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Renaissance music

Renaissance music. Knox Academy Music Department. Renaissance = ‘re-birth’. The Renaissance period falls roughly between 1450 and 1600. In Western Europe, there was increasing interest in learning and culture, looking back to the civilisations of ancient Greece and Rome.

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Renaissance music

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  1. Renaissance music Knox Academy Music Department

  2. Renaissance = ‘re-birth’ • The Renaissance period falls roughly between 1450 and 1600. • In Western Europe, there was increasing interest in learning and culture, looking back to the civilisations of ancient Greece and Rome. • This affected art, architecture, literature and music. • It was the age of Christopher Columbus, Leonardo da Vinci, William Shakespeare, Nicolaus Copernicus and composers such as Byrd, Tallis, Victoria and Palestrina.

  3. The church • The church remained an important focal point for the development of music. • Composers had moved away from plainsong and were writing more complicated music, usually for 4 or more voices. • The Renaissance period was a time of great religious instability and this had implications for composers and the sort of music that they wrote. • Henry VIII – Catholic, but converted to Protestantism to divorce • Edward VI – Protestant • Mary – Catholic • Elizabeth I – Protestant, but made some concessions to Catholics • Catholic monarch = music in Latin, polyphonic and melismatic • Protestant monarch = music in English, homophonic, syllabic and simple.

  4. mass • The mass is a musical setting of 6 religious texts. Each text is sung at a specific point of the church service: • KYRIE (Greek) – ‘Lord, have mercy’ • GLORIA (Latin) – ‘Glory to God in the highest’ • CREDO (Latin) – ‘I believe in one God’ • SANCTUS (Latin) – ‘Holy, holy, holy’ • BENEDICTUS (Latin) – ‘Blessed is He’ • AGNUS DEI (Latin) – ‘Lamb of God’ • A setting of the mass is still sung or said at all Catholic and Anglican church services.

  5. Features of a renaissance mass

  6. motet • A short piece of religious music, written in Latin. • It was usually written for a specific time in the church’s year, eg Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Easter etc. • It is similar in style to the mass – polyphonic, melismatic, imitative etc. • EgO Magnum mysterium (O Great mystery) by Tomas Luis de Victoria – a Christmas motet.

  7. anthem • When Protestant monarchs were on the throne, composers were not allowed to write such fancy, polyphonic music. • Anything that was thought to be a ‘distraction’ was removed from churches: stained glass windows, statues, priests’ fancy robes and garments. • Music had to be much simpler – homophonic, syllabic and written in English so that people could understand the text. • EgIf ye love me by Thomas Tallis

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