Music in the Medieval World
by Albert Seay
Period: Medieval
Born: c. 0995 in Paris, France
Died: c. 1050 in Avellano, France
Nation of Origin: France/Italy
Major Works:
Micrologus de disciplina artis musicae (a theoretical work
describing the music of Guido's time) (1025)
Other Information:
It is likely that Guido was born in France. He served as a
Benedictine monk then traveled in 1025 to work for Bishop Theobald
in Arezzo, Italy where he lived for some years. Although Guido was
not a composer, he is included here because his contributions as an
early music theorist made it possible for early composers to begin
recording their work in manuscript. Around 1025 Guido created a
system of musical notation using a 4-line staff which has evolved
into the system we use today. The importance of this work is
enormous. Before Guido's invention of musical notation, every
singer had to memorize the entire chant repertoire. Those singers
then went on to teach the next generation. Small errors in memory
or differences of taste caused the chants to change over the years
and no two singers would learn a chant precisely the same way.
Notation made it possible to record a chant in a definitive form
for posterity and easier communication. Guido's last recorded
activity is in 1033. His actual death date is unknown.
Guido also created the system of solmisation using the syllables
ut, re, mi, fa, sol, and la. The six syllables were derived from
the first syllables of each of the first six phrases of the text of
a hymn to St. John the Baptist ("Ut queant laxis", "Resonare
fibris", "Mira gestorum", "Famuli tuorum", "Solve polluti", and
"Labii reatum"). The first phrase of the hymn begins on c and each
of the other phrases begins one scale degree higher than its
predecessor. The syllable "ut" is still used in France but "do" is
used almost everywhere else. Guido discovered that using syllables
to teach chants made it possible for his singers to learn new
chants more quickly. He even created a method to teach the
syllables by pointing to sections of his hand. The "Guidonian Hand"
has been immortalized in numerous illustrations and was used widely
as a teaching tool. Guido's innovative teaching methods even
garnered attention from the Papacy in Rome where he gave a
demonstration of his teaching techniques to Pope John XIX in
1028.
Composer Bibliography:
Apel, Willi, The Notation of Polyphonic Music 900-1600, 5th
ed., Mediaeval Academy of America, 1961, ASIN: 0910956154
General Bibliography:
Kennedy, Michael, The Oxford Dictionary of
Music, Oxford University Press, 2nd Edition, 1997, ISBN:
0198691629
Reese, Gustave, Music in the Middle Ages : With
an Introduction on the Music of Ancient Times, W.W. Norton
& Company, October 1940, ISBN: 0393097501
Sachs, Curt, The Rise of Music in the Ancient
World , W. W. Norton & Company, 1943, ASIN:
0393097188
Sadie, Stanley and Tyrrell, John; Editors, The New Grove
Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Groves Dictionaries, Inc.,
January 2001, ISBN: 1561592390
Slonimsky, Nicolas and Kuhn, Laura; Editors,
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Gale Group,
December 2000, ISBN: 0028655257
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