The Music of the
The Rebirth of Art & Music 1440 - 1585
Copyright © 2005 - Frankel Consulting Services, Inc.
The Renaissance
• Renaissance is the French word for
rebirth.
• The intellectuals and artists in Florence,
Italy and throughout Europe wanted to
restore the philosophical and artistic
ideals of the Ancient Greeks and Romans
and put an end to the “Dark Ages”.
Can you name some of the
famous artists of the time?
Wow. I am impressed.
Here is a quick look at some of
the artists and their work…
Leonardo Da Vinci
censored
Michaelangelo
censored
Florence was the center of it all.
Why Florence?
• It was where all of the intellectuals and artists
of the time lived and worked - similar to Paris
in the 1920’s.
• Florence was a wealthy city in the 1400’s and where there are rich people, there are
usually good artists working for them.
• Today, the Uffizi Gallery houses many of the
masterpieces of the Renaissance Era.
So what about the music?
Oh they were
making music
alright.
And they were inventing
instruments, too.
The Harpsichord
The Violin
The Transverse Flute
The Viola da Gamba
What is unique about
Renaissance Music?
• Beginnings of four-part writing with complex
counterpoint.
• The overall mood of the music is happy.
• Dance music flourished during this time.
• Smoother more flowing melodic lines.
• Much more use of imitation as a
compositional device.
• Madrigal singers performed more complex
vocal music.
Renaissance Composers
• Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (15251594)
• William Byrd (1543-1623)
• Josquin des Prez (1440-1521)
• Orlando de Lassus (1532-1594)
• Guillaume Dufay (1397-1474)
Palestrina
William Byrd
Josquin des Prez
Orlando de Lassus
Guillaume Dufay
Madrigals
What’s ahead…
• Critical listening
• Creating our own “Renaissance”
accompaniments using the computers
• Learning Sibelius