9-18 Reading

pp. 69-74 - entries on Renaissance, A Cappella Singing, and Paraphrase Technique

pp. 82-85 - entry on Mass

pp. 91-92 - entry on Palestrina

Renaissance (1400-1600)

• Increased educational opportunities for the public due to printing press
• Vocal music was mainly performed a cappella
• Flute, recorder, violin, guitar, and brass instruments were all common.
• Music was performed in the church and home
• Genres: Mass, motets, and madrigals
• Paraphrase technique: take an old melody and work it into a new piece

Mass

• More complex music - homophonic and polyphonic

• Two types of texts for mass music:

  • Proper: texts relating to special holidays or feast days
  • Ordinary: stays the same. 5 sections. Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei.

• Composers generally made more elaborate Ordinary texts

• Proper sections were simpler
  

• Motets:

  • A capella vocal music
  • Alternating textures of polyphony and homophony
  • Almost exactly like madrigals except sacred

Giovanni Palestrina

• He spent most of his life writing sacred music
• Legend says he saved polyphony in church music
• Italian