THE RENAISSANCE c. 1400 - 1600

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THE RENAISSANCEc. 1400 - 1600
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The Renaissance Spirit

• human destiny secularization
• printing, explorations
• focus on human form in art
• musicians in the court, church, civic life
• little musical influence from the new world
• Renaissance style
• a cappella
• polyphonic
• cantus firmus
• word painting

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TIMELINE

• C. 1400-1474 Guiullaume Dufay
• Master of the Burgundian school
• Skilled in sacred and secular music
• Dufays Lhomme arme Mass
• cantus-firmus Mass
• based on a popular song from the 15th century
• There were at least 31 Mass-settings based on the
  L'homme armé melody in the Renaissance period.
• L'homme, l'homme, l'homme arme, l'homme arme,
• L'homme arme doibt on doubter, doibt on doubter.
• On a fait par tout crier,
• Que chascun se viegne armer, d'un haubregon de
  fer.
• L'homme, l'homme, l'homme arme, l'homme arme,
• L'homme arme doibt on doubter, doibt on doubter.
• 'Fear the armed man word has gone out that
  everyone should arm himself with a haubregon (a
  sleeveless coat of mail) of iron'
• 4-voice Missa Lhomme armé Kyrie

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Timeline

• 1430-1495 Rule of the Medici family
• C. 1450-1521 Josquin des Prez
• Born in Hainault, Belgium
• Flemish school
• One of the greatest composers of all time
• Most of his compositions were published during
  his lifetime
• Sacred works are contrapuntal
• Secular works are homophonic
• 19 Masses, 100 Motets, 70 Chansons
• Josquin Ave Maria. . .virgo serena
• cantus-firmus Mass
• 5-note ostinato

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Renaissance Sacred Music

• 1452-1519 Leonardo da Vinci
• 1483-1546 Martin Luther
• Renaissance Motet
• sacred
• Latin
• often dedicated to the Virgin
• Josquin des Prez Motet De profundis clamavi ad
  te
• 1545 Council of Trent and music
• Abolished tropes, sequences, secular canti firmi
• Determined to stop the wave of secularization
• Nearly banned all polyphonic settings of
  liturgical music and return to plainsong

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Giovanni Pierluigi Da Palestrina

• The most famous composer of his day
• Laid to rest in St. Peters
• The Prince of Music
• Born in 1525 near the town of Palestrina
• Musical training in Rome at Santa Maria Maggiore
• Appointed organist at age 19 in the cathedral of
  Palestrina
• Married in 1547
• Cardinal del Monte became Pope Julius III in 1550
  and brought Palestrina to Rome

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Palestrina in Rome

• 1550 - became the Maestro of the Cappella Giulia,
  one of the two musical units of St. Peters (the
  Sistine Chapel Choir was the other)
• 1554 - Published compositions
• 1555 - Admitted to the Cappella Sistina
• Palestrina was married (forbidden to members)
• Palestrina was appointed on the orders of the
  Pope without examination and without the consent
  of the singers

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Trouble for Palestrina

• Three months later Pope Julius died and was
• Succeeded by Pope Marcellus II, who died three
  weeks later. He was
• Succeeded by Pope Paul IV who defended the
  Counter-Reformation and forced Palestrina and
  some others who were married to leave their
  positions
• Pope Paul IV

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Palestrina Moves on to

• Other positions
• Maestro di Cappella at St. John the Lateran
• Returned to Santa Maria Maggiore
• Hired by Cardinal Ippolito II dEste
• Returned to Cappella Giulia
• Finally returned to St. Peters

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Personal

• 1570s - plague caused the death of his brother,
  two sons, and his wife
• 1581 - married Virginia Dormoli, a wealthy widow,
  and Palestrina was now free from financial
  worries
• Palestrina is considered to be one of three great
  masters of the late Renaissance
• William Byrd
• Orlandus Lassus
• Palestrina

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The Counter-Reformation

• Decree on Church Music by the Council of Trent on
  September 10, 1562
• the elimination of all themes of reminiscent of,
  or resembling, secular music
• the rejection of musical forms and elaborations
  tending to mutilate or obscure the liturgical
  text.

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Various Popes

• Pope Julius III
• Pope Marcellus II

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Pope Gregory XIII

• Pope Gregory
  XIIIThe Gregorian Calendar

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The Renaissance

• C. 1525-1594 Giovanni Perluigi da Palestrina
• Considered the greatest master of Renaissance
  Catholic music
• Director of the Cappella Giulia at the Vatican
• Noted for his perfection of a purely vocal style,
  known as the a cappella style
• Palestrinas Pope Marcellus Mass is the model of
  pure Catholic music
• Palestrina Pope Marcellus Mass - Gloria
• Counter-reformation Mass
• emphasizing text declamation

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The Renaissance

• C. 1557-1612 Giovanni Gabrieli
• C. 1557-1612 Giovanni Gabrieli
• Nephew and pupil of Andrea Gabrieli
• Greatest composer of the Venetian school
• St. Marks Cathedral
• One of the first to write for combined voices and
  instruments
• First to develop orchestration
• First to indicate varied dynamics
• Sonata Pian e Forte

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The Renaissance

• C. 1560-1613 Don Carlo Gesualdo
• Italian madrigalist
• Represents the extreme of chromaticism
• Indicates a growing awareness of the strength of
  musical expression
• Carlo Gesualdo Madrigal lo parto e non piu
  dissi

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Renaissance Secular Music

• Rise of amateur music making
• Burgundian chanson, fixed forms
• rondeau, ballade, virelai
• 16th century chanson
• freer texts and forms
• Instrumental dance types
• pavane, gilliard, allemande, ronde

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Some Common Instruments

• The Hurdy-Gurdy
• The Crumhorn and Sackbut
• The Anaconda
• The Serpent

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Renaissance Listening

• The Italian madrigal
• short, lyrical love poem, set with word painting
• works for professional singers
• Claudio Monteverdi Madrigal Cruda Amarilli
• The English madrigal
• adopted from Italy, preferred lighter forms
• Farmer Madrigal Fair Phyllis

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More Renaissance? Listening

• PDQ Bach The Queen to Me a Royal Pain Doth
  Give
• PDQ Bach My Bonnie Lass She Smelleth