MUSIC HISTORY

RENAISSANCE PERIOD

MUSIC OF THE RENAISSANCE

DATES:

1400AD to 1600AD

MAJOR EVENTS

THE RENAISSANCE

• Renaissance means “rebirth”

• Was a time of great cultural awakening called “humanism”

• Considered to be the bridge between the Dark Ages and Modern History

• Great strides in the Arts & Sciences

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

• Development of the compass made voyages of discovery possible that opened up new worlds (Columbus, Vespucci, Ponce de Leon, etc.)

• Invention of printing press (c. 1455) by Johannes Gutenberg

• Michelangelo’s David

• Great and lavish palaces exemplified the ideals of order and balance

PROMINENT FIGURES• Leonardo da Vinci – Painter – 1452 to 1519• Michelangelo – Sculptor – 1475 to 1564• Martin Luther – Religious Reformer – 1483 to 1546• Machiavelli – Italian Statesman – 1469 to 1527• Galileo – Scientist – 1564 to 1642• Shakespeare – Writer – 1564 to 1616

The Renaissance marks the birth of the modern European spirit and of Western society as we have come to know it.

Musicians in Medieval and Renaissance Society

• Musicians were supported by public institutions like churches and states as well as aristocracy.

• Employment in music-related fields was abundant (singers, composers, music printers, teachers, instrument makers, etc.)

• The merchant class emerged as a new group of music patrons.

• Most of the cultivated middle and upper class were amateur musicians.

• Music literacy spread dramatically due to the invention of music printing.

The Concert (c. 1530–40)

RENAISSANCE MUSIC

Music of the Renaissance was both:

SACRED and SECULAR

Renaissance Sacred Music• Music still played a very prominent role in the

church during the Renaissance

• Most church music was in a cappella style (vocal music without instrumental accompaniment)

• Polyphony based on principle of imitation – musical ideas exchanged between vocal lines

• Harmonies based on “sweeter” sounds of thirds and sixths as compared to the fifths and octaves of medieval music

• Use of fixed melody (cantus firmus) and triple meter to symbolize the holy Trinity

Palestrina - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqN-nFrtK-gLISTEN:

Renaissance Sacred Music The Motet

• In the Renaissance the motet was used mostly for church services and had a Latin text

• Most were Marian motets (in praise of the Virgin Mary)

• Written for three, four, or more voices

• Utilized a Cantus firmus (fixed melody)

Renaissance Sacred Music

Josquin des Prez (c. 1450 – 1521)

• Considered one of the great masters of sacred music in the Renaissance

• Exerted a powerful influence on generations of composers to follow…

• His music expressed emotion and was characterized by beautiful melodies with expressive harmony

• Wrote over 100 motets, 17 Masses, numerous chansons and Italian secular songs

Josquin des Prez: Ave Maria . . . virgo serena

(Hail Mary…gentle virgin)LISTENING GUIDE

• Renaissance motet for four voices dedicated to the Virgin Mary

• Combinations of voices and textures

• Imitative vs. homorhythmic (all voices move together rhythmically) sections

• Final couplet: simple texture, example of humanistic spirit

Renaissance Sacred Music The Renaissance Mass

• Composers concentrated their musical settings on the “Ordinary” or fixed portion of the mass that was sung daily.

• The five movements of the Ordinary are:

Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei

• Originally sung in Latin, now the Ordinary is recited or sung in the vernacular.

• Settings of the mass are often based on fixed voice or cantus firmus.

MOVEMENTS OF THE MASS

Renaissance Sacred Music The Reformation and Counter-

Reformation• Martin Luther (1483–1546) began the Protestant

movement known as The Reformation in 1517 with his Ninety-Five Theses – a list of reforms he proposed for the church for which he was excommunicated.

• Counter-Reformation – the response of the Catholic church which focused on a return to sacred values.

• Council of Trent - meeting organized by the Catholic church (longest meeting in history – 1545 to 1563) in an attempt to regulate every aspect of religious practice. Took up the following issues:

– Corruption of chant by embellishment

– Use of certain instruments in religious services

– Incorporation of popular music in Masses

– Secularism of music

– Irreverent attitude of church musicians

• Church leaders sought a pure vocal style that respected the integrity of the sacred texts

Martin Luther(1483 – 1546)

Renaissance Sacred Music Palestrina and the Pope Marcellus

Mass• Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

– (c. 1525–1594)– Called Palestrina

• Italian composer, organist, and choirmaster

• Member of Sistine Chapel Choir

• Wrote mostly sacred music – over 100 masses and motets, most famous was the Pope Marcellus Mass

• Music represents a pure a cappella style of vocal polyphony

• Strove to make the words understood by properly accentuating them to meet the guidelines of the Catholic reform

Palestrina: Pope Marcellus Mass, Gloria

(Listening Guide) • Published 1567• Foreshadows the strict demands of the Council of Trent.• Probably performed a cappella• Written for six voice parts (a typical setting for the all-male church

choirs)– Soprano (sung by boys or male falsettists – men singing in

falsetto)– Alto (sung by male altos or countertenors—tenors with high

voices)– Tenor I– Tenor II– Bass I– Bass II

• Opens with a monophonic intonation• Choral sections are polyphonic and balanced• Text is clear and audible.

Renaissance Secular MusicMusic in Court and City Life

The Prodigal Son among the Courtesans

• Musicians were hired to entertain at court and civic functions.

