Western Music History Watkins Exam II

Humanism

A Renaissance intellectual movement in which thinkers studied classical texts and focused on human potential and achievements. Central to 15th century

Council of Constance

the council in 1414-1418 that succeeded in ending the Great Schism in the Roman Catholic Church. Despite this, the church never regained it's authority.

Renaissance

"rebirth"; following the Middle Ages, a movement that centered on the revival of interest in the classical learning of Greece and Rome

Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499)

Founded a Platonic academy in 1462 and sought to do for Plato's philosophy what the Scholastics had done for Aristotle's.

Pico della Mirandola

Wrote "On the Dignity of Man" which stated that man was made in the image of God before the fall and as Christ after the Resurrection. Man is placed in-between beasts and the angels. He also believed that there is no limits to what man can accomplish.

Virtù

Moral excellence and righteousness; an inclination and habitual preference for the good. Personal success = self-fulfillment

Empiricism

the view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely on observation and experimentation

Giotto di Bondone

Florentine painter who gave up the stiff Byzantine style and developed a more naturalistic style. Figures shape and depth. Conveying texture in drawing

Johannes Gutenberg (1395-1468)

Invented the printing press

Writing and Literature

... Were huge parts of self expression in the 15th century

Early Modern Era

15th and 16th centuries

Aldus Manutius (1449-1515)

important Venetian printer noted for publishing Byzantine texts in the Greek alphabet

studia humanitatis

During the Renaissance, a liberal arts program of study that embraced grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history, philosophy, and politics. Music finally became associated with literature, not math.

How did the Hundred Years' War affect the development of musical style?

There was a cross-pollination of musical style between English discant and French cantus firmus.

cantus firmus

"fixed melody", usually of very long notes, often based on a fragment of Gregorian chant that served as the structural basis for a polyphonic composition, particularly in the Renaissance

Martin le France

"Le Champion des Dames"; about English consonance

Pan-consonance

music in which almost every note is a member of a triad or a triadic inversion and not a dissonance

John Dunstaple (1390-1453)

Most gifted and skillful musician of England. Wrote "Quam Pulchra es", Song of Solomon. Dialogue between bride and groom. Binary form in Discant motet.

Sonority

A general term for sound quality, either of a momentary chord, or of a whole piece or style. Pleasant.

Burgundian

a courtly style that flourished under the patronage of the Dukes of Burgundy, primarily in Flanders, from the late 14th to the mid 16th century. Characterized by showing court life, opulent colors and deep spatial elements.

Duke Philip the Bold of Burgundy (1342-1404)

Commissioned the "Tres Riches Heures du due de Berry" (1413-1416)

Guillaume Du Fay (1397-1474)

Burgundian court- most famous composer of his time. Famous for his blending of national traits shown in his chansons. (a polyphonic setting of a French secular poem). Wrote in cactus firmus style--isorhythm and math with new sonorities

What are the four voices of a 4-part texture?

Superius, contratenor altus, tenor and contratenor bassus

What is unique about Du Fay's "Super res-arum Flores/Terribilis est Locus Iste"?

The menstrual proportions mimicked the proportions of the Temple of Solomon [6:4:2:3]

Cantilena Style

a type of polyphony in which the entire scale is smaller and more intimate, a preexistent cantus firmus may or may not be present, and the a single text suffices for all voices.

Fauxbourdon style

Chant in top line. Cantus is high and basses sung in 6ths below. Cadences are in octaves. Improvised middle voice a 4th lower than chant

Alternatim

Used in hymns

Alternation between chant and polyphony

Cantus Firmus mass

POLYPHONIC MASS in which the same CANTUS FIRMUS is used in each MOVEMENT, normally in the TENOR.

motto, head motive

POLYPHONIC MASS in which the MOVEMENTS are linked primarily by sharing the same opening MOTIVE or PHRASE.

Gilles Binchois (1400-1460)

composer of sacred and secular music; his chanson "de plus en plus" is the first great secular song of the 15th century. Du Fay's contemporary. Writes graceful chansons with beautiful memories

Authentic Cadence

cadence using the harmonic progression of V to I

What fusion occurred in Burgundy during the Hundred Years War?

French compositional techniques, English sonorous style, and Italian humanism

Franco-Netherlands School

A group of composers from northwest Europe who dominated musical style at the end of the fifteenth century

Johannes Ockeghem (1410-1497)

Director at French Royal Court. May have studied with Binchois. Followed cantus firmus composition.

Canon

a rule or instruction for realizing several parts from one one notated one. Challenging.

Jacob Obrecht (1457-1505)

a franco Flemish composer that exemplified the traits of his time by using points of imitation and a cantus firmus mass.

Heinrich Isaac (1450-1517)

Early Renaissance

Contemporary of Josquin. Member of Franco Flemish School.

First significant master of the Franco-Flemish polyphonic style who both lived in German-speaking areas.

Josquin des Prez (1450-1521)

-the most successful and renowned composer of the Franco-Flemish School

-a great master of contrapuntal techniques: canonic writing, imitative counterpoint

-his music is rich in emotion expression, embodying the humanism of his time

-his vocal settings sought to express the meaning of the text setting, and closer matching of musical stresses with accentuation of the text and vivid word painting

-his music employs modal harmonies, featured triadic (thirds and sixths)

Ars Perfecta

perfect art. 16th century

Maestro di cappella

music director

Martin Luther

95 Thesis, posted in 1517, led to religious reform in Germany, denied papal power and absolutist rule. Claimed there were only 2 sacraments: baptism and communion.

