jimtrue.com : school : MUH1110 : Assignment Five: Renaissance Music
Posted by Jim True on October 3, 2004 6:31 PM. Last Updated October 22, 2006 9:23 PM
Disclaimer for all material noted here is at the bottom of this web page.
Imagine living during the Middle or 'Dark Ages' as the French humanist Petrach referred to the 900 years also referred to as the Middle Ages, a period lasting from the fall of the Roman Empire in 410 AD until the beginning of the 1400's (Dark Ages - Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Ages ). This was a time when ancient Latin and Greek texts concerning philosophy, art, literature and the sciences were locked away within the Scriptoriums of the monasteries of the Catholic Church. The printing press had not been invented yet, so all mass production of literature was controlled by the Church. Art, Literature and music stagnated as nothing new or controversial was permitted without the sanction of the Church; Scientists were considered heretics or witches, and practicing science could result in persecution or execution. Shortly before the time when Martin Luther first tacked his '95 Theses' to the door of the Church, denouncing the Catholic Church for widespread corruption and beginning the religious reformation known as Lutheranism, a great revival of classical learning and knowledge began throughout Europe culminating in the rediscovery of ancient texts and a classical mode of thinking, a 'rebirth' called the 'Renaissance'.
Prior to this time, the musical style of the day was primarily liturgical (or music performed for the masses during religious ceremonies), monophonic or homophonic, with the range of musical harmonics kept to a very limited form and intervals of a third or higher considered 'dissonant'. With the birth of the Renaissance, secular music (or music for the masses and not related to religious ceremony) grew into widespread use, and polyphony became the norm (Renaissance Music - Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_Music ). Polyphonic songs that stretched the lyrical, harmonic and vocal ranges of the performers became all the rage throughout Europe, taking the form of chansons in France and madrigals in Italy. These ingenious works composed primarily for 4-6 voices (with or without instruments) could have all the artists singing the same lyrics while harmonizing across the four musical ranges (bass, baritone, alto and soprano), or could have all voices singing different parts, either in rounds, or two sets of lyrics would be sung simultaneously, harmonically and connect together on a common bridge. This musical style gave birth to counterpoint, which was a primary musical device of the Baroque period. Music at the time was not defined for specific instruments: musical notation only defined the primary parts, and the performers could decide to play all instrumental, all vocal or in mixed arrangements, and could also decide to 'ornament' the melody by improvising flourishes around the notes, much in the same way jazz ensembles do today.
John Potter, working with the Dowland Project, has taken a new interpretation on Renaissance and early music. Potter, a contemporary and classically trained musician, in his new album from the Dowland Project 'Care-Charming Sleep' has taken a Renaissance approach to his study of 17th Century music (Manoff, NPR PUblic Radio, http://www.npr.org/rundowns/rundown.php?prgDate=30-Sep-2004&prgid=2 ). In much the same way that the original Renaissance performers did not dictate specifically which instruments were to played in their musical arrangements, they merely melodic notation, and it was up to the performers of the day to decide how they wanted to arrange the music and which instruments, if any, would play a particular part. Potter has taken this same approach in 'Care-Charming Sleep'; in some numbers, instead of a soprano voice, he uses a soprano saxophone, an instrument that did not exist in Renaissance times, but lends its voice to the early music quite beautifully. He uses upright bass guitars, and several other modern instruments, much like a jazz ensemble, to give a 'rebirth of life' into this age-old music, demonstrating that 'Renaissance music' doesn't have to be played with historically accurate instruments to be considered a beautiful musical style.
Wikipedia, the Free Internet Encyclopedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Ages
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_Music
http://en.wikipedia.org.wiki/Madrigal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chanson
Accessed 10/3/04.
Tom Manoff, reviewer. "Dowland Project Blends Traditional and New Music". All Things Considered, NPR Public Radio Website. Aired 09/30/2004. Follow the following link to the middle of the page to listen to the radio broadcast with RealMedia. http://www.npr.org/rundowns/rundown.php?prgDate=30-Sep-2004&prgId=2
Disclaimer: These are MY notes taken from classroom lectures while I'm in the classroom. While I'm perfectly happy to share my notes with my classmates and I know I take very good notes, you should still make every effort to attend the class and TAKE YOUR OWN NOTES. I will not transcribe everything the instructor says in the classroom, and I will NEVER post pre-exam reviews. My notes will not replace the value of actually attending class and taking your own class notes.I also cannot attest to their accuracy, other than they are what was provided in the lecture; you should not reference my notes as "expert opionion" by any means, and if you notice an error or omission, please do me the favor of e-mailing me with the correction and I will re-post my notes. End of Disclaimer.