Chapter 6 The Renaissance Late Renaissance Music
Dec 18, 2015
Chapter 6The Renaissance
Late Renaissance Music
Key Terms
Declamation
Word painting
Mass
Motet
Late Renaissance Style
Rooted in “High Renaissance” style pioneered by Josquin’s generation
Remarkably stable since Josquin’s day
Most evident in sacred music• Especially Mass and motet
Universal, international style practiced by composers from across Europe:
• Palestrina, Lassus, Victoria & Byrd
Late Renaissance Style
Counter-Reformation
Luther, Calvin, King Henry VIII and others broke away from the Catholic church in the early 1500sThe Counter-Reformation was the Catholic church’s answer to the ReformationStarting in 1545, Council of Trent met to reform the worship and practices of the Catholic churchFor a time, the Council considered banning complex polyphonic music
Palestrina, Pope Marcellus Mass
From the GloriaCompared with Josquin’s Gloria:
• Palestrina’s is more homophonic, easier to follow (response to Council of Trent?)
• As a result, declamation is much clearer• Six parts and varied groupings sound richer
than Josquin’s four-part choir• This full, sonorous, sensuous music is typical
of the late Renaissance
Josquin vs. Palestrina
JosquinQui tollis peccata mundi,
MISERERE NOBIS.
Qui tollis peccata mundi,
SUSCIPE DEPRECATIONEM NOSTRAM.
Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris,
miserere nobis.
PalestrinaQUI TOLLIS PECCATA
MUNDI,
MISERERE NOBIS.
QUI TOLLIS PECCATA MUNDI,
Suscipe DEPRECATIONEM
NOSTRAM.
QUI SEDES AD DEXTERAM PATRIS,
MISERERE NOBIS.
(Capital letters indicate homophony.)
Pope Marcellus Mass, Gloria
QUI TOLLIS PECCATA MUNDI,
MISERERE NOBIS.
QUI TOLLIS PECCATA MUNDI,
Suscipe DEPRECATIONEM NOSTRAM.
QUI SEDES AD DEXTERAM PATRIS,
MISERERE NOBIS.
You who take away the sins of the world,
Have mercy upon us
You who take away the sins of the world,
Hear our prayer.
You who sit at the right hand of the Father,
Have mercy upon us.
Pope Marcellus Mass, Gloria
QUONIAM TU SOLUS SANCTUS,
TU SOLUS DOMINUS,
TU SOLUS ALTISSIMUS,
JESU CHRISTE,
CUM SANCTO SPIRITU,
in gloria Dei Patris.
Amen.
(Capital letters indicate phrases sung in
homophony.)
For you alone are holy,
you alone are the Lord,
You alone are the most high, Jesus Christ,
With the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father.
Amen.
Renaissance Motet
Relatively short composition using Latin words
Text usually sacred, sometimes taken directly from the Bible
Essentially same style as Mass, alternating between imitation and homophony
Often more expressive than music of the Mass, with effective declamation and even text painting