Music History and Theory · 6 min read
Renaissance Music
The Renaissance Sound
The Renaissance in music spans roughly the mid-15th century to about 1600. It follows the Medieval period (see the Medieval chapter) and ends with the birth of the Baroque. Composers sought a smooth, balanced, and full sound. The third and sixth, treated as dissonances in much Medieval theory, became accepted consonances, so full triads fill the texture. English composers such as Dunstable influenced this sweeter sound, which continental writers called the contenance angloise.
Josquin and the Franco-Flemish Composers
Composers from northern France and the Low Countries led early Renaissance music. Dufay and Ockeghem prepared the way. Josquin des Prez was the most admired composer of his generation. He balanced imitative and homophonic writing, paired voices in duets, and set text so the words could be heard and felt. His motet Ave Maria . . . virgo serena is a standard example of pervading imitation. The music printing press, first used for polyphony by Petrucci in Venice, helped spread Josquin's music across Europe.
Sacred Genres: Mass and Motet
| Genre | Language and Function | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Mass | Latin; sets the Ordinary of the Catholic Mass | Five movements: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei; types include cantus firmus, paraphrase, and imitation (parody) Masses |
| Motet | Latin; sacred text other than the Mass Ordinary | Polyphonic, often imitative; usually shorter than a Mass; used for feasts and devotions |
| Chorale | German; Lutheran congregational hymn | Simple, mostly homophonic tune sung by the congregation (Protestant Reformation) |
| Anthem | English; Anglican service music | Full anthem (all choir) or verse anthem (soloists alternate with choir); Tallis, Byrd |
| Madrigal | Vernacular (Italian, later English); secular poetry | One singer per part, through-composed, heavy word painting |
| Chanson | French; secular | Lighter, often homophonic, clear rhythms; some are descriptive (Janequin's La guerre) |
Palestrina represents the polished late-Renaissance sacred style. His music is smooth and stepwise, uses carefully controlled dissonance (especially suspensions), and keeps the text clear. In the mid-16th century the Council of Trent, part of the Catholic Counter-Reformation, criticized church music for complex polyphony that hid the words and for the use of secular tunes. A well-known legend holds that Palestrina's Pope Marcellus Mass convinced church leaders that polyphony could remain clear and dignified. Whether or not the story is literally true, the "Palestrina style" became the model for teaching counterpoint for centuries.
Secular Vocal Music: Madrigal and Chanson
The madrigal was the leading secular form. Italian madrigalists include Arcadelt, Marenzio, Gesualdo (known for extreme chromaticism), and Monteverdi. English madrigals became popular in the late 16th century through Morley, Weelkes, and Wilbye. Madrigals were sung for pleasure by amateurs at home, usually one voice per part.
- Rising notes on "ascending" or "heaven"; falling notes on "descending" or "down"
- A single voice on "alone"; all voices together on "all" or "together"
- Fast notes on "running"; a long note on "long" or "forever"; dissonance or chromaticism on "pain" or "sigh"
- Classic example: Weelkes's As Vesta Was from Latmos Hill Descending, with descending lines on "descending" and solo, duet, and full textures on "first two by two, then three by three together, leaving their goddess all alone"
Instruments and Instrumental Music
Instrumental music gained independence during the Renaissance, but voices remained central. Instruments were grouped as loud (haut) for outdoor and ceremonial use and soft (bas) for indoor use. Instruments of the same family made in several sizes formed a consort; a mix of families was a broken consort.
| Instrument | Family | Modern Relative or Note |
|---|---|---|
| Recorder | Woodwind (soft) | End-blown flute made in consort sizes |
| Shawm | Double reed (loud) | Ancestor of the oboe |
| Crumhorn | Capped double reed | Curved J shape; buzzy tone |
| Sackbut | Brass (loud) | Early trombone |
| Cornett | Wooden lip-vibrated instrument | Finger holes; often paired with sackbuts |
| Viol (viola da gamba) | Bowed string | Frets, six strings, held between or on the legs |
| Lute | Plucked string | Most popular home instrument; music written in tablature |
| Harpsichord, virginal, organ | Keyboard | Harpsichord strings are plucked |
Dance music was often paired: a slow, duple pavane followed by a quick, triple galliard. Other instrumental forms include the ricercar and canzona, which imitate vocal polyphony.
Venice and the Transition to the Baroque
At St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli developed the polychoral style (cori spezzati, "split choirs"). Two or more choirs, often with brass, were placed in separate locations and sang in alternation and together, creating antiphonal and echo effects. Giovanni Gabrieli's Sonata pian' e forte is one of the first pieces to specify dynamics and particular instruments. These contrasts of sound groups pointed toward the Baroque concertato style.
Around 1600, the Florentine Camerata argued that text should be sung by a solo voice over simple chords (monody) rather than buried in polyphony. Monteverdi's seconda pratica allowed freer dissonance to express the text. These ideas led directly to basso continuo and opera (see the Baroque chapter).
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