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Published byJoshua Scott Modified over 9 years ago
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(1450-1600) “rebirth” of human creativity › Exploration and adventure Christopher Columbus (1492) › Curiosity and individualism Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) Painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, scientist and musician Humanism – dominant intellectual movement focusing on human life and accomplishments. › Not concerned with afterlife › Christians focused on the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome › Influenced art – artists attracted to mythology as subjects Middle ages – more religious symbolism with a flat surface Renaissance – realism with linear perspective
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Catholic church far less powerful › Due to Protestant Reformation by Martin Luther (1483-1546) Church did not control education › Aristocrats considered education a status symbol › 1450 printing invented assisted with educational advancement
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Printing greatly assisted with the spread of music Every educated individual was expected to be musically trained Even Shakespeare saw the importance of music › Called for it over 300 times Church choirs grew › Still all male Musical activity became a greater part of royal life (courts) › Women were aloud to sing in Italian courts › 1 court may have as many as 60 musicians › Musicians traveled with nobility Town musicians › Played for processions, weddings and religious services Musicians gained social status during the Renaissance › Composers sought recognition
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Vocal music more important than instrumental › Words and music have a close relation › Music wrote to enhance meaning of text Medieval composers did not do this › Word painting – musical depiction of specific words Renaissance music – polyphonic › Choral pieces contained 4-6 parts equal to the melody › Imitation was common – each presents the same melodic idea › Homophonic texture used with chordal successions Dances › Greater amount of texture compared to Renaissance music › Bass register used › Sound was stable with the use of consonant chords › No need for instrumental accompaniment Golden age A capella – unaccompanied voices When instruments were used they duplicated the melody Instruments were rarely used in Renaissance choral music Gentle flowing rhythms with a defined beat › Melody moved generally in steps with few leaps
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Two main forms › Motet – polyphonic choral work set to sacred Latin text › Mass – longer composition that is a polyphonic choral compositions made up for the five sections of the mass
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Josquin Desprez (about 1440-1521) Master of Renaissance music International career Born in Belgium › Spent most of his life in Italy Served in duke’s private chapels Louis XII of France was in patron later in life Works – masses, motets, secular vocal pieces Praised by music lovers
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Four-voice motet Latin prayer to the Virgin Mary Polyphonic imitation Varies texture – amount of voices heard at once Changes from duple to triple to duple meter Tempo moves between calm to animated to calm
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Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (about 1525- 1594) › Devoted his work to the Catholic Church › Rome › Music director at St. Peter’s › 104 masses and 450 other sacred works › Wrote during the Counter-Reformation Council of Trent (1545-1563) Felt church music had lost its purity Some wanted return to monophonic texture Council ruled – music to composed “to give empty pleasure to the ear,” but to inspire religious contemplation › Palestrina’s works followed these constraints
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Most famous mass › Thought to convince Catholic leaders to keep polyphonic works in the church We know this not true, but this mass was an example to what the church desired › Dedicated to Pope Marcellus II – reigned in 1555 Written for a cappella choir › 6 parts Kyrie › Rich polyphonic texture › Imitation within parts › Curved melodies › Upward leaps with downward steps › Short text › Starts with a thin texture and with added voices thickens › 3 rd section is faster and louder
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Secular vocal music very popular Music set to poems in various languages Music printing assisted with the spread of music Music written for solo voices or solo voices with the accompaniment of one or more instruments Rapid shifts of mood
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Renaissance Madrigal › Madrigal – piece for several solo voices set to a short poem Typically about love › Homophonic and polyphonic textures › More word painting and unusual harmonies › Originated in Italy around 1520 › Famous composers – Luca Marenzio and Carlo Gesualdo › During Queen Elizabeth I and William Shakespeares time many were published Golden age of English music and literature English madrigal much lighter mood than Italian model
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Thomas Weelkes (about 1575-1623) › English Madrigalist, organist and church composer 6 voices Represents Vesta – Roman goddess of the hearth, Diana – Roman goddess of chasity, hunting and the moon, and Oriana the maiden queen (Queen Elizabeth) Light mood Word painting
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The Renaissance Lute Song › Solo song for voice and lute Lute – a plucked strong instrument with a body shaped like a half pear › Versatile Popular in England from the late 1590s – 1620s Homophonic in texture
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Popular during Shakespeare’s time Represents someone’s happiness that has been suddenly shattered Poem written by Dowland 3 sections A, B, and C › Immediately repeated AA, BB, CC Slow tempo, minor key, descending 4 note melodic pattern
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Instrumental music – became somewhat more important during the Renaissance › Accompanied vocalist › 16 th century brought the emancipated from vocal music More instrumental forms Instruments only used in specific purposes Instrumental music intended for dancing
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Musicians separated instruments into different classifications by how loud or soft they were. Instruments now are much louder with a brighter sound today Important instruments of the time: recorders, shawms, cornetts, sackbuts, lutes, viols, organs, regals, and harpsichord. Composers did not specify instruments › Todays standardized ensembles did not exist
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Pairing contrasting court dances in duple and triple meter Terpsichore – collection of over 300 dance tunes › Greek Goddess of the dance Dances originated in Italy › Popular in the 16 th and early 17 th centuries Passamezzo › Stately dance, duple meter Guilliard › Quick dance, triple meter
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16 th century Venice was a center of instrumental and vocal music St. Mark’s Cathedral › Colorful and wealthy › Employed up to twenty instrumentalists and thirty singers › Music directors were some of the finest during the era Venetian school – Adrian Willaert, Andrea Gabrieli, and Giovanni Gabrieli
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Giovanni Gabrieli (about 1555-1612) › Native of Venice Most important Venetian composer of the late Renaissance › Works: organ and instrumental ensemble works and polychoral motets Polychoral motets – motets for two or more choirs and instruments › Sonata pian e forte (1597) first instrumental ensemble piece with dynamics and instrumentation given by the composer › 2-5 choirs Large amount of performers › Wide range of register, sonority, and tone color
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For a joyful ceremony Latin texts Large vocal and instrumental ensemble › 12 parts in 3 choirs › Instrumentation is left to performers
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