The History of Music

Most of the top classical-instrumental songs were composed within the last 400 years. Considering how long music has being around, that is not a long time. One must bear in mind that creative energy speeds up tremendously toward the end of each millennium.

Music, as we all know it, grew out of the church towards the end of the first millennium. It was called chant, or Gregorian chant, since it took hold during the reign of Pope Gregory. These devotional chants were sung in unison- all the voices singing the same tune. Gradually, the idea of many-voiced music took hold, with different melodies given to the soprano, alto, tenor and bass section of the choir. The climax was reached between 14th to 15th centuries in the music of composers like DesPrez, Dufay, and Palestrina. This set the stage for the baroque century (1650-1750).
Bach perfected counterpoint in which a number of beautiful, independent melodies were woven together in perfect harmony. From there it was only a short ste...