Music in the Renaissance Era

1420-1600

Part III: The Reformation

The Reformation began when Martin Luther posted the 95 theses (pictured) on the castle church in Wittenburg, Germany in the Holy Roman Empire. The Reformation established the protestant branch of Christianity.

Christianity in Europe during the

1500s

Lutheran Germany and Scandinavia

Martin Luther (1483-1546)•priest , theologian, musician•95 Theses led to Reformation•Deudsche Messe: similar to Catholic Mass, but replaced most chants with German Hymns

Lutheran chorale:•congregational hymn•4 sources:

•Chant•German devotional songs•Contrafactum—secular songs w/new words•New compositions

•originally monophonic•later polyphonic

•Cantational style—block chords•Ein feste burg

Calvinism in Switzerland, France, and Germany

John Calvin (1509-1564)•French theologian and pastor•Presbyterian and Reformed Churches are from the Calvinist tradition•not a composer

Music in the Calvinist church:•only biblical texts•Metrical psalms• metric, rhymed, strophic translations

of psalms • sources:

• newly composed melodies• chant

• originally monophonic• later polyphonic• Loys Bourgeois: Psalm 134

• melody later used in English Psalm 100

• William Kethe: Psalm 10•Psalter—published collection of psalms

Church of England (Anglican)

John Taverner (ca. 1490-1545)•Masses & motets•Long melismas, full textures, cantus-firmus structures

Thomas Tallis (ca. 1505-1585)•Latin masses & hymn• Spem in Alium• 40-part motet

William Byrd (ca. 1540-1623)

•Member of royal chapel•Secular vocal & instrumental music•Anglican service music•Catholic masses•motets•Sing joyfully unto God;full anthem

•Anthem and Service• for voice and instruments• more elaborate than hymns and psalms

Fourth and Fifth Generation Renaissance Vocal Polyphony

Music in the Roman Catholic Church1520-1600

1520-1550 Flemish Composers

Adrian Willaert(ca. 1490-1562)

music director at St. Mark’s

Nicolas Gombert(ca. 1495-ca. 1560)

worked for chapel of Emperor Charles V

Jacobus Clemens(ca. 1510-ca. 1555)

worked in Netherlands

•continued the tradition of Renaissance vocal polyphony•5 or 6 voices•duple•imitative, but with variation•less frequent canons & other intricate structural devices

1550-1600—continued the tradition of Renaissance Vocal Polyphony

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525/1526-1594)•choirmaster at churches in Rome•wrote masses, mass movements, motets, madrigals•“Palestrina counterpoint” set standard for counterpoint•Pope Marcellus Mass• Credo• Agnus dei I

•Franco Flemish, worked in Germany for duke of Bavaria•masses, chansons, motets•text expression

Orlando di Lasso(1532-1594)

•Spanish•O Magnum mysterium

;motet•Missa O magnum

mysterium;imitation mass

Tomás Luis de Victoria(ca. 1548-1611)

•German•Dixit Maria

Hans Leo Hassler1564-1612

Palestrina Counterpoint

• duple meter• each beat consonant, except suspension• dissonances on offbeats: passing tones & neighbor tones • accentuate words correctly• homophony—long text• imitative polyphony—short text• each new phrase gets different combination of voices • 6 voices for climax, major cadences, significant words• text painting

1420-1450 Dunstable,

Binchois, DuFay

1450-1480 Ockeghem,

Busnoys

1480-1520 Obrecht, Isaac,

Des Prez

Renaissance Vocal Polyphony1550-1600

Palestrina, Di Lasso1520-1550

Willaert, Gombert, Clemens

•Imitation mass, paraphrase mass, cantus firmus mass•Duple meter, contrasting passages in triple meter•Careful dissonance treatment•Mode defined through cadences•5 or 6 equal voices•imitation, but varied

Pope Marcellus MassPalestrina•freely composed mass•counterpoint/homophony•duple meter•careful dissonance treatment•text painting•free, non-imitative counterpoint

Cum essem parvulusOrlando di Lasso•motet•counterpoint/homophony•duple meter, contrasting passages in triple meter•text painting•free, non-imitative counterpoint

The Council of Trent• Tropes & most

sequences eliminated to suppress variation in local practices

• Palestrina becomes supposed savior of polyphony by writing Pope Marcellus Mass, which did not obscure text