The Renaissance

1
The Renaissance

• 1450 - 1600

2
Historical Background

• Starts in Italy
• Renewal of interest in ancient Greek and Roman
  culture
• Humanism Man is the measure of all things
• Doctrine of Ethos Music affects the emotions

3
Theory

• church modes
• consonance and dissonance
• Pythagorean tuning Pure 5ths and 4ths
• Mean tone sixths, thirds and increasing
  chromaticism.

4
Patronage

• Wealthy families brought musicians from France,
  Flanders, and the Netherlands to Italy
• The papal chapel hired some of the best northern
  musicians as singers and composers

5
Music printing

• 1450 -- movable type perfected by Johann
  Gutenberg
• 1501 -- Petrucci published Harmonice musices
  odhecaton in Venice

6
Consequences of Music Printing

• Increased availablity of music cheaper
• Spread worldwide, including Americas
• More composers are known
• Amateurs Professionals form ensembles to
  perform repertoire
• Works are preserved for study by later generations

7
Johannes Ockeghem (ca. 14201497)

• The first of the great northern composers
• Composed Masses, motets, secular chansons

8
Ockeghem - 13 Masses

• Missa De plus en plus NAWM31bp124
• Cyclical mass, all five movements use the same
  cantus firmus
• Cantus firmus chosen as a tribute to Gilles
  Binchois See NAWM 30, De plus en plus

9
Other Mass names/types (Ockeghem)

• Missa mi-mi is based on a motto using "mi" in two
  hexachords
• Missa prolationum uses mensuration canon, in
  which all voices move at different rates of speed
  (each voice sings the same melody but with
  different clefs and mensuration symbols)
• Missa cuiusvis toni can be sung in any mode
  depending on clef combinations

10
Jacob Obrecht (1457 or 14581506)

• Franco-Flemish Composer after Okeghem
• Missa Caput
• Imitation created by a canon between two voices
• Motivic unity achieved through repeated motives

11
Josquin des Prez (ca. 1450s1521)

• Most influential composer of his time

12
Josquin -- Masses

• Cantus firmus Masses using secular tunes
• Missa L'homme armé
• soggetto cavato dalle vocali
• Missa Hercules dux Ferrariae
• Imitation Masses used a polyphonic work as a
  model

13
NAWM 32, Missa Pange lingua

• one of his last Masses
• Based on plainsong hymn
• Cantus firmus sung by all voices

14
Motets

• Most popular
• allow for more experimentation than the Mass
• Musica reservata Suiting the music to the
  meaning of the words
• Associated with Josquin particularly, and
  especially in his motets

15
NAWM 33, De profundis clamavi a te

• by Josquin
• not isorhythmic

16
Ave Maria

• Josquins most widely copied composition
• Each phrase of text assigned a musical subject
  that is then taken up in turn by each of the
  voices

17
Heinrich Isaac (ca. 14501517)

• Wrote songs in French, German, and Italian
• NAWM, Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen
• Polyphonic lied
• Melody in the soprano

18
canti carnascialeschi (carnival songs)

• Festive songs for Florence's holiday season
• Sung by guilds from floats used to advertise
  guild members' wares

19
Obrecht

• contemporary of Isaac and Josquin