Handel; identify composers and assess contributions; forms). WAEC/NECO History and Literature D: Western composers (a) Medieval ca. 450–1400, (b) Renaissance ca. 1400–1600, (c) Baroque ca. 1600–1750.

WAEC: Medieval 800–1400, Renaissance 1400–1600, Baroque 1600–1750; composers Palestrina, Monteverdi, Purcell, J.S. Bach, Handel; identify composers and assess contributions; forms). WAEC/NECO History and Literature D: Western composers (a) Medieval ca. 450–1400, (b) Renaissance ca. 1400–1600, (c) Baroque ca. 1600–1750.

NECO: Medieval 800–1400, Renaissance 1400–1600, Baroque 1600–1750; composers Palestrina, Monteverdi, Purcell, J.S. Bach, Handel; identify composers and assess contributions; forms). WAEC/NECO History and Literature D: Western composers (a) Medieval ca. 450–1400, (b) Renaissance ca. 1400–1600, (c) Baroque ca. 1600–1750.

What you will learn

State the dates of the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods, including the WAEC and JAMB versions.
Describe Gregorian chant and the growth of polyphony.
Describe Renaissance sacred and secular forms and name their composers.
Explain basso continuo, figured bass and terraced dynamics.
Trace the birth of opera and describe Baroque vocal forms.
Describe the concerto grosso, solo concerto and fugue.
Assess the contributions of Palestrina, Monteverdi, Purcell, Bach and Handel.

Key points

Medieval: WAEC ca. 450–1400; JAMB 800–1400.
Chant: monophonic, Latin, modal, free rhythm.
Guido of Arezzo (c. 991–after 1033): staff, ut re mi.
Organum → Léonin, Pérotin → Vitry, Machaut.
Machaut: Messe de Nostre Dame (before 1365).
Renaissance: imitative polyphony, a cappella, word painting.
Josquin, Palestrina, Lassus, Victoria, Tallis, Byrd.
Madrigal (Morley); lute song (Dowland).
Baroque: continuo, figured bass, terraced dynamics.
Opera: Peri’s Dafne (1598); Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo (1607).
Purcell: Dido and Aeneas; Vivaldi: Four Seasons.
Bach (1685–1750, BWV); Handel (1685–1759, Messiah).

Start here: Style periods and the dating problem

Western music history is divided into style periods. The boundaries are approximate: styles change gradually, and a composer may work in two periods. Examiners still expect you to know the standard dates, and here the two syllabuses disagree:

Period	WAEC/NECO syllabus	JAMB syllabus
Medieval (Middle Ages)	ca. 450–1400	800–1400
Renaissance	ca. 1400–1600	1400–1600
Baroque	ca. 1600–1750	1600–1750
Classical	ca. 1750–1820	1750–1820
Romantic	ca. 1820–1900	1820–1900
20th century	ca. 1900–2000	(not listed separately)

The Medieval start date is the one difference. WAEC starts the Medieval period about 450, close to the fall of the Western Roman Empire (476) and the beginnings of Christian chant. JAMB starts it at 800, around the time when chant began to be written down in neumes and the Carolingian (Charlemagne’s) empire organised church music. Historians themselves use different dates: many books put the start of medieval music around 500. Exam rule: in a WAEC/NECO paper, write “about 450–1400”; in JAMB, write “800–1400”. If a question gives options, pick the one that matches the board setting the paper, and in an essay you can mention that dates vary between sources.

All later dates agree. Notice that the boundary years match landmark events: about 1600 is the birth of opera; 1750 is the death of J.S. Bach; around 1820 Beethoven’s late works and Schubert’s songs point towards Romanticism.

Worked example: Answering a dating question. JAMB question: “The Medieval period in Western music is generally dated A. 450–1400 B. 800–1400 C. 1400–1600 D. 1600–1750.”
Solution. JAMB’s own syllabus gives 800–1400, so choose B. In a WAEC paper, the syllabus gives ca. 450–1400, so the same question there would expect A. Options C and D are the Renaissance and Baroque.

Why periods overlap. Monteverdi published Renaissance-style madrigals and a Baroque opera in the same decade; C.P.E. Bach (1714–1788) began in his father’s Baroque world but became a pioneer of the Classical style. Use periods as a map, not as fences.

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Practice questions

1. Gregorian chant is

monophonic and unaccompanied
polyphonic
accompanied by organ
in 4/4 time

Show answer

A: monophonic and unaccompanied
Single melodic line, free rhythm.

2. Guido of Arezzo is associated with

the invention of the piano
opera
the fugue
staff notation and solmisation

Show answer

D: staff notation and solmisation
Early 11th century.

3. The first surviving opera, Euridice (1600), was by

Handel
Purcell
Jacopo Peri
Monteverdi

Show answer

C: Jacopo Peri
Peri’s earlier Dafne is mostly lost.

4. Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo was first performed in

1750
1607
1600
1685

Show answer

B: 1607
At Mantua.

5. Machaut’s Messe de Nostre Dame is

the earliest complete Mass Ordinary by one composer
an opera
an oratorio
a symphony

Show answer

A: the earliest complete Mass Ordinary by one composer
14th century, Ars nova.

Key words

Plainchant: Single-line unaccompanied church melody.
Mode: Scale pattern used before major/minor.
Neume: Early sign showing melodic shape.
Organum: Early polyphony adding a voice to chant.
Polyphony: Several independent melodies together.
A cappella: Voices without instruments.
Motet: Short sacred choral work.
Madrigal: Secular part-song with word painting.
Basso continuo: Bass line plus keyboard chords.
Figured bass: Numbers showing chords above a bass.
Ground bass: Repeating bass pattern.
Ritornello: Returning tutti theme in a concerto.

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