MUSC 251: Study set for Quiz 3
Renaissance
Literally means "rebirth." A cultural and historical period, roughly dating from 1420-1600. Marked by a renewed interest in classical ideals, with a focus on rules and codification of knowledge, as well as an emphasis on reason and the power of human intellect. As far as visual arts were concerned, we see a renewed interest in symmetry, order, and balance, as well as in human emotion and the emotional impact of the body, with greater realism in lieu of the symbolism that featured so prominently in medieval art. Depending on the medium (art, music, et cetera), there is variance as to when the medieval period ends and the Renaissance begins. For example, Petrarch, a prominent Italian literary figure, is associated with the Renaissance, whereas the composer-performer Landini, who was active at the same time, is considered part of the medieval period. Last, the Renaissance is the first period when awareness of the modern "periodization" of history emerges; people began to refer to the preceding historical chapter as the "Middle Ages" or the "Medieval period." With regard to music, the idea of "rebirth" doesn't really apply, given that there was no interest either in returning to musical styles of Ancient Greece and Rome or in music history more generally! There was, however, greater interest in Aristotelian and Platonic ideas about music in an abstract sense. In contrast to medieval music, Renaissance music values ears over numbers—"sweeter harmony" and "what sounds good" is the most important. More and more, the system of composition is less hierarchical—now, all parts carry equal weight and are conceived of simultaneously. Composers have an increasingly expanding book of codified tricks, and are able to vary the texture, feel, and color of their works from section to section more than in the past. More sonorities are considered acceptable, and chromatic tones become more common. Not only are more voices present, but each voice has a wider range (in particular, the soprano can reach higher and lower than before).
Guillaume Du Fay
(1397-1474)- Prominent fifteenth-century composer who was renowned for his skill in organizing sound around borrowed melodies and "abstract, even inaudible, structures." Composed many motets for his Italian patrons over the course of his long career that apply a cantus-firmus technique in the tenor part, following the general instructions outlined by Egidius of Murino in his "Tractatus cantus mensurabilis." By Du Fay's time, this style had essentially become the norm for crafting music for important occasions, such as commemoration of official achievements. Political messages were made to intertwine seamlessly with the work's musical structure. From the Low Countries near Brussels Began his musical career as a choir boy of the Cathedral at Cambrai, and also worked as a cleric Although a musician, he was also prominently a member of the clergy Moved to Italy by the mid-1420s, and works in many settings, including at the papal chapel Moves back to France by 1439 Held post as musical director of household of Duke Amadeus III of Savoy during the 1430s Several important musical works produced by Du Fay: Nuper rosarum flores- composed to mark the consecration of Florence Cathedral in 1436. The tenor part was taken from "Terribilis est locus iste" (Awesome is this place), a piece of plainsong liturgy used for inaugurations of sacred spaces. The proportions used in the metrical transformations of the work were chosen to correspond with the geometrical proportions used to construct the cathedral, as well as King Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem; this gives one example of the intertwining of musical and political meanings. Missa L'homme armé- Du Fay's setting of a cyclic mass based around the popular L'Homme Armé tune. During this work's Agnus Dei, the music is divided into three symmetrical parts mirroring the text's repetition of the phrase "Lamb of God." In the first part, L'Homme Armé appears in the tenor; in the second, it is omitted; in the third, it moves backward at half the rate of the upper voices before returning in conventional form to move in half-time relative to the first half. ("Let the crab go forward whole, but return half").
Bartolomeo Tromboncino
(1470-1534)- a wind-playing singer who provided musical services to Isabella d'Este, a prominent musical patron in 16th-century Italy. In the context of the book, he is most notable for penning "Ostinato vo'seguire" (I Shall Resolutely Follow), a frottole whose music has been specifically tailored to the shape and meaning of its accompanying poem. The work centers on the cruel decrees of fortune and the fortitude of one magnanimous enough to withstand them. The main point emphasized is the importance that regardless of what happens, the speaker will find "honor," "great desire," and "magnanimity," as emphasized by melodic flourishes at the end of each line. This song's foci align neatly with the qualities of the ideal ruler as laid out in classical texts valued by courtiers of the time, such as Aristotle's "Nichomachean Ethics" and "On Virtues and Vices." These ethics include justice, temperance, liberality, gentleness, honor, and (as above) magnanimity.
