Music of the Middle Ages was very popular during times of celebration and partys. During weddings and birthdays, for weddings and on Valentine's Day, this music was played so that was sure to evoke a romantic atmosphere. This type of music was called "chivaree." Many different Medieval musical instruments were played, including:
- Recorders
- Horns
- Trumpets
- Whistles
- Bells
- and drums.
During Christmas, the sound of bells brought the good news of Jesus' birth to the listeners. People during the Middle Ages also ate to the sound of traditional music during and between meal courses. They would also, at times play from a specially-built platform or stage at the end of the Great Hall.
Genres
- In this era, music was both sacred and secular
- Although almost no early secular music has survived
- Notation was a relatively late development, reconstruction of this music
- Especially before the 12th century, is currently a matter of conjecture (see authentic performance)
Early chant traditions
Chant developed separately in several European centers.
The most important were Rome, Spain, Gaul, Milan, and Ireland but there were others as well.
These chants were all developed to support the regional liturgies used when celebrating the Mass there.
Each area developed its own chants and rules for celebration.
In Spain, Mozarabic chant was used and shows the influence of North African music.
The Mozarabic liturgy even survived through Muslim rule, though this was an isolated strand and this music was later suppressed in an attempt to enforce conformity on the entire liturgy.
In Milan, Ambrosian chant, named after St. Ambrose, was the standard, while Beneventan chant developed around Benevento, another Italian liturgical center.
Gallican chant was used in Gaul, and Celtic chant in Ireland and Great Britain.
Around 1011 AD, the Roman Catholic Church wanted to standardize the Mass and chant.
At this time, Rome was the religious center of Western Europe, and Paris was the political center.
The standardization effort consisted mainly of combining these two (Roman and Gallican) regional liturgies.
This body of chant became known as Gregorian Chant.
By the 12th and 13th centuries, Gregorian chant had superseded all the other Western chant traditions, with the exception of the Ambrosian chant in Milan, and the Mozarabic chant in a few specially designated Spanish chapels.
Early Medieval composers
(Born before 1150)
Armenian
Byzantine
