MH247 Midterm Supplemental ExamInstructions: In order to receive
an extra ten points on your Midterm Exam, you must complete all of
the following questions correctly. Please read these instructions
very carefully
1. No wiki sources. Please use Grove Music Online:
(http://www.rider.edu/academics/libraries/research-information/databases-indexes/alphabetical-list-databases/grove-music-o)
or another reputable music dictionary. Please cite the sources that
you use to complete this assignment. (If you are just using your
notes or the slides, no need to cite.)
2. Answers must be in your own words (paraphrase and summarize).
Do not cut and paste definitions from online sources. Each answer
should be in prose form (not bullet points).
3. You must work alone. No collaboration for this
assignment.
4. Please type your information into this word document.
5. The assignment must be submitted via Canvas on Turnitin by
Wednesday November 5th at 1:00pm. Please save and upload the file
in pdf or word format.
Optional:
If you believe your exam score was calculated incorrectly or you
would like me to reconsider your score on a specific question,
please write a rationale at the end of this assignment. (I will
also need you to temporarily return your exam on Wednesday if you
choose this option.)
Midterm Supplemental Exam
Name: Brian Blackburn
1. Define these terms:
a. homorhythmic When all parts move together in the same rhythm
(Oxford Music Online)b. isorhythmic motet Use of
long-short-long-short rhythms in patterns of three in early
motets.c. pan-isorhythmic The work contains an often repeated
rhythmic phrase.d. polyrhythmic Each voice has an independent
rhythm2. What is the difference between history and historiography?
What are the approaches to the study of music history that we have
discussed in class? (In other words, how do Bergeron, the Monks of
Solesmes, Roesner, and Bloxam and Bull study music histories? What
are their methods? What are their sources?
In history, one studies the events that took place in the past.
On the other hand, historiography is the study of the historical
events as they were studied by predecessors. The Monks of Solesmes
worked in a highly analytical manner, scouring their vast resources
to collect primary documents from which they did their research.
However, this is not the only (or even standard) approach to
historiography. Bloxam and Bull used a combination of primary and
secondary sources to recreate Obrechts Mass for Saint Donation.
This approach is more common, as it serves the true purpose of
historiography, which is to study what other people said about the
subject the modern person wants to study.3. What is the difference
between sacred and secular music?In sacred music, the actions and
performance of the musician is directed toward a higher purpose
within religion. In secular music, while it can be about a deity,
it generally is a more approachable topic, such as; love, life,
death, and/or sex.4. Describe the music-stylistic traits of
troubadour music. (Use Can Vei la Lauzeta Mover as an example.)
What was the role of instruments in troubadour music? The music of
the troubadours is secular in nature, and commonly based itself on
the idea of courtly love. Can Vei Lauzeta Mover is an example of a
canso, which is the highest form of troubadour music, the remaining
two lower forms being estampie and pastorello. Instruments in
troubadour music were never fully integrated (most pieces
attributed to the troubadours do not have written instrumental
parts). Instead, it is believed that improvisation on top of
existing instrumental music was employed, or vice versa.
5. Describe the music-stylistic traits of trouvre music? (Use
one of the Adam de la Halle pieces as an example.) What was the
role of instruments in trouvre music? The music of the trouvres can
be split into three major genres: ballade, virelai, and rondeau. Je
muir, Je muir damourete is an example of a rondeau, which is in
AB-aAab-AB form. The virelai was normally three verses and a
refrain, which contrasted the ballade, which was AAB. In terms of
instruments, their use is just as misunderstood as their use by the
troubadours, but it is commonly believed that the polyphonic music
of the trouvres may have included an instrument or two.
6. What is a drone?(To be read in the style of a British
documentary narrator): The average drone makes its home in the
tenor line of a piece, where it remains stationary on a fixed note
for an extended period of time. If it does move, it follows the
path of the sloth, where it only moves every once in a while, and
not very fast or far at that. 7. If you were to look at modern
scores for a polyphonic chanson, organum, and a motet, how would
you tell the difference between them? What are the music-stylistic
traits of each genre? What are their similarities and differences.
(Use Perotins Viderunt omnes, Machauts Rose, Liz, and Dufays Nuper
Rosarum Flores to answer this question. Fill out the chart below
and then discuss:
PieceGenreMelodyRhythmTextureHarmonyFormText
Perotin Viderunt OmnesOrganumMelismatic
IsorhythmicOpulently ornate, with a side of flowing
undertonesSedentary tenor line (picks up in the discantus
sections), moving melodyAlternates
between purum and piscantusSacred
Machaut Rose, LizChansonMelismatic with a generally wider
ambitusPolyrhythmicIndependently voiced, with more layersPrimarily
open fifths with a moving tenor line Rondeau (ABaAabAB)
Secular
Dufay, Nuper Rosarum Flores 15th century
MotetNeumaticPolyrhythmic and isoperiodicContinuous motion overall,
with more movement in partsStill maintaining structure of open
fifths, sounds more consonantMotetSacred
Works Cited
"homorhythm." The Oxford Companion to Music. Ed. Alison Latham.
Oxford Music
Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 5 Nov. 2014. .21
