1. Chapter 6 The Renaissance
New Attitudes

2. Key Terms
Renaissance
Paraphrase
Hymn
Mass
Chansons

3. Renaissance Timeline

4. The Renaissance French word meaning “rebirth”
Refers to 15th and 16th centuries
Revival of ancient Greek and Roman culture, especially in arts and sciences
New ideals and values focus on human experience and perception
Observation the basis of scientific method
Sensory experience guided the arts

5. New Attitudes Humanism Exploration Classicism
Focus on human life and experience slowly replaced focus on religious doctrine, afterlife
Exploration
Voyages of discovery and conquest by Columbus, Magellan, and others
Classicism
“Rediscovery” of language, literature, art, philosophy, and architecture of ancient Greece and Rome

6. New Attitudes Reformation The printing press Art
Power of Catholic Church shaken by Martin Luther, Jean Calvin, King Henry VIII, et al.
The printing press
Gutenberg invented movable type c. 1450
Incalculable effect on literacy and education
Art
Golden age: Brunelleschi, Botticelli, Titian, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo, da Vinci
Inspired by the ancients, artists depicted their world with a new realism

7. New Attitudes Music Favors beautiful, a cappella sonorities
Consonant harmonies prevail, dissonances carefully controlled
Varied textures mix imitative polyphony and homophony
Increasingly attempts to express human feelings

8. Middle Ages vs. Renaissance
Compare Machaut’s “Quant en moy” with Palestrina’s Pope Marcellus Mass
Pitch and melody
Harmony
Scale, key and mode
Rhythm and tempo
Dynamics
Texture
Tone color

9. Middle Ages vs. Renaissance
Compared with Machaut, Palestrina’s:
Melodies are simpler, more singable
Harmonies are richer, more beautiful
Modes are similar, but he creates greater stability and clear sense of direction
Rhythms are simpler, following the words
Varied textures create different weights
Textures mix homophony and polyphony
Rich tone color features six voices a cappella

10. Paraphrase
Pre-existing tunes in medieval organum often distorted beyond recognition
Renaissance paraphrase technique values melodic character of borrowed material
Chant melody given specific meter & rhythms
Melody embellished with extra notes
Emphasis on sensuous aspect of chant

11. Early Homophony
Paraphrased melodies emphasized, placed in the top voice
Melody supported by polyphonic voices
But these voices move together with melody, creating simple chords
Result sounds less polyphonic, more homophonic (melody & accompaniment)
Plainchant harmonization emphasizes sonorous effect of rich chords

12. Dufay, “Ave maris stella”
Based on plainchant hymn
Strophic form
Odd verses sung as chant
Even verses use paraphrase of chant melody
Even verses also add simple chordal accompaniment (homophonic setting)
Simple, smooth, gracious harmonization of hymn