Baldassare Castiglione
(1478-1529)- Italian nobleman who served as diplomat in the service of Duke Guidobaldo de Montefeltro of the court of Urbino, a small hill town near the Adriatic coast. Famously, he is the author of "Il libro del cortegiano," The Book of the Courtier, first published in Venice in 1528. The Book of the Courtier was by far the most influential "courtesy" book of the sixteenth century, and was avidly read, imitated, and critiqued by generations of men and women across Europe. The book's format is a series of imaginary conversations over four evenings at the court of Urbino, where all named speakers are real people. Each of the four "books" of the "Book of the Courtier" covered a different aspect of the perfect courtier: how to act toward different people, how to behave, et cetera. Overall, the book is in a dialectic style, with debate over mostly unanswered questions. Some conclusive points that arise: as observed by Count Lodovico da Canossa from Verona, a courtier should be "born of a noble and genteel family," whose name he must protect via virtuous action and battlefield prowess. In general, the pursuit of virtue in the battlefield was increasingly balanced by more artful behavioral graces, such as the need to control oneself at court via demeanor, conversation, and musical performance. One figure who gets special treatment in the final section of the book is Pietro Bembo, a Venetian nobleman who served as secretary to Pope Leo X and became a cardinal of the Catholic Church in 1539. This nobleman wrote "Prose della vulgar lingua," where he advocated for emulation of Italian verse of Petrarch and Boccaccio. One central concern of the book with pertinence to this class is music and musical performance in relation to vernacular language.
L'Homme Armé
(The Armed Man)- humble folk melody that became part of the tradition of extramusical references through the use of a particular cantus firmus. It first entered the polyphonic tradition in the mid-fifteenth century, mostly in the works of Burgundian and French composers. Over two dozen surviving treatments of the tune, many of which reflect the culture of competition, emulation, and historical self-consciousness of the fifteenth century. In contrast to the other tenor masses, this one draws neither from sacred plainsong nor from polyphonic chansons! As mentioned in an earlier entry, the melody carried three symbolic meanings: first, it was linked to the Order of the Golden Fleece, an "elite club of European rulers organized by Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy in 1430." Second, we can interpret the "armed man" as a symbol of a Christian knight seeking to battle against the Turks, which aligns with the political agenda of the Burgundian court of that time (namely, to oppose the advance of the Ottoman Empire). Third, the armed man's journey could be a reference to Jesus's journey of salvation; in this context, his armor represents spiritual resilience.
Josquin des Prez
(ca. 1450-1521)- composer of great renown from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Key musical characteristics of his work: a fusion of old traditions of cantus firmus, canon, and rigorous counterpoint with new concerns for linkage between the music and the meaning of its accompanying texts. Example of his high status and reputation in sixteenth century: in the Dodecachordon (The 12-string lyre), a famous treatise on melodic modes by the Swiss humanist Heinrich Glarean, Josquin des Prez and his work is cited as the pinnacle of the craft of composition. New evidence emerging from the archives in recent years casts doubt on assumptions about which works Josquin composed, as well as uncertainty about his career and biography. This carries big implications for the stylistically dynamic time of ~1500, especially with regard to Josquin's role in shaping its development and styles. This is one good reason not to idolize Josquin as part of a "great man" interpretation of musical history. Josquin did not invent most of the musical characteristics most prominent in his work (chordal textures at the end of musical phrases, systematic imitation, rhyming couplets with parallel duets, to name a few), but he was generally considered to use them with the most skill! Personality carried as much weight and prominence as musical quality: Josquin was known to be temperamental, to require substantial payment, and to compose based on his own preferences, rather than "on command." Other examples of musical innovation by Josquin: layering of repeated cantus-firmus melodies, of abstract musical patterns, and of historically-relevant musical motives that align with the meaning of his works. He also turned formes fixes into musical canons, constructing polyphonic works from notable, popular song fragments.
Lute
A fretted instrument with many similarities to the modern-day mandolin; "the French parliamentarian and literary scholar Jacques Gohory described it as 'the moste noble and melodious instrument of Musicke.'" It was advantageous to noblemen, given that frets resolved problems of intonation and allowed for quick learning of music via tablature (no need for mensural notation).
Scholasticism
An intellectual movement strongly associated with St. Dominic, the Dominican Order, and the medieval period. Centered on the 13th and 14th centuries, scholasticism was marked by a love of proving theological propositions; debate; rhetoric; and the summa, an encyclopedia-like compendium of all knowledge. A primary focus of scholasticism was the study of commentary- respected authorities were given highest priority. Sensory information and empirical evidence was often met with skepticism, which contrasts with the practices of humanism. New thought and criticism of existing interpretations of classical works were not important, whereas for humanists, these were of highest importance.
