In a 300-word essay, describe the main differences between sacred music and secular music. Discuss the purposes of both types of music and explain how people used music to achieve those purposes. Use the internet and search engines to find recordings of O Ignee Spiritus by Hildegard of Bingen (sacred music) and Ecco la Primavera by Francesco Landini (secular music). How do these musical pieces achieve their purposes?

In almost all Christian sacred music, the subjects are taken from the Bilical old or new testiments; or from closely related apocryphal stories that have a Biblical basis or connection. Secular music is music that does not primarily have a religious subject, though it can mention the devine or holy. Sacred music has plainsongs and is used during mass. Secular music always has instruments, and sacred music focuses more on the words. Secular music is more upbeat and happy, unlike sacred music.

The two main categories of music in the Middle Age and the Renaissance were sacred and secular music. The main differences between sacred and secular music were as follows.

Sacred music is “music composed to praise the holy or divine.” This form of music stands apart from the ordinary affairs of human beings and it conveys feelings related to divinity. Most forms of sacred music consisted of setting biblical verses to music to pay homage to God. Sacred comes from the Latin “sacrare”, which means “to set apart.” Thus, sacred music is set apart or consecrated for use within the liturgy, and it remained strictly under the control of the church.

The Middle Ages witnessed the dominance of the Roman Catholic Church over the minds of people, and this dominance was expressed in the music from this age as well. Boys learned music in schools affiliated with the churches, and monks and priests composed music for liturgical purpose. Women and girls were not permitted to sing in churches. However, nuns learned to sing and composed music for choirs.

Sacred music is not an ordinary form of music. It exists for the sole purpose of glorifying God and encouraging people to think divine thoughts. Gregorian chants were the first form of sacred music, and even later forms of sacred music rarely used musical accompaniments.

Secular music differs from sacred music because it deals with themes unrelated to spirituality, making it the exact opposite of sacred music. It pertains to the living rather than to the divine. Secular implies a shift away from the religious; therefore, this music represented a shift in focus from religious to non-religious composition.

French nobles called troubadours composed secular music and sang the first secular songs (mainly dance songs). Secular music themes eventually ranged from simple ballads to love songs, political songs, war songs, laments, and dance songs. The songs eulogized virtues such as chivalry, valor, honor, and love. Secular music used musical accompaniment and had a specific meter and beats set to the music. Composers during Renaissance experimented with musical forms, breaking with the monotony of sacred music and moving to freer and more expressive forms of music. One of the most important composers of that time was Guillaume de Mauchaut, who wrote both sacred and secular music.

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