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CONTENT
Num
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Content Page Number
1. Middle Ages (Medieval Period)
2. Hildegard von Bingen
1.Introduction
2.Biography
2.1 Monastic Life
2.2 Visions
3. Hildegard’s Works
3.1 Hildegard’s Music
3.1.1 Hildegard’s Music Form
3.1.2 Hildegard’s Musical Style
3.2 Writings
3.2.1 Mysticism
3.2.2 Herbal medicine
3.2.3 Alphabet
4.Extra
4.1 During her lifetime
4.2 Hildegard's preaching tours
4.3 Beatification, canonization and recognition as a
Doctor of the Church
4.4 20th-century interest
5. Conclusion
3. Bibliography
4. Boethius
1. Introduction
2. Biography
2.1 Early Life
3. Works
3.1 De consolation philosophiae
3.2 De topicis differentiis
3.3 De arithmetica
3.4 De Institutione musica
4. Extra
1
4.1 History of reception
4.2 Veneration
5. Conclusion
5. Bibliography
6. William Byrd
1.INTRODUCTION
1.1 Provenance
2. Biography
2.1 Early years
2.2 The Chapel Royal
2.3 Cantiones quae ab argumento sacrae vocantur
(1575)
2.4 Catholicism
3. WORKS
3.1 Cantiones sacrae (1589 and 1591)
3.2 The English song-books of 1588 and 1589
3.3 My Ladye Nevells Booke
3.4 Consort music
3.5 Stondon Massey
3.6 Masses
3.7 Gradualia
3.8 Anglican church music
3.9 Psalms, songs and sonnets (1611)
4.Extra
4.1 Last works
4.2 Reputation and reception
4.3 Veneration
5.Conclusion
7. Bibliography
8. Antonio Vivaldi
1.Introduction
2. BIOGRAPHY
3.WORKS
3.1 Opera impresario
3.2 Mantua and The Four Seasons
3.3 Later life and death
2
3.4 Frontispiece of Il teatro alla moda
3.5 Style and influence
3.6 Posthumous reputation
3.7 In popular culture
3.8 Works
4.CONCLUSION
9. Bibliography
3
MUSIC IN THE MIDDLE AGES (MEDIEVAL PERIOD)
(450-1450)
A thousand years of European history are spannes by the phrase Middle Ages.
Beginning around 450 with the disintegration of the Roman Empire, this era
witnessed the “dark ages”a time of migration, upheavals, and wars.
But the Late Middle Ages (until 1450) were a period of culture at growth,
Romanesque churches and monasteries (1000-1150) and gothic cathedral (1150-
1450) were constructed, towns grew, and universities are founded.
Characteristic of Music in the Medieval period:
1. Sacred Music was dominant (Church music very important from 350-1100)
2. Mostly vocal music, no instrument
3. Monophonic Texture
4. Melodies does not indicate rhythm (Sacred and Secular Music)
5. Regular Meter (Secular Music)
6. Irregular Meter (Sacred Music)
List of some Medieval Composer:
1. Pope Gregory
2. Boethius
3. Hildegard von Bingen
4. Leonin
5. Perotin
6. Guillaume de Machaut
7. John Dunstable
8. Guillaume Dufay
*The name of the composers that be highlighted by Bold, is the one I choosed to
write about them.
4
1.Introduction
Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)
St. Hildegard von Bingen, O.S.B.
Illumination from the Liber Scivias showing Hildegard
receiving a vision and dictating to her scribe and secretary
Doctor of the Church, Sibyl of the Rhine
Born : 1098, Bermersheim vor der Höhe, County
Palatine of the Rhine, Holy Roman Empire
Died : 17 September 1179 (aged 81) - Bingen am Rhein, County Palatine
of the Rhine, Holy Roman Empire
Honored in : Roman Catholic Church - (Order of St. Benedict), Anglican
Communion, Lutheranism
Canonized : 10 May 2012 (equivalent canonization), Vatican City by Pope
Benedict XVI
Major shrine : Eibingen Abbey. Germany
Feast : 17 September
Saint Hildegard of Bingen, O.S.B. (German: Hildegard von Bingen; Latin:
Hildegardis Bingensis) (1098 – 17 September 1179), also known as Saint
Hildegard, and Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German writer, composer,
philosopher, Christian mystic, Benedictine abbess, visionary, and polymath.
She also a female composers for sacred music in medieval period.
Elected a magistra by her fellow nuns in 1136, she founded the
monasteries of Rupertsberg in 1150 and Eibingen in 1165. One of her works as a
composer, the Ordo Virtutum, is an early example of liturgical drama and
arguably the oldest surviving morality play.
She wrote theological, botanical and medicinal texts, as well as letters,
liturgical songs, and poems, while supervising brilliant miniature illuminations.
Although the history of her formal recognition as a saint is complicated,
she has been recognized as a saint by parts of the Roman Catholic Church for
centuries.
On 7 October 2012, Pope Benedict XVI named her a Doctor of the Church.
5
2 Biography
Hildegard's date of birth was unknown except for her year of birth, year
1098. Hildegard was her parents' tenth child and raised by a family of free
nobles. In her Vita, Hildegard explains that from a very young age she had
experienced visions.
2.1 Monastic life
Hildegard was given to the church to be raised and educated when she
was 8 years old. Her Vita says she was enclosed with an older nun, Jutta, at the
age of eight.
Hildegard become a Benedictine nun at the age of fifthteen.
Hildegard and Jutta were enclosed at Disibodenberg in the Palatinate
Forest in what is now Germany. Jutta was also a visionary and thus attracted
many followers who came to visit her at the enclosure. Hildegard and Jutta most
likely prayed, meditated, read scriptures such as the psalter, and did some sort
of handwork during the hours of the Divine Office. This also might have been a
time when Hildegard learned how to play the ten-stringed psaltery. Volmar, a
frequent visitor, may have taught Hildegard simple psalm notation. The time she
studied music could also have been the beginning of the compositions she would
later create.
In 1136, She was 38 years old, Hildegard was elected her abbess by her
fellow nuns. Abbot Kuno of Disibodenberg also asked Hildegard to be Prioress,
which would be under his authority. Hildegard, however, wanted more
independence for herself and her nuns and asked Abbot Kuno to allow them to
move to Rupertsberg. This was to be a move towards poverty, from a stone
complex that was well established to a temporary dwelling place. When the
abbot declined Hildegard's proposition, Hildegard went over his head and
received the approval of Archbishop Henry I of Mainz.
Abbot Kuno did not relent, however, until Hildegard was stricken by an
illness that kept her paralyzed and unable to move from her bed, an event that
she attributed to God's unhappiness at her not following his orders to move her
nuns to Rupertsberg. It was only when the Abbot himself could not move
Hildegard that he decided to grant the nuns their own monastery. Hildegard and
about twenty nuns thus moved to the St. Rupertsberg monastery in 1150, where
Volmar served as provost, as well as Hildegard's confessor and scribe. In 1165
Hildegard founded a second monastery for her nuns at Eibingen.
6
2.2 Visions
Hildegard says that she first saw "The Shade of the Living Light" at the
age of three, and by the age of five she began to understand that she was
experiencing visions. She used the term 'visio' to this feature of her experience,
and recognized that it was a gift that she could not explain to others. Hildegard
explained that she saw all things in the light of God through the five senses:
sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. Hildegard was hesitant to share her
visions, confiding only to Jutta, who in turn told Volmar, Hildegard's tutor and,
later, secretary. Throughout her life, she continued to have many visions, and in
1141, at the age of 42, Hildegard received a vision she believed to be an
instruction from God, to "write down that which you see and hear." Still hesitant
to record her visions, Hildegard became physically ill. The illustrations recorded
in the book of Scivias were visions that Hildegard experienced, causing her great
suffering and tribulations. In her first theological text year 1151), Scivias ("Know
the Ways of God"), Hildegard describes her struggle within:
But I, though I saw and heard these things, refused to write for a long time
through doubt and bad opinion and the diversity of human words, not with
stubbornness but in the exercise of humility, until, laid low by the scourge of
God, I fell upon a bed of sickness; then, compelled at last by many illnesses, and
by the witness of a certain noble maiden of good conduct [the nun Richardis von
Stade] and of that man whom I had secretly sought and found, as mentioned
above, I set my hand to the writing. While I was doing it, I sensed, as I mentioned
before, the deep profundity of scriptural exposition; and, raising myself from
illness by the strength I received, I brought this work to a close – though just
barely – in ten years. And I spoke and wrote these things not by the invention of
my heart or that of any other person, but as by the secret mysteries of God I
heard and received them in the heavenly places. And again I heard a voice from
Heaven saying to me, 'Cry out therefore, and write thus!'
Hildegard's Vita was begun by Godfrey of Disibodenberg under Hildegard's
supervision. It was between November 1147 and February 1148 at the synod in
Trier that Pope Eugenus heard about Hildegard’s writings. It was from this that
she received Papal approval to document her visions as revelations from the
Holy Spirit giving her instant credence.
7
Before Hildegard’s death, a problem arose
with the clergy of Mainz. A man buried in
Rupertsburg had died after excommunication from
the Church. Therefore, the clergy wanted to remove
his body from the sacred ground. Hildegard did not
accept this idea, replying that it was a sin and that
the man had been reconciled to the church at the
time of his death.
On 17 September 1179, when Hildegard died, her
sisters claimed they saw two streams of light appear
in the skies and cross over the room where she was
dying.
3 Hildegard’s Works
Hildegard's musical, literary, and scientific writings are housed primarily in
two manuscripts: the Dendermonde manuscript and the Riesenkodex. The
Dendermonde manuscript was copied under Hildegard's supervision at
Rupertsberg, while the Riesencodex was copied in the century after Hildegard's
death.
Mutterschaft aus dem Geiste und dem Wasser (Motherhood from the Spirit
and the Water), 1165
3.1 Hildegard’s Music
Attention in recent decades to women of the medieval Church has led to a
great deal of popular interest in Hildegard, particularly her music. In addition to
the Ordo Virtutum, sixty-nine musical compositions, each with its own original
poetic text, survive, and at least four other texts are known, though their musical
notation has been lost. This is one of the largest repertoires among medieval
composers.
Hildegard also wrote nearly 400 letters to correspondents ranging from Popes to
Emperors to abbots and abbesses;
1. 2 volumes of material on natural medicine and cures (“Causae et
Curae”(Causes and Curse))
2. an invented language called the Lingua ignota
3. various minor works, including a gospel commentary and two works of
hagiography
8
4. three great volumes of visionary theology
1. Scivias (“Knows the Ways of God”)
2. Liber vitae meritorum ("Book of Life's Merits" or "Book of the Rewards
of Life"),
3. Liber divinorum operum ("Book of Divine Works").
One of her better known works, Ordo Virtutum (Play of the Virtues), is a morality
play. It is unsure when some of Hildegard’s compositions were composed,
though the Ordo Virtutum is thought to have been composed as early as 1151.
The morality play consists of monophonic melodies for the Anima (human soul)
and 16 Virtues. There is also one speaking part for the Devil. Scholars assert that
the role of the Devil would have been played by Volmar, while Hildegard's nuns
would have played the parts of Anima and the Virtues.
In addition to the Ordo Virtutum Hildegard composed many liturgical
songs that were collected into a cycle called the Symphonia armoniae celestium
revelationum (Symphony of the Harmony of Heavenly Revelations). The songs
from the Symphonia are set to Hildegard’s own text and range from antiphons,
hymns, and sequences, to responsories. Her music is described as monophonic;
that is, consisting of exactly one melodic line. Hildegard's compositional style is
characterized by soaring melodies, often well outside of the normal range of
chant at the time. Hildegard's music as highly melismatic, often with recurrent
melodic units, and also note her close attention to the relationship between
music and text, which was a rare occurrence in monastic chant of the twelfth
century. Hildegard of Bingen’s songs are left open for rhythmic interpretation
because of the use of neumes without a staff. The reverence for the Virgin Mary
reflected in music shows how deeply influenced and inspired Hildegard of Bingen
and her community were by the Virgin Mary and the saints.
The definition of viriditas or ‘greenness’ is an earthly expression of the
heavenly in an integrity that overcomes dualisms. This ‘greenness’ or power of
life appears frequently in Hildegard’s works.
Recent scholars have asserted that Hildegard made a close association
between music and the female body in her musical compositions. The poetry and
music of Hildegard’s Symphonia is concerned with the anatomy of female desire
thus described as Sapphonic, or pertaining to Sappho, connecting her to a
history of female rhetoricians.
9
Chant : Most of Hildegard’s musical works are settings of the liturgy, or of
her own poems and visions.