Viola and lira da braccio
Bowed stringed instruments that were often associated with music-marking in the comparatively private confines of elite households. These would have been the most popular instruments to use for accompaniment of vocal performance, along with the lute. The musical instruction to use this instrument is "cantare alla viola" (singing to the accompaniment of the viol) or "cantare alla viola per recitare" (sung recitation to the viol). These instruments were actually favored over the lute by Castiglione in the original Italian translation of The Book of the Courtier.
Melancholy (melancholia)
Complex set of physical and psychic ailments that puzzled philosophers, doctors, poets, and theologians of 15th and 16th centuries. Could emerge without apparent physical cause, and was characterized by a blank, downward gaze, interrupted speech, returning visions, and incessant deferral of rest. Believed to emerge from, or have a link with, the center of the brain, where the imagination was believed to center and originate! It was explained in terms of four bodily humors inherited from scholars like Galen via medieval and Arabic sources: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. In general, one's temperament depended on the relative balance and unbalance of these humors and their corresponding qualities (e.g. hot, cold, wet, and dry). Doctors explained feeling and disease based on "humoral" model, with the goal of rebalancing the equation of essences. Greek source of the word: "melaina" means black and "khole" means bile. From "Anatomy of Melancholy" (1621) by Robert Burton: melancholy music might actually relieve, rather than provoke, the condition, given that the musical audience may have been able to relieve themselves of their own melancholy by sharing in another's experience through sound!
Ja que li ne s'i attende
Composer: Antoine Busnoys Notes from book about the piece: -Title translation: "Although He Does not Expect It" -Woman professes fidelity to man -Title can be interpreted as "Let Jacqueline Wait" -Part of larger body of works referencing Jacqueline or Jacqueline d'Acqueville, who could have been any number of people in real life -Parts of title that sound like a name are linked by a single melodic phrase in the cantus -Part of a larger trend of depicting courtly love as adulterous or involving incompatible social stations -Form: virelai, with a structure of AbbaA My personal notes about the piece: -Low, slow-moving tenor part sung by male -Cantus part is mirrored rhythmically often quite directly by the mid-range contratenor -Cantus has mostly stepwise motion -Tenor is much more rhythmically homogeneous than the other parts, as expected -Harmony: lots of parallel motion using imperfect intervals, as referenced in the text -Most prominent harmony: octaves, thirds, and sixths, for the most part -Steady meter throughout piece, with little to no dynamic variation either Notes from class about the piece: N/A
Ostinato vo'seguire
Composer: Bartolomeo Tromboncino Notes from book about the piece: -Translation of title: "I Shall Resolutely Follow" -Written by Isabella d'Este's wind-playing singer, Tromboncino, it is a good example of a frottole whose music has been carefully tailored to the shape and meaning of the poem -Theme: decrees of fortune and the fortitude of those who can withstand them -Melodic flourishes at the end of each line accentuate the invariable arrival of honor and great desire -This song's foci align neatly with the qualities of the ideal ruler as detailed in (for example) Nichomachean Ethics: justice, temperance, liberality, gentleness, honor, and greatness of spirit -Prince could be taught by example to embrace these virtues, despite "ignorance and self-conceit" of rulers -He must consider "excellent men" so as to attain glory through "worthy emulation" -This tune goes beyond being pleasurable or fashionable—as the tune itself recommends, it keep the courtier's mind on "worthy pleasures" and "virtuous habit." -Magnanimity—greatness of heart—is the most important virtue; as a result, this music acts as a vehicle for an important political message Notes from class about the piece: -Meaning of some of the lyrics: "He will be bold as a ruler, and if he fails, it will be clear that he tried to maintain good courtly ideals." -Hard to follow along and sing in a group setting -Using lots of ornamentation—it should always sound easy, even if it is not. Note that the melody is simple, and although the ornamentation is widespread, there is a carefree and effortless feel to the entire performance -Lute player adding some ornate elements (could be scaled back as needed) -Through-written for 4 polyphonic voices -Strophic—the poetic structure drives the musical structure -Some ornamentation is improvised, and others are not -Easy-sounding, though it is actually quite technically challenging -Uses a relatively simple tune as its basis -Totally scalable (not exactly sure what this note implies)
Deuil angoisseux
Composer: Gilles Binchois Notes from book about the piece: N/A My personal notes about the piece: -Stanzaic, with a single female vocalist accompanied by lute, flute, and a bowed instrument taking up the lowest voice -Long passages in the middle of the piece with no vocal part, where the flute plays the sung melody -Fairly melismatic melody, with mostly stepwise motion -Cadences most often come to rest on octaves and unisons, although thirds and sixths appear often in the harmony parts throughout the verses -Regular meter, with fairly little change in instrumentation or dynamics from from verse to the next (musically homogeneous) Notes from class about the piece: -Text is by Christine de Pisan -Distant lover is dead (she is full of despair) -"I can neither be healed nor die" -Extremely grief-filled text -Music's major tonality would be considered slightly incongruous with the text to a modern ear -Slow-moving, serene, and peaceful—does not (necessarily) give an indication of sadness by our modern "codes" -Note that the piece's musical style fairly closely corresponds to that of other pieces whose texts have a very different meaning—does this imply that the text's meaning is less important than conformity to a consistent musical convention? -Christine de Pisan was one of the first female artists who can support herself via poetry -Biographical description of grief—based on the death of her husband -Irrational and disjointed speech—tons of subjects listed before any verbs arrive -Makes a plea that God kill her -Musically, the tempo could either indicate peace or depression -Would this piece have been used for therapeutic purposes? -Because there is only one voice, it feels hollow to a certain extent -Lowest notes are holding for as long as musically allowed—is it a reference to irrationality? -Slow-moving notes hint at the "stuck" gaze of melancholia -The instruments are at seemingly odds about the meter, and the melody conveys a sense of being "stuck"
Par le regart
Composer: Guillaume Du Fay Notes from book about the piece: -Form: rondeau -Refrain: four lines of rhymed text at the beginning and the end -Middle stanzas: half-stanza and half-refrain, then a full stanza and refrain -Form: ABaAabAB -Music presents text, rather than expresses it My personal notes about the piece: -How does it give the indication of "presenting," not expressing, the text? For one, the vocal delivery does not change from line to line, as it might if the performer were wanting to convey the text's meaning more directly -Dynamics are constant, as is the instrumentation and the instrumental harmony -Lute provides counterpoint that typically moves more quickly than the singer's melody, whereas the bowed tenor (I assume that is the harmonic role, at least) moves at approximately the same rate as the singer's melody -Steady meter -Solo vocalist (male falsetto) -Rigid in terms of conformity to a highly regular form and musical style Notes from class about the piece: -Strings- plucked and bowed- provide accompaniment -Singing voice is a soloist -Sweetness of sound -Translation of title: "By the look of your beautiful eyes" -Very syllabic, with slight melisma at the end of a phrase -Rather high range, with very little rhythmic or melodic variation from one phrase to the next -Opens and closes with fourths and fifth, not thirds -Step-wise motion within a phrase, but with jumps -Repetition of the A section is very pronounced -Conforms to musical conventions of the time -Moments of ornate musical activity—however, it does not distract from the text -In the manuscripts, usually there was only one melody with text, and the remainder of the musical lines would often have been instrumental (sometimes even main melody would be instrumental too) -Winding and lumpy—does not divide itself into nice symmetrical phrases. Gets stuck in head, but it is not easily singable -Going up and down in a winding and unpredictable fashion -To create a sense of variety in the modern rendition, the musicians change the instrumentation from one verse to the next -Most important voices: the cantus and the tenor, whereas the contratenor is the voice that adds complexity -Its three musical voices are fairly independent of one another -"Sweet" harmonic language consists mostly of thirds and sixths -Key cadences still come to rest on the fifth, octave, or unison -Long, winding phrases; fluid, asymmetrical rhythm; use of formes fixes
Missa L'homme armé (Agnus Dei)
Composer: Guillaume Du Fay Notes from book about the piece: -Reflects the tradition of arranging this work's sacred text into three symmetrically-arranged sections -Although sometimes difficult to hear, the melody to L'homme armé appears in every section -Lyrics to the tune: "The armed man is to be feared; Everywhere the cry has been raised; That each must arm himself; With an iron hauberk." -Agnus I: melody appears in slow-moving tenor part, but was likely still recognizable by its distinctive use of leaps and repeated motives -Agnus II: no comments on this section -Agnus III: the melody to L'homme armé moves backward, although the tenor serves the same structural and harmonic purpose as before; the melody in question later moves in the "correct" direction and at the same pace as the other voices -Do the compositional choices of III reflect the Latin expression of "Let the crab go forward whole, but return half?" -Two reversals used in piece correspond to the pertinent rhythmic diminution: "whole" then "half" -Added complexities: since crabs always moves in reverse, then our "forward" direction is actually backward -Net effect: slow backward version is first, followed by tune in the original sequence, but now at twice the pace as before -The movement illustrates effectively Tinctoris's noting of the importance of "rule showing the purpose of the composer behind a certain obscurity" Notes from class about the piece: -Agnus I: Melody in tenor, using original note values -Agnus II: No cantus firmus; uses canon-like imitative polyphony -Agnus III: Melody returns to the tenor, first sung backwards and slowly, then in its original form, twice as fast -Four voices are used again -Melody becomes very recognizable when it hits the high part close to the end of the section
Se la face ay pale
Composer: Guillaume Du Fay Notes from book about the piece: N/A My personal notes about the piece: -Three-voice polyphonic setting- two upper voices in fairly rapid motion accompanied by a male tenor—at times they move parallel in rhythm—other times, one set of singers begins a line first, before the others -Repetition of the form at the work's halfway point -Musical phrases often beginning in unison before moving to thirds-based harmony -At the ends of musical phrases, we hear ritardando and another unison -Similar to Par le regart, this work presents the text more than expressing it. There is very little shift in delivery from one verse to the next—musically, the two halves could be interchanged without noticing the difference -Mixed-gender ensemble: two females and one male, with no instrumental backing, which is most common for these types of chansons Notes from class about the piece: N/A
