Music of the

Renaissance
Period
(1450-1600)
Mr. Al-lyn L. Vocal
Music 9
La Salle University Integrated School
Music of the Renaissance
Period
I. Learning Competencies
II. Historical Background
III. Cultural Background
IV. Characteristics of
Renaissance Music
V. Types of Renaissance
Music
VI. Famous Renaissance
Composers
I. Historical Background:
I. Renaissance
◦ comes from the word “renaitre” which
means “rebirth”, “revival”, and
“rediscovery”
◦ Period of “looking back” to the golden age
of Greece and Rome
◦ Period of Humanism, optimism, and
reform
focused on human
life
 I. Historical Background:
II.Achievements
by Renaissance
People
a. Invention of
movable type
printing by
Johannes
Gutenberg
 I. Historical Background:
B.
Travelers discovered, explored, and
settled new lands to establish new
settlements, spread Christianity, and
search for gold for increased trade.
Christopher Columbus
John Cabot
Amerigo Vespucci
Hernan Cortes
Vasco Nuñez de Balboa
Francisco Pizarro
Juan Ponce de Leon
Ferdinand Magellan
I. Historical Background:
C. Discovery of the actual position of
the Earth in the Solar system by
Copernacus.
I. Historical Background:
D. Invention of compass creating a
wider navigation not only of the lands
but also for the oceans.
I. Historical Background:
E. Rise of the ARTS
Pieta by MICHAELANGELO
Birth of Venus by Sandro
Botticelli
Mona Lisa by Leonardo da
Vinci
Disposition of Christ by
RAPHAEL
Madonna and Child by Giovanni
Bellini
I. Historical Background:
F. Influenced of literatures by William
Shakespeare
II. Cultural Background:
ROMAN CATHOLIC
Protestante
 II. Cultural Background:
Protestant Reformation led by Martin Luthe

a. States the articles of a. Modest German

complaints. scholar
b. Monk
b. Expressing reformation
c. Dared to criticize
within the church the excesses
c. States that reportoire of and abuses
church songs should observed with
include some in the the catholic
vernacular as well as church
d. Brought to public
those sung in Latin
attention as
d. CHORALE- new kind of THESES
 II. Cultural Background:
COUNTER-Reformation by Council of Trent
a. response to Protestant reformation
b. contains recommendations for
improvements in church procedures
c. composed of serenely beautiful choral
music indicating sensitivity to some
criticisms of Catholic church music voiced
by Protestants
III. Characteristics of Music:
A. MAJOR Characteristics:
◦ Mostly polyphonic “ Golden Age of
Polyphony”
◦ Imitation among voices are
common
◦ Use of word painting in texts and
music
◦ Melodic lines move in a flowing
manner
◦ Melodies are easier to perform
because these move along a scale
with a few large leaps
III. Characteristics of Music:
B. Words and Music
a. VOCAL music was more important
than INSTRUMENTAL music
b. close relationship between words
and music to enhance the meaning
and emotion of the text.
“when on of the words expresses weeping, pain,
heartbreak, sighs, tears, and other similar things,
let the harmony full of sadness”
III. Characteristics of Music:
b. Emphasis on capturing the emotion
and imagery of the text
c. Calm and restrained
d. Wide range of emotion, express in
moderate, balanced way, with no
extreme contrasts of dynamics, tone
color, or rhythm
III. Characteristics of Music:
C. TEXTURE
a. chiefly POLYPHONY
b. sounds fuller, mild and relaxed
c. Bass register was used for the first
time
d. Golden Age of A capella
- even so, instruments were often
combined with voices, it might duplicate the
vocal lines to reinforce the sound, or they
may take part of the missing singer
III. Characteristics of Music:
D. RHYTHM and MELODY
a. RHYTHM is more gentle flow than a
sharply defined beat
b. RYTHMIC independence
-when one singer is at the beginning of his/her
melodic phrase, the others may already be in the
middle of theirs
(this technique makes singing Renaissance music
both PLEASURE and a CHALLENGE for each
singer must maintain an individual rhythm)
IV. Types of Renaissance
Music
A. Sacred Music
B. Secular Music
IV. Types of Renaissance Music: SACRED

