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The Renaissance has not ceased to be an age of discussion and debate among historians throughout the recent centuries. The vibrant nature of the era marks it as a most fascinating period of history. The Renaissance can be described as an age carrying the essence of “self-discovery and fulfillment, of recognition of human worth, and a dynamic outpouring of artistic activity.” This new world flourishing with art and creative optimism was also steeped in a spirit of “revolt of the Medievalists.” In an effort of “rebirth,” the previous culture of the Middle Ages was rejected, and even scorned. Foundational principles in all fields were overstepped, and old cultural norms were practically obsolete. It was an era whose humanistic philosophy greatly impacted the lens through which man viewed himself and the world.
The spirit of the Renaissance had a profound effect on every field of study and area of life; religion was certainly not excluded. The Catholic Church was brought face-to-face with modern culture, which necessitated important assessment and decision-making to determine an appropriate response. This paper will examine specifically the changes in sacred music in the Renaissance, and consider the Church’s response.
In order to understand the changes which occurred in music and which affected the Liturgy in the Renaissance period, it is necessary to give a brief sketch of music in earlier times. The first notable aspect of Renaissance music and musical thought is the pace at which it developed. This rapidity stands in contrast to all previous music history. The history of Western art music properly begins with the music of the Christian Church at the end of the ancient world (circa 400AD). This was a world in which music alwa...
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...rroneous to say that any sacred composer in the Renaissance was malicious in intent; alternatively, one could say that he had lost sight of the proper vision and function of sacred music in his zeal for ingenuity.
Works Cited
Blume, Friedrich. Renaissance and Baroque Music; a Comprehensive Survey. 1st ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 1967.
Grout, Donald Jay. A History of Western Music. 1st ed. New York: Norton, 1960.
Hayburn, Robert F. Papal Legislation on Sacred Music, 95 A.D. to 1977 A.D. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 1979.
Jensen, De Lamar. Renaissance Europe: Age of Recovery and Reconciliation. Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath, 1981.
O'Kelly, Bernard. The Renaissance Image of Man and the World. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1966.
Ongaro, Giulio Maria, and David Brinkman. Music of the Renaissance. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2003.
The book begins with a prologue, in which a letter is sent from a musician working for a cardinal in 1347. It is sent from the papal court of Avignon and is received by some of the musician's ...
In sharp contrast, man's purpose during the Renaissance was to exercise one's virtue, or one's excellence as a man. People believed that life should be lived for itself, and the beauty of this world should be appreciated in the here and now. The focus of life was on the secular world of the here ...
...ble. For the first time in many centuries there was something new and different. Congregational hymns were sung in their native tongues. Additionally, differences in accompaniment was felt. The instrumentation was either more majestic or more limited depending on the area where the music was played. Music was being utilized as an edification implement like the sermon. Additionally, people optically discerned an influx in ingeniousness due to more mundane musical compositions being utilized in accommodations. The Reformation in Germany and the circumventing nations optically discerned an astronomical distinction on available hymns and psalms due to the openness and variations in their Reformation. The English reformation was pretty consistent across the country. However, due to its unique commencements music optically discerned different effects from the Reformation.
What truly defines the Renaissance? One may argue that the transition from a religiously centralized mindset to a focus on secular and humanistic values was the key change that made the Renaissance distinct from the Middle Ages. This transition is evident in written stories, paintings, treatises, and orations given by prominent characters of the Renaissance (e.g. Shakespeare, Michelangelo, and Mirandola). In this essay, I will elaborate on the significance of the “transition” on differing views during the Renaissance, and the extent in which figures of the Renaissance portrayed secularity and the extent of divinity in their works.
