The renaissance

THE RENAISSANCEc. 1400 - 1600

THE RENAISSANCEc. 1400 - 1600

The Renaissance SpiritThe 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

TIMELINE• C. 1400-1474 Guiullaume Dufay

– Master of the Burgundian school– Skilled in sacred and secular music

• Dufay’s “L’homme 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 L’homme armé Kyrie

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

Renaissance Sacred MusicRenaissance 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

A kid from a hick town makes friends in high places, becomes avalued company man and later one of the most influential peoplein his field, fails to negotiate some sweet deals for himself becausehis price is too high, but marries a rich widow, takes over herbusiness and dies a prosperous old man.

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

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

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

Palestrina Moves on to

• Other positions– Maestro di Cappella at St. John the

Lateran– Returned to Santa Maria Maggiore– Hired by Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este– Returned to Cappella Giulia– Finally returned to St. Peter’s

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

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.

Various Popes

Pope Julius III

Pope Marcellus II

Pope Gregory XIII

Pope Gregory XIII

The Gregorian Calendar

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

– Palestrina’s Pope Marcellus Mass is the model of pure Catholic music

• Palestrina: “Pope Marcellus Mass” - Gloria– Counter-reformation Mass

– emphasizing text declamation

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. Mark’s 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

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

Renaissance Secular MusicRenaissance 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

Some Common Instruments

• The Hurdy-Gurdy

• The Crumhorn and Sackbut

• The Anaconda

• The Serpent

Renaissance ListeningRenaissance 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

More Renaissance? Listening

– PDQ Bach: The Queen to Me a Royal Pain Doth Give

– PDQ Bach: My Bonnie Lass She Smelleth