Text : Monophonic. The relationship between her music and text is
critically important, and is meant to uncover deeper spiritual
meaning. While many medieval compositions were based on liturgical
plainchant
Some of her songs use a single note per syllable, while others are
extremely florid and go through as many as 75 notes between syllables.
3.1.1 Hildegard’s Music Form
Most of Hildegard's music was written for the eight canonical hours of the
Divine Office. The hours consisted of readings from scripture and singing of the
psalms and hymns which gave the monastic an opportunity to encounter God
through a specific mood or season of time. Four kinds of musical forms were
used in liturgy:
a. ANTIPHONS : Hildegard's largest group of works, usually one-line
pieces (sometimes longer) of freely composed text with
melody sung before and after a psalm.
b. RESPONSORIES : Hildegard's second-largest group of works, freely
composed texts with music sung after a scripture
lesson. Often, the chant alternates between solo and
group responses.
c. SEQUENCES : Sung during Mass between the Alleluia and Gospel,
dramatic pieces or poems full of imagery.
Hildegard's sequences do not follow a rhyme
scheme.
d. HYMNS : Devotional pieces composed with or without
melodic repetition.
3.1.2 Hildegard’s Musical Style
Hildegard was a very expressive person. She loved beautiful clothing,
exquisite sounds, fragrant scents and bright-colored gems. As a composer, she
expressed herself intensely both in the sound and in the words of her music. The
following are some musical features we can find in her compositions.
10
a. Soaring
b. Leaps
c. Contour
d. Dramatic Flourishes
3.2 Writings
3.2.1 Mysticism
"Universal Man" illumination from Hildegard's Liber Divinorum Operum, 1165
In addition to her music, Hildegard also wrote three books of visions, the
first of which, her Scivias ("Know the Ways Of God"), was completed in 1151.
Liber vitae meritorum ("Book of Life's Merits" or "Book of the Rewards of Life")
and Liber divinorum operum ("Book of Divine Works", also known as De
operatione Dei, "On God's Activity") followed. In these volumes, the last of which
was completed when she was about 75, Hildegard first describes each vision,
then interprets them through Biblical exegesis.
The narrative of her visions was richly decorated under her direction, with
transcription assistance provided by the monk Volmar and nun Richardis. The
book was celebrated in the Middle Ages, in part
because of the approval given to it by Pope
Eugenius III, and was later printed in Paris in 1513.
3.2.1 Herbal medicine
Hildegard also wrote Physica, a text on the
natural sciences, as well as Causae et Curae.
Hildegard of Bingen was well known for her healing
powers involving practical application of tinctures,
herbs, and precious stones. In both texts Hildegard
describes the natural world around her, including the cosmos, animals, plants,
stones, and minerals.
She combined these elements with a theological notion ultimately derived
from Genesis: all things put on earth are for the use of humans. She is
particularly interested in the healing properties of plants, animals, and stones,
though she also questions God's effect on man's health. One example of her
healing powers was curing the blind with the use of Rhine water.
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3.2.2 Alphabet
Alphabet by Hildegard von Bingen, Litterae ignotae, which she used for
her language Lingua Ignota.
Hildegard also invented an alternative alphabet. The text of her writing
and compositions reveals Hildegard's use of this form of modified medieval Latin,
encompassing many invented, conflated and abridged words. Due to her
inventions of words for her lyrics and a constructed script, many conlangers look
upon her as a medieval precursor. Scholars believe that Hildegard used her
Lingua Ignota to increase solidarity among her nuns.
4 Extra
4.1 During her lifetime
Maddocks claims that it is likely Hildegard learned simple Latin, and the
tenets of the Christian faith, but was not instructed in the Seven Liberal Arts,
which formed the basis of all education for the learned classes in the Middle
Ages: the Trivium of grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric plus the Quadrivium of
arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. The correspondence she kept with
the outside world, both spiritual and social, transgressed the cloister as a space
of female confinement, and served to document Hildegard’s grand style and
strict formatting of medieval letter writing.
Contributing to Christian European rhetorical traditions, Hildegard
"authorized herself as a theologian" through alternative rhetorical arts. Hildegard
was creative in her interpretation of theology. She believed that her monastery
should exclude novices who were not from the nobility because doing so put
12
them in an inferior position. She also stated that "woman may be made from
man, but no man can be made without a woman."
4.2 Hildegard's preaching tours
Due to church limitation on public, discursive rhetoric, the medieval
rhetorical arts included: preaching, letter writing, poetry, and the encyclopedic
tradition. Hildegard’s participation in these arts speaks to her significance as a
female rhetorician, transcending bans on women's social participation and
interpretation of Scripture. The acceptance of public preaching by a woman,
even a well-connected abbess and acknowledged prophet does not fit the usual
stereotype of this time. Her preaching was not limited to the monasteries; she
even preached publicly in 1160 in Germany. She conducted four preaching tours
throughout Germany, speaking to both clergy and laity in chapter houses and in
public, mainly denouncing clerical corruption and calling for reform.
Many abbots and abbesses asked her for prayers and opinions on various
matters. She traveled widely during her four preaching tours. She had several
rather fanatic followers, including Guibert of Gembloux, who wrote her frequently
and became her secretary after Volmar's death in 1173. Hildegard also
influenced several monastic women, exchanging letters with Elisabeth of
Schönau, a nearby visionary.
Hildegard corresponded with popes such as Eugene III and Anastasius IV,
statesmen such as Abbot Suger, German emperors such as Frederick I
Barbarossa, and other notable figures such as Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, who
advanced her work, at the behest of her abbot, Kuno, at the Synod of Trier in
1147 and 1148. Hildegard of Bingen's correspondence is an important
component of her literary output.
4.3 Beatification, canonization and recognition as a
Doctor of the Church
Hildegard was one of the first persons for whom
the Roman canonization process was officially applied,
but the process took so long that four attempts at
canonization were not completed and she remained at
the level of her beatification. Her name was
nonetheless taken up in the Roman Martyrology at the
end of the sixteenth century. Her feast day is 17
13
September. Numerous popes have referred to Hildegard as a saint, including
Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.
On 10 May 2012, Pope Benedict XVI extended the liturgical cult of St.
Hildegard to the entire Roman Catholic Church in a process known as "equivalent
canonization," thus laying the groundwork for naming her a Doctor of the
Church. On 7 October 2012, the feast of the Holy Rosary, the Pope named her a
Doctor of the Church, the fourth woman of 35 people given that title by the
Roman Catholic Church. He called her "perennially relevant" and "an authentic
teacher of theology and a profound scholar of natural science and music."
Hildegard of Bingen also appears in the calendar of saints of various Anglican
churches, such as that of the Church of England in which she is commemorated
on 17 September.
Hildegard's parish and pilgrimage church in Eibingen near Rüdesheim houses her
relics.
5. Conclusion
Hildegard von Bingen was a great composer since Medieval Period and yet
still being recognized in today’s century which is 21st century. Hildegard was not
only a composer but she is a Saint and also the Doctor of the Church, Sibyl of the
Rhine. She is the great female and nun composers.
14
Bibliography
Books:
Date Taken: 10 December 2012
Kamien,Roger, 1994, MUSIC AN APPRECIATION (SECOND BRIEF EDITION). Printed
in United States of America; McGraw-Hill. Inc. Page 56.
Kamien, Roger, 1992, MUSIC AN APPRECIATION (FIFTH EDITION). Printed in
United States of America; McGraw-Hill. Inc. Page 86.
Charlton, Katherine, 2012, EXPERIENCE MUSIC (THIRD EDITION). Printed in
United States of America; McGraw Hill. Page 33-35.
Internet:
Date Taken: 4 December 2012
http://www.sfcv.org/learn/composer-gallery/hildegard-bingen
http://www.hildegard.org/music/music.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hildegard_of_Bingen
15
1.INTRODUCTION
Boethius (ca. 480–524 or 525 AD)
Boethius teaching his students (initial in a 1385 Italian manuscript of the Consolation of Philosophy.)
Born : 480 AD, Rome
Died : 524/5 AD, Pavia
Era : Medieval philosophy
Region : Western philosophy
Main interests : problem of universals, religion,
music
Notable ideas : The Wheel of Fortune
Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius, commonly called Boethius (ca.
480–524 or 525 AD), was a philosopher of the early 6th century.
He was born in Rome to an ancient and prominent family which included
emperors Petronius Maximus and Olybrius and many consuls. His father, Flavius
Manlius Boethius, was consul in 487 after Odoacer deposed the last Western
Roman Emperor.
Boethius, of the noble Anicia family, entered public life at a young age and
was already a senator by the age of 25. Boethius himself was consul in 510 in
the kingdom of the Ostrogoths.
In 522, his two sons become consuls.
Boethius was imprisoned and eventually executed by King Theodoric the
Great, who suspected him of conspiring with the Eastern Roman Empire.While
jailed, Boethius composed his Consolation of Philosophy, a philosophical treatise
on fortune, death, and other issues.The Consolation became one of the most
popular and influential works of the Middle Ages. A link between Boethius and a
mathematical boardgame Rithmomachia has been made.
16
2.BIOGRAPHY
2.1 Early life
Boethius' birth date is unknown. Boethius came from the family of Anicii
who had been Christians for around 100 years. Boethius was born to a patrician
family; his father Manlius Boethius was appointed consul in 487.
However, his father died when Boethius was young, and he was adopted by
another patrician, Quintus Aurelius Memmius Symmachus. Memmius
Symmachus raised him and instilled in him a love for literature and philosophy.
Both Memmius Symmachus and Boethius were fluent in Greek, an increasingly
rare skill at the time in the Western Empire.
Due to his erudition, Boethius entered the service of Theodoric the Great.
His earliest documented acts on behalf of the Ostrogothic ruler were to
investigate allegations that the paymaster of Theodoric's Bodyguards had
debased the coins of their pay, to produce a water-clock which Theodoric
intended to give to king Gundobad of the Burgunds, and to recruit a lyre-player
to perform for king Clovis of the Franks.
Boethius married his foster-father's daughter Rusticiana, and their children
included two boys, Symmachus and Boethius. He held many important offices
during Theodoric's reign, including being appointed consul for the year 510, but
Boethius confesses in his De consolatione philosophiae that his greatest
achievement was to have both his sons made consuls for the same year (522),
and finding himself sitting "between the two consuls and as if it were a military
triumph let your largess fulfil the wildest expectations of the people packed in
their seats around you."
His ideas are informed by Neo-Platonism, Aristotelianism, and Christianity.
1. Most famous text: De consolatione philosophiae,
2. Theological works include Contra Eutychen, De Hebdomadibus, and De
Trinitate, which was written in response to contemporary Christological
debates.
17
3.Works
3.1 De consolatione philosophiae
Lady Philosophy and Boethius from the Consolation,
(Ghent, 1485)
Boethius's best known work is the
Consolation of Philosophy (De consolatione
philosophiae), which he wrote most likely while in
exile under house arrest or in prison while
awaiting his execution, but his lifelong project
was a deliberate attempt to preserve ancient
classical knowledge, particularly philosophy. This
work represented an imaginary dialogue between
himself and philosophy, with philosophy being
personified by a woman. The book argues that despite the apparent inequality of
the world, there is, in Platonic fashion, a higher power and everything else is
secondary to that divine Providence. There are several manuscripts that have
survived and been expansively edited, translated and printed throughout the late
15th century and forward in Europe. He intended to translate all the works of
Aristotle and Plato from the original Greek into Latin.
3.2-De topicis differentiis
His completed translations of Aristotle's works on logic were the only
significant portions of Aristotle available in Latin Christendom from the sixth
century until the 12th century. However, some of his translations (such as his
treatment of the topoi in The Topics) were mixed with his own commentary,
which reflected both Aristotelian and Platonic concepts.
Unfortunately, the commentaries themselves were lost. In addition to his
commentary on the Topics, Boethius composed two treatises on Topical
argumentation, In Ciceronis Topica and De topicis differentiis. The first work has
six books, and is largely a response to Cicero's Topica. The first book of In
Ciceronis Topica begins with a dedication to Patricius. It includes distinctions and
assertions important to Boethius's overall philosophy, such as his view of the role
18
of philosophy to "establish our judgment concerning the governing of life", and
definitions of logic from Plato, Aristotle and Cicero.
He breaks logic into three parts;
1. that which defines
2. that which divides
3. that which deduces.
He asserts there to be three types of arguments;
1. those of necessity
2. of ready believability
3. sophistry.