Missa Se la face ay pale, Gloria
Composer: Guillaume Du Fay Notes from book about the piece: N/A Other notes about the piece: -It is yet another mensuration canon, with the tenor performing a popular, secular tune that appears throughout the mass, just like for the L'homme armé masses My personal notes about the piece: -The tenor and upper voices not only carry the same words, but occasionally move directly alongside each other with respect to rhythm -Imitative polyphony features prominently in the piece, but not in the rigid style of the "classic" canon where each voice starts with a rhythmic offset from its neighbor; instead, it's evidence of the mensuration canon style -Long notes in the piece come to rest on octaves and fifths -Regular meter in use; melodies are fairly melismatic across all voices, despite that the tune lacks the meandering quality of more melismatic works (such as those by Hildegard, for example)
Doctorem Principem
Composer: Johannes Ciconia Notes from book about the piece: -Four-voice polytextual motet that exemplifies the medieval fascination with hierarchical structure and symbolic forms -Follows familiar template: slow-moving tenor, above which voices trade rapidly-moving musical phrases -Tunes whose lowered voices borrow from liturgical and secular songs that exist already are called cantus firmus. -Harmonic emphasis on octave and fifth, with many other combinations in passing. -The two upper voices both have a Latin text -"Torrent of florid fanfares" for Francesco Zabarella, the "Prince of Teachers" in question and one of Ciconia's patrons -Provides comprehensive example of a practical application of the Tractatus cantus mensurabilis (Treatise on Measured Song) by the French cleric Egidius of Murino, which advises the composer to take a tenor from the book of Office chants and put it in rhythm, adding upper voices one at a time, squeezing or stretching notes over the words as needed. My personal notes about the piece: -Slow-moving tenor below -Sackbuts giving the contratenor part -Fast-moving sections in the upper voices are passed back and forth in a sort of volley -During other parts of the tune, the upper voices move in parallel -Mostly stepwise motion -Despite medieval style of the structure, it is worth noting that the piece still makes prominent use of thirds. -Primary cadences still come to rest on a fifth, though Notes from class about the piece: -Four-voiced polytextual motet (Latin text) -Celebratory motet in honor of Zabarella, the archpriest of the Cathedral of Padua -Complex musical architecture typical of a medieval motet: 3 sections opening and closing with melisma, with a repeating tenor providing a foundation -Similar to style used, for example, by de Vitry -Hierarchical voice structure: slow bottom voices and busy top voices -Bottom two voices share a range, as do the two upper voices -Emphasis on perfect consonances (octave, fifth, and fourth) -Focus on presenting text rather than expressing it -We have melody tossed from one voice to the other -When one upper voice has a flowing part, the other is more bouncy -The top voice introduces a phrase, and the other mirrors it -Bottom two voices are played instrumentally in this case -Despite that is was a secular song, it is still performed in a church context; male falsettists would have been needed/used for the uppermost parts
Missa prolationem
Composer: Johannes Ockeghem Notes from book about the piece: -Great example of the musical riddles that Ockeghem was famous for designing -More than one voice part from each notated line -Two mensuration signs for each line representing pair of parts -Each new canon begins at different melodic interval; canon intoned at unison, then second, then third, et cetera -Example of a piece that was criticized by Swiss humanist Glarean for being too skillful for the listener's good -Abstract order and symbolic meaning are at play in Ockeghem's 15th-century masses as much as they were for previous generations of "musical borrowers" My personal notes about the piece: -Highly thirds-based harmony -Although there is a well-defined meter to the work, the beat does not feature prominently, given that multiple voices are moving more or less independently of each other, and notes are held for a long time -Cadences coming to rest on octave and fifth -Quite melismatic, with heavy use of stepwise motion -Absence of a traditional, medieval-style tenor
Lachrimae antiquae
Composer: John Dowland Notes from book about the piece: -Full title: Seaven Tears Figured in Seaven Passionate Pavans (published 1604) -Song cycle by Dowland, featuring the melodic marker known as the "tear motive," which consists of a linear fourth ending with a plangent half-step -This is also known as the Phrygian tetrachord, given that it corresponds to the first four notes of that mode -Huge number of references and instances of use, ranging from instrumental romanescas to 17th-century opera to mid-16th-century vocal music -Stalled descent of the tetrachord mirrors a static, melancholic gaze My personal notes about the piece: -Lute and several bowed instruments (viols, maybe?) -Minor tonality, but with a major resolution at the ends of musical phrases -Metered feel -Plucked lute alternatively provides chords and single-note counterpoint to the main melody -Low, bowed instruments are the slowest-moving in the work—at times, they seem to fulfill a role similar to that of the tenor of a choral work -Unexpected dissonance starting close to the end of the piece (in particular, at time mark of 3:14) that resolves quickly, but later reappears about two measures from the end of the work, at approximately 4:00—is this motive a musical representation of melancholy?
