Characteristics

In Renaissance music, rhythm is more a gentle flow than a sharply defined beat

Each melodic line has great rhythmic independence

Pitch patterns in Renaissance melodies are easy to sing, usually they move along a scale with few large leaps

Sacred Music

The two main forms of sacred Renaissance music are the motet and the mass

Both forms are similar in style, but a mass is a longer composition

The Motet

The Renaissance motet is a polyphonic choral work set to a sacred Latin text other than the ordinary of the mass

The composer that was most famous for the motet is Josquin Desprez

Deprez lived from 1440-1521 He was a master of Renaissance music

The Motet

Desprez was born in the province of Hainaut, which is part of Belgium

He sepent most of his life in Italy, serving in dukes’ private chapels and in the papal choir at Rome

In his later years he worked for Louis XII of France and held several church posts in his native land

The Motet

Desprez’s compositions included masses, motets, and secular vocal music

All his compositions strongly influenced other composers and were praised enthusiastically by music lovers

The Mass

The Renaissance mass is a polyphonic choral composition made up of five sections: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei

The main composer for the mass during this time period is Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

Palestrina was from Italy

The Mass

Palestrina lived from about 1525 to 1594 He devoted himself to music for the

Catholic Church His career was centered in Rome,

where he held important church positions, including that of music director for St. Peter’s cathedral

Palestrina’s music includes 104 masses and about 450 other sacred works

The Mass

The Jesuit order (1540) and the convening of the Council of Trent (1545-1563) attacked church music

The arguement was that it used secular tunes, noisy instruments, and theatrical singing

Some complained that complex polyphony made it impossible to understand the sacred texts

The Mass

The council wanted only monophonic music, Gregorian chant, for the mass

The council finally decreed that church music should be composed to inspire religious contemplation, not to please the ear

The restraint and serenity of Palestrina’s works reflect this emphasis on a more spiritual music