Composition, Performance, and the Projection of Emotions in a Medieval Latin Song

What is it about?

The expression of emotions plays a major role in the composition and performance of modern song. Composers usually attempt to support the emotive content of lyrics with music that is constructed following specific conventions about tonality, melodic construction, tempo, rhythm, and the use of harmony. But what about the medieval song? Did medieval composers take similar approaches in the creation of their own song repertoires? The aim of this article is to find—though the study of the song Ut quid iubes pusiole by Gottschalk of Orbais (800– 868)—whether emotions are an important part of the medieval song discourse, and, if so, analyse how the composer attempted to portray and project them through sound.

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Photo by Hannah Wernecke on Unsplash

Photo by Hannah Wernecke on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The medieval song (as a combination of text and music) is rarely contemplated as a discourse/action meant to construct meaning through the projection of emotions. But our study demonstrates that medieval composers and performers knew how to emotionally affect their audience in order to project a message. Thus, the understanding of how text and music were conventionally composed/performed to convey emotions is crucial for an appropriate understanding of the repertoire and its reconstruction in performance.