Professional Musicians
Content
1 Professional Musicians Through the Ages People have been making music since the beginning of time, and we have always had the desire to be hear and enjoy music. Professional musicians are mentioned in the earliest recorded histories, having used their musical skills for entertainment, worship, communication, and health benefits. The life and social status of a professional musician has changed a lot throughout history. However, there are some things that remain the same. The biblical King David, whose life story is told in the Old Testament of the Bible, is one of the earliest known professional musicians. He started out as a shepherd in Israel, which was nearly the lowliest job of the day. While he watched his father’s sheep, he would play his harp and write songs to God. The book of Psalms is made up of songs of worship, joy, and distress that were mostly written by David. When he was a teenager, David was hired by the king of Israel, King Saul, to be his personal musician. King Saul was troubled by a “distressing spirit,” so someone suggested that he find a musician to help him when he was troubled. 1 Samuel 16:17-23 tells the story: So Saul said to his servants, “Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.” Then one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the LORD is with him.” Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.”...And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him.1
1
1 Samuel 16:17-23 NKJV
2 David was a hired musician-in-residence at the court of King Saul, available to play whatever the king wanted, whenever he asked for it. Many years later, when David was king himself, he hired a group of musicians to play at the tabernacle, where they believed God lived, to worship God every day. This is described in 1 Chronicles 6:31-32, which says, "Now these are the men whom David appointed over the service of song in the house of the LORD, after the ark came to rest. They were ministering with music before the dwelling place of the tabernacle of meeting, until Solomon had built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they served in their office according to their order."2 The Israelite nation also had musicians who would go with their armies into war, so they could continue to be giving praise to God with music throughout the battle, wherever they were. When they were worshiping God during war, God would often cause their enemies to be miraculously defeated.3 The social status of a professional musician has varied throughout history depending on time and place and is still changing today. We have record of musicians in ancient times employed in courts and palaces, like David was, but we also have records of musicians who were slaves. According to Romain Goldron in his book Minstrels and Masters, there were slave musicians for sale in Rome as late as A.D. 385.4 During the Middle Ages, however, the professional musician really began to emerge and make a place for himself in society. Medieval society consisted of three main social classes: nobles, clergy, and peasants. The nobility, which included knights, were the ones who fought the wars and had control of the land, including the peasants who worked the land. The clergy included priests, monks, and nuns, who prayed and worked in the churches, but didn't really do much in the way of socializing. As the
2 3
1 Chron. 6:31-32 NKJV 2 Chron. 20:20-22 4 Romain Goldron, Minstrels and Masters (H. S. Stuttman Company, 1968), 12.
3 Middle Ages progressed, a new middle class emerged that included doctors, lawyers, merchants, and artisans. In his essay, "The Social Status of the Musician in the Middle Ages," Walter Salmen notes that “in the late Middle Ages, [social] status according to profession replaced status according to birth.”5 During this time period, the courts became the center for culture and entertainment in Europe. There developed a set of rules governing proper courtly behavior, which included dress, body language, and manner of speaking. Dancing was a common diversion and a way for men and women to interact within their system of strict rules. Musicians were hired to provide music for dancing as well as to entertain with singing, telling stories, playing instruments, or a combination of those things. There are many different words for professional musicians during this time, and most of them mean basically the same thing but have slightly different connotations. The musician-poets of France who emerged in the eleventh and twelfth centuries were called troubadours or trouvères. In England, the minstrels and jongleurs were popular entertainers in courts and villages. The influence of the troubadours also spread to Germany, where the minnesingers or meistersingers wrote and sang in Medieval German. The secular musicians of this time greatly advanced the popularity of secular music as well as the spread of new languages in Europe, especially in France. Up to this point, Latin was the standard language for nearly everyone, and especially in literature and song. Albert Seay, in his book, Music in the Medieval World, remarks that Latin became less commonly used as the general form of communication for all levels of society, partly due to the introduction of new
5
Walter Salmen, “The Social Status of the musician in the Middle Ages,” in The Social Status of the Professional Musician from the Middle Ages to the 19th Century, ed. Walter Salmen, trans. Herbert Kaufman and Barbara Reisner (New York: Pendragon Press, 1983), 5.