Flow my tears
Composer: John Dowland Notes from book about the piece: N/A My personal notes about the piece: -Minor tonality -Chord progression that is recognizable to ear of modern listener -Follows a verse structure with a repeating melody and harmony -Final chord before the key change is a major chord of the key that was minor up until that point -Musical accompaniment consists solely of a lute -Fairly regular meter, with a beat that one can tap a foot along with -In cases of repetition, there is not direct correspondence from one verse to the next. Instead, we find dynamic contrast and a slight change in tempo Notes from class about the piece: -Implication of lyrics: "You'd be better off in hell—they are at least ignorant of the pains of living, and thus cannot be as unhappy as me." -Morley's commentary on the sound of melancholia: "Motion proceeding by half steps;" "flat thirds and sixths;" "accidental motions" -Use of descending thirds in "tears and sighs and groans" -Descending "tear motive" used by Morley: spans a range of a fourth, and is transposed up and down -Half step below root is expression of grief as well -Strophic—when the melody repeats, there are now improvised ornaments -Also includes sweetness and peace, though!
Ave Maria...Virgo Serena
Composer: Josquin des Prez Notes from book about the piece: -Musical characteristics of the work: balanced variety, clarity, and order, as exemplified by points of imitation, contrapuntal duets, and homorhythmic passages -Compositional choices support the prevailing humanist notions of the affective, persuasive power of language -Josquin did not invent the musical characteristics most prominent in this work (chordal textures at the end where the lyrics call for Mary's intercession; systematic imitation; rhyming couplets with parallel duets), but he used them with the most skill -Other musical ideas: layering of repeated cantus-firmus melodies, of abstract musical patterns, or historically-relevant musical motives that align with the meaning of his work Notes from class about the piece: -Musical language conforms to the style of the time -Imitative counterpoint -Long, winding melodies -Juxtaposition of contrasting textures -Especially known for focus on text -Text praises the Virgin Mary and outlines the most important events of her life -Through-composed: it does not use repetition for stanzas -Each section has its own distinct music -Each line employs its own melodic gestures -Many different textures are in place, with the goal of delineating the structure of the work -During the first part, we find the use of imitative counterpoint, with all 4 voices coming together at the end -During the second part, we find alternating duets (S/A then T/B) before all voices finally come together -Predominantly imitative, with some homophony thrown in for good measure -Lots of syncopations and off-beat emphases -Voices are staggered from one another too -Unlike for Mille regrets, the melody of this tune is not very likely to get stuck in one's head!
