The Renaissance
1450-1600
Renaissance – A New Birth
 Began in 1450 – Invention of the
Printing Press
 Ended in 1600
An age of discovery and exploration
Renaissance Timeline
Changing Attitudes
 The beginning of a gradual decline in
the church’s influence in Europe
 A period of exploration and
questioning in almost all activities
 Musically, this meant more freedom for
composers and performers
Changing Attitudes
 Observation became the basis for
modern scientific method
 As opposed to the absolute authority of
the Church. Ex – Galileo
 Pleasurable aspects of sensory
experience became important
guidelines in the arts.
 Music did not necessarily have to “do”
anything, but was appreciated on a
sensory level
Characteristics of the Renaissance
 Humanism—The dominant intellectual
movement of the Renaissance, humanism
focused on human life, experiences, and
accomplishments, replacing the medieval
focus on religious doctrine and the afterlife.
 Exploration—This Age of Exploration saw
voyages of discovery and conquest by
Columbus, Magellan, and many others.
Characteristics of the Renaissance
 Classicism—The “rediscovery” of the
language, literature, philosophy, art, and
architecture of ancient Greece and Rome
fascinated people of the Renaissance.
 Reformation—The power of the Catholic
Church was profoundly shaken by
Protestant reformers. Key figures were
Martin Luther, Jean Calvin, and King Henry
VIII. The Counter-Reformation was the
church’s response.
Characteristics of the Renaissance
 Interest in Education—The rise of
secular power meant the rise of
education outside the church.
Aristocrats and the upper middle
class hired scholars to educate their
children.
Art in the Renaissance
 Religious subjects still important
 Increase in secular paintings and sculptures
 Inspired by Greek and Roman art,
Renaissance artists depicted the world
around them with new clarity and
perspective. This golden age of art and
architecture boasts the creations of artists
such as Brunelleschi, Botticelli, Titian,
Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo, and
Leonardo da Vinci.
Music in the Renaissance
 The discoveries of Pythagoras (tuning and
ratios in music) were reexamined and
expanded for the first time in centuries.
 The Greek philosophers and their ideas
about music and expression were taken to
heart by some late Renaissance composers.
 Renaissance composers explored music’s
pleasurable, expressive qualities, as
opposed to the intellectual, mannered
qualities prized by ars nova composers.
The Renaissance composer…
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favors beautiful, a cappella sonorities
uses consonant harmonies
carefully controls dissonance
mixes textures
increasingly attempts to express
feelings (Joy, Sadness, etc.)
A reaction to Machaut and others
 Listen to Machaut – Music had
become very complex
 Complex polyphony, difficult to
understand the words
 These traits began to appear in
church music
How bad did it get?
“There does not exist a single piece of
music, not composed within the last
forty years, that is regarded by the
learned as worth hearing.” –
Johannes Tinctoris (1435 – 1511)
Tinctoris studied music and music
theory.
Dufay and Early Homophonic Music
 “Ave maris stella” (harmonization of
plainchant hymn)
 A-A-A form (each verse is the same)
 odd verses sung as chant
 even verses
 use paraphrase
 use homophonic setting
Paraphrasing – building on chant
 values melodic character of chant
(unlike medieval organum)
 gives it specific meter & rhythm
 embellishes it
 emphasizes the sensuous aspect of chant
Early homophony
 paraphrased melodies emphasized in
top voice (beginning of treble
dominated style)
 supporting polyphonic voices create
simple chords
 result is plainchant harmonization
 sounds homophonic
 emphasizes sonorous effect of rich
chords
Banning music in the Church
 Composers began to integrate secular
melodies into church music
 Music was so complex (ex. Machaut)
that the words were impossible to
follow.
Counter-Reformation
 Council of Trent, 1545
The Catholic Church’s response to the
Protestant Reformation led by Martin
Luther; considered reforming worship
and practices of the Church
 Also considered banning complex
polyphonic music
Palestrina, Pope Marcellus Mass
(1557)
Marcellus was Pope for only 3 weeks
before he died. According to legend,
Palestrina used this opportunity to
demonstrate that the new
compositional techniques – polyphony
and homophony – could be
appropriate for worship.
The Pope Marcellus Mass was an instant
classic and is still performed today.
Palestrina, Pope Marcellus Mass
melodies are simpler, more singable
harmonies are richer
modes are similar
rhythms are simpler
textures mix homophony and
polyphony
 tone color is richer—six voices a
cappella
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About the Mass
Mass became standardized as a multimovement musical form during the
Renaissance period
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Kyrie
Gloria
Credo
Sanctus
Agnus Dei
Josquin Desprez: Para lingua Mass
(tr 8-9)
 Intended for worship
 Used music to express ideas and feelings
 Uses imitation and sequence: melodic
voices enter one after another on different
pitches to create a of polyphonic texture
 Instead of competing, the voices take turns
vying for attention
Other Renaissance techniques:
Accurate Declamation
 Accurate declamation – using
rhythms to replicate natural speech
 Melismatic music was no longer in
favor
 declamation = the manner in which
words are set to music
 accurate = rhythms closely match
natural speech
Word Painting
 musical illustration of the meaning of
a word or phrase
 rapid notes for words like “run” or
“fly”
 high notes of upward leaps for words
like “up” or “lift”
dissonance for words like “grief,”
“cruel,” “harsh,”
Listen: Woelkes, “As Vestas…” (tr
12)
Examples of Word Painting:
“running” – rapid notes
“two by two” – duet
“three by three” – trio
“all alone” – solo
Instrumental music in the
Renaissance
Listen – Daphne
Listen – Kemp’s Jig
Stylized dance music - originally
intended for dancing, but eventually
written to be listened to and not
necessarily for dancing