1. Turn in entries #5, #6 and #7 when done.
Chapter 2: Sacred Music
Journal Entry #7
What does a cappella music offer the listener that instrumental music doesn’t?
Turn in entries #5, #6 and #7 when done.

2. CHARACTERISTICS, continued from yesterday…
What SHMRFT traits can you fill in so far?
Text Painting?
No extreme dynamic contrast?
Little tone color contrast?
Little rhythmic contrast?

3. CHARACTERISTICS, cont…
Texture
Polyphonic
4, 5, or 6 voices, nearly equal melodic interest
Imitation
Each voice presents the same melodic idea in turn (as in a round)
Some homophonic texture is used, especially in light music, dances

4. CHARACTERISTICS, cont…
Fuller sound
Bass register used for first time, increasing number of octaves heard
Composers began to think in chords, in addition to individual melodic lines
In Middle Ages, entire melody lines thought up one at a time and then combined.
In Renaissance, melodies were thought up in relation to how they accompany each other
Mild, relaxed
Lots of stable, consonant chords, many triads
Very little dissonance

5. CHARACTERISTICS, cont…
“Golden Age” of a cappella choral music
Little instrumental accompaniment
2 Main uses for instruments
1. To duplicate vocal lines to reinforce the sound
2. Play the part of a missing singer
Now what can you add to your SHMRFT traits?

6. CHARACTERISTICS, cont…
Rhythm
Gentle flow, not sharply defined beat
Each melodic line held great rhythmic independence
Made it challenging to sing – each singer had to be independently strong

7. CHARACTERISTICS, cont…
Melody
Melodies generally easy to sing
Moves stepwise, few large leaps
And your SHMRFT traits now?

8. LISTENING TO RENAISSANCE
Sicut Cervus
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

9. Chapter 2: Sacred Music
2 Main Forms
1. Motet
2. Mass

10. Style: polyphonic choral works
Motet Mass
Shorter
Set to sacred Latin text other than the ordinary of the mass
Longer
Set to 5 sections: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei
Style: polyphonic choral works
Sacred Text

11. Chapter 2, cont… Josquin Desprez (1440-1521) Flemish (from what is
now Belgium)
Spent much of life in
Italy
Served dukes’ private
chapels, papal choir in
Rome, Louis XII of France,
several church positions

12. Desprez, cont… Composed masses, motets, secular vocal pieces
Strongly influenced other composers
Praised for his skill

13. Ave Maria…Virgo Serena (1502) (Hail, Mary…Serene Virgin)
Desprez, cont…
Ave Maria…Virgo Serena (1502)
(Hail, Mary…Serene Virgin)
4-voice motet
Delicate, serene
Polyphonic imitation
Melodic phrase on “Ave Maria” presented by soprano, then imitated in turn by alto, tenor, bass
Next, “gratia plena” has different melody, also passed from soprano down

14. Ave Maria, cont…
Each voice enters while the preceding one is in the middle of its melody.
Overlapping creates feeling of continuous flow

15. Josquin varied texture within a piece
Also imitation between pairs of voices (duets between high voices imitated by duets between low voices)

17. Sometimes almost homophonic, like at “Ave vera virginitas”
Also changes from duple to triple meter, then back to duple

19. Ends with slow chords, expressing Josquin’s personal plea to the Virgin: O Mother of God, remember me. Amen.

20. Ave Maria, cont… Ave Maria…Virgo Serena (Hail, Mary… Serene Virgin)
Josquin Desprez

21. Josquin’s varied texture within a piece
Also imitation between pairs of voices (duets between high voices imitated by duets between low voices)

23. Sometimes almost homophonic, like at “Ave vera virginitas”
Also changes from duple to triple meter, then back to duple

25. Ends with slow chords, expressing Josquin’s personal plea to the Virgin: O Mother of God, remember me. Amen.

26. Chapter 2 cont… Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (about 1525-1594)
Most important Italian composer of Ren.
Devoted to composing for Catholic church
Career in Rome; church positions, including St. Peter’s Basilica
Composed 104 masses, about 450 other sacred works

27. Chapter 2 cont…
Career best understood against the backdrop of the Counter-Reformation.
Early 1500’s, Catholic church was challenged by Protestants (non-Catholic Christians).
Sought to correct abuses, malpractices
Sought to counter the move toward Protestantism
Led to convening of the Council of Trent ( ), which considered questions of dogma and organization

28. Chapter 2 cont…
Council determined that church music had lost its purity
Some complained that complex polyphony had made it impossible to understand the sacred text
Some wanted only monophonic music (Gregorian chant)
Church music shouldn’t be written for the empty pleasure of the ear, but to inspire religious contemplation
Palestrina’s restraint, serenity reflect emphasis on more spiritual music

29. Chapter 2 cont…
Palestrina’s music is regarded as a model for church music because of its calmness, “other-worldly” quality
Even today, the technical perfection of Palestrina is studied as the model for students of composition and counterpoint (imitation)

30. Kyrie from Pope Marcellus Mass (1562-1563)
Chapter 2 cont…
Kyrie from Pope Marcellus Mass ( )
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
His most famous
Seen as a reflection of the Council of Trent’s desire for clear projection of sacred text.
A cappella, 6 voice parts
Soprano, alto, two tenors, two basses

31. Chapter 2 cont… Kyrie – 1st section of the Mass
Kyrie eleison. Lord, have mercy.
Christe eleison. Christ, have mercy.
sounds fuller than Josquin’s Ave Maria because it has two more voice parts
Very singable, eased melody, much like a Gregorian chant
Leaps are balanced by steps

32. LISTENING TO PALESTRINA
Missa Papae Marcelli
(Pope Marcellus Mass)
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

33. VOCABULARY REVIEW Renaissance Individualism “Universal man” Humanism
Realism
Linear Perspective
Text Painting/Word Painting
Imitation
Consonance/Dissonance
A cappella
Motet
Mass
Kyrie, Gloria, Credo,
Sanctus, Agnus Dei
Josquin Desprez
Imitation
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Protestant Reformation
Counter-Reformation
Council of Trent

34. UNIT III PRESENTATIONS
Exploration: Columbus, da Gama, Magellan
Kieryn
Claire
Chris
Taimoor
Art: da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael
Emma
Aaron
Sami
Ryan
Literature: William Shakespeare
Anna
Andrew
Nathan
Nick
Technology: Movable Type Printing Press, Gutenberg Bible
Kalyn
Julian
Blake
Jacob
Religion: Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation
Dominique
Phil
Alec
Bilal

35. HOMEWORK Complete the worksheet packet for Chapters 1-2, due tomorrow.
Answers can also be found in books, if you need to take one home…