Comparison of Middle Ages Music and Present Day Music

Stephanie Stout

Music 111-Booth

Comparison Paper

M/W 9am

Comparison of Anon: Alleuluia: Vidimus Stellam and Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz

The two pieces of music Alleulia and Clint Eastwood Both come from different

eras. Both are very different in style but also have some similarities.

Anon:Alleulia:Vidimus Stellam is from the Middle Ages time period. It is a

Gregorian Chant based on sacred religion. It is sung at Latin masses in the Roman

Catholic Church. The chant is associated with the Epiphany, which is a movable

feast day. It is a monophonic song that is sung with no instruments. There are

two separate parts. There is a soloist that starts the song and then there is the

chorus which joins in after the soloist that sets the note to which the song will be

sung in. It is in A B A form. The choir sings in unison alternating with the soloist.

The pace is adagio. The single syllable sung is called the “ melisma”. There is

no exact measure of rhythm. The song flutters in sound going up and down in

notes. There are many tones in the choir. It consist of tenors, sopranos, and altos.

Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz polyphonic and comes from the 21st century.

There are both musical and verbal concepts. It is in quadruple meter. This song

starts with cymbals, drums and the electric piano. The main chorus line starts after

the main beat has been introduced. The chorus line is sung by one tenor voice.

The rapper is introduced by this guy after he sings the chorus. There is an

emphasis on the lower keys of the piano. I believe that they may be using

electronic sounds to duplicate the sounds of the violins but I am not sure. The

violins pitch increases throughout the song when the chorus is sung. The musical

notes are duplicated over and over. There is distortion of the soloist while the

scratching