3. Medieval musical textures 8. EXPLAIN whether there is one or more melodic lines in these pieces. ➔ Viderunt Omnes by Léonin. ➔ Lux Aeterna, anonymous. The musical texture is the way the different melodic lines are combined in a composition. Each of the melodic lines , also called voices , can be per formed by a single voice or instr ument , or by several at once (in unison). In the Middle Ages there were two main t y pes of musical tex ture: monophony polyphony It consists of a single voice. It's performed by a single musician (singer or instrumentalist) or by several in unison. It consists of several voices, independent of each other, that perform in unison. It's performed by several musicians or by a polyphonic instrument (one that can play several notes at once and, therefore, several melodic lines). 9. SAY which drawing represents a monophony and which one a polyphony. 1 2 The first medieval polyphonic textures were ver y simple, but they became more complex over time and the different voices became more independent . 10. CREATE and perform different types of polyphonic texture. 43 & ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ Œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙™ ➔ Add another voice, using only the note La or A and dotted minims tied together. ➔ Add another voice that starts with the note Fa or F and moves in parallel with the f irst voice. ➔ Add another voice that begins with the note La or A and moves in the opposite direction to the f irst voice (in contrar y motion). Remember The distance between two notes is called the interval. We measure inter vals in tones and half-tones, also called semitones. Rhythmic instruments can only play rhythms; melodic or monophonic instruments can play melodies, and harmonic or polyphonic instruments can play several different melodies at the same time. 10 I The Middle Ages
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