4 languages by invaders.6 Although Latin remained the language of the Church and educated society, other languages became more prominent and widely used for those who weren’t either nobility or clergy.7 The troubadours of Southern France used the language of Provençal, a dialect of Occitan, or langue d'oc, and the musicians from Northern France who wrote in Old French, or langue d'oïl, were known as trouvères. The term troubadour, however, is widely used to refer to any of the poet-musicians of Medieval France. The troubadours usually wrote their own songs to perform. They were known to travel frequently and perform at different courts, castles, or villages for all kinds of events. They would provide entertainment or dance music for weddings, tournaments, elections, civil ceremonies, or even the visit of a distinguished guest, so a troubadour would often write music to fit the occasion.8 Most of the troubadour songs were not written down, especially the melodies, so there was frequently much variation among different performances of the same song. Mary O’Neill, in her book, Courtly Love Songs of Medieval France, points out that even when melodies were written down, different manuscripts would quite often have differing versions of the same melody.9 The main theme of the poetry of the troubadours was fin' amors (in Occitan), or fine amour (in French), which means “courtly love,” or “refined love.” This courtly love was idealized love, the object of which was unattainable and usually someone else's spouse. In her book, Eleanor of Aquitane, Courtly Love, and the Troubadours, Ffiona Swabey states that “courtly love was believed to be a medieval code of love that originated with the troubadours and described the amorous behavior of aristocratic ladies and their lovers.” Also, courtly love
6 7
Albert Seay, Music in the Medieval World (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1965), 61. ibid. 8 Goldron, 9. 9 Mary O'Neill, Courtly Love Songs of Medieval France (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006), 66.
5 described it as more important to be faithful to one’s lover than one’s husband or wife, and courtly love often portrayed relationships that were adulterous and “bordered on idolatry.”10 There were a few female troubadours, and they were known as trobairitz. Their work was notably different from that of their male counterparts for a few reasons. Women had a unique role in society during the Middle Ages that led to a different perspective on life, different kinds of poetry and different music. The job of a woman in the Middle Ages was mainly to have children, specifically sons, and in general, women were subservient to men. Their poetry and music gives insight into their side of a culture typically seen represented by men. Also, these songwriting women were often the wives, daughters and sisters of the male troubadours. Meg Bogin, in her book, The Women Troubadours, comments that these women were probably very often the objects of the courtly love songs.11 The subject of the poetry of these women was often more realistic and had a more personal tone than that written by the men. Idealized, courtly love was still a common theme, but it was treated with a more realistic viewpoint. The object of their affections was not perfect and above reproach, but rather was often said to be unfaithful or lacking in chivalry.12 The Countess of Dia, or Comtessa de Dia, is one of the most famous of the trobairitz. She was the wife of a nobleman, Lord William of Peitieus, and lived in Die, which is near Orange. According to James Wilhelm’s book, Seven T roubadors: The Creators of Modern Verse, she allegedly wrote love songs for another man with whom she had a love affair, Raimbaut III of Orange, who was a troubadour himself.13 Her song, "A chantar m'er de so que no
10
Ffiona Swabey, Eleanor of Aquitane, Courtly Love, and the Troubadours (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2004), 70. 11 Meg Bogin, The Women Troubadors (New York: Paddington Press, 1976), 64. 12 ibid, 69. 13 James J. Wilhelm, Seven Troubadors: The Creators of Modern Verse (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1970), 133.
6 volria," is the only female-written troubadour song for which the music has survived, and it is the most famous of the songs of the trobairitz.14 The influence of the troubadours spread to Germany during the late twelfth century, and German musicians developed who were very similar to the troubadours in their music and function in society. German musicians of this time included Minnesingers and Meistersingers. The word minnesinger comes from the Middle High German word for love, which, just like the troubadours, was their main subject. The Minnesingers relied heavily upon and imitated many of the French forms, poetic characteristics, and melodies that had already been established. Later Minnesingers developed more individuality, but there was still a reliance on French models. 15 The peak of the Minnesinger art was around the turn of the fourteenth century, and it quickly declined after that. During the early fourteenth century, the Meistersingers emerged. They were a “guild-like organization” whose work was similar to the Minnesingers, but they came mostly from the middle class, whereas the Minnesingers were mostly from the upper class. The focus of the Meistersingers was the writing of new poetry for traditional melodies.16 The Meistersingers lasted until the early nineteenth century. In medieval England, the main professional musician was known as a minstrel or jongleur. According to L. M. Wright in his article "Misconceptions Concerning the Troubadours, Trouvères and Minstrels," the terms are nearly interchangeable, but jongleur has more of a demeaning connotation, whereas minstrel is a more respectful title associated with a reputable
14 15
Bogin, 18. Seay, 68. 16 ibid.
