Transcript Music History: Renaissance

MUSIC HISTORY:
RENAISSANCE
Renaissance
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Means “Reborn”
Roughly 1400-1600
Cultural Movement
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Starts in Italy, Moves through Europe
Characterized by Humanism
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Effects Art, Music, Science, Philosophy, Religion
Humanism – importance placed on humans, their needs, and
rational thoughts
Moves away from the church and focus more on science
Important Figures
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Art
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Niccolo Machiavelli (The
Prince)
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William Shakespeare (Romeo
& Juliet)
Martin Luther (Protestant
Religion)
Discovery
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Nicholas Copernicus (Sun
center of the solar system)
Galileo (Telescope)
Johannes Kelper (Planetary
Motion)
Religion
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Writing
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Science
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Politics
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Leonardo Da Vinci (Mona
Lisa)
Michaelango (Statue of
David, Sistine Chapel)
Raphael
Donatello
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Christopher Columbus
Ferdinand Magellan
Invention
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Printing Press
Characteristics
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Vocal music > instrumental music
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Golden age of a cappella
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Italian for “In the manner of the church” or “In the manner of the chapel”
Means no instruments, voices only
Fuller sound than medieval: bass register created
Music enhances the meaning and emotion of the text
Word painting: musical representation of specific poetic images
Moderate, balanced way of expression: no extreme contrasts of
dynamics, tone color or rhythm
Greater Polyphony: 4, 5 or 6 voice parts with equal melodic
interest
Imitation is common
Homophonic texture is also used
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Different music lines move together
Motets
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Polyphonic choral work set to sacred Latin text other than the ordinary of
the mass
Sacred choral works performed in worship services
Josquin des Prez (c. 1440-1521)
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Moderate balanced expression
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Ave Maria – 4 Voice Motet
Little accent or emphasis on words
Expression in the music is much more cultured and polite to fit the sacred
settings;
Harmonies tend to be very smooth and predictable
Different voices never really overpower each other
All singers echo and overlap one another to create more texture, while
maintaining the identity of their singular voice in the music
Masses
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Mass – polyphonic choral work with 5 sections:
 Kyrie
 Gloria
 Credo
 Sanctus
 Agnus Dei
20-30 Minutes Long
Very ambitious piece of work
Utilizes the canon
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
 c. 1525-1594
 104 masses and some 450 other sacred works
 For centuries, his masses are regarded as models of church music
Guillaume Dufay
 c.1400-1474
 Composed Motets & Madrigals as well
Madrigals
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New Italian polyphonic, secular, a capella vocal genre
Late Renaissance’s entertainment music
Motets & Madrigals are similar
Secular topics of love, humor, and scenery presented at home or
social gatherings
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May also depict topics of hate, grief, fear or shock
May actually include dissonance (if a musical piece demands
negative emotional expression)
Madrigals
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Word paintings
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Thomas Morley (c. 1557-1602)
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illustrate, emphasize, and interpret the special meaning of a word to make it clearer
and more obvious than the words around it.
A change in the tone, texture, volume, or range
Expressive methods while also utilizing surprising harmony and dissonance
EX: a rising scale of notes would place emphasis on the word "ascending" in a song
A more complex word painting could illustrate the idea of spying or sneakiness by
lowering the tone and volume of the voice to be soft and discrete.
Main difference between Motets & Madrigals
Now is the Month of Maying
Thomas Weelkes (c. 1575-1623)
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As Vesta was from Latmos Hill Descending
Instruments
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First body of solely instrumental
Instruments mostly doubled the vocal parts when with voices
Instruments alone used for dancing
In solely instrumental music, the instruments usually played
together as families
Instrumental Families
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String : viol family, lute
Woodwind : transverse flute, recorder
Double Reed : shawm (ancestor of the oboe, bassoon, English horn);
crumhorn (reed in the mouthpiece)
Brass : cornets (trumpets), sackbutt (trombone)
Percussion : tambour (hand drum), tamborine, finger cymbals
Keyboard : organ, harpsichord