Unit 3: The

Renaissance1450-1600

TIMELINE

• 1450-1500– Botticelli, La Primavera (1477)– Fall of Constantinople (1453)– Gutenberg Bible (1456)– Columbus Reaches the Americas (1492)

• 1500-1600– Leonardo da Vinci,

Mona Lisa (1503)

1500-1600 cont.

– Michelangelo,

David (1504)

1500-1600 cont.

– Raphael, School of Athens (1505)

– Titian, Venus and the Lute Player (1570)

1500-1600 cont.

– William Shakespeare,

Romeo and Juliet

(1596)– Martin Luther’s

ninety-five theses,

start of the Protestant Reformation (1517)– Council of Trent (1545-63)– Elizabeth I, Queen of England (1558-1603)– Spanish Armada defeated (1588)

1500-1600 cont.

“Renaissance”

• 15th and 16th century Europe known as a “rebirth” or “renaissance” of human activity

GENERALIZATIONS

• Exploration– Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Ferdinand

Magellan

• Individualism (“universal man”)– Leonardo da Vinci

• Painter, sculptor, architect, engineer,

scientist, musician

• Humanism – The dominant intellectual movement

• Focused on human life and its accomplishments• No concern with Heaven or Hell• Even though many were devout religious believers,

they were captivated by the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome

• Intoxicated with beauty of ancient languages – Greek and Latin – and with the literature of antiquity

Humanism cont…

– Painters and sculptors drawn to subjects from classical literature/mythology

– Art highlighted depictions of the nude body

• a favorite theme of antiquity, but an object of shame and concealment during Middle Ages. Medieval artists more concerned with religious symbols rather than lifelike representation

– Art more concerned in realism• Linear persepective – geometrical system

for creating an illusion of space and depth.• Example: Raphael’s School of Athens

Example of

Medieval art

Example of Renaissance art

– Raphael, School of Athens (1505)

Humanism cont…

– Painters no longer treated the Virgin Mary as a childlike, unearthly creature—they showed her as a beautiful young woman

• Catholic Church– Far less powerful, but the Christian

church as a whole was still an important musical center

– The unity of Christendom was exploded

by the Protestant Reformation led by

Martin Luther (1483-1546)• Aristocrats and upper middle class now

considered education a status symbol;

hired scholars to teach their kids• Church no longer monopolized learning

• Technology– Invention of the movable type printing

press by Gutenberg accelerated the

speed of learning– Before, books were rare and extremely

expensive– By 1500, 15-20 million copies of 40,000

editions had been printed in Europe

Chapter 1: MUSIC IN THE RENAISSANCE

• Idea of the “universal man”– Every educated person was expected to be

musically trained.

MUSIC IN THE REN., cont…

• Musicians worked in churches, courts and towns– Churches

• Church choirs grew• Polyphonic music was no longer performed

by several soloists, but entire choirs

MUSIC IN THE REN., cont…

– Courts (where most activity occurred)• Kings, princes, dukes competed for best

composers• Courts had 10-60 musicians• Nobility often brought musicians along

when traveling• Women employed in many Italian courts

(late Renaissance)

MUSIC IN THE REN., cont…

– Towns• Musicians played for civic processions,

weddings, religious services• Higher status and pay than before• Composers started seeking credit for their work,

unlike the anonymity of the Middle Ages.

MUSIC IN THE REN., cont…

• Most leading

musicians came

from the Low

Countries (Flanders)

• Highly sought after,

mostly in Italy, which became center of musical life

CHARACTERISTICS OF RENAISSANCE MUSIC

• Words and Music– Vocal more important than instrumental

• Why?

– More connection between music and meaning/emotion of the text

• “When one of the words expresses weeping, pain, heartbreak, sighs, tears and other similar things, let the harmony be full of sadness.” –Zarlino (Renaissance music theorist)

CHARACTERISTICS, cont…

• Text Painting– Musical representation of specific poetic images.

– How would you show:• “Running” “Descending from Heaven” “Death” • What are some other, less obvious ones?

CHARACTERISTICS, cont…

• Music still seems calm and restrained to us.– All the emotion and expression in

Renaissance music is expressed in moderation, balance

• No extreme dynamic contrast• Little tone color contrast• Little rhythmic contrast

CHARACTERISTICS, cont…

• What SHMRFT traits can you fill in so far?

CHARACTERISTICS, cont…

• Texture– Polyphonic

• 4, 5, or 6 voices, nearly equal melodic interest

– Imitation• Each voice presents the same melodic idea

in turn (as in a round)

– Some homophonic texture is used, especially in light music, dances

CHARACTERISTICS, cont…

– Fuller sound• Bass register used for first time, increasing

number of octaves heard• Composers began to think in chords, in

addition to individual melodic lines– In Middle Ages, entire melody lines thought up

one at a time and then combined.– In Renaissance, melodies were thought up in

relation to how they accompany each other

– Mild, relaxed• Lots of stable, consonant chords, many

triads• Very little dissonance

CHARACTERISTICS, cont…

– “Golden Age” of a cappella choral music• Little instrumental accompaniment• 2 Main uses for instruments

1. To duplicate vocal lines to reinforce the sound

2. Play the part of a missing singer

Now what can you add to your SHMRFT traits?

CHARACTERISTICS, cont…

• Rhythm– Gentle flow, not

sharply defined beat

• Each melodic line held great rhythmic independence

• Made it challenging to sing – each singer had to be independently strong

CHARACTERISTICS, cont…

• Melody– Melodies generally easy to sing

• Moves stepwise, few large leaps

And your SHMRFT traits now?

LISTENING TO RENAISSANCE

• Sicut Cervus– Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

VOCABULARY REVIEW

• Renaissance• Individualism• “Universal man”• Humanism• Realism• Linear Perspective• Text Painting/Word Painting• Imitation• Consonance/Dissonance• A cappella

UNIT III PRESENTATIONS

Technology: Movable Type Printing Press, Gutenberg Bible

Kalyn

Julian

Blake

Jacob

Religion: Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation

Dominique

Phil

Alec

Bilal

Exploration: Columbus, da Gama, MagellanKierynClaireChris

Taimoor

Art: da Vinci, Michelangelo, RaphaelEmmaAaronSamiRyan

Literature: William ShakespeareAnna

AndrewNathan

Nick