2 Main Forms of
Sacred Renaissance
Music:
a. MOTET
b. MASS
Motet
- Renaissance MOTET is
a polyphonic choral work
set to a sacred Latin text
other than the ordinary of
the mass
Mass
- Renaissance Mass is a polyphonic
choral composition made up of five
sections:
1. Kyrie
2. Gloria
3. Credo
4. Sanctus
5. Agnus Dei
IV. Types of Renaissance Music:
Secular
A. Vocal Music
- became increasingly popular
-important leisure activity
-every educated person was expected to
play an instrument and read notation
-written for groups of solo voices and for
solo voice with the accompaniment of
one or more instruments
-word painting was common, delighted
in imitating natural sounds such as bird
calls and street cries
IV. Types of Renaissance Music:
Secular
B. The Renaissance MADRIGAL
- a piece for several voices set to a
short poem, usually about LOVE
- combines HOMOPHONIC and
PLOYPHONIC textures
-uses word painting and unusual
harmonies
IV. Types of Renaissance Music:
Secular
C. The Renaissance BALLET
-also known as Fa-La
-a dance-like song for several solo
voices
-mostly HOMOPHONIC in texture with
the melody in the highest voice
-the same music is repeated for each
stanza of the poem, and the syllables
Fa-La are used as refrain (hence the
name)
IV. Types of Renaissance Music:
Secular
D. Instrumental Music
-intended for dancing (Court Dance)
Musical instruments used
a. Harpischord f. Sackbuts
b. Organ g. Viols
c. Lute h. Regals
d. Trumpet
e. Shawm
f. Recorder
e.Cornetts
IV. Types of Renaissance Music:
Secular

Types of Court Dances

a. Pavane
b. Passamezzo
c. Galliard
VI. Famous Renaissance Composers

1.JosquinDesprez
2. Giovanni Pierluigi
da Palestrina
3. Thomas Morley
 VI. Famous Renaissance Composers

Josquin Desprez
a. Born in the
province of
Hainaut
(Belgium)
b. Serves for
the Dukes’
private
chapels and
in the Papal
Choir at
Rome
 VI. Famous Renaissance Composers

Josquin Desprez
c. Work for Louis
XII of France
d. His
compositions
include:
i. masses
ii. Motets
iii. Secular
vocal pieces
 VI. Famous Renaissance Composers

Josquin Desprez

AVE MARIA
 VI. Famous Renaissance Composers

Giovanni
Pierluigi da
Palestrina
a. Devoted himself
to music for the
Catholic church
b. His career
centered in
Rome
c. Musical director
of St. Peter’s
Basilica
 VI. Famous Renaissance Composers

Giovanni
Pierluigi da
Palestrina
d. His works
composed of
i. 104 masses
ii. 450 other
sacred works
 VI. Famous Renaissance Composers

Giovanni
Pierluigi da
Palestrina

Pope Marcellus
Mass
 VI. Famous Renaissance Composers

Thomas Morley
a. English
composer best
known for his
madrigals
 VI. Famous Renaissance Composers

Thomas Morley

Now is the Month

of Maying
Let’s Have an Activity!
Study the song NOW IS THE
MONTH OF MAYING and
describe the musical
elements (feeling of the music,
word painting, and the like)
through a creative
presentation.
Let’s Have an Activity!
Scoring Rubric
Creativity - 10pts
Content - 10pts
Concept - 10pts
- 10pts
Clarity of the Presentation
Total 40points
Let’s Have an Activity!
You are given 10 minutes to
discuss and practice with
your group.
Your 10 Minutes starts NOW!
Scoring Rubric
Creativity - 10pts
Content - 10pts
Concept - 10pts
- 10pts
Clarity of the Presentation
Total 40points
Learning Competencies
a. The learner listens perceptively to
selected vocal and instrumental
music of Renaissance music.
b. Describes musical elements of given
Renaissance music.