FREE ESSAY ON RENAISSANCE MUSIC

RENAISSANCE MUSIC

The Renaissance was a period by which modern scholars consider as that between 1350 -1600.
Abundant in this new age was inventions and individualistic beliefs. Changes in music and
cultural behavior were some of the most evident development from its predecessor of the
Middle ages.
Period of new inventions, belief, musical styles of freedom, and individuality. It was a
period of exploration and adventure from 1492-1519, which saw the likes of Christopher
Columbus, Vasco da Gama, and Ferdinand Magellan. This was a drastic difference from the
Middle Ages where the church held most of the power. The power was slowly transferring to
the artist, musician, and people of high society. The word " Renaissance" means rebirth.
Used by artist and musician to recover and apply the ancient learning and standards of
Greece and Rome. 
Rich Italian cities, such as Florence, Ferrari, and milanland Venice started the
Renaissance Age. Because these cities were very wealthy, people started spending money on
different things, such as painting, learning materials, and new systems of government.
These were good times for most and because of the ever-changing styles and attitudes
towards culture and the church, music was the best buy for the money. This all gave rise
to a new type of scholar, called the humanist. Humanism was a subject concerned with
human kind and the culture. Painters and sculptors now used subjects from classical
literature and mythology such as characters from Homers epic poems. Painters like Raphael
and Leonardo da Vinci were more interested in realism and used linear perspective in
creating their subjects. The nude body was a favorite theme of the ages where as in the
Middle Ages was an object of shame and concealment. Artist was no longer regarded as mere
artisans, as they were known in the past, but for the first time emerged as independent
thinkers.
The Catholic Church was far less powerful now than they had been in the Middle ages. The
church no longer monopolized learning or the minds of the common worshiper. Aristocrats
and the upper middle class now considered education a status symbol and music was an
intricate part of that status quote. The invention of print accelerated the spread of
learning. Johan Gutenberg was credited with printing the first Bible during this period,
which gave this excellent piece of literature a wider audience. The printing press made
books much easier to come by which made them cheaper. Now common people could afford a
literary luxury, which was once only accessible to the rich. Therefore, literacy became
more widespread since common people had access to all forms of print to include music.
With the Renaissance was the idea of the universal man, every educated person was
expected to be trained in music. As in the Middle Ages, the musicians worked in churches,
courts and towns. The church remained an important patron of music, but musical activity
gradually shifted to the courtyards. Kings princes and dukes competed for the finest
composers. With this, new found fame musicians enjoyed higher status and pay than ever
before. Composers were regarded higher and held important positions throughout Europe.
Many musicians became interested in politics in hopes that their status as a musician or
composer would help to foster ones careers. This was a sharp contrast from most of the
Renaissance composers and musicians. Most were from the Low Countries and from families
that were not of prominate nobility.
In the renaissance, as in the Middle Ages vocal music was more important than
instrumental music. The humanistic interest in language influenced vocal music in a new
way. As a result, an especially close relationship was created between words and music.
Composers often used word painting, musical representation of specific poetic images.
Renaissance music sounds were more full than medieval music and had a more pleasing
affect to the ear. New emphasis was put on the bass line for a richer harmony. Choruses
music did not need instrumental accompaniment. The period was called the gold age of
unaccompanied a Cappella choral music. This is where the present day barber shops quartet
originated. This new technique made renaissance music both a pleasure and challenge, for
each singer had to maintain an individual rhythm. This must have been an innovation and
refreshing change from the old monotone chanting choruses.
A new style of relating to the counterpoint was now spawning, in which bass voices were
given greater independence. This took the average Mass to a different level of complexity
and meaning. It created two forms of sacred music of the renaissance, which were the
Motet and the Mass. The Motet was a polyphonic choral composition made up of five
sections: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Agnus. Josquin Desprez was a master of
renaissance music. His compositions, which strongly influenced other, and were
enthusiastically, welcomed by music lovers.
Among the most important renaissance composers was Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrine, who
devoted himself to music for the catholic church. During the early 1500's, Protestants
who sought to correct abuses within the structure that occurred in the past challenged
the church. This led to the founding of the Jesuit order in 1540, which considered
questions of organization with in the church. They discussed church music, which they
felt lost its purity and wholesomeness that was essential to a place of worship. Church
music was attacked because it used tunes, noisy instruments, and theatrical singing
portraying the church as being just a place for entertainment. The council finally
decreed that church music should be composed not to give empty pleasure to the ear, but
to inspire religious contemplation. Palestrina's pope Marcellus Mass was long thought to
have convinced the council that masses should be kept in catholic worship. Although it is
now known that it did not play a role in the council decision, it does reflect the
council's desire for a clear projection of the sacred text.
During the renaissance secular vocal music became increasingly popular. This was music
written for groups of solo voices with the accompaniment of instruments. Composers
delighted in imitating natural sounds such as birds or animals that were more serene.
Madrigal was an important vocal music, which had a piece for secular solo voices set to
short poems. Madrigal originated in Italy around 1520 and was published by the thousands
in sixteenth century Italy. Among many Italian madrigalists were Luca marenzio and Carlo
Gesualdo the prince of veno who had his wife and her lover murdered after finding them in
bed together. In 1588 the year of the defeat of the Spanish armada, a volume of Italian
madrigals was published in London. This triggered a spurt of madrigal writing by English
composers, and for about thirty years, there was a steady flow of English madrigals and
other secular vocal music.
Traditionally instrumentalist accompanied voices or played music intended for singing.
During the sixteenth century however instrumental music became increasingly emancipated
from vocal models. Renaissance musicians distinguished between loud outdoor instruments
like trumpets and the shawm, which was a double reeded ancestor of the oboe, and soft
indoor instruments like the lute and the recorder (an early flute). Large courts might
employ thirty instrumentalists of all types. On state occasions such as Royal wedding,
woodwinds, plucked bowed strings, and keyboard, instruments all playing would entertain
quest together.
In conclusion, the renaissance gave way to a new generation of music, musicians and
composers. During the Renaissance, music were no longer regarded as mere skilled
craftsman, as they had been in the medieval past, but for the first time emerged as
independent personalities. The Renaissance was a time of new awakening in Europe.
Bibliography
Work Cited
Perry, Marvin, Chase Myrna, Jacob James R, Jacob Margaret C, Von Laue Theodore H. Western
Civilization. New Jersey, Princeton, 1996
Kamien, Roger Music, an appreciation, Boston, 1998
Mc Comb, Todd M. A Selection of Renaissance Music, Internet, www.medieval.org,