Scholasticism:

Dominant method of critical thought of the academics ("scholastics") of universities 1100 to 1700 AD; closely associated with the rise of the 12th & 13th century schools that became the earliest modern universities in Italy, France, Spain & England.  Also a program using that method to defend dogma in an increasingly pluralistic context.  It is not a philosophy or theology but a method of learning, emphasising dialectical reasoning to extend knowledge by inference & resolve contradictions.  It began as an attempt to harmonize the various Christian authorities & reconcile theology with classical & late antiquity philosophy (notably Aristotle & Neo-Platonism).  Its greatest figures include Anselm of Canterbury (the "father of scholasticism"), Peter Abelard, Duns Scotus, William of Ockham & Thomas Aquinas (his Summa Theologica the pinnacle of scholastic, medieval & Christian philosophy).

 

Mysticism:

In early Christianity the term mystikos referred to 3 dimensions: the biblical (finding hidden interpretations), the liturgical (mystery of the Eucharist) & the spiritual (contemplative knowledge of God).  A mystical element of Christianity has existed since the time of Jesus but always on the margins of the church.  In the 4th & 5th centuries, as Christianity became the dominant religion in the Roman empire, the mystics & contemplatives, retreated from the cities into the deserts & wilderness.  These “Desert Fathers and Mothers” were the founders of the first monasteries — intentional communities of people who came together to live in perpetual prayer and meditation. By the middle ages, Christian mystics were, for the most part, found only in the monasteries and convents.  The High Middle Ages saw a flourishing of mystical practice and theorization corresponding to the flourishing of new monastic orders, with such figures as Guigo II, Hildegard of Bingen, Bernard of Clairvaux, the Victorines, all coming from different orders, as well as the first real flowering of popular piety among the laypeople.

 

Seine and Scheldt (home of the Gothic):  * see Endnote<A>

The region in western Europe Spengler identifies as the birthplace of the Gothic, the ruling style during the Spring of the Faustian Soul.

 

Fauxbourdon:

French for false drone – is a technique of musical harmonisation used in the late Middle Ages & early Renaissance, particularly by composers of the Burgundian School.  Guillaume Dufay was a prominent practitioner of the form (as was John Dunstaple), and may have been its inventor. The homophony and mostly parallel harmony allows the text of the mostly liturgical lyrics to be understood clearly.

 

Discant (Romanesque style):

originated as a style of liturgical setting in the Middle Ages, associated with the development of the Notre Dame school of polyphony.  In origin, it is a style of organum that either includes a plainchant tenor part (usually on a melisma in the chant) or is used without a plainchant basis in conductus, in either case with a "note against note" upper voice, moving in contrary motion.   It is not a musical form, but rather a technique.

 

Nicholas of Oresme (Introduction of co-ordinates):

See Chapter II page 67

 

rinascita:

Italian  for rebirth

 

reformatio:

Latin for the Reformation; a reference to the 12th century Renaissance, a time of significant change leading to social, political & economic transformations as well as an intellectual revitalization with strong philosophic & scientific roots; it paved the way for later achievements in the 15th century & scientific development in the 17th century.  It was proceeded by 2 earlier renaissances, which collectively are seen as occurring in 3 phases: the Carolingian Renaissance (8th & 9th centuries), Ottonian Renaissance (10th century) and the 12th century renaissance.  All were characterised by significant cultural renewal across medieval Western Europe.

 

Joachim of Floris:

See Chapter I page 19

 

troubadours: * see endnote<B>

composer & performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry in the High Middle Ages (1100–1350); roots in Occitania, historical region & a nation in southern Europe where Occitan was historically the main language spoken, encompasses the southern third of France, part of Catalonia & parts of NW Italy; it subsequently spread to Italy and Spain.  Under the influence of the troubadours, related movements sprang up throughout Europe: the Minnesang in Germany, trovadorismo in Galicia and Portugal, and that of the trouvères in N. France. Dante Alighieri in his De vulgari eloquentia defined the troubadour lyric as rhetorical, musical, and poetical fiction.  After the "classical" period around the turn of the 13th century & a mid-century resurgence, the art of the troubadours declined in the 14th century.  It died out at the time of the Black Death (1348).

