Orchestral Landmarks Renassaince

7/31/2019 Orchestral Landmarks Renassaince

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Lesson 1

What came before Baroque

To develop an understanding of the

development of early music and its

influence on the music that followed.

The Renaissance

(1450 1600)

The Baroque (1600

1750)

The Classical (1750

1810)

The Romantic(1810

1910)

The Twentieth

century


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RenaissanceMusic

Religious

Secular

Whatdowe

knowalready?


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We dont know a great deal about music-

making in the early part of this period,

because only church music was important

enough to be written down, and only a tinybit of that has survived.

In the early part of the medieval period,

church music comprised just one melodyline, called plainchant. This was Monphonicin texture. Create a diagram to show

monophonic music.


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Very slowly, the idea of combining two ormore lines together began to be used in thebig churches. This was the start of polyphonybut was called an organum.

There was another popular kind of religiousmusic called a motet, in which each of thevocal lines could have its own words so you

could have three texts going at once,sometimes in different languages! This wastrue Polyphony - create a diagram to showpolyphony.


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From the beginning of the 12th century non-church,secular music started to be written down. It wasmusic made in royal and noble households. Like earlychurch music, this was at first made out of just onemelodic line, sometimes with an instrumental drone.

Much of this music was based on dance forms and washomophonic in texture the same rhythm! - Createa diagram to show this texture.

Many songs were about courtly love a kind ofidealised relationship in which the lady is always out

of reach, and the man devotes his life to trying toplease her.

Theme and Variations were very popular and thesewere usually written for the lute or keyboard(virginal).


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The Renaissance started in Italy, but soon spreadto the rest of Europe. It was a period in whichmodern trade and banking were taking off. Thisnew self-confidence led people to create a new

sort of art, less governed by the Church andmedieval ways of thinking.

Artists found a model for this new creativity inthe sculpture, philosophy and literature of theGreeks. This is why the period is called theRenaissance: the word means rebirth, and itseemed that the glories of classical Greece werebeing reborn.


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Europes composers shared in thisexcitement. But there was a basic differencebetween the visual art and the music. Thepaintings of the time are full of memories of

ancient Greece. But theres nothing Greekabout renaissance music there couldnt be,because no one knew what Ancient Greekmusic sounded like!

Palestrina was the most important composerof church music. Also Thomas Tallis andWilliam Byrd.


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Title Description tempo,texture, structure,timbres, rhythm.

Type of music(religious orSecular)

Title Description tempo,

texture, structure,

timbres, rhythm.

Type of music

(religious or Secular)

Title Description tempo,

texture, structure,

timbres, rhythm.

Type of music

(religious or Secular)


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IF YOU HAD to choose one art form that sums up thebaroque era, it would be opera. Look at the imageabove of the interior of a baroque palace. Now listento this overture (the introductory bit of music thatstarts an opera), composed by the French Baroquecomposer Rameau.

Notice what they have in common. They both expressa grand, pompous feeling. Theyre meant to impressyou.

In the baroque era, society was changing. The Churchand the aristocrats were being challenged by the newmiddle class, so they had to assert their authority bycreating grand spectacles. This is why baroque churchmusic often sounds just as grand as baroque opera!


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Heres a very famous example of baroque churchmusic, composed by the English composerHandel.

But baroque music isnt all grand. It can expressfeelings too, much more strongly thanrenaissance music. Lets compare the two.

This first example is a secular song for a group ofvoices by Monteverdi. (Secular means notconnected to the church). Although Monteverdiis called a baroque composer, these little songs,which he wrote in about 1585 when he was ayoung man, are basically in a renaissance style.It's pretty, but not very emotional.


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Lesson 1

What came before Baroque?

We should have an understanding of the

development of music before baroque.

The Renaissance

(1450 1600)

The Baroque (1600

1750)

The Classical (1750

1810)

The Romantic(1810

1910)

The Twentieth

century

Orchestral Landmarks Renassaince

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