Old Mary Church

Everyone loves music of many sorts. But where did music originally come from? Music originated from the church. Many people seem to have forgotten that with rap, rock, and pop dominating the airwaves. Gospel music is not as popular as it once was in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. But in those times, that was all the people had to listen to if they wanted music so badly. “Alleluia: Vidimus Stellam” by anon. and “Ave Maria… Virgo Serena” by Josquin Desprez are two examples of the church’s finest contribution to music from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance respectively.

The Middle Ages were an interesting period. Too often is it glamorized with princesses, knights, and kings. That is only on the surface. The Middle Ages were three things: Religion, superstition, and filth. The music on that time was focused on religion in the beginning. Just like stories in that time period, music was passed down orally. Only around the ninth century did it begin to be written down. The only ones who could write music were pretty-well educated monks. They pretty much wrote about one thing: Christianity. “Alleluia: Vidimus Stellam” by anon. is a perfect example of religious music at the time. This was used for the Mass of Epiphany. It sings about Mathew 2:2. The story basically goes like this: Jesus is born to save the people of their sins. The wise men go to see this baby. They stop by King Herod to ask for directions. The passage quotes, “Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:2 KJV) The monks sing about this moment through Gregorian chants.

“Alleluia: Vidimus Stellam” is pretty simple in a complex package. The title translates into “We Have Seen His Star.” There are no instruments involved. Musical instruments were of Pagan and of the devil to them. (Which is ironic because most of Christianity came from Pagan traditions.) However, there was only one instrument that was the exception to the rule. Monks were allowed to use the human voice. Back then, music had to be in only one style. “Alleluia: Vidimus Stellam” is sung in form terrory, an A-B-A form. The Alleluia of the song is the A parts and Mathew 2:2 is the B part of the song. Songs in the Middle Ages were put into triple meters for the holy trinity. Melody was the only thing accepted in music. Music had to be one perfect little row all together. Harmony, dynamics, and rhythm did not exist just yet. Melisma was a musical device used to express the joy of Jesus’ birth and other moments of happiness in the Bible. Just like church and the Bible, music was designed to by pure and holy to the fullest. To this day, one feels like they are in a church when they hear “Alleluia: Vidimus Stellam.”

After the Middle Ages, came the Bubonic Plague. With the plague came the Renaissance age. This was a time for new thinking and new methods of doing things. From this magical period sprung up the middle class. Gutenburg invented the printing press. Music was one of the many things to change drastically. Despite the different ideas about how the art should be exercised, the church still stood firm in music. Voice was still the number one instrument of choice. But this time, different instruments accompanied the voice as well. However, that was all that they were. Other instruments were not important and just for accompaniment. Dynamics and rhythm were added to music, but only to be gentle and not drastic. Pitch range was only octaves and a bass register was invented. The only harmony was a triad. That made the music sound fuller.

“Ave Maria… Virgo Serena” by Josquin Desprez is a fine example from the Renaissance period. This song celebrates the Virgin Mary. It is solema plena gaudio which means full of great jubilation. The choir are celebrating the Virgin Mary and all of her divine glory. Each segment had a different musical treatment to it. “Ave Maria… Virgo Serena” is homophonic which uses four voices in rhythmic union. The song also had boy sopranos in it. This is one of the first songs to have a part for a soprano. “Ave Maria… Virgo Serena” also had an antiquated style to it. That made the song sound very wise. Josquin’s piece would be considered motet or a sacred genre. Like “Alleluia: Vidimus Stellam,” “Ave Maria… Virgo Serena” makes one still feel like they are in church.

Many people have forgotten that music first came from the church. Without the church, Europeans wouldn’t have music. But church music seems to have faded into the background. Even though it is not as popular as it once was, music from the church will never really go away for forever. It is the root of all music.

Works Cited

Holy Bible (King James Version & Amplified Version)