1. The Renaissance
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2. The Renaissance
This time period was known as a “rebirth” of human creativity.
Period of world exploration: Columbus, de Gama, and Magellan
Rise of individualism and art
Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo
Culture modeled after ancient Greece and Rome

3. The World in 1400

4. Musical Changes in the Renaissance
Every educated person was trained in music
Church choirs grew in size
Musical activity shifted from churches to courts
Composers began receiving credit for their work

5. Characteristics of Renaissance Music: Texture
Mostly polyphonic in nature (multiple melodies of equal importance)
Richer harmonies than in the Middle Ages
This period is known as the “Golden Age of A’Capella” (unaccompanied choral music)

6. Sacred Music in the Renaissance
Two main forms are the motet and the mass.
Mass- choral work set to a specific text called the “ordinary:”
Motet- choral work set to any sacred Latin text other than the mass text.
1. Kyrie 2. Gloria 3. Credo 4. Sanctus 5. Agnus Dei

7. Ave Maria... Virgo Serena Four-voice motet by Josquin Desprez
Varied texture based on how many voices are singing at once.

8. Giovanni Palestrina and the Mass
Held several important church music jobs
Wrote 104 masses and over 450 other sacred choral works
The simplicity and beauty of his works reflected the church’s desire to be able to focus on the words and not overly ornate singing.

9. Pope Marcellus Mass: Kyrie
Palestrina’s most famous mass
For six-voice a capella choir
As you listen, focus on the simplicity of the music that enables the words to be heard.

10. Secular Vocal Music in the Renaissance
An important form was the madrigal, a piece for several voices set to a short poem.
Uses word painting and unusual harmonies
Often about love

11. As Vesta Was From Latmos Hill Descending…
1601 madrigal by Thomas Weelkes
Written to honor Queen Elizabeth I, known as “Oriana.”
Listen for word painting, such as:
downward motion on “descending.”
Voices moving downward on “running down”
2 voices on “two by two,” 3 voices on “three by three”, etc
One voice on “all alone”

12. Instrumental Music Instrumental music was gaining importance
Most instrumental music was intended for court dancing
Very formal, for etiquette and socialization
There was no standardized orchestra- people used what instruments were available.

13. Basse Danse and Branle Gay
Two Renaissance dances
Listen to the sounds of the instruments
Both in triple meter
The first is slow, the second quicker

14. Passamezzo and Galliard
1612 Renaissance Dances by Pierre Caroubel
Passamezzo was a stately dance in duple meter (two beats to a measure)
Galliard is a quicker dance in triple meter