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1
Q

Describe how Secular Music was growing in importance during the Renaissance.

A

a. Humanism and the Reformation supported the growth of secular culture
b. General flourishing of the secular arts
c. Support of wealthy patrons like Lorenzo de Medici in Florence, Italy
d. Rise of music printing disseminated secular works for enjoyment at home
e. Secular genres were more progressive, without the traditions and restrictions of the church

2
Q

What is the Frottola?

A

a. Italian secular genre

b. Sung mainly in the Italian courts

3
Q

Describe the musical characteristics of the Frottola.

A

i. Three or four parts
ii. Syllabic (one note for each syllable of text)
iii. Strophic form (same music for each stanza of text)
iv. Simple rhythms
v. Homophonic, with all parts in vertical alignment
vi. Top part sung
vii. Lower parts either sung or played on instruments

4
Q

Describe the Madrigal.

A

a. Direct successor to the frottola
b. Most important genre of Italian secular music in the 16th century
c. Early ones in four parts, but five parts became the typical at the end of the century
d. All parts sung

5
Q

Madrigal texts were written by which of the greatest Italian poets of the period?

A

i. Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch)

ii. Torquato Tasso

6
Q

With Madrigals, describe Through-Composed Form.

A

i. new music for each stanza, no refrains or large scale repetitions of material
ii. allowed composers to match every meaning and nuance of the words with their music

7
Q

Describe word painting (text painting) in madrigals.

A

i. Illustrating the meaning of the words with elements of the music
ii. Carried to great extremes in Renaissance madrigals

8
Q

Name the first generation of Madrigal performers and describe the structure of the Madrigal.

A

i. Adrian Willaert (c. 1490–1562)
ii. Jacques Arcadelt (c. 1505–c.1568)
iii. Style remained somewhat close to that of the frottola
iv. Four-part texture was typical
v. Used some polyphony
vi. Through-composed form

9
Q

Who was Cipriano de Rore (1516–1565)?

A

i. First great innovator in the composition of madrigals
ii. Born in Flanders (connected to Franco-Flemish School of the High Renaissance)
iii. Student of Willaert
iv. Succeeded Willaert at St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice

10
Q

Describe Cipriano de Rore’s style.

A
  1. Deeply influenced by humanism and contemporary poetry
  2. Chose elevated and sophisticated texts to set (sep. poems by Petrarch)
  3. More extensive use of word painting
  4. More extensive use of chromaticism for expressive and illustrative purposes
  5. Expansion to five or six parts
11
Q

Describe late 16th and early 17th century madrigals.

A

i. Increasing use of chromaticism (for word painting)
ii. Striking dissonances and harmonic shifts
iii. Five-or six-part texture
iv. More imitation, mixed with homophony and non-imitative polyphony

12
Q

Who was Luca Marenzio (1553–1599)?

A

i. First major proponent of this late, chromatic madrigal style
ii. Monteverdi’s teacher

13
Q

Who was Carlo Gesualdo (c. 1561–1613)?

A

i. Prince of Venosa
ii. Unusual life and personality
iii. Murdered his wife and her lover
iv. Intensely chromatic, experimental style

14
Q

Who was Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643)?

A

i. Transitional figure between late Renaissance and early Baroque music
ii. One of the greatest and most influential composers in Western music history
iii. Worked in several courts of Northern Italy
iv. Choir master at St. Mark’s cathedral in Venice
v. Wrote extensively in secular and sacred genres, as well as the new genres of the Baroque (especially opera)

15
Q

Describe Monteverdi’s Madrigals. What were some of his innovations?

A
  1. Composed twelve books (collections) of madrigals
  2. Early books are polyphonic, but show some innovations:
    a. More declamatory (speech-like) sections
    b. Breakdown of the equality of the voices
    c. Free use of dissonance (unprepared, not according to established rules of counterpoint)
    d. Some madrigals in the Book 5 include a figured bass part for harmonic support
    e. Madrigals in Books 6–12 move more toward Baroque style
16
Q

In Secular English music of the late Renaissance, describe English Madrigals.

A

i. Musica transalpina (1588) — collection of Italian madrigals that introduced the genre to England
ii. English composers began setting native texts in English
iii. Word painting taken to humorous extremes

17
Q

In Secular English music of the late Renaissance, describe the Ballett.

A

i. Based on an Italian genre, the balletto
ii. More lighthearted than the “elevated” madrigal
iii. More homophony than the madrigal
iv. Strophic form
v. Each stanza comprised of two repeating sections (AABB)
vi. Stanza ends with a refrain on the meaningless syllables “fa-la-la”

18
Q

In Secular English music of the late Renaissance, describe the Consort Song.

A

i. Genre for solo voice accompanied by a viol consort (ensemble of similar instruments)
ii. Viols— ancestors to instruments of the orchestral string family)

19
Q

In Secular English music of the late Renaissance, describe Lute Songs (Airs).

A

i. Solo song with lute accompaniment

ii. Extremely popular genre in Elizabethan England

20
Q

Name three composers of English secular music.

A

i. Thomas Weelkes (c. 1575–1623)
ii. Thomas Morley (1557 or 1558–1602)
iii. John Dowland (1563–1626)

21
Q

For what was Thomas Weelkes (c. 1575-1623) known?

A

Thomas Weelkes composed madrigals.

22
Q

For what was Thomas Morley (1557 or 1558–1602) known?

A
  1. Composer of madrigals and balletts

2. Introduced the ballett to England

23
Q

For what was John Dowland (1563–1626) known?

A

Dowland was a Lutenist and lute song composer

24
Q

What changed for instrumental music during the Renaissance?

A

More instrumental music was written down than in earlier periods.

25
Q

What were four new instruments of the late Renaissance?

A
  1. Lute
  2. Viol
  3. Organ
  4. Harpsichord
26
Q

Describe the lute.

A

Lute — plucked string instrument; popular for music-making in courts or at home; used as accompaniment for singing; also vocal works arranged for solo lute

27
Q

Describe the viol.

A

related to the modern violin family; different sizes/ranges; fretted; played in consorts (ensembles)

28
Q

Describe the organ.

A

Organ — large church organs installed in churches; increasing numbers of stops (sets of pipes)

29
Q

Describe the harpsichord.

A

Harpsichord — family of keyboard instruments includes harpsichord, virginal, clavecin; popular for arrangements of vocal music; also used to play variation sets (sometimes called partitas)

30
Q

Describe dance music of the late Renaissance.

A

i. Social dancing was popular, especially among the aristocracy
ii. Dances with specific national origins were usually grouped in contrasting pairs
1. Pavane and galliard
2. Passamezzo and saltarello
iii. Individual dance pieces were in binary form (AB)
iv. Served as the basis for suites of stylized dances in the Baroque era