During the Middle
Ages religion was very important in Europeans' every day life. There wasn't
any church ceremony and celebration without music.
A choir, the only instrument
being the organ, usually performed the church songs. A German nun, Hildegard
von Bingen (1098-1179) is known as being one of the first composers. She
wrote many religious poems with a simple melodic line.
During the late 19th century
composers began to write two or more melodic lines sung in the same time.
This style is named polyphony. The musical notes being to be written during
the Middle Ages. At the beginning the notes were written above words, but
later they were put on the staff.
During Middle Ages music
was used for fun and entertainment too. Men and women called minstrels,
used to scour from one place to another, accompanying their voice with
an instrument. Later some noble men became famous poets and composers known
in France as "troubadours" and in Germany as "Minnesinger".
The new art appears in the
14th century at the same time with Guillame de Machaut (1300-1377). The
rhythm of the music was more complicated and the melody was bolder.