Style in 16th century

-Each voice has its own range

-Minimal voice crossing

-Rhythm reflected natural speech rhythm

-Little dissonance

Fuga

contrapuntal imitation. Lines related to each other (points of imitation)

Familiar style

voice declaiming words simultaneously, same rhythm. Strong grammatical reliance. Melodic imitation reflects the words

Musica reservata

Subtle musical painting

soggetto cavato

a Renaissance technique of creating a melody by associating syllables in a verbal phrase with the solmization syllables they most closely resemble

contrafactum, parody

Using sections of an existing piece to fit mass text. Parodying is a compliment during this time

Adrian Willaert (1490-1562)

Flemish composer of High Renaissance music. Mainly active in Italy, he was the founder of the Venetian School. He was one of the most representative members of the generation of northern composers who moved to Italy and transplanted the polyphonic Franco-Flemish style there.

Gioseffo Zarlino (1517-1590)

Italian music theorist;

wrote Le istitutioni harmoniche (1558);

synthesized rules of counterpoint;

influential in establishing new harmonic principles

Cosmopolitan

worldly; sophisticated. North style in 16th century was related to this

What caused the increase in secular music during the renaissance?

Urban merchant class became equivalent to the church. They could make money off commissions more easily.

Ottaviano Petrucci (1466-1539)

He did the 1st polyphonic music printing in Venice with movable type (multiple impression method, once each for notes, staves, and words); Odhecaton published around 1500

Baldassare Castiglione

An Italian author who wrote the book The Courtier in 1528. He described the ideal Renaissance man and woman.

Sprezzatura

studied carelessness, especially as a characteristic quality or style of art or literature.

Thomas Marley (1557-1602)

"If you can't read music, its embarrassing'

French chansons (15th century)

-Focused on clean and articulate declaration of poetic syllables

-Favored familiar style treatment

-Began with dactylic (long-short-short) rhythm-->trade mark

-Musical onomatopoeia, like 14th century caccia

-"Faulte d'argent" (1500) by Desprez is a good example

English Music (15th century)

-Isolation after the 100 years war

-Very few secular works

-Continued to have sweet melody and harmony

-Less imitation in contrapuntal lines

-More likely to break into extended melismas

German music (15th century)

-Bound by the past. Followed minnelied monophony

Lieder

-polyphonic secular compositions

-Relied on preexisting tune in tenor voice. Slow moving note values

-2 voices in canonic imitation

-3-part scoring. Freely composed bass line

Quodlibet

"whatever you like." Several popular songs into one

Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand

Sponsored Columbus' voyage in search of Gold, God, and Glory. By marrying, they unified Spain and drove out the Mongols

Reyes Catolicas

Scared music made under Ferd and Isabella's rule. Followed model of the Netherlands motet

Romance

Strophic art song, storytelling setting. No refrain, poetic quatrains.

Canción

starts with estribillo (4-line refrain), colas (alternating stanzas), which started with 2 pairs of lines with same music called "mudanza" then go to "Vuelta" of four lines that has same music as estribillo. Very similar to virellai

What is the order of the Canción?

estribillo (ABCD)->Copla (Mudanza and vuelta)->Estribillo (ABCD)->Copla (Mudanza and vuelta)

Villancico

Same as canción but freer and with lighter texts

Juan Encina (1468-1530)

Most important Spanish composer of 15th century

églogas

Spanish plays in the 15th century

Frottola

16th century genre of italian polyphonic song in mock-popular style, typically syllabic, homophonic, and diatonic, with the melody in the upper voice and marked rhythmic patterns. Familiar style. Harmony simple and diatonic

Oda (ode)

Strophic form. Verses with out refrain

Barzelletta

Refrain and verses shared music like virelai

Strambotto

Serious texts. 8 lines in 4 couplets

Sonnetto

Petrarchan model of 14-lines-- 2 quatrains and 2 tercets

Quatrains

4 line stanzas

Tercet

a stanza of three lines in which each line ends with the same rhyme

Lauda

(from Latin laudare, 'to praise') Italian devotional song. Sacred counterpart of frottola

Isabella d'Este (1474-1539)

Often called the "First Lady of the World." Married into the royal family of Mantua. She would do diplomacy when her husband was at war. She founded school for girls, attracted humanists to her court, and wrote hundreds of letters of literary merit. Leading figure of frottola repetoir. Powerful patron of music

Madrigal

Renaissance secular work originating in Italy for voices, with or without instruments, set to a short, lyric love poem; also popular in England.

Jacques Arcadelt (1507-1568)

Franco-Flemish composer

Famous composer of early madrigal

-madrigal: a musical setting of a text in a single strophe

Helped popularize madrigals outside of Italy

Mid-15th century madrigal

-Increased expressivity and complexity

-impassioned poetic tone

-Led by Cipriano de Rome

-Melodic gestures and rhythm imitated poetry more

-Harmony mimicked mood

-Chromaticism for expression

-Word painting

-Reduction of polyphony to solo emphasized emotion

-Harder music. For professionals who could sight-read

-Women were musically trained but only performed in home

Eye music

has graphical

features that are not heard in

performance. The music is

meant to be studied, and it's

almost like an inside joke

between the composer and the

musicians.

Maddalena Casulana (1566-1583)

First woman to have music printed. Woman can be equal to men!

Henry Peacham

"Music is poetry's sister"