• Secular music started to be played in the home which utilized vocals along with instrumental accompaniment (lute, keyboard)

• Study of music was considered to be part of the proper upbringing for a young girl and women began to have prominent roles in music performance

• Two important genres arose as a result of the fusion of poetry & music: the chanson (French) and the madrigal (Italian and English)

• The start of “word painting” – the musical depiction of words. This was a prominent feature of the madrigal

Renaissance Secular MusicThe Italian Madrigal

• A madrigal is a vocal piece set to a short love poem of a lyric or reflective nature – either with or without instruments

• Most important secular music genre of the Renaissance

• Flourished in the Italian courts as well as homes

Concert in the Open Air, AnonymousA stylized 16th-century painting of four singers performing

from music books.

Renaissance Secular MusicThe Italian Madrigal

• Love and unsatisfied desire were often the topics of the madrigal, though some had themes of humor, satire, politics, and scenes of city and country life, all set expressively to music.

• Instruments would often double voice parts.

• Three phases of the madrigal:

1. 1525-1550 – composed for amateurs

2. 1550-1580 – expanded to 5 or 6 voices

3. 1580-1620 – increase in complexity leading into the Baroque Era

Renaissance Secular Music

Arcadelt and the Madrigal• Jacques Arcadelt (c. 1507–1568)

• Italian composer – highly influential in the development of the Italian Madrigal

• Published book of madrigals in 1538 that became the most widely printed collection of the time period.

• His most famous madrigal: Il bianco e dolce cigno – “The White and Sweet Swan”

Renaissance Secular MusicThe English Madrigal

• English further developed the Italian madrigal

• Musica Transalpina (Music from beyond the Alps) was the first book of English madrigals and was a translation of an Italian collection

• Simpler and lighter in style

• Even with humorous syllables (fa-la-la)

Weelkes: “Welcome Sweet Pleasure” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sObuw2w1rIs

“Since singing is so good a thing,I wish that all men would learn to sing.”

—William Byrd

Renaissance Secular Music Instrumental Dance Music

• The sixteenth century was a time of growth in instrumental music, resulting from the invention of music printing

• Books of dance music were published for solo instruments and small ensembles

• Instrumentation was not specified but was chosen according to the occasion—loud (haut) instruments for outdoor occasions and soft (bas) instruments for indoors.

• Percussion parts were not written out, but were improvised

Renaissance Secular Music Instrumental Dance Music

Three Popular dance types:

• Pavane (a stately court dance)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXZrT4fMgFk

• Saltarello (a quicker, jumping dance)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBThcL-rK3o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU8QFeDZyvg

• Ronde (a lively romp performed in a circle)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a826x9x1oUs

Renaissance to Baroque Transition

• By the end of the Renaissance Era, composers looked to find inventive ways to convey the text of vocal works through a single melody rather than several interweaving ones…..this gave rise to a variety of new genres which served as a transition to a new Era, the Baroque era:

• The Baroque era saw the rise of the vocal genres of opera, cantata, and oratorio.

• In addition, the development of purely instrumental forms in music gave rise to both small and large ensembles.

IMPORTANT RENAISSANCE COMPOSERS

• English composer, flourished as a church musician, and is considered one of the church's best early composers

• Composed many styles of music, the majority of which is arranged for choir as Latin motets and English anthems.

Thomas Tallis(1510 - 1585)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx-_XCOFX3g

IMPORTANT RENAISSANCE COMPOSERS

• Considered one of the great masters of sacred music in the Renaissance

• Exerted a powerful influence on generations of composers to follow…

• His music expressed emotion and was characterized by beautiful melodies with expressive harmony

• Wrote over 100 motets, 17 Masses, numerous chansons and Italian secular songs

Josquin Des Prez

(1440 - 1521)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUAgAF4Khmg

IMPORTANT RENAISSANCE COMPOSERS

• Repertoire consists entirely of vocal music

• He preferred low voices

• His most popular work, the Requiem, and one of the earliest surviving Requiem masses, emphasizes the lower voices

• Rhythmic patterns and long, flowing melodies are main characteristics of La Rue's music.

Pierre de La Rue(1460 - 1518)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5exSCwrpsM

IMPORTANT RENAISSANCE COMPOSERS

• Much of Monteverdi's early years were spent composing madrigals; nine books in total

• Wrote first dramatic opera, Orfeo

• Wrote revolutionary music which helped to Link the Renaissance to the Baroque 

• Quite famous in his lifetime

Claudio Monteverdi

(1567 - 1643)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RajAq0Yd-s4

IMPORTANT RENAISSANCE COMPOSERS

• Considered one of the greatest English composers of all time, with hundreds of individual compositions

• Considered by many to be the first "genius" of the keyboard

• Wrote many works for piano

William Byrd(1543 - 1623)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVoQy4M5pxo

IMPORTANT RENAISSANCE COMPOSERS• Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

– (c. 1525–1594)– Called Palestrina

• Italian composer, organist, and choirmaster

• Member of Sistine Chapel Choir

• Wrote mostly sacred music – over 100 masses and motets, most famous was the Pope Marcellus Mass

• Music represents a pure a cappella style of vocal polyphony

• Strove to make the words understood by properly accentuating them to meet the guidelines of the Catholic reform

Giovanni Palestrina

(1526 - 1594)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1f0iCn2KieA

IMPORTANT RENAISSANCE COMPOSERS

• Known for his smooth polyphonic style and beautiful motets

• With over 2,000 written works for all styles of music, including all Latin, French, English, and German vocal genres

• One of Europe's most versatile composersOrlando de

Lassus(1530 - 1594)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUSeiOaTnsQ

IMPORTANT RENAISSANCE COMPOSERS

• Bridges the Renaissance to the Baroque

• Preferred composing sacred works, he was able to create stunning musical effects

• Unlike those before him, Gabrieli meticulously created and planned the use of antiphone (a choir or group of instruments first heard on the left, followed by a response from another group of musicians on the

Giovanni Gabrieli(1553 -

1612)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB96NymHfLQ