The Baroque Period, 1600-1750, marked another unique era of musical experimentation and evolvement. Titled after the trendy ornate architectural style during this period, the Baroque period, 1600 to 1750, witnessed a widespread change in the composer’s musical desires as they widely rebelled against the traditional styles that were prevalent during the Renaissance. With this era stained with monarchs attempting to outperform one another with pride and pageantry the development and grandeur of music excelled to new heights. The powerful monarchs of the period utilized composers heavily as they served as employed performers with the sole purpose to develop and perform musical pieces at the desire of the monarch. This servant-composer culture
As discussed by Greenberg (2009), the Renaissance saw many changes and advancements over a two hundred year span of evolution in music. The intellectual and social trends strayed from the absolute power of the church and secular music became admired and composed for the beauty of its art. Renaissance composers developed a more expressive style by clearly articulating lyrics “musica reservata” and a process called word painting or tone painting which reflected
With special interest in medieval French secular repertory, this paper analyzes a page of manuscript selected from the manuscript Paris, Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, Manuscript 5198, (Trouvère V, or Chansonnier de l'Arsenal). The manuscript was made for the royal family of Navarre around sometime between 1301 and 1325. This manuscript has a physical dimension of 312x220mm, and a total of 420 pages bound in green leather with gold gilded letters . Each parchment has two columns of contents with text and notated music. The page number is not indicated in folio numbers followed by recto or verso, but rather in Arabic numbers. The manuscript overall is preserved in good condition, and contains an extraordinary number of songs classified by authors, whose name is written in the margin in red circles before each song.
Throughout history music has been one of the most powerful tools used to touch the lives of people in different ways. Soft playing keys of a piano have been used to soothe a crying baby. Melodies from a bass saxophone can used to express feelings of love. A marching army going into battle would hear for miles the beating of drums announcing their soon arrival to the enemies camp. In first Samuel chapter 16 verses 23, David would take the harp and play it with his hand; and Saul would be refreshed and be well, and the evil spirit would depart from him. In my report I will be discussing who, in my opinion, the most influential composer was. What musical time period I believe to be the most influential and discuss three ways this class has influenced
Part of this week's reading assignment was to read Appendix 1: Musical Notation, which would cover Part 2: The Middle Ages and Renaissance. During the Medieval and Renaissance period, musicians were supported by the church, the royal and aristocratic courts, and the city and state. Most musicians found jobs as choirmasters, composers, teachers, instrumentalists, etc. This shows that during these periods society was widely accepting and adapting to music as a part of culture. As mentioned in the text, most musicians were men, but as time progressed women began to get involved in music as well and were living as court singers. During this period, the church viewed music as a testimony of the spiritual nature of the Middle Ages. Religion continued
Giacomo Puccini once said, “Art is a kind of illness” (“Giacomo Puccini Quotes”). If that is true, then Puccini must have been one of the sickest artists of all time. Considered one of the best operatic composers of all time, Puccini’s music instills hope and passion into any one who listens to it. Other composers may have this artistic illness too, but never in the contagious way that Puccini’s work infects the musician in each one of us.
The time between 1485 and 1660 marked a period of new beginnings for the people living in England; this time is known as the Renaissance. In England, the people were challenging their past beliefs; where before the Renaissance, England thrived basing their lives, government, and music off of God and his principles alone. During these one-hundred and seventy-five years, the English people started questioning their original principles about religion and established a yearning for information and proof based off of science instead of God. This desire caused many changes to form in England. The Renaissance period quickly became known as the rebirth of knowledge named by the change from God’s knowledge to the knowledge of man. The Renaissance brought on many changes to English culture especially in their music. There was a rise in secular, or non-religious music, instrumental music, and dance music. Although the English Renaissance occurred many centuries ago, the major changes in musical styles are evident in both spiritual and secular music.
Music of the French Renaissance was inaugurated through popular publications and it’s different sound. During the 16th century, the music of France was breaking away from
... fabulous piece remembered long after his time. This was accepted instead of looked down upon because of the shift from dogma to humanism that took place between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
The developmental formation of music has evolved tremendously over the past centuries. “The Five Heartbeats” and “High-school Musical” are great examples of music structures changing; “The Five Heartbeats” would be identified with the middle ages, where else “High-school Musical” would be identified with the renaissance. Sacred music was mostly uprooted in churches, but there’s a difference with the development of sacred music of middle ages and renaissance. The middle ages music was “mostly vocal, and some were instrumental music.” On the other hand, “renaissance music was choral music, scared, and some instrumental music.” Sacred music was consistent with the two, but the role it played was effectively different. The comparison and contrast
For instance, his music manifests development of free standing instruments. However, it is tricky to create a relation between music and art just the same way it is hard to relate the Reformation and Counter Reformation period of that time. Additionally, the Council of Trent ruled that, art ought to be free from sin and rather, it should aim at bringing individuals closer to church and to the love of god. However, the music in Baroque’s does not bring individuals closer to the love of God, as it brings them closer to the love of