Check out a list of interesting books on the medieval period recommended for us by Jane Ambrose.

The first talk will introduce listeners to the idea of courtly love as expressed in the poetry and music of the troubadours. Some instruments of the period will be played as well. The place of other musical forms such as the medieval madrigal and secular song in general will also be discussed.

During the second week, we will consider music written for the mass and propers of the Church beginning with chant and its place in forms like organum, conductus, and motet as practiced in public and private worship. We will listen to examples of compositions from Notre Dame, especially by its resident genius, Perotin, and look at the historical high point of the later middle ages, the Notre Dame Mass of Guillaume de Machaut. Time permitting, we will listen to examples of music from Jewish and Islamic traditions as well.

The Wikipedia article on medieval music would be a superb introduction for anyone interested in reading it, especially if you follow some of the links.

If you want to do some listening beforehand, you might want to check out some of the following:

Gregorian Chant
Hildegard von Bingen
Troubadours and Trouveres
Notre Dame Cathedral and the ars antiqua
Guillaume de Machaut