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16 Renaissance Secular Music
ature of the sixteenth century therefore presents a vivid panorama of Renaissance
thought and feeling.
Instruments participated in the performance of madrigals, duplicating or even
substituting for the voices. Sometimes only the top part was sung while the other
lines were played on instruments.
I]Z:c_dnbZcid[Bjh^XEVX`V\Z
I]ZCdgidcGZXdgY^c\h
I]ZDca^cZA^hiZc^c\AVW
Listening Guide
HijYnHeVXZ
oll
)
-
Susato: Three Dances
89"GDB
DATE:
1551 (published in Danserye collection)
89"GDB
I]Z:c_dnbZcid[Bjh^X
DANCE TYPE:
MUSICAL FORM:
ENSEMBLE:
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR:
89"GDB
I]Z:c_dnbZcid[Bjh^X!
I]Z:c_dnbZcid[Bjh^X!
H]dgiZg
H]dgiZgZWdd`
Ronde (a round dance), in duple meter, arranged for 4-part
ensemble
I]ZCdgidcHXdgZh
Binary form (2 sections, each repeated, A-A-B-B)
HijYn<j^YZ
Loud (haut) wind band (shawm, cornetto, sackbut, tabor, tambourine)
Lively, quick-paced dance tunes.
Each dance in binary form, with 2 repeated sections.
Regular phrases of 4 or 8 measures.
Prominence of melody, played by various loud solo instruments.
Occasional embellishments on the melody.
Transition between second and third dance to change key.
Final repeat of first dance and chord for dancers’ bow.
Ronde 1
SECTION
INSTRUMENTS
A
A
B
B
Solo shawm playing melody alone (4 measures).
Shawm with tabor.
Loud ensemble (shawm, trombones, tabor), 8 measures.
Repeat of B.
Opening phrase (A) of Ronde 1:
&b c œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ
œ
Ronde 2
Softer solo instrument (cornetto), with trombones, shawm, and tambourine,
4 measures; modal harmony.
Repeat of C.
New section, more contrapuntal, 8 measures.
Repeat of D, with embellishments.
C
C
D
D
Opening phrase (C) of Ronde 2:
& b c œ œ œ.
j
œ œ œ œ œ
Listening Guide continues
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THE RENAISSANCE
Transition (added link to modulate to next dance).
Based on Ronde 1 opening, heard 4 times, each with melody played by a
different instrument.
A
Ronde 3
Loud shawm, with full wind band and tabor, 8 measures.
Repeat of E.
New short section, 4 measures.
Repeat of F.
E
E
F
F
Opening phrase (E) of Ronde 3:
&b c œ œ œ ˙
œ œ œ œ œ œ
Repeat of Ronde 1
B
Early madrigal
Late madrigal
A stylized 16th-century painting of four singers performing
from music part books. The
couple in back are beating
time. Concert in the Open Air,
Anonymous (Italian School).
Played twice to round off set of dances.
Final long bow chord.
During the first period of the Renaissance madrigal (c. 1525–50) the composer’s
chief concern was to give pleasure to the performers, often amateurs, without much
thought to virtuosic display. In the middle phase (c. 1550–80), the madrigal became
an art form in which words and music were clearly linked.
The final phase of the Italian madrigal (1580–1620) extended beyond the late
Renaissance into the world of the Baroque. The form became the direct expression of
the composer’s musical personality and feelings. Certain traits were carried to an
extreme: rich chromatic harmony, dramatic declamation, vocal virtuosity, and vivid
depiction of emotional words in music. We will hear some of these qualities in a
work by the greatest of the Italian madrigalists, Claudio Monteverdi.