7 craft.17 Although many of them regularly travelled, they were usually either associated with a particular court or had a set schedule of places where they regularly visited and performed. John Southworth, in his book, The English Medieval Minstrel, states, "The origin of the term [minstrel] indicates that the minstrel was associated with a particular court, and by implication with a patron."18 The minstrel also had a uniquely low position in the societal hierarchy. According to Southworth, “It is not just that the status of the minstrel was low; for very many of his contemporaries, he was altogether beyond the pale of social acceptance. In this respect, he was worse off than a serf; if the serf occupied the lowest place in the medieval hierarchy, the minstrel had no place at all.”19 Secular musicians were at one point even excluded from the church, and some towns didn’t even allow them to enter the city and would treat them like criminals.20 However, there were ways that a minstrel could raise his social standing, such as receiving a grant of land, which was possible if he were the servant of the king or one of his magnates, or he could improve himself and get proficient with languages, reading, and writing and then eventually become a clerk, or even a priest.21 But that was not common, and usually musicians were simply stuck with being outcasts because of their profession. As with most of the professional musicians of this time, and even modern times, English professional musicians had to be flexible with what they could do. All of them, but especially those referred to as jongleurs, were general entertainers who could do all sorts of things for entertainment, including telling stories, singing songs, or performing acrobatic tricks. They also
17
L. M. Wright, “Misconceptions concerning the Troubadours, Trouvères and Minstrels,” Music & Letters 48 (1967): 37. 18 John Southworth, The English Medieval Minstrel (Southampton: Camelot Press, 1989), 3. 19 ibid 4 20 ibid 25 21 ibid 5
8 would often help out with other sorts of jobs around the home of their patron, or be a messenger or other type of servant for their employer. During wartime, musicians were often used as messengers, mediators, or even spies, simply because it was something useful that an otherwise scorned musician could do.22 As instruments, composition styles, and culture in general have changed dramatically throughout history, what it’s like to be a professional musician has changed as well. Yet although there have been many changes, there are many ways in which the life of a professional musician remains the same. Musicians today still play for parties, weddings, dances, and even civil events. They still travel often to go to where they can get jobs, and their place in society still varies from the lowest to the highest, in terms of pay as well as reputation.
22
Salmen, 24.
1
1 Samuel 16:17-23 NKJV
2 David was a hired musician-in-residence at the court of King Saul, available to play whatever the king wanted, whenever he asked for it. Many years later, when David was king himself, he hired a group of musicians to play at the tabernacle, where they believed God lived, to worship God every day. This is described in 1 Chronicles 6:31-32, which says, "Now these are the men whom David appointed over the service of song in the house of the LORD, after the ark came to rest. They were ministering with music before the dwelling place of the tabernacle of meeting, until Solomon had built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they served in their office according to their order."2 The Israelite nation also had musicians who would go with their armies into war, so they could continue to be giving praise to God with music throughout the battle, wherever they were. When they were worshiping God during war, God would often cause their enemies to be miraculously defeated.3 The social status of a professional musician has varied throughout history depending on time and place and is still changing today. We have record of musicians in ancient times employed in courts and palaces, like David was, but we also have records of musicians who were slaves. According to Romain Goldron in his book Minstrels and Masters, there were slave musicians for sale in Rome as late as A.D. 385.4 During the Middle Ages, however, the professional musician really began to emerge and make a place for himself in society. Medieval society consisted of three main social classes: nobles, clergy, and peasants. The nobility, which included knights, were the ones who fought the wars and had control of the land, including the peasants who worked the land. The clergy included priests, monks, and nuns, who prayed and worked in the churches, but didn't really do much in the way of socializing. As the
