The Renaissance

Renaissance – A New Birth  Began in 1450 – Invention of the Printing Press  Ended in 1600 An age of discovery and exploration

Renaissance Timeline

Changing Attitudes  The beginning of a gradual decline in the church’s influence in Europe  A period of exploration and questioning in almost all activities Musically, this meant more freedom for composers and performers

Changing Attitudes  Observation became the basis for modern scientific method As opposed to the absolute authority of the Church. Ex – Galileo  Pleasurable aspects of sensory experience became important guidelines in the arts. Music did not necessarily have to “do” anything, but was appreciated on a sensory level

Characteristics of the Renaissance  Humanism—The dominant intellectual movement of the Renaissance, humanism focused on human life, experiences, and accomplishments, replacing the medieval focus on religious doctrine and the afterlife.  Exploration—This Age of Exploration saw voyages of discovery and conquest by Columbus, Magellan, and many others.

Characteristics of the Renaissance  Classicism—The “rediscovery” of the language, literature, philosophy, art, and architecture of ancient Greece and Rome fascinated people of the Renaissance.  Reformation—The power of the Catholic Church was profoundly shaken by Protestant reformers. Key figures were Martin Luther, Jean Calvin, and King Henry VIII. The Counter-Reformation was the church’s response.

Characteristics of the Renaissance  Interest in Education—The rise of secular power meant the rise of education outside the church. Aristocrats and the upper middle class hired scholars to educate their children.

Art in the Renaissance  Religious subjects still important  Increase in secular paintings and sculptures  Inspired by Greek and Roman art, Renaissance artists depicted the world around them with new clarity and perspective. This golden age of art and architecture boasts the creations of artists such as Brunelleschi, Botticelli, Titian, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci.

Music in the Renaissance  The discoveries of Pythagoras (tuning and ratios in music) were reexamined and expanded for the first time in centuries.  The Greek philosophers and their ideas about music and expression were taken to heart by some late Renaissance composers.  Renaissance composers explored music’s pleasurable, expressive qualities, as opposed to the intellectual, mannered qualities prized by ars nova composers.

The Renaissance composer…  favors beautiful, a cappella sonorities  uses consonant harmonies  carefully controls dissonance  mixes textures  increasingly attempts to express feelings (Joy, Sadness, etc.)

A reaction to Machaut and others  Listen to Machaut – Music had become very complex  Complex polyphony, difficult to understand the words  These traits began to appear in church music

How bad did it get? “There does not exist a single piece of music, not composed within the last forty years, that is regarded by the learned as worth hearing.” – Johannes Tinctoris (1435 – 1511) Tinctoris studied music and music theory.

Dufay and Early Homophonic Music  “Ave maris stella” (harmonization of plainchant hymn)  A-A-A form (each verse is the same)  odd verses sung as chant  even verses use paraphrase use homophonic setting

Paraphrasing – building on chant  values melodic character of chant (unlike medieval organum) gives it specific meter & rhythm  embellishes it emphasizes the sensuous aspect of chant

Early homophony  paraphrased melodies emphasized in top voice (beginning of treble dominated style)  supporting polyphonic voices create simple chords  result is plainchant harmonization sounds homophonic emphasizes sonorous effect of rich chords

Banning music in the Church  Composers began to integrate secular melodies into church music  Music was so complex (ex. Machaut) that the words were impossible to follow.

Counter-Reformation  Council of Trent, 1545 The Catholic Church’s response to the Protestant Reformation led by Martin Luther; considered reforming worship and practices of the Church  Also considered banning complex polyphonic music

Palestrina, Pope Marcellus Mass (1557) Marcellus was Pope for only 3 weeks before he died. According to legend, Palestrina used this opportunity to demonstrate that the new compositional techniques – polyphony and homophony – could be appropriate for worship. The Pope Marcellus Mass was an instant classic and is still performed today.

Palestrina, Pope Marcellus Mass  melodies are simpler, more singable  harmonies are richer  modes are similar  rhythms are simpler  textures mix homophony and polyphony  tone color is richer—six voices a cappella

About the Mass Mass became standardized as a multi- movement musical form during the Renaissance period Kyrie Gloria Credo Sanctus Agnus Dei

Josquin Desprez: Para lingua Mass (tr 8-9)  Intended for worship  Used music to express ideas and feelings  Uses imitation and sequence: melodic voices enter one after another on different pitches to create a of polyphonic texture  Instead of competing, the voices take turns vying for attention

Other Renaissance techniques: Accurate Declamation  Accurate declamation – using rhythms to replicate natural speech  Melismatic music was no longer in favor  declamation = the manner in which words are set to music  accurate = rhythms closely match natural speech

Word Painting  musical illustration of the meaning of a word or phrase  rapid notes for words like “run” or “fly”  high notes of upward leaps for words like “up” or “lift” dissonance for words like “grief,” “cruel,” “harsh,”

Listen: Woelkes, “As Vestas…” (tr 12) Examples of Word Painting: “running” – rapid notes “two by two” – duet “three by three” – trio “all alone” – solo

Instrumental music in the Renaissance Listen – Daphne Listen – Kemp’s Jig Stylized dance music - originally intended for dancing, but eventually written to be listened to and not necessarily for dancing