He follows Aristotle in defining one sort of Topic as the maximal
proposition; these are propositions which are somehow shown to be universal or
readily believable. The other sort of Topic, the differentiae, are "Topics that
contain and include the maximal propositions"; means of categorizing the Topics
which Boethius credits to Cicero.
1. Book II covers two kinds of topics, those from related things and those
from extrinsic topics.
2. Book III discusses the relationship between things studied through Topics,
Topics themselves, and the nature of definition.
3. Book IV analyses partition, designation and relationships between things
(such as pairing, numbering, genus and species, etc.).
4. Book V discussing Stoic logic and Aristotelian causation.
5. Book VI relates the nature of the Topic to causes.
In Topicis Differentiis has four books;
1. Book I : discusses the nature of rhetorical and dialectical Topics
together, Boethius's overall purpose being "to show what the Topics are, what
their differentiae are, and which are suited for what syllogisms". He distinguishes
between argument (that which constitutes belief) and argumentation (that which
demonstrates belief). Propositions are divided into three parts, those that are
universal, those that are particular, and those that are somewhere in between.
19
These distinctions, and others, are applicable to both types of Topical argument,
rhetorical and dialectical.
2. Books II primarily focused on Topics of dialectic (syllogisms)
3. Books III primarily focused on Topics of dialectic (syllogisms)
3. Book IV concentrates on the unit of the rhetorical Topic, the
enthymeme. Topical argumentation is at the core of Boethius’s conception of
dialectic, which “have categorical rather than conditional conclusions, and he
conceives of the discovery of an argument as the discovery of a middle term
capable of linking the two terms of the desired conclusion”. Not only are these
texts of paramount importance to the study of Boethius, they are also crucial to
the history of topical lore. It is largely due to Boethius that the Topics of Aristotle
and Cicero were revived, and the Boethian tradition of topical argumentation
spans its influence throughout the Middle Ages and into the early Renaissance:
“In the works of Ockham, Buridan, Albert of Saxony, and the Pseudo-Scotus, for
instance, many of the rules of consequence bear a strong resemblance to or are
simply identical with certain Boethian Topics, Boethius’s influence, direct and
indirect, on this tradition is enormous”.
It was also in De Topicis Differentiis that Boethius made a unique
contribution to the discourse on dialectic and rhetoric. Topical argumentation for
Boethius is dependent upon a new category for the topics discussed by Aristotle
and Cicero, and "unlike Aristotle, Boethius recognizes two different types of
Topics.
First, he says, a Topic is a maximal proposition (maxima propositio), or
principle; but there is a second kind of Topic, which he calls the differentia of a
maximal proposition." Maximal propositions are "propositions that are known per
se, and no proof can be found for these". This is the basis for the idea that
demonstration (or the construction of arguments) is dependent ultimately upon
ideas or proofs that are known so well and are so fundamental to human
understanding of logic that no other proofs come before it. They must hold true
in and of themselves. According to Stump, "the role of maximal propositions in
argumentation is to ensure the truth of a conclusion by ensuring the truth of its
premises either directly or indirectly," These propositions would be used in
constructing arguments through the "Differentia," which is the second part of
Boethius' theory. This is "the genus of the intermediate in the argument". So
maximal propositions allow room for an argument to be founded in some sense
20
of logic while differentia are critical for the demonstration and construction of
arguments.
Boethius’ definition of “differentiae” is that they are “the Topics of
arguments. The Topics which are the Differentiae of maximal propositions are
more universal than those propositions, just as rationality is more universal than
man.”. This is the second part of Boethius’ unique contribution to the field of
rhetoric. Differentia operate under maximal propositions to “be of use in finding
maximal propositions as well as intermediate terms,” or the premises that follow
maximal propositions. Though Boethius is drawing from Aristotle’s Topics,
Differentiae are not the same as Topics in some ways. Boethius arranges
differentia through statements, instead of generalized groups as Aristotle does.
Stump articulates the difference. They are “expressed as words or phrases
whose expansion into appropriate propositions is neither intended nor readily
conceivable”, unlike Aristotle’s clearly defined four groups of Topics. Aristotle
had hundreds of topics organized into those four groups, whereas Boethius has
twenty-eight “Topics” that are “highly ordered among themselves.” This
distinction is necessary to understand Boethius as separate from past rhetorical
theories.
Maximal propositions and Differentiae belong not only to rhetoric, but also
to dialectic. Boethius defines dialectic through an analysis of “thesis” and
hypothetical propositions.
He claims that “there are two kinds of questions. One is that called,
‘thesis’ by the Greek dialecticians. This is the kind of question which asks about
and discusses things stripped of relation to other circumstances; it is the sort of
question dialecticians most frequently dispute about – for example; ‘Is pleasure
the greatest good?’ or ‘Should one marry?’”. Dialectic has “dialectical topics” as
well as “dialectical-rhetorical topics,” all of which are still discussed in De Topicis
Differentiis. Dialectic, especially in Book I, comprises a major component of
Boethius’ discussion on Topics.
Boethius planned to completely translate Plato's Dialogues, but there is no
known surviving translation, if it was actually ever begun.
3.3 De arithmetica
Boethius intended to pass on the great Greco-Roman culture to future
generations by writing manuals on music and astronomy, geometry, and
arithmetic. Several of Boethius' writings, which were largely influential during the
21
Middle Ages, drew from the thinking of Porphyry and Iamblichus. Boethius wrote
a commentary on the Isagoge by Porphyry, which highlighted the existence of
the problem of universals: whether these concepts are subsistent entities which
would exist whether anyone thought of them, or whether they only exist as
ideas. This topic concerning the ontological nature of universal ideas was one of
the most vocal controversies in medieval philosophy.
Boethius is also reported to have translated important Greek texts for the
topics of the quadrivium. His loose translation of Nicomachus's treatise on
arithmetic (“De institutione arithmetica libri duo”) and his textbook on music
(“De institutione musica libri quinque”, unfinished) contributed to medieval
education. De arithmetica, begins with modular arithmetic, such as even and
odd, evenly-even, evenly-odd, and oddly-even. He then turns to unpredicted
complexity by categorizing numbers and parts of numbers. His translations of
Euclid on geometry and Ptolemy on astronomy, if they were completed, no
longer survive. Boethius made Latin translations of Aristotle's De interpretation
and Categories with commentaries. These were widely used during the Middle
Ages.
3.4 De institutione musica
Boethius' De institutione musica, was one of the first musical works to be
printed in Venice between the years of 1491 and 1492. It was written toward the
beginning of the sixth century and helped medieval authors during the ninth
century understand Greek music.
In his "De Musica", Boethius introduced the fourfold classification of music:
1. Musica mundana — music of the spheres/world
2. Musica humana — harmony of human body and spiritual harmony
3. Musica instrumentalis — instrumental music
4. Musica divina— music of the gods
In one of his works within De institutione musica, was to say "Music is so
naturally united with us that we cannot be free from it even if we so desired."
During the Middle Ages, Boethius was connected to several texts that
were used to teach liberal arts. Although he did not address the subject of
trivium, he did write many treatises explaining the principles of rhetoric,
22
grammar, and logic. During the Middle Ages, his works of these disciplines were
commonly used when studying the three elementary arts.
An 1872 German translation of "De Musica" was the magnum opus of Oscar Paul.
4.Extra
4.1 History of reception
Boethius also wrote Christian theological treatises, which generally
supported the orthodox position against Arianism and other dissident forms of
Christianity. These included On the Trinity, On the Catholic Faith, and a Book
against Eutychius and Nestorius.
Lorenzo Valla described Boethius as the last of the Romans and the first of
the scholastic philosophers. Despite the use of his mathematical texts in the
early universities, it is his final work, the Consolation of Philosophy, that assured
his legacy in the Middle Ages and beyond.
This work is cast as a dialogue between Boethius himself, at first bitter
and despairing over his imprisonment, and the spirit of philosophy, depicted as a
woman of wisdom and compassion. "Alternately composed in prose and verse,
the Consolation teaches acceptance of hardship in a spirit of philosophical
detachment from misfortune." Parts of the work are reminiscent of the Socratic
method of Plato's dialogues, as the spirit of philosophy questions Boethius and
challenges his emotional reactions to adversity. The work was translated into Old
English by King Alfred, although Alfred's authorship of this Old English translation
has recently been questioned, and into later English by Chaucer and Queen
Elizabeth; many manuscripts survive and it was extensively edited, translated
and printed throughout Europe from the 14th century onwards.
No complete bibliography has ever been assembled but it would run into
thousands of items. "The Boethian Wheel" is a model for Boethius' belief that
history is a wheel, that Boethius uses frequently in the Consolation; it remained
very popular throughout the Middle Ages, and is still often seen today.
23
As the wheel turns those that have power and wealth will turn to dust;
men may rise from poverty and hunger to greatness, while those who are great
may fall with the turn of the wheel. It was represented in the Middle Ages in
many relics of art depicting the rise and fall of man. Descriptions of "The
Boethian Wheel" can be found in the literature of the Middle Ages from the
Romance of the Rose to Chaucer.
4.2 Veneration
Tomb of Boethius in San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro, Pavia.
Boethius is recognized as a martyr for the Catholic faith by the Roman
Martyrology. His cult is held in Pavia and in the Church of Santa Maria in Portico
in Rome. His feast day is October 23. He was declared a saint by the Sacred
Congregation of Rites in 1883, and Pope Benedict XVI explains the relevance of
Boethius to modern day Christians by linking his teachings to an understanding
of Providence.
5.Conclusion
Boethius was more on philosophy, but he also was a politician, poet,
composers, and perhaps martyr.
24
Bibliography:
Date Taken
2 Disember 2012
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/boethius
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boethius
http://www.medievalsourcesbibliography.org/sources/2146115215
http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Boethius.html
25
RENAISSANCE PERIOD
(1450-1600)
One of the most pronounced features of early Renaissance European art music
was the increasing reliance on the interval of the third (in the Middle Ages, thirds
had been considered dissonances). Polyphony became increasingly elaborate
throughout the 14th century, with highly independent voices: the beginning of
the 15th century showed simplification, with the voices often striving for
smoothness. This was possible because of a greatly increased vocal range in
music – in the Middle Ages, the narrow range made necessary frequent crossing
of parts, thus requiring a greater contrast between them.
The modal (as opposed to tonal) characteristics of Renaissance music began to
break down towards the end of the period with the increased use of root motions
of fifths. This later developed into one of the defining characteristics of tonality.
The main characteristics of Renaissance music are:
Music based on modes.
Richer texture in four or more parts.
Blending rather than contrasting strands in the musical texture.
Harmony with a greater concern with the flow and progression of chords.
Polyphony is one of the notable changes that mark the Renaissance from the
Middle Ages musically. Its use encouraged the use of larger ensembles and
demanded sets of instruments that would blend together across the whole vocal
range.
The List of Renaissance Composer:
1. Josquin de Prez
2. Orlando de Lasso
3. Heinrich Isaac
4. William Byrd
5. Thomas Morley
6. John Dowland
7. Thomas Weekles
8. Giovanni da Palestrina
9. Giovanni Gabrieli
*The name of the composers that
be highlighted by Bold, is the one
I choosed to write about them.
26
1.INTRODUCTION
WILLIAM BYRD
(1540 or late 1539 – 4 July 1623)
William Byrd (1540 or late 1539 – 4
July 1623, by the Julian calendar, 14 July
1623, by the Gregorian calendar) was an
English composer of the Renaissance. He
wrote in many of the forms current in
England at the time, including various
types of sacred and secular polyphony,
keyboard (the so-called Virginalist school)
and consort music.
His two brothers were choristers at St. Paul's Cathedral, and Byrd may have
been a chorister there as well under Simon Westcote, although it is possible that
he was a chorister with the Chapel Royal. According to Anthony a Wood, Byrd
was 'bred up to musick under Tho. Tallis', and a reference in the prefatory
material to the Cantiones sacrae published by Tallis and Byrd in 1575 tends to
confirm that Byrd was a pupil of Thomas Tallis of the Chapel Royal. Moreover one
of Byrd's earliest compositions was a collaboration with two Chapel Royal
singing-men, John Sheppard and William Mundy, on a setting for four male voices
of the psalm In exitu Israel for the procession to the font in Easter week. It was
likely composed near the end of the reign of Queen Mary Tudor (1553–1558),
who revived Sarum liturgical practices.
27
2. BIOGRAPHY
2.1 Provenance
Thomas Byrd, the grandson of Richard Byrd of Ingatestone, Essex, likely
moved to London in the 15th century. Thereafter succeeding generations of the
family are described as gentlemen. William Byrd was born in London, the son of
another Thomas Byrd about whom nothing further is known, and his wife,
Margery. The specific year of Byrd's birth is unknown. His will, dated 15
November 1622, describes him as 'in the 80th year of my age', suggesting a
birthdate of 1542 or 1543. However a document dated 2 October 1598 written in
his own hand states that he is '58 yeares or ther abouts,' indicating an earlier
birthdate of 1539 or 1540.
