Medieval music in England

English music of medieval ages stood in contrast to the continental music, as it was often inspired by folk music. In short, the English composers prefered major tonality (not modes) and stronger harmonic voicings (not independent lines), which gave a richer texture to the music. They were also fond of using thirds and sixths, much more abundantly than the continental composers.

 Parallell sixths became popular in Europe probably by the influence of the English composers, who were known for their fauxbourdon form of composition  a piece written in two voices, progressing in parallell sixths with a touch of octaves (that also began and ended the music). However, when the composition was performed, a third voice was added, and sung a fourth below the melody in the highest voice. If we put all the notes together vertically, we get a kind of progression of chords of 1st inversion, but the melody is by no means filled with root notes. This style of composition was still a free harmonic adventure, since the harmony of chords with roots was not invented yet. It is also notale that the melody is arranged for the highest voice, something we find natural, but not so for the continental composers of medieval period who put cantus firmus in the middle or lower voices!

 Such chord work  sounds good on guitar, both acoustic and distorted! Try to play the following simple arrangement on an acoustic guitar, maybe with some nice extra effects, e.g. chorus. Also, if played distorted, the voicings sound best at the lower, thick strings. Observe that the first chord in this example is a common power chord 1-5th-8, with a slight twist. Playing in tonality also requires different finger shapes for major, minor and diminshed triads, and on different string sets (if you prepare to think in the modern way, which is OK).

 A great representative of English music of the Middle Ages is John Dunstable. His works, including the antiphon Quam pulcra es, are characterized by voices of equal importance, often moving to the same rhythm and singing the same syllables. The naturally stronger syllables, as we use to pronounce in a daily language, were emphasized by musical means  longer notes, strong beats etc. Actually, this technique is one of the basic songwriting techniques today! He also prefered not to stick to the boundaries  of preconceived ideas of cantus firmus or isorhythmics. Instead, he chose to create freely sounding voices, in solid harmonic blocks. Which techniques are best? It is a matter of taste, as always, and we strongly encourage to try everything before deciding what to like and dislike.

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