Missa L'homme armé super voces musicales, Kyrie
Composer: Josquin des Prez Notes from book about the piece: -Translation of title: "Armed Man Mass upon Musical Syllables" -He uses the six voces of the hexachordal system as a backdrop for the progressive transformation of the tune -With a new repetition, the tune starts on a new syllable/pitch: C for Kyrie, D for Gloria, et cetera, until A for the Agnus Dei -Musical space lends order to the text -No tenor during Agnus II -Musical time is explored via a three-voice mensuration canon -Three-part polyphony taken from a single notated part read in three different meters simultaneously -The parts diverge as the singers interpret different mensural signs and pitch levels with the same note shapes -This mensuration canon is noted in several treatises and other sources from around 1500 with comments such as "ex una votes tres" (from one voice, three); others note a potential reference to the Holy Trinity Notes from class about the piece: -It's one of two such masses he wrote -Composed in the middle of his career (15th century) -Four voices -Would have occurred alongside plainchant in the middle of a service -L'homme armé appears throughout the mass in all movements -During the Kyrie, other voices forecast the arrival of the tenor -Three clear sections, each with a unique meter -In the second section (Christe eleason) the alto holds the references, while the tenor is buried
Mille regrets
Composer: Josquin des Prez (disputed) Notes from book about the piece: -Four-voice chanson that is among the most frequently performed of Joaquin's works -Setting: serious poem by Jean Lemaire de Belges, a poet at Marguerite of Austria's court in Brussels -Musical style: much more chordal than anything from Josquin's other French secular songs -Later published in a wide array of different versions and responses, all of which reflected musical conventions from after Josquin's death, even though they were all credited to him! Examples: lute pavane by Pierre Phalèse in 1546, and four-voice arrangement by Antwerp printer Tillman Susato in an album from 1549 -Unlike Josquin's other chansons, which rely on tunes from urban traditions or those borrowed from contemporary composers, this work has quiet, homorhythmic style with frequent cadences Notes from class about the piece: -Among the most frequently performed and recorded of his works -First credited to Josquin in tabulation for vihuela in 1538 (after his death) -1549: Susato issues 4-part and 3-part versions of the work -No early manuscript or printed source with a firm link to Josquin, though! -The chosen poem is atypical for a late 15th-century composer to set -Not one of the formes fixes -Musical style was also atypical for the 15th century, being very chordal and homophonic -Thirds harmony in use, with little to no variance in the texture -Rapidly-moving lute accompaniment -Minor key—meter regular until near the very end of the work -"Everything lines up," in the words of Dr. Jennings -Vocal writing is not very adventurous, especially when compared to other pieces credited to Josquin—contrast it, for example, with his Ave Maria -Note that Josquin was active right before the cusp of the high Renaissance -Did he experiment with a new style, demonstrating his flexibility, innovation, and mastery of different idioms, or instead are we simply dealing with a work by a different composer altogether?
Liquide Perle
Composer: Luca Marenzio Notes from book about the piece: -Composer was a contemporary of Thomas Morley, author of "Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke" (1597), a book that emphasizes the careful representation of texts above all else as the highest aim of composition (contrast with the medieval approach, where the highest aim was to present, not to express, the text!). -Musical combinations shift to match meaning and mood of text -Intertwining ornaments from the upper voices at the start evoke the "liquide perle" (meaning eyes, most likely) of the lover in question -The music fills in a connotative aesthetic space that most words lack, excluding interjections like alas and a "written-out" sigh My personal notes about the piece: -Prominence of major and minor thirds -Wide range of vocal timbres and ranges -Different vocal ranges enunciate a single melodic phrase in succession, such that we have imitative counterpoint here. -Mixture of major and minor harmony together in close proximity -Still have cadences coming to rest on fifths and fourths some of the time, but more often we find the third as the primary resting point -Mostly stepwise motion -Fully vocal and fully metered (i.e. a steady beat persists throughout) Notes from class about the piece: -Very new texture -5-voice madrigal -Text is Italian, about courtly love -Focus on expressing/reading poem through music -Freer treatment of text, more flexible relationship between the poetic and musical form -All five voices are treated equally and more independently, resulting in a "thick-sounding" texture -Voices frequently change how they match up—the musical texture is varying with time -Echoing of the melody and rhythm from the high to the low voice -Very rapidly shifting chords
Miraculous love's wounding
Composer: Thomas Morley Notes from book about the piece: N/A My personal notes about the piece: -Imitative counterpoint again -Cadences are coming to rest on thirds, and many time two voices move in parallel thirds -Upper voices may follow quickly behind the lower or vice-versa, but the voices remain apart in thirds -Simple arrangement as far as the fact that only three voices (and sometimes only two at a time) are used -Consistent meter throughout, with few rests -Mixture of stepwise and leaping musical motion Notes from class about the piece: N/A
Federico da Montefeltro
Father of Duke Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, the most prominent figure in The Book of the Courtier, notable for the ubiquity of his family mark, as well as for the double portrait of Guidobaldo and Federico together, which provides a great symbolic indication of the marks of "an ideal prince" of the Italian Renaissance. In the portrait, Federico is surrounded by symbols of authority, such as a ducal sword and robe, a commander's baton, a full set of armor, and a hat indicating his position as the chief of the Pope's army. At the same time, however, he is concentrating on a book, alongside many more; this juxtaposition communicates the parallel importance of battlefield prowess and literary/intellectual development. Further biographical information regarding Federico: although employed as condottiere, or mercenary captain, he studied classics at a humanist academic near Mantua. His ducal palace was filled with treasure, both commissioned and plundered. He maintained an extensive collection of richly appointed books in a lavish library, complete with scientific equipment and musical instruments.