The following biography information provides basic facts about the life William
Byrd:
1.Nationality – English
2. Lifespan - 1540 - 1623
3.Family: Son of Thomas and Margery.
4.Thomas Byrd had four sisters: Alice, Barbara, Mary and Martha and two
brothers: Simon and John
5. Married: William Byrd married in 1568. His wife is referred to in documents
as 'Juliana' or 'Julian' Byrd
6. William Byrd had seven children- Christopher (baptized in 1569), Elizabeth
(baptized early in 1572), Rachell, Mary, Catherine, Thomas (baptized in 1576),
and Edward (Thomas's twin brother)
7. Died: William Byrd died on July 4, 1623, is buried in an unmarked grave in
the Stondon churchyard in Essex
a. Quote by George Gage
"Cultivated by many and admired by all. Master William Byrd. Father of
British Music".
b. Quote by Henry Peacham about William Byrd following his death:
"For motets and music of piety and devotion, as well for the honour of our
nation as the merit of the man, I prefer above all our Phoenix, Master William
Byrd."
28
8. Career - Chorister, Elizabethan musician Writing songs in the new Baroque
fashion.
The following are additional facts about the bio, life and history of William Byrd:
1. Famous English Renaissance Composer
2. William Byrd sang in the Chapel Royal during the reign of Mary Tudor
3. Studied with Thomas Tallis
4. William Byrd married in 1568. His wife is referred to in documents as
'Juliana' or 'Julian' Byrd
5. William Byrd had seven children - Christopher (baptized in 1569),
Elizabeth (baptized early in 1572), Rachell, Mary, Catherine, Thomas
(baptized in 1576), and Edward (Thomas's twin brother)
6. Organist and choirmaster of Lincoln Cathedral
7. William Byrd became the favourite composer of Queen Elizabeth I and
wrote church, consort and vocal music
8. William Byrd was famous for composing Madrigals and referred to as a
member of the English Madrigal School
9. 1575 January 22: William Byrd & Thomas Tallis were granted an exclusive
license to print and publish music by Elizabeth I
10.1575: Byrd and Tallis jointly published Cantiones Sacrae, a collection of 38
Latin motets
11.Byrd was referred to as a member of the English Madrigal School
Famous for composing Liturgies, grounds, madrigals and Elizabethan Dance
music, eg; Pavans and Galliards
Ave Verum Corpus - "Ave Verum" is considered by many to be William Byrd's
finest work. It was first published in volume one of his Gradualia in 1605
William Byrd was referred to as "a father of music"
Short Biography, Facts & History about the life of William Byrd - Composer
and Musician
Elizabethan Musicians composed music for musical instruments and the voice.
The Elizabethan Golden Age saw the emergence of the Anthem, the Madrigal,
the Masque, the Theatre and the Opera and the emergence of new English music
schools.
Many famous musical works were composed by William Byrd. The patrons of
William Byrd included:
29
1. Queen Elizabeth
2. Sir Christopher Hatton
3. Lord Worcester
4. Lord Hunsdon
5. Lord Lumley
6. Lord Northampton
7. Lord Petre
8. Lord Cumberland
Works by William Byrd;
1. Latin motets or Cantiones
Sacrae
2. Psalmes, Sonets and Songs
3. Songs of Sundrie Natures
4. Anthems such as 'Sing joyfully'
5. Ave Verum Corpus
6. Gradualia
Latin motets printed in his books of Cantiones:
1. Masses
2. Grounds
3. Madrigals
4. Pavans
5. Galiards
6. Alman
2.2 Early years
Byrd's first known professional employment was his appointment in 1563
as organist and master of the choristers at Lincoln Cathedral. Residing at 6
Minster Yard Lincoln, he remained in post until 1572. His period at Lincoln was
not entirely trouble-free, for on 19 November 1569 the Dean and Chapter cited
him for ‘certain matters alleged against him’ as the result of which his salary was
suspended. Since Puritanism was influential at Lincoln, it is possible that the
allegations were connected with over-elaborate choral polyphony or organ
playing. A second directive, dated 29 November, issued detailed instructions
regarding Byrd's use of the organ in the liturgy. On 14 September 1568, Byrd
married Julian Birley; it was a long-lasting and fruitful union which produced at
least seven children.
The 1560s were also important formative years for Byrd the composer. The
Short Service, an unpretentious setting of items for the Anglican Matins,
Communion and Evensong services, which seems to have been designed to
comply with the Protestant reformers’ demand for clear words and simple
musical textures, may well have been composed during the Lincoln years. It is at
any rate clear that Byrd was composing Anglican church music, for when he left
Lincoln the Dean and Chapter continued to pay him at a reduced rate on
condition that he would send the cathedral his compositions. Byrd had also taken
serious strides with instrumental music. The seven In Nomine settings for consort
30
at least one of the consort fantasias and a number of important keyboard works
have been assigned to the Lincoln years. The latter include the Ground in Gamut
(described as 'Mr Byrd's old ground') by his future pupil Thomas Tomkins, the A
minor fantasia and probably the first of Byrd's great series of keyboard pavans
and galliards, a composition which was transcribed by Byrd from an original for
five-part consort. All these show Byrd gradually emerging as a major figure on
the Elizabethan musical landscape.
Some sets of keyboard variations, such as The Hunt's Up and the
imperfectly preserved set on Gypsies’ Round also seem to be early works. As we
have seen, Byrd had begun setting Latin liturgical texts as a teenager, and he
seems to have continued to do so at Lincoln. Two exceptional large-scale psalm
motets, Ad Dominum cum tribularer and Domine quis habitabit, are Byrd's
contribution to a genre cultivated by Robert White and Robert Parsons. De
lamentatione, another early work, is a contribution to the Elizabethan practice of
setting groups of verses from the Lamentations of Jeremiah following the format
of the Tenebrae lessons sung in the Catholic rite during the last three days of
Holy Week, other contributors including Tallis, White, Parsley and the elder
Ferrabosco. It is likely that this practice was an expression of Elizabethan
Catholic nostalgia, as a number of the texts suggest.
2.3 The Chapel Royal
Byrd obtained the prestigious post of Gentleman of the Chapel Royal in
1572 following the death of Robert Parsons, a gifted composer who drowned in
the Trent near Newark on 25 January of that year. Almost from the outset Byrd is
named as ‘organist’, which however was not a designated post but an
occupation for any Chapel Royal member capable of filling it. This career move
vastly increased Byrd's opportunities to widen his scope as a composer and also
to make contacts at Court. Queen Elizabeth (1558–1603) was a moderate
Protestant who eschewed the more extreme forms of Puritanism and retained a
fondness for elaborate ritual, besides being a music lover and keyboard player
herself. Byrd's output of Anglican church music (defined in the strictest sense as
sacred music designed for performance in church) is surprisingly small, but it
stretches the limits of elaboration then regarded as acceptable by some
reforming Protestants who regarded highly wrought music as a distraction from
the Word of God.
31
2.4 Cantiones quae ab argumento sacrae vocantur (1575)
In 1575 Byrd and Tallis were jointly granted a patent for the printing of
music and ruled music paper for 21 years, one of a number of patents issued by
the Crown for the printing of books on various subjects. The two musicians used
the services of the French Huguenot printer Thomas Vautrollier, who had settled
in England and previously produced an edition of a collection of Lassus chansons
in London (Receuil du mellange, 1570). The two monopolists took advantage of
the patent to produce a grandiose joint publication under the title Cantiones que
ab argumento sacrae vocantur consisting of 34 Latin motets dedicated to the
Queen herself and accompanied by elaborate prefatory matter including poems
in Latin elegiacs by the schoolmaster Richard Mulcaster and the young courtier
Ferdinand Heybourne (aka Richardson). There are 17 motets each by Tallis and
Byrd, one for each year of the Queen's reign.
Byrd's contribution to the Cantiones is highly variegated in character. The
inclusion of Laudate pueri which proves to be an instrumental fantasia with
words added after composition, is one sign that Byrd had some difficulty in
assembling enough material for the collection. Diliges Dominum, which may also
originally have been untexted, is an eight-in-four retrograde canon of little
musical interest. Also belonging to the more archaic stratum of motets is Libera
me Domine, a cantus firmus setting of the ninth responsory at Matins for the
Office for the Dead, which takes its point of departure from the setting by Robert
Parsons, while Miserere mihi, a setting of a Compline antiphon often used by
Tudor composers for didactic cantus firmus exercises, incorporates a four-in-two
canon. Tribue Domine is a large-scale sectional composition setting a from a
medieval collection of Meditationes which was commonly attributed to St
Augustine, composed in a style which owes much to earlier Tudor settings of
votive antiphons as a mosaic of full and semichoir passages. Byrd sets it in three
sections, each beginning with a semichoir passage in archaic style.
Byrd's contribution to the Cantiones also includes compositions in a more
forward-looking manner which point the way forwards to his motets of the 1580s.
Some of them show the influence of the motets of Alfonso Ferrabosco I (1543–
1588), a Bolognese musician who worked in the Tudor court at intervals between
1562 and 1578. Ferrabosco's motets provided direct models for Byrd's
Emendemus in melius, O lux beata Trinitas, Domine secundum actum meum and
Siderum rector as well as a more generalized paradigm for what Joseph Kerman
has called Byrd's 'affective-imitative' style, a method of setting pathetic texts in
32
extended paragraphs based on subjects employing curving lines in fluid rhythm
and contrapuntal techniques which Byrd learnt from his study of Ferrabosco.
The Cantiones were a financial failure. In 1577 Byrd and Tallis were forced to
petition Queen Elizabeth for financial help pleading that the publication had
'fallen oute to oure greate losse' and that Tallis was now 'verie aged'. They were
subsequently granted the leasehold on various lands in East Anglia and the West
Country for a period of 21 years.
In year 1597, Byrd's pupil Thomas Morley dedicated his treatise A Plaine
and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke to Byrd in flattering terms, though he
may have intended to counterbalance this in the main text by some sharply
satirical references to a mysterious ‘Master Bold’.
In The Compleat Gentleman (1622) Henry Peacham (1576–1643) praised
Byrd in lavish terms as a composer of sacred music:
“For Motets and musick of piety and devotion, as well as for the honour of our
Nation, as the merit of the man, I prefer above all our Phoenix Master William
Byrd, whom in that kind, I know not whether any may equall, I am sure none
excel, even by the judgement of France and Italy, who are very sparing in the
commendation of strangers, in regard of that conceipt they hold of themselves.
His Cantiones Sacrae, as also his Gradualia, are mere Angelicall and Divine; and
being of himself naturally disposed to Gravity and Piety, his vein is not so much
for leight Madrigals or Canzonets, yet his Virginella and some others in his first
Set, cannot be mended by the best Italian of them all.”
Finally, and most intriguingly, it has been argued that a reference to ‘the
bird of loudest lay’ in Shakespeare's mysterious allegorical poem The Phoenix
and the Tortoise may be to the composer. The poem as a whole has been
interpreted as an elegy for the Catholic martyr Saint Anne Line, who was
executed on 27 February 1601 for harbouring priests.
1. Although Byrd had a major reputation in England during his lifetime, his
music was in many respects curiously uninfluential.
2. Although his pupils included Peter Philips and Thomas Tomkins, both of
whom were active as keyboard composers, the native virginal school to
which he had contributed so much went into sharp decline with a
number of deaths in the 1620s and never recovered.
Thomas Morley, Byrd's other major composing pupil, devoted himself to the
cultivation of the madrigal, a form in which Byrd himself took little interest. The
33
native tradition of Latin music which Byrd had done so much to keep alive more
or less died with him, while consort music underwent a huge change of character
at the hands of a new generation of professional musicians at the Jacobean and
Caroline courts.
Ironically in view of Byrd's own religious beliefs, it was his Anglican church
music which came closest to establishing a continuous tradition, at least in the
sense that some of it continued to be performed in choral foundations after the
Restoration and into the eighteenth century. Byrd's exceptionally long lifespan
meant that he lived into an age in which many of the forms of vocal and
instrumental music which he had made his own had lost their appeal to most
musicians. Despite the efforts of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century
antiquarians, the reversal of this judgement had to wait for the pioneering work
of twentieth-century scholars from E. H. Fellowes onwards. In more recent times
Joseph Kerman, Oliver Neighbour, Philip Brett, John Harley, Richard Turbet, Alan
Brown, Kerry McCarthy, and others have made major contributions to increasing
our understanding of Byrd's life and music. In 2010, The Cardinall's Musick under
the direction of Andrew Carwood completed their recorded survey of Byrd's Latin
church music.
