Study the Composers- Link Up!

Join the new link up for Composer Study! You don't have to make a long post (actually you could just browse what others are doing for ideas if you aren't quite ready to 'commit' to Composer Study) just post what you do for Composer Study in your homeschool. The purpose is to give us accountability to get it done in our homes :) 

We use Ambleside Online curriculum mostly and as a Charlotte Mason method of schooling (way of life, really) they advocate the inclusion of Composer Study. We are in our 2 1/2 year of trying to use CM/AO and this is the first year we will include Composer Study on a regular basis (I hope).

From Timberdoodle and Bright Ideas Press I was given The Young Scholar’s Guide to Composers to review.

This week we have been listening to and learning about Gregorian Chants (Ancient Music to Music of the Middle Ages). There were some suggested selections on YouTube and we also looked at others by Googling “Gregorian Chants”.

Saint Gregory, Pope from 590-604, standardized the chants that before were different for different churches throughout Europe. The music that was allowed in the churches followed 3 rules:

1. Must remind the listener of divine and perfect beauty.
2. Must be a servant of religion and instruments were not allowed because words were needed to teach Christian thoughts.
3. No pagan influences- large choruses, “happy” melodies, dancing.

After the music was standardized, they were now sung in unison, used no instruments, were non-metrical, and they smoothly progressed (no jumps from high to low notes, or vice versa). The chants were also sung in Latin except for the Kyrie, which is Greek.

Because we have never been in a Catholic, Angelican or Lutheran church the kids and I were rather unexposed to this type of beautiful music. The closest we’ve gotten is the perhaps the modern music group that I cannot even recall (it was popular in the late 1990s…)

I read the lesson out loud and the kids ‘took notes’ with the “Note-taking Pages” that are included with The Young Scholar’s Guide to Composers.

We listened to:

We recently learned what Agnus Dei means while studying Latin. It is so nice to make the connections in other areas of learning. And although it has been a little while, we studied about Saint Gregory from Saints & Heroes (available to read online at Mainlesson.com).

 

Salve Regina

 

Dies Irae

We plan to listen to these again today (yes, it's already later...but never too late to listen to such beauty) and then tomorrow. Lee said that they all sound the same. But I do think that was the intent. The words are different but the pattern are often the same or similar. They were ‘standardized’. Even though we don’t know what all the words mean, the music is beautiful and they ask to listen to it again and again.

Next week we move on to Music in the Renaissance (circa 1350-1620).