Musical Characteristics of the Renaissance

Medieval music focused on complexity in harmony, rhythm, text and orchestration. There was no instrument support and polyphony and notation were in the developing stages. Music was both secular and sacred, although secular music hardly thrived due to the late development of notation. Western music went hand in hand with Roman Church. The monks of the church composed the first notes for music. Thus most of the written music emerged from within the Church.

Pope Gregory I took the initiative to standardize the earliest music.  This is known as Gregory chants. Kyrie is an example for this. The music is sung by many voices in unison without any instrument. This is also called a cappella and is monophonic. Polyphony began to take form between the 11th and 13th century. The earliest polyphony is known as organum.

The Doulz Viaire Gracieus is a polyphonic song of the vocal genre and a fixed form by the French composer Guillaume de Machaut. It is known as a rondeau and is written for three voices – a tenor, a triplem set against the trenor and a cantus. Only the cantus has text and the other two have been instrumentally performed.

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Musical Characteristics of the Renaissance

Renaissance music focused mainly on modality which began to decline towards the end of this period. A large number of motets, madrigale spirituale and the laude took form during this period. Secular music for one or many voices was widely distributed. Music was composed in individual parts. There were hardly any scores and barlines were not used at all.  Several styles were composed. The styles depended on the surroundings and geographic locations. The rising humanism spirit portrayed a growth in secular and instrumental composition. Most of the songs revolved around women, love and wine.

Sweet nymph, come to thy lover by Thomas Morely is an English secular madrigal that does not make use of any instrument. It was published in Canzonets to Two Voices in 1595. Giovanni Gabrieli was a composer of high renaissance music and his work is characterized by contrasts of space, high and low voices and dynamics. He is well known for polychoral compositions and played a vital role in instrumental music. One of his greatest compositions using instruments is Canzona Duodecimi Toni.

Conclusion

Music theory and notation owes its birth to Middle Ages. New styles were continuously invented. The music of the Middle Ages has great influence on the development of the modern Western music. The changes during Renaissance have also influenced music to a great extent.

References

• O’ Brien, J. P. (1995). The listening experience: Elements, forms, and styles in music (2nd ed.). New York: Schirmer.
• Wikepedia. Renaissance Music. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_music
• Think Quest. Learning with the power of Technology. Retrieved from http://www.tqnyc.org/NYC041099/middleages.html
• Braindex. Medieval Music. Retrieved from http://braindex.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Medieval_music

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