2.5 Catholicism
From the early 1570s onwards Byrd became increasingly involved with
Catholicism, which, as the scholarship of the last half-century has demonstrated,
became a major factor in his personal and creative life. Byrd himself may have
held Protestant beliefs in his youth, for a recently discovered fragment of a
setting of an English translation of Luther's hymn “Erhalt uns”, “Herr”, “bei
Deinem Wort”, which bears an attribution to 'Birde' includes the line 'From Turk
and Pope defend us Lord'.
However, from the 1570s onwards he is found associating with known
Catholics, including Lord Thomas Paget, to whom he wrote a petitionary letter on
behalf of an unnamed friend in 1573. Byrd's wife Julian was first cited for
recusancy (refusing to attend Anglican services) at Harlington in Middlesex,
where the family now lived, in 1577. Byrd himself appears in the recusancy lists
from 1584.
His involvement with Catholicism took on a new dimension in the 1580s.
Following Pius V's Papal Bull of 1570, which absolved Elizabeth's subjects from
allegiance to her and effectively made her an outlaw in the eyes of the Catholic
34
Church, Catholicism became increasingly identified with sedition in the eyes of
the Tudor authorities. With the influx of missionary priests trained in the English
Colleges in Douai and Rome from the 1570s onwards relations between the
authorities and the Catholic community took a further turn for the worse.
Byrd himself is found in the company of prominent Catholics. In 1583 he
got into serious trouble because of his association with Lord Thomas Paget, who
was suspected of involvement in the Throckmorton Plot, and for sending money
to Catholics abroad. As a result of this Byrd's membership of the Chapel Royal
was suspended for a time, restrictions were placed on his movements and his
house was placed on the search list. In 1586 he attended a gathering at a
country house in the company of Father Henry Garnett (later executed for
complicity in the Gunpowder Plot) and the Catholic poet Robert Southwell.
Byrd's commitment to the Catholic cause found expression in his motets, of
which he composed about 50 between 1575 and 1591. While the texts of the
motets included by Byrd and Tallis in the 1575 Cantiones have a High Anglican
doctrinal tone, scholars such as Joseph Kerman have detected a profound
change of direction in the texts which Byrd set in the motets of the 1580s. In
particular there is a persistent emphasis on themes such as the persecution of
the chosen people (Domine praestolamur a5) the Babylonian or Egyptian
captivity (Domine tu iurasti) and the long-awaited coming of deliverance
(Laetentur caeli, Circumspice Jerusalem). This has led scholars from Kerman
onwards to believe that Byrd was reinterpreting biblical and liturgical texts in a
contemporary context and writing laments and petitions on behalf of the
persecuted Catholic community, which seems to have adopted Byrd as a kind of
'house' composer.
Some texts should probably be interpreted as warnings against spies (Vigilate,
nescitis enim) or lying tongues (Quis est homo) or celebration of the memory of
martyred priests (O quam gloriosum).
Byrd's setting of the first four verses of Psalm 78 (Deus venerunt gentes) is
widely believed to refer to the cruel execution of Fr Edmund Campion in 1581 an
event that caused widespread revulsion on the Continent as well as in England.
Finally, and perhaps most remarkably, Byrd's Quomodo cantabimus is the result
of a motet exchange between Byrd and Philippe de Monte, who was director of
music to the Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II, in Prague. In 1583 De Monte sent
Byrd his setting of verses 1–4 of Psalm 136 (Super flumina Babylonis), including
the pointed question ’How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?’ Byrd
35
replied the following year with a setting of the defiant continuation, set, like de
Monte's piece, in eight parts and incorporating a three-part canon by inversion.
3. WORKS
3.1 Cantiones sacrae (1589 and 1591)
Thirty-seven of Byrd's motets were published in two sets of Cantiones
sacrae, which appeared in 1589 and 1591, along with 1592. Together with two
sets of English songs, discussed below, these collections, dedicated to powerful
Elizabethan lords (Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester and John Lumley, 1st
Baron Lumley), probably formed part of Byrd's campaign to re-establish himself
in Court circles after the reverses of the 1580s. They may also reflect the fact
that Byrd's fellow monopolist Tallis and his printer Thomas Vautrollier had died,
thus creating a more propitious climate for publishing ventures. Since many of
the motet texts of the 1589 and 1591 sets are pathetic in tone, it is not
surprising that many of them continue and develop the 'affective-imitative' vein
36
found in some motets from the 1570s, though in a more concise and
concentrated form. Domine praestolamur (1589) is example of this style, laid out
in imitative paragraphs based on subjects which characteristically emphasize the
expressive minor second and minor sixth, with continuations which subsequently
break off and are heard separately (another technique which Byrd had learnt
from his study of Ferrabosco). Byrd evolved a special 'cell' technique for setting
the petitionary clauses such as ‘miserere mei’ or ‘libera nos Domine’ which form
the focal point for a number of the texts. Particularly striking examples of these
are the final section of Tribulatio proxima est (1589) and the multi-sectional
Infelix ego (1591), a large-scale motet which takes its point of departure from
Tribue Domine of 1575.
There are also a number of compositions which fail to conform to this
stylistic pattern. They include three motets which employ the old-fashioned
cantus firmus technique as well as the most famous item in the 1589 collection,
Ne irascaris Domine the second part of which is closely modelled on Philip van
Wilder's popular Aspice Domine. A few motets, especially in the 1591 set,
abandon traditional motet style and resort to vivid word-painting which reflects
the growing popularity of the madrigal (Haec dies, 1591). A famous passage
from Thomas Morley's A Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke
(1597) supports the view that the madrigal had superseded the motet in the
favour of Catholic patrons, a fact which may explain why Byrd largely abandoned
the composition of non-liturgical motets after 1591.
3.2 The English song-books of 1588 and 1589
In 1588 and 1589 Byrd also published two collections of English songs. The
first, Psalms, Sonnets and Songs of Sadness and Pietie (1588) consists mainly of
adapted consort songs, which Byrd, probably guided by commercial instincts,
had turned into vocal part-songs by adding words to the accompanying
instrumental parts and labelling the original solo voice as ‘the first singing part’.
The consort song, which was the most popular form of vernacular polyphony in
England in the third quarter of the sixteenth century, was a solo song for a high
voice (often sung by a boy) accompanied by a consort of four consort
instruments (normally viols). As the title of Byrd's collection implies, consort
songs varied widely in character. Many were settings of metrical psalms, in
which the solo voice sings a melody in the manner of the numerous metrical
psalm collections of the day (e.g. Sternhold and Hopkins Psalter, 1562) with each
37
line prefigured by imitation in the accompanying instruments. Others are
dramatic elegies, intended to be performed in the boy-plays which were popular
in Tudor London.
Byrd's 1588 collection, which complicates the form as he inherited it from
Robert Parsons, Richard Farrant and others, reflects this tradition. The ‘psalms’
section sets texts drawn from Sternhold's psalter of 1549 in the traditional
manner, while the ‘sonnets and pastorals’ section employs lighter, more rapid
motion with crotchet (quarter-note) pulse, and sometimes triple metre (Though
Amaryllis dance in green). Poetically, the set (together with other evidence)
reflects Byrd's involvement with the literary circle surrounding Sir Philip Sidney,
whose influence at Court was at its height in the early 1580s. Byrd set three of
the songs from Sidney's sonnet sequence Astrophel and Stella, as well as poems
by other members of the Sidney circle, and also included two elegies on Sidney's
death in the Battle of Zutphen in 1586. But the most popular item in the set was
the Lullaby (Lullay lullaby) which blends the tradition of the dramatic lament with
the cradle-songs found in some early boy-plays and medieval mystery plays. It
long retained its popularity. In 1602 Byrd's patron Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of
Worcester, discussing Court fashions in music, predicted that ‘in winter lullaby,
an old song of Mr Birde, while more in request as I think’.
The Songs of Sundrie Natures (1589) contain sections in three, four, five
and six parts, a format which follows the plan of many Tudor manuscript
collections of household music and was probably intended to emulate the
madrigal collection Musica transalpina, which had appeared in print the previous
year. Byrd's set contains compositions in a wide variety of musical styles,
reflecting the variegated character of the texts which he was setting. The three-
part section includes settings of metrical versions of the seven penitential
psalms, in an archaic style which reflects the influence of the psalm collections.
Other items from the three-part and four-part section are in a lighter vein,
employing a line-by-line imitative technique and a predominant crotchet pulse.
The five-part section includes vocal part-songs which show the influence of the
‘adapted consort song’ style of the 1588 set but which seem to have been
conceived as all-vocal part-songs. Byrd also bowed to tradition by setting two
carols in the traditional form with alternating verses and burdens, and even
included an anthem, a setting of the Easter prose Christ rising again which also
circulated in church choir manuscripts with organ accompaniment.
38
3.3 My Ladye Nevells Booke
The 1580s were also a productive decade for Byrd as a composer of
instrumental music. On 11 September 1591, John Baldwin, a tenor lay-clerk at St
George's Chapel, Windsor and later a colleague of Byrd in the Chapel Royal,
completed the copying of My Ladye Nevells Booke, a collection of 42 of Byrd's
keyboard pieces which was probably produced under Byrd's supervision and
includes corrections which are thought to be in the composer's hand. Byrd would
almost certainly have published it if the technical means had been available to
do so. The dedicatee long remained unidentified, but John Harley's researches
into the heraldic design on the fly-leaf have shown that she was Lady Elizabeth
Neville, the third wife of Sir Henry Neville (Gentleman of the Privy Chamber) of
Billingbear in Berkshire, who was a Justice of the Peace and a warden of Windsor
Great Park.[8] Under her third married name, Lady Periam, she also received the
dedication of Thomas Morley's two-part canzonets of 1595. The contents show
Byrd's mastery of a wide variety of keyboard forms, though liturgical
compositions based on plainsong are not represented. The collection includes a
series of ten pavans and galliards in the usual three-strain form with embellished
repeats of each strain. (The only exception is the Ninth Pavan, which is a set of
variations on the passamezzo antico bass)
There are indications that the sequence may be a chronological one, for
the first pavan is labelled 'the first that ever hee made' in the Fitzwilliam Virginal
Book and the Tenth Pavan, which is separated from the others, evidently became
available at a late stage before the completion date. It is dedicated to William
Petre (the son of Byrd's patron John Petre, 1st Baron Petre) who was only 15
years old in 1591 and could hardly have played it if it had been composed much
earlier. The collection also includes two famous pieces of programme music. The
Battle, which was apparently inspired by an unidentified skirmish in Elizabeth's
Irish wars, is a sequence of movements bearing titles such as 'The marche to
fight', 'The battells be joyned' and 'The Galliarde for the victorie'. Although not
representing Byrd at his most profound, it achieved great popularity and is of
incidental interest for the information which it gives on sixteenth-century English
military calls. It is followed by The Barley Break (a mock-battle follows a real
one), a light-hearted piece which follows the progress of a game of barley-break,
a version of the game now known as ‘piggy in the middle’ played by three
couples with a ball. My Ladye Nevells Booke also contains two monumental
Grounds, and sets of keyboard variations of variegated character, notably the
39
huge set on Walsingham and the popular variations on Sellinger's Round,
Carman's Whistle and Lord Willoughby's Welcome Home. The fantasias and
voluntaries in Nevell also cover a wide stylistic range, some being austerely
contrapuntal (A voluntarie, no. 42)) and others lighter and more Italianate in
tone. Like the five-and six-part consort fantasias, they sometimes feature a
gradual increase in momentum after an imitative opening paragraph.
3.4 Consort music
The period up to 1591 also saw important additions to Byrd's output of
consort music, some of which has probably been lost. Two magnificent large-sale
compositions are the Browning, a set of 20 variations on a popular melody (also
known as The leaves be green) which evidently originated as a celebration of the
ripening of nuts in autumn, and an elaborate ground on the formula known as
the Goodnight Ground. The smaller-scale fantasias use a light-textured imitative
style which owes something to Continental models, while the five and six-part
fantasias employ large-scale cumulative construction and allusions to snatches
of popular songs.