 

Minnesanger:

German for "love song", a tradition of lyric- & song-writing in Germany that flourished in the 12th to 14th centuries.  Those who write & performed Minnesang were called Minnesänger.  Their main theme was love.  They were similar to the Provençal troubadours and N. French trouvères in that they wrote love poetry in the tradition of courtly love.

 

minstrels:

medieval European entertainer, originally any type of entertainer (musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool);initially, they were simply treats at court & entertained the lord and courtiers with chansons de geste or their local equivalent.  They performed songs of distant places or of existing or imaginary historical events.  Although minstrels created their own tales, often they would memorize and embellish the works of others.  From the 16th century, the term referred to a specialist entertainer who sang songs and played musical instruments.  As the courts became more sophisticated, minstrels were eventually replaced at court by the troubadours, and many became wandering minstrels, performing in the streets; a decline in their popularity began in the late 15th century.

 

ars nova:

Latin for new art, a musical style popular in France and the Burgundian Low Countries in the Late Middle Ages, especially between 1310s and 1377; often used more generally to refer to all European polyphonic music of the 14th century.  The "ars" can be read as "technique", or "style".  The term was first used in two musical treatises, titled Ars novae musicae (New Technique of Music) (1320) by Johannes de Muris, and a collection of writings (1322) attributed to Philippe de Vitry often simply called "Ars nova"

 

Provence: * see Endnote <C>

a region in SE France, on the Mediterranean; an independent province until 1482; famous for medieval poetry & courtly traditions.  With the expulsion of the Scarceness (973) & following the Crusades, international commerce began again in the Mediterranean.  Marseille flourished, a new city Saint-Gilles, became a transit point for cloth & spices, Tarascon & Avignon on the Rhone became important trading ports.  The 12th century saw the construction of important cathedrals & abbeys (Aix Cathedral, the Church of St. Trophime in Arle and Montmajour Abbey) in a new style, the Romanesque which united the Gallo-Roman style of the Rhone Valley with the Lombard style of the Alps In 1309, Pope Clement V moved the Papacy to Avignon in Provence.  The popes would reside here until 1423 when they returned to Rome.  Pope Benedict XII built the Papal Palace in Avignon & Clement VI built the New Palace; together the Palais des Papes was the largest gothic palace in Europe.

 

Tuscan patricians (circ 1300): * see Endndote<D>

In the late Medieval period many Italian city states came under the control of lords or signore, in effect 1 man dictatorships.  They replaced older republican institutions either by force or by agreement. It was the characteristic form of government in Italy from the middle of the 13th century until the beginning of the 16th century.  The earliest signori in Tuscany were the condottieri (mercenary generals) Uguccione della Faggiuola at Pisa and Lucca (1313–16), and Castruccio Castracani, also at Lucca (1320–28).

 

Dante:

See Chapter I, pages 14, 20, Chapter II pages 81, 85, Chapter IV page 142, Chapter VI page 183

 

Petrach:

see Chapter III, page 110

 

Major and minor:

In Western music, the adjectives major and minor can describe a musical composition, movement, section, scale, key, chord, or interval.

 

canzoni:

Italian for "song"; it is n Italian or Provençal song or ballad; also used to describe a type of lyric which resembles a madrigal.  Sometimes a composition which is simple and songlike is designated as a canzone, especially if it is by a non-Italian; a good example is the aria "Voi che sapete" from Mozart's Marriage of Figaro.

