Chapter 9 Renaissance Music Insert CD 3 and click on Contents. Bring up Josquin’s “Kyrie” (CD 3, 15) and then minimize it. Have CD 1 handy for Palestrina’s “Sicut cervus” (CD 1, 16) and Weelkes’s “As Vesta” (CD 1, 19). Chapter 9 Renaissance Music

The Renaissance Outlook Rebirth of interest in ancient civilizations Humanism Many great works of art Gutenberg’s invention of movable type Age of exploration The “Renaissance man” – Leonardo da Vinci For over one thousand years the accomplishments of the Greek and Roman civilizations had been forgotten or held to be pagan and undesirable. Beginning around 1450 this outlook was to change. The attitudes of otherworldliness and humility gave way to optimism, naturalism, and individualism. But the most important new “ism” was humanism. It is the belief in the importance of pleasure for its own sake, in life here and now. The photos of the two statues on page 75 of the book illustrate well the differences between the Medieval and Renaissance outlooks. An invention that changed the world was Gutenberg’s movable type, which made printed material much more accessible. Previously material had to be written by hand or engraved or printed from a block. The Renaissance was a time of many outstanding painters: Botticelli, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, Durer, Brueghel, to name a few. It was also the age when explorers sought out the New World. They include Columbus, Balboa, Magellan, Hudson, and Cabot. The most recognized “Renaissance man” was Leonardo da Vinci. There seemed to be nothing that he did not do extremely well: design weapons, recite stories, paint, depict human anatomy, plan cities, make maps, and do mathematical analyses. His notebooks contained nearly 7,000 pages!

The Renaissance Mass Ordinary set to music Based on phrase of Gregorian chant Addition of bass voice part Points of imitation Josquin: Kyrie from Pange lingua Mass © Schirmer, Cengage Learning Renaissance composers usually wrote musical settings of only the Ordinary of the Mass in a polyphonic texture. Masses tended to use a phrase from Gregorian chant as the basis for the music. This phrase was not confined to just one part, as it is in the medieval motet. An important change in choral music was the addition of the bass voice. This allowed for a greater range of pitches available to composers, and it also gave the music a firmer tonal foundation. A technique that is apparent in Josquin’s Kyrie and Palestrina’s “Sicut cervus” is the use of points of imitation. The initial seven or so notes of a phrase would enter one after another. After the short segment containing imitation was done, the voice part continued in free counterpoint. One reason for this technique was to make the text clearer. In polyphonic music the voice parts do not sing the same words at the same time. A point of imitation gives the listener a lead-in to the text, something like saying, “O, say can you see” with the realization that listeners know that the following words will be, “by the dawn’s early light.” Josquin’s Kyrie from Pange lingua Mass (CD 3, 15) is based on a phrase of Gregorian chant, contains a bass voice part, and presents points of imitation. Copyright © 2010 by Schirmer Cengage Learning

The Renaissance Motet Sacred polyphonic work for voices All parts sing same text Sung in Latin Sung by small groups of men and boys The Renaissance motet is quite different from the medieval motet. Both are polyphonic works for voices, but there the similar largely ends. The Renaissance motet has all the parts singing the same text, which because it is a religious work, is in Latin. Composers did not specify the number of singers who should sing the work, but we know that choral groups were small at that time. Many of them consisted of between eight and twelve singers. The soprano and alto parts were sung by boys or men singing in falsetto voice. (Women were not permitted to sing in worship services at that time.)

The Renaissance Motet New lines of text introduced in imitation No strong feeling of chord progressions Limited feeling of meter Sung without accompaniment (a cappella) The points of imitation mentioned in conjunction with Josquin’s Kyrie can be heard in “Sicut cervus” (CD 1, 16). Because a motet is conceived in a linear sense, it lacks a sense of chords progressing. Motets also have little feeling of meter, although they have an even flow. In fact, the music for motets did not have bar lines during Palestrina’s lifetime. Measure bars were added later by editors. The ideal of the motet is a purity of sound, which indicates that it should be sung a cappella. However, during the Renaissance it was not at all unusual for instruments to double the voice parts. But composers did not write any accompanying parts for motets.

The Renaissance Motet Very singable and smooth vocal lines Form determined by text Polyphonic voice lines fit together beautifully Restrained, reverent quality Palestrina: “Sicut cervus” The range of voice parts usually stays within one octave, except for the bass. The form of a motet depends on the form of the text. Normally there is little repeating of lines of music. The beauty of a work like “Sicut cervus” lies in Palestrina’s great skill in weaving lines together. It is not that any of the lines is an outstanding melody, or that the work builds to a climactic point. Rather, it is in clarity and beauty of the combinations of notes. The restrained quality was strongly encouraged by the Council of Trent (1545-1563), which wanted a return to the purity of earlier music in the Church. Palestrina’s work (CD 1, 16) certainly achieves that goal. Copyright © 2010 by Schirmer Cengage Learning

The Madrigal Secular work, often polyphonic, for small vocal group Differs from a motet Vernacular languages Texts often deal with love Tend to be more rhythmic Sung at social gatherings Madrigals are similar in some ways to motets. They are for small groups of singers, are usually sung without accompaniment, and have singable vocal lines. But there are important differences. They are in vernacular languages – French, Italian, English, German. Their texts are certainly not spiritual. Actually, some of them are quite earthy and erotic. Madrigals tend to be more rhythmic than motets. Their tempos are usually faster and the voice parts often move together. And madrigals were not sung in churches. Instead, they were sung at social events and meetings of learned societies.

Word Painting Often music depicts words being sung Weelkes’s “As Vesta Was . . ” examples: “descending” “came running down amain” “two by two,” “three by three,” “together” Word painting is also referred to as “text painting.” It was an attempt by the composer to depict the words of the text. “As Vesta Was from Latmos Hill Descending” by Thomas Weelkes contains several clear examples of word painting. If you bring up the Active Listening Guides and click on Weelkes’s “As Vesta,” you will see a button for “Hot Words.” Clicking on one or more of those buttons will play just the portion that illustrates the particular use of word painting. Copyright © 2010 by Schirmer Cengage Learning

Renaissance Instrumental Music Lute Dance music Pavane Galliard Although vocal music predominated in the Renaissance, some instrumental music was composed. The lute was the most prominent instrument. Lute players would sometimes play a version of a madrigal on their lutes. They also played dance music, as did other instruments including early versions of string instruments (such as gambas) and woodwinds (including shawms). Copyright © 2010 by Schirmer Cengage Learning

Summary The Renaissance outlook The Renaissance Mass Josquin: Kyrie The Renaissance motet Palestrina: “Sicut cervus” The Madrigal Weelkes: “As Vesta Was from Latmos Hill Descending” Renaissance instrumental music Potential examination items Terms Chanson Renaissance motet A cappella Madrigal Text painting Melodies Rhythm Texture Dynamic levels Performance media Forms Information Intellectual outlook of the Renaissance Features of the Renaissance Mass Characteristics of the Renaissance motet Usual voice parts of a choral group Characteristics of a madrigal Who Josquin Des Prez was Who Giovanni Palestrina was Nature of Renaissance instrumental music