Instrumental Music in the Sixteenth Century

Consort or chest — homogeneous groupings Recorders (bas) Double reeds – shawms, racketts (haut) – crumhorns, dulcians (bas) — capped reeds Cornett and sackbut Viol or viola da gamba (bas)

Instruments

“Broken consort” Combines various families Standard broken consort included recorder and plucked and bowed strings

Keyboard instruments in the sixteenth century Clavichord — strings activated by tangents attached to opposite ends of keys Harpsichord — strings plucked by quills set in jacks Organ — portative, positive, and church types

Plucked string instruments Lute Archlutes at lower pitches – theorbo – chitarrone Vihuela

Tablature Special notation for plucked strings – shows placement of fingers on fingerboard rather than pitch – rhythm indicated by stems and flags above Sometimes also used for keyboard music

Instrumental genres

Instruments with voices Incidental doublings or substitutions – informally in secular music – church music with brass Independent instrumental parts – lute song – consort song – songs with keyboard

Instrumental music derived from vocal genres Transcriptions or ornamented version of vocal pieces Ricercar — polyphonic texture of motet – sometimes called fantasia – tiento — Spanish equivalent of ricercar Canzona — from chanson type, features familiar style and clearly marked rhythm England — “In nomine” based on c.f. from Benedictus of Taverner Missa Gloria tibi trinitas Variations on vocal melodies

Dance music — real or stylized Often in pairs – basse danse, branle — French – pavane and gaillarde — French (English pavan and galliard) – passamezzo and saltarello — Italian Use of variation principle

Improvisatory types Intonazione, prelude, preambulum — to tune and introduce more formal pieces Fantasia — free improvisational style (term also used for ricercar type) Toccata — virtuosic

Questions for discussion What elements of instrumental practice in the sixteenth century are closest to those of the preceding centuries? Which anticipated later instrumental usage in the periods of common practice? What are the advantages and disadvantages of tablature notation compared to staff notation? How would humanist thought and sound ideals have changed the practice of instrumental music in the church compared to previous centuries? What ideas did vocal music contribute to instrumental musical structures and processes in the sixteenth century? What did dance contribute?