


THE CENTER OF POLYPHONIC MUSIC IN EUROPE AFTER 1150 WAS PROFESSIONAL
Improvising performances is pretty common among professional musicians.Īccording to historians, polyphony relates to the development of human cultural music and the earlier stages of human evolution, the Homo erectus and Homo heidelbergensis. Another example is the Winchester Troper, from C.1000 A.D, the oldest known extant example of chant polyphony.Ĭompared to monophony and homophony, polyphony is mostly improvised during the performance. These treatises utilize two-voice note-against-note chant embellishments with parallel octaves, fifths, and fourths. Although unknown, the oldest written examples of polyphony are the treatises Musica enchiriadis and Scolica enchiriadis, both of which date back to C.900 A.D. The origins of polyphony are the subject of many debates. Origin and History of PolyphonyĪlthough widely distributed across all known countries in the world, polyphony’s most significant influence is in regions of sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and Oceania. Polyphony is often associated with Renaissance music and Baroque forms, such as fugue. It’s believed to be the least popular among all three textures. Polyphony, also known as a counterpoint or contrapuntal music, is a formal musical texture that contains at least two or more lines of independent melody. Types of Polyphonic Textures What Is Polyphony in Music?