 

madrigals:

vocal chamber music originated 14th century in N. Italy; almost disappeared in the 15th, re-born in 16th, going on to achieve international status late 16th & early 17th centuries.  Madrigal comes from the Latin matricale (meaning “in the mother tongue”) as Italian not Latin was used to sing the texts.  Traditionally, polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from 2 to 8, frequently 3 to 6.  The 14th-century madrigal is based on a constant poetic form of 2 or 3 stanzas 3 lines each, with 7 or 11 syllables per line, often set polyphonically (using more than one voice part) in 2 parts, the musical form reflects the structure of the poem.  In the madrigal, the composer attempted to express the emotion contained in each line, and sometimes individual words, of a celebrated poem. Francesco Landini of Florence is considered the greatest madrigal composer of the 14th century.

 

caccias:

one of the principal Italian musical forms of the 14th century; it consisted of 2 voices in strict canon at the unison (i.e., in strict melodic imitation at the same pitch), and often of a non-canonic third part, composed of long notes that underlay the canonic voices, followed by a ritornello.  Caccia texts were typically realistic, animated scenes such as the hunt or the marketplace, and horn calls, bird calls, shouts, and dialogue frequently animated the musical settings.

 

galante operetta:

Italian for gallant, brave or chivalrous; a short opera, usually of a light and amusing character.

 

Adam de la Hale:

French-born trouvère, poet & musician; his literary & musical works include chansons and poetic debates in the style of the trouvères; polyphonic rondel and motets in the style of early liturgical polyphony; and a musical play.  He was a member of the Confrérie des jongleurs et bourgeois d'Arras; most work was Robin and Marion (see below).

 

Robin and Marion:

aka Le Jeu de Robin et de Marion, earliest French secular play with music, 1282,  by Adam de la Halle; written for Charles I of Naples, first performed at the Angevin Court around this time.  He originally went to Naples in the service of Robert II of Artois.  The genre was particularly poignant for those members of the court homesick for France.  The story is a dramatization of a traditional genre of medieval French song, the pastourelle.  It tells of an encounter between a knight & a shepherdess (Marion).  This version places emphasis on the activities of Marion, her lover Robin & their friends after she resists the knight's advances.

 

rondeau:

form of medieval & Renaissance French poetry, as well as the corresponding musical chanson form. Together with the ballade and the virelai, considered 1 of 3 formes fixes, and 1 of the verse forms most commonly set to music late 13th to 15th century.  It is structured around a fixed pattern of repetition of material involving a refrain.  It originated in dance songs involving alternating singing of the refrain elements by a group & of the other lines by a soloist.

 

ballad:

form of verse, often narrative set to music, derived from the medieval French chanson balladée or ballade, which were originally "danced songs"; particularly characteristic of the popular poetry & song of the British Isles from the later medieval period until the 19th century. They were widely used across Europe. Ballads are often 13 lines with an ABABBCBC form, consisting of couplets (two lines) of rhymed verse, each of 14 syllables. Another common form is ABAB or ABCB repeated, in alternating 8 and 6 syllable lines.

 

melodic inventiveness:

The Faustian Souls ability to create melody as a product of its own ingenuity, experimentation & contrivance.  Melody is a linear succession of musical tones the listener perceives as a single entity; a combination of pitch & rhythm, while more figuratively, the term can include successions of other musical elements such as tonal colour.  

 

Linear progress (symbolism):

Faustian music reflects the Faustian Soul’s will to the infinite, the will to extension & space.

 

impromptu:

improvised; having the character of an improvisation.

 

polyphony:

see above page 228

 

folk –melodies:

aka folk music, folk song, folk dance, a modern expression, an extensions of the term folklore, coined in 1846 by the English antiquarian William Thoms to describe "the traditions, customs, and superstitions of the uncultured classes".  Also derives from the German expression volk, in the sense of "the people as a whole" as used by Herder and the German Romantics in the late 18th century.  A precise definition is elusive. It may tend to have certain characteristics but it cannot clearly be differentiated in purely musical terms.  One meaning often given is that of "old songs, with no known composers.