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Renaissance 1450-1600
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Renaissance In the history of music, the period from 1450 – 1600 is known as the “Renaissance”. The word Renaissance literally means “rebirth”.
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Renaissance The humanism movement surfaced during the Renaissance period. This movement focused on man and his accomplishments. Christianity and Catholic Church were rocked by the Protestant Reformer, Martin Luther (1483 – 1546).
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Renaissance Period In the renaissance period, a training in music is considered a must for an educated person. Everywhere, musicians worked in towns, courts, and churches. The size of church choirs multiplied. The choirs were predominantly male.
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During the Renaissance period… Although the church remained a patron of music, the court became the center of musical activity. Composers were in demand by kings, dukes and princesses. The status of musicians was elevated and they were paid higher. The leading composers came from the Netherlands. Italy was the leading music center of the Renaissance.
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Renaissance The Renaissance period is sometimes referred to as “The Golden Age of Polyphony”, because vocal polyphony culminated to perfection.
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IMPORTANT EVENTS THAT HAPPENED DURING THE RENAISSANCE
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Events during the Renaissance Period Literally meaning “rebirth”, the Renaissance became a rebirth of classical learning. The writings of ancient Greeks and Romans were rediscovered and reevaluated.
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Events during the Renaissance Period The chaotic feudal system of the Middle Ages was replaced by the hierarchal state led by the urban bourgeois or despotic nobles. European view of the world was expanded by the conquest of Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan.
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Events during the Renaissance Period There was a change in the views of the Earth and the cosmos as evidenced by the astronomical studies of Nicolas Copernicus and later, Galileo Galilei. The technology of printing permitted the wider distribution of the work of musical composers and enabled the public to take a closer look at their musicality.
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MUSICAL CONTEXT OF THE RENAISSANCE PERIOD
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Musical Concept of Renaissance There has been no increase in patronage of music greater than in the Renaissance period. Music was supported to a degree not previously seen by the civic government and the rich courts. Religious institutions also supported music.
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Musical Concept of Renaissance There was an exchange of music between the conquered and the conqueror. The Renaissance period experienced territorial expansions by Europeans and increased wealth to European nations.
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Musical Concept of Renaissance Colonial expansion resulted in the flowing of great wealth in European cities. An international musical style was created due to travel and trade of people to different European countries.
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Musical Concept of Renaissance Due to the increased interest in humanist learning, music became an experience art. Because of the development of the printing press, music and its literature became available to the people.
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THE DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS OF RENAISSANCE MUSIC
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Characteristics of Renaissance Music The repertoire of instrumental music expanded and the invention of new musical instruments abound. The instruments of the period were enhanced. Secular music was rising and was more civilized, but spiritual music still occupied a dominant position during the period.
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Characteristics of Renaissance Music Musical harmony was more expressive and unrestrained during the Renaissance as compared with the medieval period.
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Polyphonic Technique An important polyphonic technique, imitation, surfaced. Imitation occurs when one musical line shares or imitates the sung musical theme of the preceding line. This gives the listeners the ability to decipher the musical composition’s structure. The Renaissance period between Joaquin Deprez and Palestrina was known as the “golden age of the polyphony”.
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Vocal Polyphony Vocal polyphony culminated to a high degree of perfection with equal importance given to four or more voices. The main forms of spiritual polyphony are the masses and the motets. Motets, madrigals, and songs usually accompanied by a lute or a small orchestra were the secular vocal forms. Short polyphonics or dancing music were the instrumental works of the Renaissance period.
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Characteristics of Renaissance Music The use of church modes or modality still predominates sacred and secular music. There is the prevalence in musical compositions of clarity, balance and euphony in moderation. There are no extreme contracts in rhythm and tone color.
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Characteristics of Renaissance Music Musical literature flourished due to the innovation of printing press. Acapella Acapella singing in the church music developed. It is singing without accompaniment or chorus without instrumental backup.
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THE VOCAL FORMS DURING THE RENAISSANCE
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Motet It is one of the most important forms of polyphonic music form in circa 1250 – 1750. A motet is an unaccompanied choral accompaniment based on a Latin sacred text and designed to be performed in the Catholic service, chiefly at vespers. The renaissance motet is a unified piece with all voices singing the same text. It is serious and primarily designed for worship services
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Mass Mass is a music for the Catholic church worship. The leading Italian composer of the Renaissance period was Giovanni Pierluigu da Palestrina (1525 – 1594). He wrote music for the Catholic church which were highly regarded as models of church music because of their serenity. One of Palestrina’s best masses was Pope Marcellus Mass written for an acapella choir of a soprano, alto, two tenors, and two bases. The six voices imitate each other and blend well.
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Madrigal The madrigal is an important secular vocal music of the Renaissance period. It is a musical composition for solo voices. Its subject is sentiment and love. It is sung at social gatherings in the court and meetings of artistic and learned societies, unlike the motets which are sung in church. It is accompanied by a lute or a harpsichord.
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Madrigal “April is in My Mistress’ Face” by Thomas Morley is a well – known English Madrigal. The madrigal began in Italy and swept England.
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THE BASIC INSTRUMENT OF THE RENAISSANCE
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Instruments The singing of secular music is accompanied by instruments.
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Lute One of the most popular instrumentals of the Renaissance is the lute which is played by plucking. It has a pear – shaped body, frets and a varying number of strings. Its peg is slanted back sharply from the rest of the instrument.
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Giovanni Da Palestrina Palestrina (1525 – 1594), an Italian, considered as the prolific writer of sacred vocal polyphony, wrote masses, motels, hymns, and other sacred works for the Catholic Church.
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Orlando di Lasso Di Lasso (1532 – 1594), a Flemish composer, wrote musical compositions of sacred and secular nature. He is subjective and passionate in his creations. Di Lasso wrote Italian madrigals, Latin masses and motets, and German lieder. The Penitential Psalms of David is a Lasso creation.
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Claudio Monteverdi Monteverdi (1567 – 1643), an Italian composer, composed music for operas utilizing chordal accompaniment. Among his works are the Return of Ulysses and The Coronation of Poppea.
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Review Renaissance Period is from 1450 – 1600. Renaissance means “rebirth”. Vocal forms are motet, mass, and madrigal. The lute is the basic instrument of the Renaissance period. The composers are Giovanni da Palestrina, Orlando di Lasso and Claudio Monteverdi.
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Quiz 1.This term literally means rebirth. 2.This is the basic instrument of the Renaissance period. 3.Other term for the Renaissance period; This was named so because vocal polyphony culminated to perfection during Renaissance. 4.He was considered as the prolific writer of sacred vocal polyphony. He wrote masses, motels, hymns, and other sacred works for the Catholic Church. 5.Leading music center of Renaissance.
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