Renaissance

Possible additions taken from YouTube videos - already included?: - started by Noah Tauche, continued by Emma Barton-Smith

Renaissance (1400-1600)

Presentation by American music professor (East Tennessee State University: https://goo.gl/tG5oJs - February 1, 2016):

- Church music (a capella - at church, focus on voices) is very popular

- Secular music, as opposed to sacred music, might be a capella, but also uses instruments for entertainment

- More solo musicians travelled with their instruments, such as the lute or portable keyboards, to earn a bit of money for themselves (troubadours, street musicians).

- ideal/perfect music = triple meter (Trinity) - circle (perfect)

- not ideal - half circle for duple time

- word painting becomes popular, sound matches the word.

- The religious motet in Latin became popular, but was difficult to decipher: sometimes there would be different texts said by four voices, each singing different notes and rhythms. If you listened carefully, a hidden message could be understood.

- polyphonic texture is dominant

- Martin Luther thinks the language of sermon and songs should be understood by the people

- Luther thinks the congregation should sing and creates the chorale (collection of hymns, an important development in music with the organ), where it is more involved with the service.

- instrumental music accompanies the singers

- Reformation vs Counter Reformation: The Catholic Church was trying to bring back the people who had lost interest in it and had become more preoccupied by Luther's own hymns.

- music gets very complex and difficult due to the polyphonic texture, almost impossible to follow the lyrics since the vast number of instruments overpowered the vocal parts.

- composers tone down the amount of instrumental music, if anything, use only the organ

- Palestrina (organist) takes all the books of Gregorian chants and adjusts them to the requirements of the "Council of Trent" (condemnation of the Protestant doctrines and principles) for them to be performed.

- religious music was originally not sung by women, but by young boys in choirs

- in paintings, the linear perspective is developed creating a more realistic result.

Student's product (Alison's Brief Guide of Music History: https://goo.gl/gFFnGF - February 1, 2016):

- Renaissance means rebirth

- linear perspective develops in art (like polyphony in music)

- Printing press is invented (mass distribution of texts and music)

- "secular" means "non-religious"

- canons, mensuration canons are popular

- madrigals are popular, too