Introduction

A comparison between Guillaume de Machaut’s La Messe De Notre Dame, and Mutthuswamy Dikshitar’s Mahaganapathim – Naattai.

The medieval movement, or medieval music, originated from the west, and was written during the Middle Ages. This happened during the decline of the Roman Empire and ended in the early 15^th century. There were both sacred and secular music in this period. Monophony was widely used, as seen in Gregorian chants, but was slowly developed into more polyphonic styles as seen in the late medieval movement known as the Ars Nova. The Ars Nova movement flourished in France in the 14^th Century, and it encompassed developments in rhythm, meter, harmony, and counterpoint that transformed the art of composing music, as composers turned increasingly from religious to secular themes. (Wulff)


        Guillaume de Machaut was born in Champagne, France around the year 1300, and died in 1377. He held numerous high positions in Europe, such as the secretary of John of Luxembourg in 1323, as well as serving two kings of France during the wars and plagues in the 14^th century. (McComb) Machaut was a well-known medieval poet and composer, whose musical works were part of the late medieval movement known as the Ars Nova. Polyphony was used. Machaut was one of the earliest known users of syncopated rhythm and isorhythm, and was at the forefront of rhythmic experimentation in both his religious and his secular music. (Wulff) Machaut was notorious for his most famous work, La Messe De Notre Dame, which was composed before 1365. This work broke boundaries, as it was written in a polyphonic structure instead of a typical monophonic way that most masses were written in. It is also one of the first few masses to be written wholly by a single composer, as most masses were usually assembled by different composers. Together with inventive rhythmic structural techinques, this mass is a “milestone in the evolution of the Mass as a musical form in its own right”. (Wulff)

             Carnatic music is a divine art form, part of the traditional Indian classical music, and is widely associated with the southern parts of India. It has been in existence since the 12^th century, but became more distinct in the 16^th and 17^th century. Most of the carnatic music written are for vocals to be sung in a style called gāyaki. (Breyer) There are two main parts of a carnatic piece – the raga, which are also know as modes or melodic formula (usually heard in the vocal parts) and the tala, which is a rhythmic cycle that accompanies the raga. (Breyer) Improvisation is also widely used in carnatic music.

Muthuswami Dikshitar was born in Thanjavur, South India in 1775, and died in 1835. In his lifetime, he wrote about 450 to 500 pieces, and his works are mainly in Sanskrit and Krithis (poetry set to music), as well as the basic 72 ragas and 7 talas. (Ravikiran) He also introduced madhyamakala sahityas – a few lines sung at a speed faster than the rest of the song but in sync with the basic meter, in many of his kritis (“About Indian Music”) Usually, his pieces are religious and are devotionals in praise of God, or based on Hindu mythologies. Dikshitar’s pieces are known for the depth and soulfulness of the melody. As he went on a pilgrimage during his prime years, wrote extensively on the temples he visited, and thus his Sanskrit lyrics contain praise of the temple deities, as well as the history and background of the temple it was written in, preserving many customs in these old shrines. (Ravikiran) Many of Dikshitar’s pieces widely sung and played by carnatic musicians today. His piece, Mahaganapathim – Naattai, was written about the Lord Ganapathy and Lord Shiva.