MUSC 103
September 3, 2015
Music In Renaissance (1450-1600)
“Universal Man” – ever educated person was expected to be trained in music
oCastiglione wrong The Book of the Courtire (1582)
oShakespeare’s stage directions call for music more than 300 times and his plays are
tributes to music
Musicians worked in churches, courts, and towns.
oChurch choirs grew (entire male choir)
The church remained an important patron of music bur musical activity
gradually shifted to the courts
oKings, princes, and dukes competed for the finest composers
Single court might have 10-60 musicians (singers to instrumentalists)
Women functioned as virtuoso singers at several Italian courts during
late Renaissance
oTown musicians played for civic processions, weddings, and religious services.
Composers were no longer content to remain unknown
Leading composers came from the Low Countries (Flanders), an area which now includes parts
of the Netherlands, Belgium, and northern France.
oFelmish composers were highly regarded and held important positions throughout
Europe
Italy became the leading music center in the 16th century
Germany England and Spain also had a vibrant musical life
Characteristics of Renaissance Music
Words and Music
oMiddle Ages: vocal music was more important than instrumental music
oHumanistic interest in language influenced vocal music
Music was written to enhance meaning and emotion of the text
oComposers used word painting: a musical depiction of specific words
Example: the word high might be set to a high note, and the word arch might be
heard with a series of notes that form the curved shape of an arch
Wide range of emotion in Renaissance music, expressed in a moderate,
balanced way, with no extreme contrasts of dynamics, tone color, or rhythm
Texture
oMostly polyphonic
Typical choral piece has 4, 5, or 6 voice parts of nearly equal melodic interest
Each presents the same melodic idea in turn as in a round
Sacred Music in the Renaissance
2 main forms: motet and mass
oAlike in style, but a mass is a longer composition
oMotet: a polyphonic choral work set to a sacred Latin text other than the ordinary of the
mass.
oMass: polyphonic choral composition made up of 5 sections: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo,
Sanctus, and Agnus Dei
Josquin Desprez and the Renaissance Motet
oJosquin desprez (1440-1521)
Contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci and Christopher Columbus, master of
Renaissance music
International career
Born in the province of Hainaut (Belgium)
Most of life lived in Italy, serving dukes’ chapels and papal choirs in
Rome
His compositions included masses, motets and secular vocal pieces strongly
influences other composers and were praised enthusiastically by music lovers
Ave Maria
oJosquin’s 4-voice motet Ave Maria…virgo serena is an outstand Renaissance choral work
Opening uses polyphonic imitation
Short phrase on Ave Maria is presented by the soprano voice and then imitated
in turn by the alto, tenor, and bass.
Varies of texture in this motet; two, three, or four voices are heard at
one time
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