2 3
1 Chron. 6:31-32 NKJV 2 Chron. 20:20-22 4 Romain Goldron, Minstrels and Masters (H. S. Stuttman Company, 1968), 12.
3 Middle Ages progressed, a new middle class emerged that included doctors, lawyers, merchants, and artisans. In his essay, "The Social Status of the Musician in the Middle Ages," Walter Salmen notes that “in the late Middle Ages, [social] status according to profession replaced status according to birth.”5 During this time period, the courts became the center for culture and entertainment in Europe. There developed a set of rules governing proper courtly behavior, which included dress, body language, and manner of speaking. Dancing was a common diversion and a way for men and women to interact within their system of strict rules. Musicians were hired to provide music for dancing as well as to entertain with singing, telling stories, playing instruments, or a combination of those things. There are many different words for professional musicians during this time, and most of them mean basically the same thing but have slightly different connotations. The musician-poets of France who emerged in the eleventh and twelfth centuries were called troubadours or trouvères. In England, the minstrels and jongleurs were popular entertainers in courts and villages. The influence of the troubadours also spread to Germany, where the minnesingers or meistersingers wrote and sang in Medieval German. The secular musicians of this time greatly advanced the popularity of secular music as well as the spread of new languages in Europe, especially in France. Up to this point, Latin was the standard language for nearly everyone, and especially in literature and song. Albert Seay, in his book, Music in the Medieval World, remarks that Latin became less commonly used as the general form of communication for all levels of society, partly due to the introduction of new
5
Walter Salmen, “The Social Status of the musician in the Middle Ages,” in The Social Status of the Professional Musician from the Middle Ages to the 19th Century, ed. Walter Salmen, trans. Herbert Kaufman and Barbara Reisner (New York: Pendragon Press, 1983), 5.
4 languages by invaders.6 Although Latin remained the language of the Church and educated society, other languages became more prominent and widely used for those who weren’t either nobility or clergy.7 The troubadours of Southern France used the language of Provençal, a dialect of Occitan, or langue d'oc, and the musicians from Northern France who wrote in Old French, or langue d'oïl, were known as trouvères. The term troubadour, however, is widely used to refer to any of the poet-musicians of Medieval France. The troubadours usually wrote their own songs to perform. They were known to travel frequently and perform at different courts, castles, or villages for all kinds of events. They would provide entertainment or dance music for weddings, tournaments, elections, civil ceremonies, or even the visit of a distinguished guest, so a troubadour would often write music to fit the occasion.8 Most of the troubadour songs were not written down, especially the melodies, so there was frequently much variation among different performances of the same song. Mary O’Neill, in her book, Courtly Love Songs of Medieval France, points out that even when melodies were written down, different manuscripts would quite often have differing versions of the same melody.9 The main theme of the poetry of the troubadours was fin' amors (in Occitan), or fine amour (in French), which means “courtly love,” or “refined love.” This courtly love was idealized love, the object of which was unattainable and usually someone else's spouse. In her book, Eleanor of Aquitane, Courtly Love, and the Troubadours, Ffiona Swabey states that “courtly love was believed to be a medieval code of love that originated with the troubadours and described the amorous behavior of aristocratic ladies and their lovers.” Also, courtly love
6 7
Albert Seay, Music in the Medieval World (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1965), 61. ibid. 8 Goldron, 9. 9 Mary O'Neill, Courtly Love Songs of Medieval France (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006), 66.
5 described it as more important to be faithful to one’s lover than one’s husband or wife, and courtly love often portrayed relationships that were adulterous and “bordered on idolatry.”10 There were a few female troubadours, and they were known as trobairitz. Their work was notably different from that of their male counterparts for a few reasons. Women had a unique role in society during the Middle Ages that led to a different perspective on life, different kinds of poetry and different music. The job of a woman in the Middle Ages was mainly to have children, specifically sons, and in general, women were subservient to men. Their poetry and music gives insight into their side of a culture typically seen represented by men. Also, these songwriting women were often the wives, daughters and sisters of the male troubadours. Meg Bogin, in her book, The Women Troubadours, comments that these women were probably very often the objects of the courtly love songs.11 The subject of the poetry of these women was often more realistic and had a more personal tone than that written by the men. Idealized, courtly love was still a common theme, but it was treated with a more realistic viewpoint. The object of their affections was not perfect and above reproach, but rather was often said to be unfaithful or lacking in chivalry.12 The Countess of Dia, or Comtessa de Dia, is one of the most famous of the trobairitz. She was the wife of a nobleman, Lord William of Peitieus, and lived in Die, which is near Orange. According to James Wilhelm’s book, Seven T roubadors: The Creators of Modern Verse, she allegedly wrote love songs for another man with whom she had a love affair, Raimbaut III of Orange, who was a troubadour himself.13 Her song, "A chantar m'er de so que no
10
Ffiona Swabey, Eleanor of Aquitane, Courtly Love, and the Troubadours (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2004), 70. 11 Meg Bogin, The Women Troubadors (New York: Paddington Press, 1976), 64. 12 ibid, 69. 13 James J. Wilhelm, Seven Troubadors: The Creators of Modern Verse (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1970), 133.
