Introduction to Renaissance Music & Harmonic Evolution

Flashcards covering key vocabulary, figures, and concepts regarding the transition from Medieval to Renaissance music, including the evolution of harmony and notation.

Ars Subtilier Musical Style

A highly expressive and incredibly complex musical style originating in France in the late 1300s and early 1400s, characterized by intricate rhythms, double-meaning poetry, and visual score notation intended for sophisticated professional performers.

Perfect Intervals (Pre-1400)

Intervals consisting of the octave, the perfect fourth, and the perfect fifth, which medieval musicians prior to 1400 exclusively favored and deemed "godly."

John Dunstable

An influential English composer who introduced the prominent use of the imperfect third into harmony around 1400, revolutionizing the sound of Western music.

Imperfect Third

A musical interval possessing both major and minor variants, described as the pivot on which Western music balances and responsible for adding richness and emotion (happy vs. sad) to harmony.

Triad

A three-note chord constructed by stacking thirds (such as a major third and minor third together), which became the fundamental building block of 15th-century harmony.

English Quality (La Contenance Angloise)

A term used by French poets to describe the distinctive, smooth harmonic style of English music characterized by parallel six-three chords and an emphasis on imperfect consonances.

Tension and Release

The dynamic movement created by alternating between contrasting chords in a progression, forming the foundational principle of Western harmonic movement.