Renaissance Music Objective 7

So here is what is happening…

Time frame  intellectual & artistic activity began in Italy around 1350 and spread to Northern Europe

musical development started in 1475  

terms means rebirth or reawakening

Renaissance thinkers were inspired by ancient Greece & Rome

Valued personal achievement, intellectual independence, and discovery

Humanism A philosophical perspective very different from the Medieval Era

Emphasis on human worth, creativity, and capacity

Types of Music

Sacred Vocal Music :

-religious music still prevalent

Non-Sacred Music:

-Grows during this time period

-Instrumental Music

-Madrigal Music

Madrigals

Genre began in Italy, but was soon popular in Europe (esp. England)

 Definition A composition for several voices (typically 4-5)

Men and women could sing

Usually a Capella

Amateur musicians (party music) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfNmZ3LCrAY

Weelkes- (1575-1623)

Organist at Winchester college

Dismissed for drunkenness

“As Vesta was from Latmos Hill Descending”

Thomas Morely (1557-1603)

Helped develop Madrigals

William Byrd was teacher

Wrote Renaissance Ballet (fa-la)

Vocal lines then non-sense syllables

“MY bonny lass she smileth”

Music

http://musichistorylessons.weebly.com/renaissance.html

Motet

Composition for a choir a CapellaLatin text on sacred subject

Texts were more vivid than that of a mass

Often from Old Testament Psalms

Chromatic musical style

Performed in either church, chapel, or at home in private prayer

Josquin Depres (ca. 1455-1521)

Prolific composer (20 masses, 70 motets, 70+ secular works)

Early career spent in Italy and employed as a singerRecognized as a genius

Compared to be the musical counterpoint to Michaelangelo

Loved balance, and symmetry of music One of the first major composers to have numerous works printed

Music printing lead to gradual decline of regional and vocal styles to a more homogenous European style

Works are widely known

 Frottola- predecessor of the madrigal

 “El Grillo”- the cricket- secular song

 “Ave Maria”- 1485 in Italy motetEach stanza makes a reference to a feast of the year All voices are equally important

Giovanni Pierluigi de Palestrina (1525-1594)

Born in Palestrina, near Rome

Spent nearly entire career at major churches in Rome including St. Peter’s Basilica

Called the “Savior of church music”

104 masses, 250 motets