3.5 Stondon Massey
In about 1594 Byrd's career entered a new phase. He was now in his early
fifties, and as a far as the Chapel Royal is concerned he seems to have gone into
semi-retirement. He moved with his family from Harlington to Stondon Massey, a
small village near Chipping Ongar in Essex. His ownership of Stondon Place,
where he lived for the rest of his life, was bitterly contested by Joanna Shelley,
with whom he engaged in a protracted and unedifying legal dispute lasting about
a decade and a half. The main reason for the move was apparently the proximity
of Byrd's patron Sir John Petre (the son of the former Secretary of State Sir
William Petre). A wealthy local landowner, Petre was a discreet Catholic who
maintained two local manor houses, Ingatestone Hall and Thorndon Hall, the first
of which still survives in a much-altered state. Petre held clandestine Mass
celebrations, with music provided by his servants, which were subject to the
unwelcome attention of spies and paid informers working for the Crown.
Byrd's acquaintance with the Petre family extended back at least to 1581
(as his surviving autograph letter of that year shows) and he spent two weeks at
the Petre household over Christmas in 1589. He was ideally equipped to provide
elaborate polyphony to adorn the music making at the Catholic country houses
40
of the time. The continued adherence of Byrd and his family to Catholicism
continued to cause him difficulties, though one surviving petition suggests that
he was granted permission to practise his religion under licence during the reign
of Elizabeth. Nevertheless, he regularly appeared in the quarterly local assizes to
pay heavy fines for recusancy. No doubt his wide circle of friends and patrons
among the nobility and gentry were able to ensure that he escaped more severe
penalties.
3.6 Masses
It was evidently at the behest of this circle of friends that Byrd now
embarked on a grandiose programme to provide a cycle of liturgical music
covering all the principal feasts of the Catholic Church calendar. The first stage in
this undertaking comprised the three Ordinary of the Mass cycles (in four, three
and five parts). All three Mass cycles employ other early Tudor features, notably
the mosaic of semichoir sections alternating with full sections in the four-part
and five-part Masses, the use of a semichoir section to open the Gloria, Credo
and Agnus Dei, and the head-motif which links the openings of all the
movements of a cycle.
However, all three cycles also include Kyries, a rare feature in Sarum Rite
mass settings which usually omitted it because of the use of tropes on festal
occasions in the Sarum Rite. The Kyrie of the three-part Mass is set in a simple
litany-like style, but the other Kyrie settings employ dense imitative polyphony. A
special feature of the four-part and five-part Masses is Byrd's treatment of the
Agnus Dei, which employ the technique which Byrd had previously applied to the
petitionary clauses from the motets of the 1589 and 1591 Cantiones sacrae. The
final words dona nobis pacem ('grant us peace'), which are set to chains of
anguished suspensions in the Four-Part Mass and expressive block homophony in
the five-part setting almost certainly reflect the aspirations of the troubled
Catholic community of the 1590s.
Example of Imitative Polyphony:
41
3.7 Gradualia
The second stage in Byrd's programme of liturgical polyphony is formed by
the Gradualia, two cycles of motets containing 109 items and published in 1605
and 1607. They are dedicated to two members of the Catholic nobility, Henry
Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton and Byrd's own patron Sir John Petre, who had
been elevated to the peerage in 1603 under the title Lord Petre of Writtle. The
appearance of these two monumental collections of Catholic polyphony reflects
the hopes which the recusant community must have harboured for an easier life
under the new king James I, who came from a Catholic background himself.
Addressing Petre (who is known to have lent him money to advance the printing
of the collection), Byrd describes the contents of the 1607 set as ‘blooms
collected in your own garden and rightfully due to you as tithes’, thus making
explicit the fact that they had formed part of Catholic religious observances in
the Petre household.
The greater part of the two collections consists of settings of the Proprium
Missae for the major feasts of the church calendar, thus supplementing the Mass
Ordinary cycles which Byrd had published in the 1590s. Normally, Byrd includes
the Introit, the Gradual, the Alleluia (or Tract in Lent if needed), the Offertory and
Communion. The feasts covered include the major feasts of the Virgin Mary
(including the votive masses for the Virgin for the four seasons of the church
year), All Saints and Corpus Christi (1605) followed by the feasts of the
Temporale (Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension, Whitsun and Feast of Saints
Peter and Paul (with additional items for St Peter's Chains and the Votive Mass of
the Blessed Sacrament) in 1607. The verse of the introit is normally set as a
semichoir section, returning to full choir scoring for the Gloria Patri. Similar
treatment applies to the Gradual verse, which is normally attached to the
opening Alleluia to form a single item. The liturgy requires repeated settings of
the word ‘Alleluia’, and Byrd provides a wide variety of different settings forming
brilliantly conceived miniature fantasias which are one of the most striking
42
features of the two sets. The Alleluia verse, together with the closing Alleluia,
normally form an item in themselves, while the Offertory and the Communion
are set as they stand.
In the Roman liturgy there are many texts which appear repeatedly in
different liturgical contexts. To avoid having to set the same text twice, Byrd
often resorted to a cross-reference or ‘transfer’ system which allowed a single
setting to be slotted into a different place in the liturgy. Unfortunately, this
practice sometimes causes confusion, partly because normally no rubrics are
printed to make the required transfer clear and partly because there are some
errors which complicate matters still further. A good example of the transfer
system in operation is provided by the first motet from the 1605 set (Suscepimus
Deus) in which the text used for the Introit has to be reused in a shortened form
for the Gradual. Byrd provides a cadential break at the cut-off point.
The 1605 set also contains a number of miscellaneous items which fall
outside the liturgical scheme of the main body of the set. As Philip Brett has
pointed out, most of the items from the four- and three-part sections were taken
from the Primer (the English name for the Book of hours) thus falling within the
sphere of private devotions rather than public worship. These include, inter alia,
settings of the four Marian antiphons from the Roman Rite, four Marian hymns
set a3, a version of the Litany, the gem-like setting of the Eucharistic hymn Ave
verum Corpus, and the Turbarum voces from the St John Passion, as well as a
series of miscellaneous items.
In stylistic terms the motets of the Gradualia form a sharp contrast to
those of the Cantiones sacrae publications. The vast majority are shorter, with
the discursive imitative paragraphs of the earlier motets giving place to double
phrases in which the counterpoint, though intricate and concentrated, assumes a
secondary level of importance. Long imitative paragraphs are the exception,
often kept for final climactic sections in the minority of extended motets. The
melodic writing often breaks into quaver (eighth-note) motion, tending to
undermine the minim (half-note) pulse with surface detail. Some of the more
festive items, especially in the 1607 set, feature vivid madrigalesque word-
painting. The Marian hymns from the 1605 Gradualia are set in a light line-by-
line imitative counterpoint with crotchet pulse which recalls the three-part
English songs from Songs of sundrie natures (1589). For obvious reasons, the
Gradualia never achieved the popularity of Byrd's earlier works. The 1607 set
omits several texts, which were evidently too sensitive for publication in the light
43
of the renewed anti-Catholic persecution which followed the failure of the
Gunpowder Plot in 1605. A contemporary account which sheds light on the
circulation of the music between Catholic country houses, refers to the arrest of
a French Jesuit named De Noiriche, who was followed from an unidentified
country house by spies, apprehended, searched and found to be carrying a copy
of the 1605 set. Nevertheless, Byrd felt safe enough to reissue both sets with
new title pages in 1610.
3.8 Anglican church music
Byrd's staunch adherence to Catholicism did not prevent him from
contributing memorably to the repertory of Anglican church music. Byrd's small
output of church anthems ranges in style from relatively sober early examples (O
Lord, make thy servant Elizabeth our queen and How long shall mine enemies) to
other, evidently late works such as Sing joyfully which is close in style to the
English motets of Byrd's 1611 set, discussed below. Byrd also played a role in
the emergence of the new verse anthem, which seems to have evolved in part
from the practice of adding vocal refrains to consort songs. Byrd's four Anglican
service settings range in style from the unpretentious Short Service, already
discussed, to the magnificent so-called Great Service, a grandiose work which
continues a tradition of opulent settings by Richard Farrant, William Mundy and
Robert Parsons. Byrd's setting is on a massive scale, requiring five-part Decani
and Cantoris groupings in antiphony, block homophony and five, six and eight-
part counterpoint with verse (solo) sections for added variety. This service
setting, which includes an organ part, must have been sung by the Chapel Royal
Choir on major liturgical occasions in the early seventeenth century, though its
limited circulation suggests that many other cathedral choirs must have found it
beyond them. Nevertheless, the source material shows that it was sung in York
Minster from c. 1618. The Great Service was in existence by 1606 (the last
copying date entered in the earliest surviving manuscript source) and may date
back as far as the 1590s.
3.9 Psalms, songs and sonnets (1611)
Byrd's last collection of English songs was Psalms, Songs and Sonnets,
published in 1611 (when Byrd was over 70) and dedicated to Francis Clifford, 4th
Earl of Cumberland, who later also received the dedication of Thomas Campion's
First Book of Songs in 1615. The layout of the set broadly follows the pattern of
44
Byrd's 1589 set, being laid out in sections for three, four, five and six parts like
its predecessor and embracing an even wider miscellany of styles (perhaps
reflecting the influence of another Jacobean publication, Michael East's Third Set
of Books (1610). Byrd's set includes two consort fantasias as well as eleven
English motets, most of them setting prose
texts from the Bible. These include some of
his most famous compositions, notably
Praise our Lord, all ye Gentiles This day
Christ was born and Have mercy upon me
which employs alternating phrases with
verse and full scoring and also circulated as
a church anthem. There are more carols
set in verse and burden form as in the
1589 set as well as lighter three and four-
part songs in Byrd's ‘sonnets and pastorals’
style. Some items are, however, more
tinged with madrigalian influence than their
counterparts in the earlier set, making
clear that the short-lived madrigal vogue of
the 1590s had not completely passed Byrd
by.
3.10 Last works
Parthenia - Published 1612
Byrd also contributed eight keyboard pieces to Parthenia (winter 1612–13), a
collection of 21 keyboard pieces engraved by William Hole and containing music
by Byrd, John Bull and Orlando Gibbons. It was issued in celebration of the
forthcoming marriage of James I's daughter Princess Elizabeth to Frederick V,
Elector Palatine, which took place on 14 February 1613. The three composers are
nicely differentiated by seniority, with Byrd, Bull and Gibbons represented
respectively by eight, seven and six items. Byrd's contribution includes the
famous Earl of Salisbury Pavan, composed in memory of Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of
Salisbury, who had died on 24 May 1612, and its two accompanying galliards.
Byrd's last published compositions are four English anthems printed in William
Leighton's ' Teares or Lamentacions of a Sorrowfull Soule (1614).
45
Byrd remained in Stondon Massey until his death on 4 July 1623, which
was noted in the Chapel Royal Check Book in a unique entry describing him as ‘a
Father of Music’. Despite repeated citations for recusancy and swingeing fines,
he died a rich man, having rooms at the time of his death at the London home of
the Earl of Worcester.
3.11 Reputation and reception
Byrd's output of about 470 compositions amply justifies his reputation as
one of the great masters of European Renaissance music. Perhaps his most
impressive achievement as a composer was his ability to transform so many of
the main musical forms of his day and stamp them with his own identity. Having
grown up in an age in which Latin polyphony was largely confined to liturgical
items for the Sarum rite, he assimilated and mastered the Continental motet
form of his day, employing a highly personal synthesis of English and continental
models. He virtually created the Tudor consort and keyboard fantasia, having
only the most primitive models to follow. He also raised the consort song, the
church anthem and the Anglican service setting to new heights. Finally, despite a
general aversion to the madrigal, he succeeded in cultivating secular vocal music
in an impressive variety of forms in his three sets of 1588, 1589 and 1611.
Byrd enjoyed a high reputation among English musicians, especially in the
earlier stages of his career. Despite the failure of the Cantiones of 1575 some of
his other collections sold well, while Elizabethan scribes such as the Oxford
academic Robert Dow, the Windsor lay clerk John Baldwin and a school of scribes
working for the Norfolk country gentleman Sir Edward Paston copied his music
extensively. Dow included Latin distichs and quotations in praise of Byrd in his
manuscript collection of music (GB Och 984-8) while Baldwin included a long
doggerel poem in his commonplace book (GB Lbm Roy App 24 d 2) ranking Byrd
at the head of the musicians of his day:
Yet let not straingers bragg, nor they these soe commende,
For they may now geve place and sett themselves behynde,
An Englishman, by name, William BIRDE for his skill
Which I shoulde heve sett first, for soe it was my will,
Whose greater skill and knowledge dothe excelle all at this time
And far to strange countries abrode his skill dothe shyne...
