3. Musical Instruments and ensembles in the Renaissance

Question 1

What years was the Renaissance in?

Answer 1

1400 to 1600AD.

Question 2

What is organology?

Answer 2

The study of musical instruments.

Question 3

What does renaissance mean?

Answer 3

It translates to ‘rebirth’, as it was the period which featured the rebirth of classical learning from Ancient Greece/Rome (Trivium, quadrivium)

Question 4

What was the Ancient Greek (Aristotelian) classification of musical instruments?

Answer 4

The human voices was an animate instrument. Strings/wind were inanimate instruments.

Question 5

What was the recorder designed to do?

Answer 5

Imitate the human voice

Question 6

How often was percussion used?

Answer 6

Rarely, it wasn’t usually favoured.

Question 7

What is the name of the classification designed in 1914?

Answer 7

Hornbostel-Sachs. It is the most widely used classification system by ethnomusicologists and organologists.

Question 8

Who designed the instrument classification in 1914?

Answer 8

Erich Moritz von Hornbostel + Curt Sachs.

Question 9

What are the four categories of Hornbostel-Sachs classification system?

Answer 9

Idiophones, membranophones, chordophones and aerophones.

Question 10

What is the description for idiophones?

Answer 10

Instruments sounded by the substance of the instrument itself, owing to its solidity and elasticity. For example, bells or xylophones.

Question 11

What is the description for membranophones?

Answer 11

Instruments excited by tightly stretched membranes. For example, a drum.

Question 12

What is the description for chordophones?

Answer 12

Instruments with one or more strings stretched between fixed points. For example, violins, guitars and harps.

Question 13

What is the description for aerophones?

Answer 13

Instruments in which the air itself is the vibrator in the primary sense.

Question 14

Why are aerophones split into two classes?

Answer 14

The first class includes instruments which do not contain vibrating air when played. These are called free aerophones and include free reed instruments, such as the harmonica. The second class features instruments which do contain vibrating air when played: most wind, woodwind and brass instruments.

Question 15

What is Pollux’s classification system?

Answer 15

Created in the second half of the 2nd century AD, Pollux called the human voice animate whilst percussion instruments (including strings) and wind instruments were inanimate.

Question 16

What is Porphyry’s classification system?

Answer 16

Created between the late 3rd and early 4th century AD, Porphyry, similar to Pollux’s system, but divided strings apart from percussion into their own group.

Question 17

What is Boethius’s classification system?

Answer 17

The late Roman theorist created this between the late 5th century and early 6th century AD and simply stated that strings, wind and percussion were all musical instruments.

Question 18

What are electrophones?

Answer 18

They were added to the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system afterwards, meaning instruments that produce sounds by electronic means - such as a theremin.

Question 19

What two phrases are used to describe classification systems?

Answer 19

Natural (culture emerging) or artificial (observer imposed).

Question 20

What did ‘haut’ describe?

Answer 20

High or loud instruments, typically used in an outdoor setting. For example, trumpets or drums.

Question 21

What did ‘bas’ describe?

Answer 21

Low or soft instruments, used for more intimate settings. For example, lutes, fiddles and harps.

Question 22

What is a shawm?

Answer 22

Woodwind instrument with a bassoon-like double reed.

Question 23

From the 14th century onwards, how was music observed?

Answer 23

In binary opposition, haut and bas.

Question 24

What is the difference between haut and bas?

Answer 24

Haut - ceremonial wind music. Bas - intimate.

Question 25

What are some practical limitations of combining haut and bas instruments?

Answer 25

Volume levels vary so greatly between the instruments that they didn’t tend to mix well.

Question 26

What happened to wind instruments come the 15th century?

Answer 26

The skills of the woodwind performers increased to a point where they were appropriate to perform at important/royal occasions. Technology increased to the point where instruments could be produced to perform together (such as the slide trumpet). The introduction of lower pitched to accompany the shawm meant that a wind ensemble was capable of a greater harmonic range.

Question 27

Why might a important person want a haut ensemble to play at their occasion in the 14th and 15th century?

Answer 27

The rich people of the late middle ages due to an uneasy political situation had to demonstrate their rank and power. A grand music ensemble showed wealth.

Question 28

What was going on culturally at the time in Europe?

Answer 28

There was a slump in the economy. Three years of crop failure in a row. And the plague. This lead to a crisis in the ordered rank of society; they were required to demonstrate their ranking.

Question 29

Even though Haut musicians were present at important occasions, why were they still viewed as low status?

Answer 29

Because the playing of their instruments required inelegant actions such as the puffing out of the cheeks as well as jagged movements for the slide trumpet/trombone. They also wore clothing which suggested low status such as tight fitting costumes with stripes.

Question 30

What is a psaltery?

Answer 30

A stringed instrument of the zither family.

Question 31

What instruments did the amateur upper class play?

Answer 31

The harp, the psaltery and later the lute because they were delicate and gentle physical movements. They didn’t want to seem to have worked hard and practised a lot because of the facade of their easy life style.

Question 32

What are consorts?

Answer 32

Started off as only one family of instruments (only Shawms, or only Viols) and then over time the weaker members of one consort would be replaced with the stronger members of another. Or occasionally, two consorts would be joined together.

Question 33

What are foundation instruments?

Answer 33

An instrument which would also accompany consort and described as ‘perfect’ because it could play in any key. Such as the organ, lute, harp.