Frottole
Form of song popular in the Italian Renaissance, strongly associated with improvisatory traditions practiced by singers like Serafino and Bernardo, prominent poet-performers who were revered by the aristocratic literati in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. These songs could take on a variety of poetic forms, but mostly followed a stanzaic format with witty refrains. Their subject matter varied widely, encompassing the sufferings of love, the beauties of nature, and the uncertainties of fortune. As far as frottole composed by one prominent composer, Marchetto Cara, "the music followed rhyme and refrain in close coordination, with formulaic tunes that offer[ed] a glimpse of the procedures one might use in declaiming poetry to musical accompaniment." Note that in practice, however, the musical performance of frottole would be marked by improvisation, signifying an intersection of written and unwritten musical traditions.
Humanism
Intellectual period dating from the late 14th to earlier 15th centuries. Marked by a return to reason, as exemplified by the classicism and the works of Ancient Greek philosophers. Linked to careful study of ancient classics (written by, for example, Aristotle and Plato) in the original Greek. The highest priority was to form one's one conclusion and interpretation of the sources, rather than to rely on commentaries published by prominent academics. Past authorities were questioned, with the purpose of reaching a new and more comprehensive understanding of the works. Above all, the most important information came from experience and empirical observation—the senses were given high priority. In general, this intellectual movement stands in contrast to scholasticism.
Sprezzatura
Literally, it means "nonchalance" or "recklessness." In the context of court life in the Italian Renaissance, it implies the ability to feign indifference and make one's actions seem to be without effort. In the words of Federico Fregoso, "...although he may know and understand what he does, ... let him appear to esteem but little this accomplishment of his, yet by performing it excellently well, make others esteem it highly." In the context of musical performance, this implies that musical knowledge and skill was considered important to maintain family honor, but should neither be flaunted nor publicly displayed, for fear either of coming off as arrogant or as a professional musician.
Verbal canon
Note first that a canon is a musical work that employs imitative polyphony, where the same melody is repeated in multiple voices, with a regular metric offset between each repetition. More specifically, a verbal canon is one in which the performance instructions are not given in complete musical notation, but instead are given in the form of written instructions, often in cryptic or puzzle-like form. Most often, the instructions explain how to modify rhythmic values. Tinctoris's definition of a verbal canon: one employing a "rule [that shows the] purpose of [the] composer behind a certain obscurity." For a specific example of the verbal canon, see the third part of Du Fay's Missa L'homme armé. Josquin also gives a verbal canon in his L'homme armé mass. Potential purpose of the verbal canon: allows for differentiation between amateurs and professionals; gives performer enjoyment from practicing complex musical techniques and overcoming the challenge of a riddle; underlines the importance of wit and word games in the fifteenth century.
Cyclic mass
Note: there is not any explicit reference to this term in the book, nor in my notes. However, this term refers to a setting of the Mass Ordinary in which each of the movements—the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei (and maybe the Ite, missa est)— were all united by a common musical theme, most often in the form of a fixed melody in at least one of the voices. In these works, the cantus firms provides structural scaffolding and has philosophical and/or spiritual meaning. The repetition of a musical theme from one part to the next is supposed to jog a musical memory of what came before, and remind us of what is coming next. The first Mass in this style is the "Messe de Notre Dame" by Guillaume de Machaut, and dates from 1360. Not until the 1440's did other composers begin to write cycles of Mass Ordinary. At the time of the original performance, Proper and Ordinary chants would have been interspersed with one another, as would polyphony and plainchant. However, in most modern performances, we omit the Ordinary sections of the Mass. One example of a melody that would have formed the foundation of a cyclic mass is L'Homme Armé, a simple folk melody from the 15th-16th century that formed the basis for over 40 masses from composers around Western Europe. In this particular case, the melody carried three symbolic meanings: first, it was linked to the Order of the Golden Fleece, an "elite club of European rulers organized by Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy in 1430." Second, we can interpret the "armed man" as a symbol of a Christian knight seeking to battle against the Turks, which aligns with the political agenda of the Burgundian court of that time (namely, to oppose the advance of the Ottoman Empire). Third, the armed man's journey could be a reference to Jesus's journey of salvation; in this context, his armor represents spiritual resilience.
Isabella d'Este
Sister-in-law to Elisabetta Gonzaga, the "Duchess" of The Book of the Courtier and a member of the family that ruled the Duchy of Mantua. d'Este supported many players, singers, and composers, taking a role of patroness that was considered unusual for noble women of the time.