46
In 1597 Byrd's pupil Thomas Morley dedicated his treatise A Plaine and
Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke to Byrd in flattering terms, though he
may have intended to counterbalance this in the main text by some sharply
satirical references to a mysterious ‘Master Bold’. In The Compleat Gentleman
(1622) Henry Peacham (1576–1643) praised Byrd in lavish terms as a composer
of sacred music:
“For Motets and music of piety and devotion, as well as for the honour of our
Nation, as the merit of the man, I prefer above all our Phoenix Master William
Byrd, whom in that kind, I know not whether any may equall, I am sure none
excel, even by the judgement of France and Italy, who are very sparing in the
commendation of strangers, in regard of that conceipt they hold of themselves.
His Cantiones Sacrae, as also his Gradualia, are mere Angelicall and Divine; and
being of himself naturally disposed to Gravity and Piety, his vein is not so much
for leight Madrigals or Canzonets, yet his Virginella and some others in his first
Set, cannot be mended by the best Italian of them all.”
Finally, and most intriguingly, it has been argued that a reference to ‘the
bird of loudest lay’ in Shakespeare's mysterious allegorical poem The Phoenix
and the Tortoise may be to the composer. The poem as a whole has been
interpreted as an elegy for the Catholic martyr Saint Anne Line, who was
executed on 27 February 1601 for harbouring priests.
4.3 Veneration
Byrd is honored together with John Merbecke and Thomas Tallis with a feast day
on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA) on November 21.
5.Conclusion
William Byrd has contribute so many musical to many place especially the
church. William was one of the great composers in Renaissance period. There are
many musical in his life.
47
Bibliography
Books:
Date Taken:
10 December 2012
Holoman, D. Kern, 1998, A MUSICAL DISCOVERY MASTERWORKS. Printed in
United States of America; Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458.
Page 90-94.
Internet:
Date Taken:
4 December 2012 & 10 December 2012
http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/william-byrd.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Byrd
http://naxos.com
48
THE BAROQUE PERIOD (1600-1750)
The baroque style was also shaped by the needs of churches, which used the
emotional and theatrical qualifies of art to make worship more attractive and
appealing. The middle class, too, influenced the development of the baroque
style. In Holland, for example, prosperous merchants and doctors commissioned
realistic depictions of landscapes and science from everydaylife.
The List of Some Baroque Composer:
1. Claudio Monteverdi
2. Arcangelo Corelli
3. A. Scarlati
4. Antonio Vivaldi
5. Heinrich Schutz
6. J.S Bach
7. George Frideric Handel
8. Lully
9. Francois Couperin
10.Rameau
11.Purcell
*The name of the composers that be highlighted by Bold, is the one I choosed to
write about them.
1.Introduction
49
Antonio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741)
in 1725.
1. Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July
1741),
2. nicknamed: Prete Rosso ("The Red Priest")
because of his red hair, was an Italian Baroque
composer, priest, and virtuoso violinist, born in
Venice.
3. Recognized as one of the greatest Baroque
composers, his influence during his lifetime
was widespread over Europe.
4. Vivaldi is known mainly for composing instrumental concertos, especially
for the violin, as well as sacred choral works and over forty operas. His
best known work is a series of violin concertos known as The Four
Seasons.
Many of his compositions were written for the female music ensemble of the
Ospedale della Pietà, a home for abandoned children where Vivaldi had been
employed from 1703 to 1715 and from 1723 to 1740. Vivaldi also had some
success with stagings of his operas in Venice, Mantua and Vienna. After meeting
the Emperor Charles VI, Vivaldi moved to Vienna, hoping for preferment. The
Emperor died soon after Vivaldi's arrival.
Though Vivaldi's music was well received during his lifetime, it later
declined in popularity until its vigorous revival in the first half of the 20th
century. Today, Vivaldi ranks among the most popular and widely recorded of
Baroque composers.
Vivaldi was born in Venice, Italy; died at age 63 in Vienna, Austria.
50
2. BIOGRAPHY
Childhood: The church where Vivaldi was baptised: San Giovanni Battista in
Bragora, Sestiere di Castello, Venice
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was born in 1678 in Venice, Vivaldi was the son of a
violinist who played as part of instrumental essemble in St Mark’s Cathedral,
Venice. He was baptized immediately after his birth at his home by the midwife,
which led to a belief that his life was somehow in danger. Though not known for
certain, the child's immediate baptism was most likely due either to his poor
health or to an earthquake that shook the city that day. In the trauma of the
earthquake, Vivaldi's mother may have dedicated him to the priesthood. Vivaldi's
official church baptism did not take place until two months later.
Vivaldi's parents were Giovanni Battista Vivaldi and Camilla Calicchio, as
recorded in the register of San Giovanni in Bragora. Vivaldi had five siblings:
Margarita Gabriela, Cecilia Maria, Bonaventura Tomaso, Zanetta Anna, and
Francesco Gaetano. Giovanni Battista, who was a barber before becoming a
professional violinist, taught Antonio to play the violin and then toured Venice
playing the violin with his young son. Antonio was probably taught at an early
age, judging by the extensive musical knowledge he had acquired by the age of
24, when he started working at the Ospedale della Pietà. Giovanni Battista was
one of the founders of the Sovvegno dei musicisti di Santa Cecilia, an association
of musicians.
The president of the Sovvegno was Giovanni Legrenzi, an early Baroque
composer and the maestro di cappella at St. Mark's Basilica. It is possible that
Legrenzi gave the young Antonio his first lessons in composition. The
Luxembourg scholar Walter Kolneder has discerned the influence of Legrenzi's
style in Vivaldi's early liturgical work Laetatus sum (RV Anh 31), written in 1691
at the age of thirteen. Vivaldi's father may have been a composer himself: in
1689, an opera titled La Fedeltà sfortunata was composed by a Giovanni Battista
Rossi - the name under which Vivaldi's father had joined the Sovvegno di Santa
Cecilia. "Rosso" is Italian for "Red", and would have referred to the colour of his
hair, a family trait.
Vivaldi's health was problematic. His symptoms, strettezza di petto ("tightness of
the chest"), have been interpreted as a form of asthma. This did not prevent him
from learning to play the violin, composing or taking part in musical activities,
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although it did stop him from playing wind instruments. In 1693, at the age of
fifteen, he began studying to become a priest. He was ordained in 1703, aged
25. He was soon nicknamed il Prete Rosso, "The Red Priest", because of his red
hair. Not long after his ordination, in 1704, he was given a dispensation from
celebrating Mass because of his ill health. Vivaldi only said Mass as a priest a few
times. He appears to have withdrawn from priestly duties, but he remained a
priest.
2.1 At the Conservatorio dell'Ospedale della Pietà
In September 1703, Vivaldi became maestro di violino (master of violin) at
an orphanage called the Pio Ospedale della Pietà (Devout Hospital of Mercy) in
Venice. While Vivaldi is most famous as a composer, he was regarded as an
exceptional technical violinist as well. The German architect Johann Friedrich
Armand von Uffenbach referred to Vivaldi as "the famous composer and violinist"
and said that "Vivaldi played a solo accompaniment excellently, and at the
conclusion he added a free fantasy [an improvised cadenza] which absolutely
astounded me, for it is hardly possible that anyone has ever played, or ever will
play, in such a fashion."
Vivaldi was only 25 when he started working at the Ospedale della Pietà.
Over the next thirty years he composed most of his major works while working
there. There were four similar institutions in Venice; their purpose was to give
shelter and education to children who were abandoned or orphaned, or whose
families could not support them. They were financed by funds provided by the
Republic. The boys learned a trade and had to leave when they reached 15. The
girls received a musical education, and the most talented stayed and became
members of the Ospedale's renowned orchestra and choir.
Shortly after Vivaldi's appointment, the orphans began to gain
appreciation and esteem abroad, too. Vivaldi wrote concertos, cantatas and
sacred vocal music for them. These sacred works, which number over 60, are
varied: they included solo motets and large-scale choral works for soloists,
double chorus, and orchestra. In 1704, the position of teacher of viola all'inglese
was added to his duties as violin instructor. The position of maestro di coro,
which was at one time filled by Vivaldi, required a lot of time and work. He had to
compose an oratorio or concerto at every feast and teach the orphans both
music theory and how to play certain instruments.
His relationship with the board of directors of the Ospedale was often
strained. The board had to take a vote every year on whether to keep a teacher.
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The vote on Vivaldi was seldom unanimous, and went 7 to 6 against him in 1709.
After a year as a freelance musician, he was recalled by the Ospedale with a
unanimous vote in 1711; clearly during his year's absence the board realized the
importance of his role. He became responsible for all of the musical activity of
the institution when he was promoted to maestro di' concerti (music director) in
1716.
In 1705, the first collection (Connor Cassara) of his works was published
by Giuseppe Sala: his Opus 1 is a collection of 12 sonatas for two violins and
basso continuo, in a conventional style. In 1709, a second collection of 12
sonatas for violin and basso continuo appeared, his Opus 2. A real breakthrough
as a composer came with his first collection of 12 concerti for one, two, and four
violins with strings, L'estro armonico Opus 3, which was published in Amsterdam
in 1711 by Estienne Roger, dedicated to Grand Prince Ferdinand of Tuscany. The
prince sponsored many musicians including Alessandro Scarlatti and Georg
Frideric Handel. He was a musician himself, and Vivaldi probably met him in
Venice. L'estro armonico was a resounding success all over Europe. It was
followed in 1714 by La stravaganza Opus 4, a collection of concerti for solo violin
and strings, dedicated to an old violin student of Vivaldi's, the Venetian noble
Vettor Dolfin.
In February 1711, Vivaldi and his father traveled to Brescia, where his
setting of the Stabat Mater (RV 621) was played as part of a religious festival.
The work seems to have been written in haste: the string parts are simple, the
music of the first three movements is repeated in the next three, and not all the
text is set. Nevertheless, perhaps in part because of the forced essentiality of the
music, the work is one of his early masterpieces.
Despite his frequent travels from 1718, the Pietà paid him 2 sequins to
write two concerti a month for the orchestra and to rehearse with them at least
five times when in Venice. The Pietà's records show that he was paid for 140
concerti between 1723 and 1733.
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3.WORKS
3.1 Opera impresario
In early 18th century Venice, opera was the most popular musical
entertainment. It proved most profitable for Vivaldi. There were several theaters
competing for the public's attention. Vivaldi started his career as an opera
composer as a sideline: his first opera, Ottone in villa (RV 729) was performed
not in Venice, but at the Garzerie Theater in Vicenza in 1713.
The following year, Vivaldi became the impresario of the Teatro
Sant'Angelo in Venice, where his opera Orlando finto pazzo (RV 727) was
performed. The work was not to the public's taste, and it closed after a couple of
weeks, being replaced with a repeat of a different work already given the
previous year.
In 1715, he presented Nerone fatto Cesare (RV 724, now lost), with music
by seven different composers, of which he was the leader. The opera contained
eleven arias, and was a success. In the late season, Vivaldi planned to put on an
opera composed entirely by him, Arsilda, regina di Ponto (RV 700), but the state
censor blocked the performance. The main character, Arsilda, falls in love with
another woman, Lisea, who is pretending to be a man. Vivaldi got the censor to
accept the opera the following year, and it was a resounding success.
At this period, the Pietà commissioned several liturgical works. The most
important were two oratorios. Moyses Deus Pharaonis, (RV 643) is lost. The
second, Juditha triumphans (RV 644), celebrates the victory of the Republic of
Venice against the Turks and the recapture of the island of Corfù. Composed in
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1716, it is one of his sacred masterpieces. All eleven singing parts were
performed by girls of the Pietà, both the female and male roles. Many of the
arias include parts for solo instruments—recorders, oboes, clarinets, violas
d'amore, and mandolins—that showcased the range of talents of the girls.
Also in 1716, Vivaldi wrote and produced two more operas,
L'incoronazione di Dario (RV 719) and La costanza trionfante degli amori e degli
odi (RV 706). The latter was so popular that it performed two years later, re-
edited and retitled Artabano re dei Parti (RV 701, now lost). It was also
performed in Prague in 1732. In the following years, Vivaldi wrote several operas
that were performed all over Italy.
His progressive operatic style caused him some trouble with more
conservative musicians, like Benedetto Marcello, a magistrate and amateur
musician who wrote a pamphlet denouncing him and his operas. The pamphlet, Il
teatro alla moda, attacks Vivaldi without mentioning him directly. The cover
drawing shows a boat (the Sant'Angelo), on the left end of which stands a little
angel wearing a priest's hat and playing the violin. The Marcello family claimed
ownership of the Teatro Sant'Angelo, and a long legal battle had been fought
with the management for its restitution, without success. The obscure writing
under the picture mentions non-existent places and names: ALDIVIVA is an
anagram of A. Vivaldi.
