Salient Features of India constitution especially power and functions
Music in the Renaissance
1. Music in the Renaissance
Fiorentino, Angel with Lute (ca. 1522)
2. Rebirth
Classical (Greco-Roman) ideas rediscovered
Music begins to be seen as a fine art
Music (and all art) becomes more expressive
Rise of humanism
Recognizing unique contributions of individuals
Composers no longer anonymous
Greater appreciation of aesthetic qualities of art
4. The Renaissance Motet
Choral music
Generally three or four voices
Latin text, sacred subject
Texts usually from Old Testament
Often from Psalms or Lamentations
Expressive texts call for expressive music
Usually performed a cappella (no accomp.)
5. Josquin des Prez (c1455-1521)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josquin_Desprez
http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/josquin.html
http://www.hoasm.org/IVA/DesPrez.html
6. Josquin des Prez
Born northern France/Belgium border area
Probably began career as choirboy (1460)
Held posts in France and Italy
Sang in choir of Sistine Chapel
Singers carved their names on the wall
“JOSQUINJ” was probably his own “graffito”
Honored by contemporaries as a genius
Martin Luther, Rabelais, Bartoli
7. Josquin des Prez
Composed all the genres of his era
Known especially for his motets
Use of contrasting textures – sectional
Combined different styles into a new sound
Franco-flemish complexity
Italian lyricism
Leading figure in new international sound
This new style later perfected by Palestrina
9. Notes on Ave maria…
4-voices (SATB)
A cappella performance (no instruments)
Contrasting textures and settings
Imitation
Paired imitation (TB imitating SA)
Homophony
Expressively personal final text
Changing meters
10. Council of Trent (1545-1563)
Part of the Counter-Reformation
Regulated of all aspects of church discipline
Objected to trends in church music
Elaborate counterpoint obscures text
Too much embellishment of chant melodies
Use of instruments in services
Incorporation of popular songs into music
Secular spirit invading sacred music
Irreverent attitude of church musicians
11. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
(c.1525-1594)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Palestrina
http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/palestrina.html
12. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Born near and spent most of career in Rome
Held positions in many Vatican chapels
Singer in the Sistine Chapel
Maestro compositore St. Peter’s Basilica
Lost many family members to the plague
Very conscious of counter-reformation
Known as “savior of church music”
13. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Palestrina’s style seen as the culmination of
Renaissance composition
Avoidance of dissonance
Balance of the voices
Seamless sound – rhythmically smooth
Codified by Johannes Fux
Still studied today as model of counterpoint
15. Notes on Gloria from Missa Papae
Marcelli
A cappella performance (no instruments)
Brief opening chant
Homophonic texture
Smooth (conjunct) melody
Regular rhythms
Note the serene, celestial quality
17. Notes on Agnus Dei from Missa
Papae Marcelli
A cappella performance (no instruments)
Polyphonic texture - Imitation
Palestrina writes the imitation in a way that
listeners can still understand the text
Palestrina’s style still evident
Smooth (conjunct) melody and regular rhythms
Serene, celestial quality
19. Popular Music Advances
Advent of the printing press
Rise of middle class
New market for music, esp. printed music
Many were amateur musicians themselves
Music in the vernacular (language of the people
– not Latin)
20. Madrigal
New genre becomes internationally popular
Begins in Italy and spreads through Europe
Remains popular in England even after the
genre falls out of favor in Italy
Typically 4-5 solo singers, mixed voices
Secular poem, often on subject of love
Music expresses the emotion of the text
Word painting
22. Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Transitional figure:
Renaissance to Baroque
Worked in Mantua then
Venice
Last 30 years spent at St.
Mark’s Cathedral
Published 8 books of
madrigals
We’ll study Monteverdi’s
Baroque opera
24. Notes on Ecco mormorar l’onde
A cappella performance (no instruments)
Homophonic texture overall
Word painting
The melody moves up and down quickly on
“tremolar le fronde” (trembling branches)
Nimble counterpoint when text describes birds
singing is meant to suggest actual birdsong
25. English Madrigals
English poets adopted the Italian sonnet
English composers adopted the madrigal
Nicolas Yonge’s Musica Transalpina
(1588)
Texts were “Englished” (translated)
Later composers wrote their own madrigals
A distinctly English style evolved
This is the era of Shakespeare
26. Thomas Weelkes (1576-1623)
Born near Elsted, Sussex (England)
Begins as organist - Winchester College
Career as choirmaster at Chichester Cathedral
Composes four volumes of madrigals
Trouble with alcohol
Spends time in London near end of life
27. Listening Example
Title: As Vesta Was from Latmos Hill Descending
Composer: Thomas Weelkes
Genre: English Madrigal
28. Notes on As Vesta Was…
Composed as part of tribute to Queen
Elizabeth I (The Triumphs of Oriana)
Odd text serves as fodder for word painting
Descending lines as Vesta descends Latmos
Ascending lines as Oriana climbs the hill
Solo lines for Diana (virgin goddess)
Note the lighthearted quality
6-voices
29. Dance Music
Publishers issued collections of dance music
aimed at the middle class
Shawms, sackbuts, and drums were most
commonly used for dance music
Pavane was most popular dance of mid-16th
century
Usually followed by Galliard for contrast