6 volria," is the only female-written troubadour song for which the music has survived, and it is the most famous of the songs of the trobairitz.14 The influence of the troubadours spread to Germany during the late twelfth century, and German musicians developed who were very similar to the troubadours in their music and function in society. German musicians of this time included Minnesingers and Meistersingers. The word minnesinger comes from the Middle High German word for love, which, just like the troubadours, was their main subject. The Minnesingers relied heavily upon and imitated many of the French forms, poetic characteristics, and melodies that had already been established. Later Minnesingers developed more individuality, but there was still a reliance on French models. 15 The peak of the Minnesinger art was around the turn of the fourteenth century, and it quickly declined after that. During the early fourteenth century, the Meistersingers emerged. They were a “guild-like organization” whose work was similar to the Minnesingers, but they came mostly from the middle class, whereas the Minnesingers were mostly from the upper class. The focus of the Meistersingers was the writing of new poetry for traditional melodies.16 The Meistersingers lasted until the early nineteenth century. In medieval England, the main professional musician was known as a minstrel or jongleur. According to L. M. Wright in his article "Misconceptions Concerning the Troubadours, Trouvères and Minstrels," the terms are nearly interchangeable, but jongleur has more of a demeaning connotation, whereas minstrel is a more respectful title associated with a reputable
14 15
Bogin, 18. Seay, 68. 16 ibid.
7 craft.17 Although many of them regularly travelled, they were usually either associated with a particular court or had a set schedule of places where they regularly visited and performed. John Southworth, in his book, The English Medieval Minstrel, states, "The origin of the term [minstrel] indicates that the minstrel was associated with a particular court, and by implication with a patron."18 The minstrel also had a uniquely low position in the societal hierarchy. According to Southworth, “It is not just that the status of the minstrel was low; for very many of his contemporaries, he was altogether beyond the pale of social acceptance. In this respect, he was worse off than a serf; if the serf occupied the lowest place in the medieval hierarchy, the minstrel had no place at all.”19 Secular musicians were at one point even excluded from the church, and some towns didn’t even allow them to enter the city and would treat them like criminals.20 However, there were ways that a minstrel could raise his social standing, such as receiving a grant of land, which was possible if he were the servant of the king or one of his magnates, or he could improve himself and get proficient with languages, reading, and writing and then eventually become a clerk, or even a priest.21 But that was not common, and usually musicians were simply stuck with being outcasts because of their profession. As with most of the professional musicians of this time, and even modern times, English professional musicians had to be flexible with what they could do. All of them, but especially those referred to as jongleurs, were general entertainers who could do all sorts of things for entertainment, including telling stories, singing songs, or performing acrobatic tricks. They also
17
L. M. Wright, “Misconceptions concerning the Troubadours, Trouvères and Minstrels,” Music & Letters 48 (1967): 37. 18 John Southworth, The English Medieval Minstrel (Southampton: Camelot Press, 1989), 3. 19 ibid 4 20 ibid 25 21 ibid 5
8 would often help out with other sorts of jobs around the home of their patron, or be a messenger or other type of servant for their employer. During wartime, musicians were often used as messengers, mediators, or even spies, simply because it was something useful that an otherwise scorned musician could do.22 As instruments, composition styles, and culture in general have changed dramatically throughout history, what it’s like to be a professional musician has changed as well. Yet although there have been many changes, there are many ways in which the life of a professional musician remains the same. Musicians today still play for parties, weddings, dances, and even civil events. They still travel often to go to where they can get jobs, and their place in society still varies from the lowest to the highest, in terms of pay as well as reputation.
22
Salmen, 24.