In a letter written by Vivaldi to his patron Marchese Bentivoglio in 1737, he
makes reference to his "94 operas". Only around 50 operas by Vivaldi have been
discovered, and no other documentation of the remaining operas exists.
Although Vivaldi may have exaggerated, in his dual role of composer and
impresario it is plausible that he may either have written or been responsible for
the production of as many as 94 operas during a career which by then had
spanned almost 25 years. While Vivaldi certainly composed many operas in his
time, he never reached the prominence of other great composers like Alessandro
Scarlatti, Johann Adolph Hasse, Leonardo Leo, and Baldassare Galuppi, as
evidenced by his inability to keep a production running for any extended period
of time in any major opera house.
His most successful operas were La constanza trionfante and Farnace
which garnered six revivals each.
3.2 Mantua and The Four Seasons
55
Caricature by P.L.Ghezzi, Rome (1723). There are only three known
surviving depictions of Vivaldi made in his lifetime: this caricature, the woodcut
at the beginning of this article, and an oil portrait of the composer and his violin.
Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians has disputed the authenticity of the
last portrait.
"La primavera" (Spring) – Movement 1: Allegro from The Four Seasons
In 1717 or 1718, Vivaldi was offered a new prestigious position as Maestro di
Cappella of the court of prince Philip of Hesse-Darmstadt, governor of Mantua.
He moved there for three years and produced several operas, among which was
Tito Manlio (RV 738). In 1721, he was in Milan, where he presented the pastoral
drama La Silvia (RV 734, 9 arias survive). He visited Milan again the following
year with the oratorio L'adorazione delli tre re magi al bambino Gesù (RV 645,
also lost). In 1722 he moved to Rome, where he introduced his operas' new style.
The new pope Benedict XIII invited Vivaldi to play for him. In 1725, Vivaldi
returned to Venice, where he produced four operas in the same year.
During this period Vivaldi wrote the Four Seasons, four violin concertos
depicting scenes appropriate for each season. Three of the concerti are of
original conception, while the first, "Spring", borrows motifs from a Sinfonia in
the first act of his contemporaneous opera "Il Giustino". The inspiration for the
concertos was probably the countryside around Mantua. They were a revolution
in musical conception: in them Vivaldi represented flowing creeks, singing birds
(of different species, each specifically characterized), barking dogs, buzzing
mosquitoes, crying shepherds, storms, drunken dancers, silent nights, hunting
parties from both the hunters' and the prey's point of view, frozen landscapes,
ice-skating children, and warming winter fires. Each concerto is associated with a
sonnet, possibly by Vivaldi, describing the scenes depicted in the music. They
were published as the first four concertos in a collection of twelve, Il cimento
dell'armonia e dell'inventione, Opus 8, published in Amsterdam by Le Cène in
1725.
During his time in Mantua, Vivaldi became acquainted with an aspiring
young singer Anna Tessieri Girò who was to become his student, protégée, and
favorite prima donna.[33] Anna, along with her older half-sister Paolina, became
part of Vivaldi's entourage and regularly accompanied him on his many travels.
There was speculation about the nature of Vivaldi's and Giro's relationship, but
no evidence to indicate anything beyond friendship and professional
collaboration. Although Vivaldi's relationship with Anna Girò was questioned, he
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adamantly denied any romantic relationship in a letter to his patron Bentivoglio
dated 16 November 1737.
3.3 Later life and death
During the height of his career, Vivaldi received commissions from
European nobility and royalty. The wedding cantata Gloria e Imeneo (RV 687)
was written for the marriage of Louis XV. Vivaldi's Opus 9, La Cetra, was
dedicated to Emperor Charles VI. In 1728, Vivaldi met the emperor while he was
visiting Trieste to oversee the construction of a new port. Charles admired the
music of the Red Priest so much that he is said to have spoken more with the
composer during their one meeting than he spoke to his ministers in over two
years. He gave Vivaldi the title of knight, a gold medal and an invitation to
Vienna. Vivaldi gave Charles a manuscript copy of La Cetra, a set of concerti
almost completely different from the set of the same title published as Opus 9.
The printing was probably delayed, forcing Vivaldi to gather an improvised
collection for the emperor.
3.4 Frontispiece of Il teatro alla moda
Accompanied by his father, Vivaldi traveled to Vienna and Prague in 1730,
where his opera Farnace (RV 711) was presented. Some of his later operas were
created in collaboration with two of Italy's major writers of the time. L'Olimpiade
and Catone in Utica were written by Pietro Metastasio, the major representative
of the Arcadian movement and court poet in Vienna. La Griselda was rewritten
by the young Carlo Goldoni from an earlier libretto by Apostolo Zeno.
Like many composers of the time, the final years of Vivaldi's life found him
in financial difficulties. His compositions were no longer held in such high esteem
as they once were in Venice; changing musical tastes quickly made them
outmoded. In response, Vivaldi chose to sell off sizeable numbers of his
manuscripts at paltry prices to finance his migration to Vienna. The reasons for
Vivaldi's departure from Venice are unclear, but it seems likely that, after the
success of his meeting with Emperor Charles VI, he wished to take up the
position of a composer in the imperial court. On his way to Vienna, Vivaldi may
have stopped in Graz to see Anna Girò.
It is also likely that Vivaldi went to Vienna to stage operas, especially as
he took up residence near the Kärntnertortheater. Shortly after his arrival in
Vienna, Charles VI died, which left the composer without any royal protection or
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a steady source of income. Soon afterwards, Vivaldi became impoverished and
died during the night of 27/28 July 1741, aged 63, of "internal infection", in a
house owned by the widow of a Viennese saddlemaker. On 28 July he was buried
in a simple grave in a burial ground that was owned by the public hospital fund.
Vivaldi's funeral took place at St. Stephen's Cathedral, but the young Joseph
Haydn had nothing to do with this burial, since no music was performed on that
occasion. The cost of his funeral with a 'Kleingeläut' was 19 Gulden 45 Kreuzer
which was rather expensive for the lowest class of burials.
He was buried next to Karlskirche, in an area which is now part of the site
of the Technical Institute. The house where he lived in Vienna has since been
destroyed; the Hotel Sacher is built on part of the site. Memorial plaques have
been placed at both locations, as well as a Vivaldi "star" in the Viennese
Musikmeile and a monument at the Rooseveltplatz.
Only three portraits of Vivaldi are known to survive: an engraving, an ink sketch
and an oil painting. The engraving, by Francois Morellon La Cave, was made in
1725 and shows Vivaldi holding a sheet of music. The ink sketch was done by
Ghezzi in 1723 and shows Vivaldi's head and shoulders in profile. The oil
painting, which can be seen in the Liceo Musicale of Bologna, gives us possibly
the most accurate picture and shows Vivaldi's red hair under his blond wig.
3.5 Style and influence
Vivaldi's music was innovative. He brightened the formal and rhythmic
structure of the concerto, in which he looked for harmonic contrasts and
innovative melodies and themes; many of his compositions are flamboyantly,
almost playfully, exuberant.
Johann Sebastian Bach was deeply influenced by Vivaldi's concertos and arias
(recalled in his St John Passion, St Matthew Passion, and cantatas). Bach
transcribed six of Vivaldi's concerti for solo keyboard, three for organ, and one
for four harpsichords, strings, and basso continuo (BWV 1065) based upon the
concerto for four violins, two violas, cello, and basso continuo (RV 580).
3.6 Posthumous reputation
During his lifetime, Vivaldi's popularity quickly made him famous in other
countries, including France, where musical taste was less dictated by fashion
than elsewhere, but after his death the composer's popularity dwindled. After the
Baroque period, Vivaldi's published concerti became relatively unknown and
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were largely ignored. Even Vivaldi's most famous work, The Four Seasons, was at
that time unknown in its original edition.
During the early 20th century, Fritz Kreisler's Concerto in C, in the Style of
Vivaldi (which he passed off as an original Vivaldi work) helped revive Vivaldi's
reputation. This spurred the French scholar Marc Pincherle to begin an academic
study of Vivaldi's oeuvre. Many Vivaldi manuscripts were rediscovered, which
were acquired by the Turin National University Library as a result of the generous
sponsorship of Turinese businessmen Roberto Foa and Filippo Giordano, in
memory of their sons. This led to a renewed interest in Vivaldi by, among others,
Mario Rinaldi, Alfredo Casella, Ezra Pound, Olga Rudge, Desmond Chute, Arturo
Toscanini, Arnold Schering and Louis Kaufman, all of whom were instrumental in
the Vivaldi revival of the 20th century.
In 1926, in a monastery in Piedmont, researchers discovered fourteen
folios of Vivaldi's work that were previously thought to have been lost during the
Napoleonic Wars. Some missing volumes in the numbered set were discovered in
the collections of the descendants of the Grand Duke Durazzo, who had acquired
the monastery complex in the 18th century. The volumes contained 300
concertos, 19 operas and over 100 vocal-instrumental works.
The resurrection of Vivaldi's unpublished works in the 20th century is
mostly due to the efforts of Alfredo Casella, who in 1939 organised the historic
Vivaldi Week, in which the rediscovered Gloria (RV 589) and l'Olimpiade were
revived. Since World War II, Vivaldi's compositions have enjoyed wide success. In
1947, the Venetian businessman Antonio Fanna founded the Istituto Italiano
Antonio Vivaldi, with the composer Gian Francesco Malipiero as its artistic
director, with the aim of promoting Vivaldi's music and publishing new editions of
his works. Historically informed performances seem to have increased Vivaldi's
fame still further.
Recent rediscoveries of works by Vivaldi include two psalm settings of Nisi
Dominus (RV 803, in eight movements) and Dixit Dominus (RV 807, in eleven
movements). These were identified in 2003 and 2005 respectively, by the
Australian scholar Janice Stockigt. The Vivaldi scholar Michael Talbot described
RV 807 as "arguably the best nonoperatic work from Vivaldi's pen to come to
light since the 1920s".Vivaldi's lost 1730 opera Argippo (RV 697) was
rediscovered in 2006 by the harpsichordist and conductor Ondřej Macek, whose
Hofmusici orchestra performed the work at Prague Castle on 3 May 2008, its first
performance since 1730.
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3.7 Works
A composition by Vivaldi is identified by RV number, which refers to its
place in the "Ryom-Verzeichnis" or "Répertoire des oeuvres d'Antonio Vivaldi", a
catalog created in the 20th century by the musicologist Peter Ryom.
Le quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons) of 1723 is his most famous work.
Part of Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione ("The Contest between Harmony
and Invention"), it depicts moods and scenes from each of the four seasons. This
work has been described as an outstanding instance of pre-19th century
program music.
Vivaldi wrote more than 500 other concertos. About 350 of these are for
solo instrument and strings, of which 230 are for violin, the others being for
bassoon, cello, oboe, flute, viola d'amore, recorder, lute, or mandolin. About forty
concertos are for two instruments and strings and about thirty are for three or
more instruments and strings.
As well as about 46 operas, Vivaldi composed a large body of sacred choral
music. Other works include sinfonias, about 90 sonatas and chamber music.
Some sonatas for flute, published as Il Pastor Fido, have been erroneously
attributed to Vivaldi, but were composed by Nicolas Chédeville.
Vivaldi's Gloria (a collection of choral pieces for SATB) is a very well-known
and widely praised piece. The research of Richard Vendome has showed that
Vivaldi wrote this piece while he was the director of music at a girl's dance
school, implying that he intended all the parts - including the tenor and bass
lines - to be sung by girls or women. Vendome's thesis is controversial, but he
has has proved it to be possible with his own 'SPAV' choir, which is dedicated to
the works of Vivaldi and his students and in which females sing bass, tenor,
soprano and alto, all at pitch
4.CONCLUSION
Vivaldi that has known as red priest really bring lifetime musical which
included the four seasons that happen in where he were born.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books:
Date Taken:
10 December 2012
Kamien, Roger, 1994, MUSIC AN APPRECIATION (SECOND BRIEF EDITION).
Printed in United States of America; McGraw-Hill.Inc. (Page 78-80, 98-100)
Kamien, Roger, 1992, MUSIC AN APPRECIATION (FIFTH EDITION). Printed in
United States of America; McGraw-Hill,Inc. (Page 160-164)
Charlton, Katherine, 2012, EXPERIENCE MUSIC (THIRD EDITION). Printed in
United States of America; McGraw Hill. (Page 103-107)
Holoman, D.Kern, 1998, A MUSICAL DISCOVERY MASTERWORKS. Printed in
United States of America; Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458.
(Page 117)
Internet:
Date Taken:
10 December 2012
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Vivaldi
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